Stablecoins are gathering steam

Stablecoins have quickly become a leading use case for blockchains, now surpassing Visa and Mastercard in transaction volume, as highlighted during Token2049, the world’s largest crypto conference held last week in Dubai.

Notably, the event also revealed that the Trump family’s crypto venture plans to launch a new stablecoin, USD1. With regulation advancing, legislation being considered in the US Congress, and high-profile entrants emerging, stablecoins are increasingly positioned as core infrastructure in the digital asset ecosystem.

Market Highlights

Google Wallet to use blockchain technology

Google Wallet has integrated zero-knowledge proofs (zk-proofs), a privacy-enhancing technology originally developed in crypto industry.

This integration reflects a broader trend of mainstream tech adopting blockchain-native innovations, potentially paving the way for greater consumer privacy and crypto interoperability in digital payments.

FCA gathers feedback on crypto rules

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is seeking industry input on its proposed crypto regulations, slated for implementation in 2026.

This engagement underscores the UK’s intent to develop a balanced framework that fosters innovation while addressing consumer protection and market integrity in the growing digital asset space.

Goldman Sachs 24/7 tokenized trading in US

Goldman Sachs is advancing plans to enable a 24/7 trading of tokenized US Treasuries and money market fund shares.

The move follows recent regulatory shifts, including the national banks being allowed to engage in crypto activities without prior approval and the withdrawal of previous guidance that discouraged crypto activities, signaling a more accommodating regulatory environment.

Market Metrics

This week, most NCITM constituents ended in negative territory, with the exception of BTC and ETH, both of which rose by 1.2%. Notably, ETH outperformed the broader altcoin market, helping lift the NCITM index to a modest 0.5% gain. The overall negative performance reflects ongoing crypto-related headwinds, including uncertainty surrounding the stablecoin bill and Arizona’s rejection of a proposal to hold Bitcoin reserves — both of which signal resistance to integrating crypto into the traditional financial system.

This week, the NCITM rose 0.5%, underperforming traditional assets like the Nasdaq 100 (+3.4%) and the S&P 500 (+2.9%), both of which delivered strong gains. Gold fell (-1.9%) but remains the top-performing asset year-to-date. Although crypto lagged behind traditional markets this week, the recent US GDP contraction and flat inflation data could lead to a more dovish stance from the Fed — a shift that may benefit crypto more than other risk assets and potentially restore its position, once again, as the year’s best-performing asset class.