A deepening dispute over tokenized stocks threatens to derail Washington’s push for comprehensive crypto regulation as industry executives split over language in the Senate Banking Committee’s portion of the landmark digital assets bill. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong called the contested section a “de facto ban” on tokenized equities earlier this month, while traditional finance stalwarts, including Ken Griffin’s Citadel Securities, argue firms should follow identical rules whether dealing in blockchain-ba ...

Core Insights - Tether's USDT stablecoin continues to function effectively despite market volatility, maintaining its peg to the U.S. dollar and demonstrating significant profitability, earning over $10 billion in the first nine months of 2025 [1] - Concerns regarding Tether's transparency and the stability of its reserves have led to a downgrade by S&P Global, reflecting traditional finance's skepticism towards the crypto sector [2][3] - Tether's CEO, Paolo Ardoino, defends the company's position, asserting that it is overcapitalized and challenges the credibility of traditional financial systems [4] Group 1: Company Performance - Tether has generated more than $10 billion in profit during the first nine months of 2025, comparable to major financial institutions like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley [1] - The company has maintained its USDT stablecoin's peg to the U.S. dollar, allowing for redemption at any time, which highlights its operational stability [1] Group 2: Market Concerns - S&P Global downgraded Tether's USDT rating from 4 to 5, indicating increased concerns about the stability of the stablecoin amid a bear market [2] - The downgrade was influenced by the opacity of Tether's reporting and the fact that bitcoin now constitutes over 5% of the reserves backing USDT, raising fears of undercollateralization if bitcoin prices decline [3] Group 3: Leadership and Strategy - Tether's CEO, Paolo Ardoino, expressed confidence in the company's model, claiming it is the first overcapitalized company in the financial industry and criticizing traditional finance for its failures [4] - Angel investor Jason Calacanis suggested that Tether should sell its bitcoin holdings, invest solely in U.S. treasuries, and undergo multiple audits by American firms to enhance transparency [5]

Core Insights - The current dip in cryptocurrency prices is seen as a transition towards value investing, driven by the integration of Traditional Finance (TradFi) with blockchain technology [1][2] - Bitcoin has fallen to approximately $84,000 from its peak of $126,000 in October, while Ethereum trades below $2,700 [1] - Despite the price decline, the fundamentals of the cryptocurrency market are reportedly the strongest they have been in seven years, indicating a significant divergence between price and fundamentals [2] Integration of TradFi and DeFi - There is an increasing integration of TradFi with Decentralized Finance (DeFi), exemplified by the launch of HelloTrade by former BlackRock IBIT team members [3][4] - HelloTrade is a decentralized exchange facilitating 24/7 trading of tokenized stocks and bonds, while Robinhood is moving towards tokenized private shares [4] Global Tokenization Movement - A global push towards tokenization within the TradFi system is underway, highlighted by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's five-year tokenization plan announced during the Hong Kong FinTech Week [5] - The plan includes over 40 initiatives focusing on data infrastructure, Artificial Intelligence (AI), resilience, and financial tokenization [6] - SEGG Media has also introduced a $300 million digital asset strategy that combines an 80/20 crypto treasury model with validator income and tokenized sports assets [6]

Talent Acquisition Strategies in Web3 - Hiring ex-Apple/Google/Meta executives without crypto knowledge often leads to failure in web3 [1] - Finding a balance between web2/tradfi professionals with experience and web3 natives is crucial [1] - Web3 native talent may come at a premium, but is worth the investment [2] - Some argue that hiring from industries being disrupted by crypto is more effective [2] - The best DeFi hires often come from traditional finance [2]