#598
The Everything Exchange, In Motion
Robinhood’s first-ever crypto keynote marked more than a product launch, it was a directional bet on the next era of financial infrastructure. By introducing 200+ tokenized U.S. equities for EU users, alongside perpetual futures, ETH and SOL staking, and Layer 2 ambitions, Robinhood joined a growing club of platforms re-architecting capital markets from the edges inward.
The playbook is becoming clear: wrap legacy assets in crypto rails, abstract away traditional custody, and deliver a 24/7, composable user experience. Robinhood’s tokenized equities—initially launched on Arbitrum and eventually migrating to its own chain—will offer fractional ownership, integrated dividends, and, eventually, the ability to move assets into self-custody wallets and DeFi. In short, they bring TradFi assets into crypto’s native environment.
They’re not alone. Kraken already offers over 60 tokenized equities to non-U.S. users. Coinbase is in active dialogue with the SEC to bring similar functionality to U.S. clients. As regulatory clarity improves, the convergence is accelerating, not as a theoretical theme, but as a tangible, competitive shift. The everything exchange is no longer an idea; it’s a product roadmap.
To be clear, today’s offerings are still early. These are tokenized-TradFi wrappers relying on legacy custody, market-hour settlement, and offchain price discovery. But they mark an important first step toward the real goal: a system that is fractionalized by default, 24/7, permissionless, global, on-chain, and programmable.
That’s the eventuality. These early integrations are the scaffolding. And with every wrapped equity, every cross-platform bet, and every TradFi-Crypto bridge, the foundation gets stronger. The convergence isn’t coming, it’s underway.

Portfolio News
The insurance industry doubles down on Diesta's reconciliation solution to address tens of billions in outstanding premiums - According to Diesta's recent study, Lloyd’s faced $26.5bn in outstanding premium payments at Q4 2024. This problem extends throughout the industry to giants including Gallagher, Marsh and Aon, who also face sizeable outstanding premium payments. Read more
S&P Dow Jones Indices collaborates with Centrifuge to bring the S&P 500 Index onchain - By licensing Centrifuge to provide exposure and bring the S&P 500 Index onchain, a blockchain-native investment vehicle will for the first time be built, governed, and accessed directly through Centrifuge’s RWA infrastructure, rather than via traditional brokerages. Read more
Dubai CommerCity partners with Ziina to provide innovative financial solutions - Dubai CommerCity (DCC), the region’s first free zone dedicated to digital commerce, and a joint venture between the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ) and Wasl Properties, has announced a strategic partnership with Ziina. The collaboration will offer simplified and frictionless financial solutions, further facilitating the establishment and growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Dubai. Read more
Ocrolus expands Inspect with mortgage conditions to strengthen lending quality control - Ocrolus Inspect now empowers lenders to detect discrepancies and take immediate action by creating and managing mortgage conditions directly within the platform. Users can name conditions, link them to specific discrepancies and seamlessly sync them back to the Encompass Form 1003, ensuring clear documentation and efficient issue resolution. Read more
The Everything Exchange, In Motion
Robinhood launches layer-2 blockchain for stock trading in Europe - Built on Arbitrum, the new layer-2 network will enable the issuance of over 200 US stock and exchange-traded fund (ETF) tokens, giving European investors access to US assets, Robinhood announced this week. Read more
Backed Finance debuts tokenized stocks on Bybit, Kraken and Solana DeFi protocols - The debut is part of the xStocks Alliance, offering token versions of 60 stocks and ETFs including Apple, Microsoft and Core S&P 500. The initiative is part of a broader trend of bringing traditional financial instruments onto blockchain rails, also known as tokenization of real-world assets. Read more
Blockchain-driven platform to mimic stock trading, allowing users to buy shares of SpaceX, other hot private companies - Republic, a New York-based investment startup, is offering users exposure to SpaceX by issuing a “tokenized” representation of its shares. The company began selling the digital tokens last week and eventually plans to expand the offering to other private companies like artificial intelligence darlings OpenAI and Anthropic, as well as Stripe, X, Waymo, Epic Games and more. Read more
Industry News
Circle applies for US trust bank license after bumper IPO - If the charter is granted by the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, it would enable Circle to act as a custodian for its own reserves and hold crypto assets on behalf of institutional clients. Read more
Klarna accelerates shift to digital bank ahead of second IPO attempt - The company has launched new products designed to bring it more in line with digital banks such as Revolut and Chime, facing growing pressure over the resilience of its business model. Read more
How much does a heat wave cost? Insurers and CEOs want to know - Climate risk models don’t typically make detailed projections for extreme heat. But cities, businesses and insurers need the financial risks to be outlined more clearly, and some believe a new AI-driven market for heat insurance is around the corner. Read more
Digital workers have arrived in banking - Bank of New York Mellon said it now employs dozens of artificial intelligence-powered ‘digital employees’ that have company logins and work alongside its human staff. These digital workers have direct managers they report to and work autonomously in areas like coding and payment instruction validation. Read more
CEO spends 1.83m Amex Points to pay surprise tariff bill - When a tariff bill for almost $11,000 arrived without warning, Robert Keeley reached for one of his last financial lifelines and cashed in 1.83m American Express reward points to pay it - illustrating a broader reckoning for America’s smaller businesses whipsawed by volatile trade policies. Read more
Ripple seeks a U.S. banking license, adding to list of crypto companies - Ripple, which manages cross-border payments and a dollar-backed stablecoin called RLUSD, filed its application this week, and in time, Ripple would consider offering other crypto services through its banking license. Read more
Why Vanguard, champion of low-fee investing, joined the ‘private markets’ craze - After years of driving down fees, retail fund managers’ fees are approaching zero. The chance to sell more funds that can charge higher fees would boost revenues for the likes of Vanguard and State Street, which pioneered exchange-traded funds. Read more
Payments firm Wise seeks US National Trust Bank Charter to access Fed payments - Wise Plc wants to create a national trust bank in the US, in the latest sign of its growing focus on America as it works on moving its main share listing to the country. The London-headquartered firm’s US hub will be in Austin, Texas. Read more
Santander to acquire TSB for £2.65b - Santander's plan to buy TSB for £2.65b ($3.6b) and boost its position in the UK came together only a few weeks ago, after the Spanish bank had been considering a possible exit from Britain, three sources close to the process said. Read more
Why stablecoins are shifting from crypto fringe to corporate strategy - The FT explores how Stablecoins are gaining corporate traction as firms like PayPal, Uber, and banks explore issuing their own to bypass costly card networks, earn interest on reserves, and streamline global payments. Read more
JPMorgan Is Revamping Its Bank for the Superrich to Cater to Global Clientele - JPMorgan is restructuring its private bank to meet rising demand from ultra-wealthy clients for global diversification. Amid geopolitical tensions and booming private markets, JPMC has identified that clients want cross-border investments and holistic, jurisdiction-agnostic strategies. Read more
Select Financings
Avoltra - Nuremberg based energy procurement platform raised €2.3M in pre-Seed funding led by Project A. Read more
Bonx - Paris based ERP platform raised €7.3M in Seed funding led by 9900 Capital. Read more
Campfire - San Francisco based AI native ERP platform raised $35M in Series A funding led by Accel. Read more
Cato Networks - Tel Aviv based cloud network architecture platform provider raised $359M in Series G funding led by ION Crossover Partners. Read more
Dejablue - Paris based energy optimisation platform raised $8M in Seed funding led by Redalpine. Read more
Dexter Energy - Amsterdam based power market optimization company raised €23M in Series C funding led by Klima. Read more
Klar - Mexico City based digital bank raised $170M in Series C funding led by General Atlantic. Read more
Levelpath - San Francisco based AI-native procurement platform raised $55M in Series B funding led by Battery Ventures. Read more
Savvy Wealth - New York based digital wealth management platform raised $72M in Series B funding led by Industry Ventures. Read more
Tibo Energy - Netherlands based energy management system provider raised €6M in Seed funding led by Kompas VC. Read more
Yaspa - London based instant payments and verification company raised $12M in growth funding led by Discerning Capital. Read more
Zango - London based regulatory compliance platform raised $4.8M in Seed funding led by Nexus Venture Partners. Read more
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