This week’s Crypto Biz theme revolves around the increasing integration of traditional finance into the core of crypto infrastructure.
Tether is reportedly seeking significant venture funding that could elevate the stablecoin issuer’s valuation to alongside private tech behemoths like OpenAI. Concurrently, US regulators are evaluating the possibility of allowing traditional stocks to trade on-chain, as the merger of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Wall Street, and tokenization intensifies.
In other news, JPMorgan’s Kinexys platform welcomed a prominent Gulf bank as a user, while a Nasdaq-traded biotech company constructed a treasury entirely based on a DePIN token.
SoftBank, ARK reportedly consider investment in Tether’s massive funding round
High-profile investors are rumored to be in discussions to support Tether’s forthcoming funding round, which could potentially value the stablecoin provider at up to $500 billion, according to Bloomberg.
The venture capital firms SoftBank Group and ARK Investment Management are reportedly assessing participation in a possible $20-billion fundraising. If realized, this round would align Tether’s valuation with major private companies like OpenAI.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino verified that the company is pursuing a funding round from “a select group of high-profile investors” but did not disclose specifics about the deal’s framework.
Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin USDt (USDT), ranks among the most profitable companies globally on a per-employee basis. The firm is expanding beyond its core stablecoin activities into sectors like infrastructure, energy production, and venture capital investments to diversify revenue streams beyond interest income.
SEC contemplates allowing stocks to trade on-chain
In alignment with its recent acknowledgment of tokenization as an “innovation,” the US Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly considering a strategy that would enable US stocks to trade on-chain through approved crypto exchanges.
The initiative was initially reported by The Information, indicating that the proposal is still in its infancy and would be limited to regulated digital asset platforms. If implemented, this framework could broaden access to US equities for a wider array of traders and extend trading availability beyond traditional market hours.
Interest in tokenized securities has surged recently, with platforms like Robinhood and Kraken launching tokenized stock offerings. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq has applied for an SEC rule modification to allow tokenized securities listings on its exchange. Coinbase is also apparently seeking SEC permission to provide similar products.
Qatari bank adopts JPMorgan’s blockchain platform
Qatar National Bank Group (QNB) is set to utilize JPMorgan’s Kinexys blockchain platform to process corporate US dollar payments with greater speed and efficiency, underscoring the expanding role of blockchain in traditional finance.
Kamel Moris, QNB’s executive vice president of transactional banking, stated to Bloomberg that the development is a “treasurer’s dream,” noting the platform’s capability to function around the clock. “We can guarantee payments in as little as two minutes,” Moris remarked.
Kinexys currently manages approximately $3 billion in daily transactions—a small fraction of JPMorgan’s $10 trillion in total daily payment activity. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Kinexys is collaborating with Chainlink and Ondo Finance to facilitate cross-chain treasury settlements.
Predictive Oncology establishes DePIN-centered crypto treasury
Predictive Oncology, a Nasdaq-listed biotechnology firm, has created a $344.4-million digital asset treasury composed entirely of Aethir (ATH) tokens, marking the first publicly traded US entity to hold a token from a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN).
The capital allocation was crafted in partnership with DNA Fund, a Web3 investment and advisory agency, and backed by investment bank BTIG.
This strategy provides Predictive Oncology with exposure to the DePIN domain—blockchain networks that coordinate and incentivize the deployment of real-world infrastructure, including compute, storage, or connectivity.
Aethir runs a decentralized cloud computing network that offers GPU infrastructure for AI and other high-performance applications. Its ATH token currently boasts a market capitalization of roughly $640 million.
“Through Aethir, ATH manages one of the largest decentralized GPU networks globally—435,000 GPU containers across over 200 locations in 93 countries, with direct connections to Nvidia’s ecosystem,” stated Chris Miglino, co-founder of DNA Fund, to Cointelegraph.
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