Finery Markets

Citi is launching Bitcoin custody for institutions before year end, Standard Chartered became the first G-SIB to power institutional crypto custody in Hong Kong. Safekeeping digital assets has become core market infrastructure. But custody solves only half the problem. Holding assets securely means little if they cannot be traded, settled, and reconciled when the business needs them. Our latest guide breaks down how institutional crypto custody actually works, from the hot, warm, and cold storage spectrum to qualified custodian rules, insurance, and governance, and why the real advantage now sits where custody connects to liquidity and execution rather than standing alone. Read the full guide → https://lnkd.in/ddmEBvxq

The venues themselves are the story now. The company that owns the NYSE lined up a partner to run tokenized securities, one of the largest decentralized exchanges pitched a regulated route into US perpetuals through Kraken's parent, and the industry's biggest lobby threw its weight behind the federal rulebook for stablecoins. Michael Saylor ended a month-long pause with a two-word post, "We're back," and resumed buying into the strongest month for prices since 2024. The throughline is that the largest names in finance have stopped debating whether to hold crypto and started rebuilding where and how it trades. Prices were almost beside the point: August closed up more than 25% even as ETF inflows cooled and a firmer dollar tightened the backdrop. This edition covers the ETF week, the GENIUS Act stablecoin rulebook, and Robinhood Chain's record run into tokenized-stock trading. This is a new week in crypto ↓

Do EUR stablecoins have a real shot at competing with USD? Yes, but not yet. Euro stablecoins expanded 32x in H1 2026, and MiCA gave issuers something the dollar market never had: one clear rulebook. Scale is the problem. USD stablecoins still account for 99.87% of institutional OTC flow, and liquidity follows liquidity. On the sidelines of Fintech Unplugged, our Co-founder Konstantin Shulga shares his view on where Euro Stablecoins stand, and what's coming next. Full analysis in Stablecoins 2035 → https://lnkd.in/eTtCMiWJ

Crypto just lived through a shutdown cycle. 100+ firms went bankrupt or paused operations in 2026, and top-20 exchange volume fell 38%. In a new op-ed, Sergey Klinkov explores the H1 2026 earnings of Coinbase, Gemini, Kraken, and other firms and argues the real story isn't the failures. It's what the survivors are quietly rebuilding underneath. The pattern in the numbers is consistent: retail trading still pays the bills, but non-transaction revenue is now the majority at several platforms, and institutional and OTC flow is the fastest-growing counterweight to a shrinking retail base. Gemini's OTC revenue jumped from 3% to 38% of exchange revenue in a single year. Our read: crypto is shifting from a narrative-driven asset class to financial market infrastructure, built for stablecoins, tokenization, and a market where AI runs a growing share of finance. Full analysis → https://lnkd.in/dbu56jnj

By 2035, "stablecoin" may not be a word anyone uses. Not because the market fails, but because the infrastructure becomes invisible. Money moves on blockchain rails, and nobody calls it anything but money. That's one of the scenarios in Stablecoins 2035, our new special report. We started with our own H1 2026 data — stablecoins at an all-time-high 81% of institutional OTC trades. In 2023, it was 26%. Then, we asked ten firms across trading, custody, payments, and data where this leads: Flow Traders, GSR, Keyrock, Dune, Chainberg, Fiat Republic, Fipto, Mercuryo, StraitsX, and Hercle. Their answers map out the next decade: which countries export, defend, substitute, channel, or assimilate; why EUR stablecoins grew 32x yet USD still holds 99.87% of flow; what happens when AI agents start transacting; and why the $7T FX market may be the smaller prize next to $400T in tokenized assets. Access the full report: https://lnkd.in/eTtCMiWJ

📩 Institutional Weekly Bitcoin slipped to its lowest level since early April as ETF outflows deepened and Strategy made a small but symbolically important BTC sale. The institutional bid is no longer one-directional. ETF flows are weakening, treasury strategies are becoming more complex, and bitcoin exposure is being actively managed rather than simply accumulated. • Bitcoin drops near $71K as ETF outflows approach $3B • Strategy sells 32 BTC to fund preferred stock distributions • Strategy also draws down cash reserves after debt repurchase • Tether plans a Georgian lari stablecoin with government support • Mastercard secures a New York BitLicense • SoFi launches a bank-issued stablecoin inside its consumer app • Wintermute confirms liquidity provision in prediction markets Read the full weekly ↓