Eight of the largest banks in the Middle East and North Africa region are now using JPMorgan's Kinexys blockchain platform for payments.
The solution went live in the Netherlands, France, Spain, Ireland, Italy and Belgium, with plans to expand across the EEA, UK and U.S.
Standard Chartered's Geoffrey Kendrick predicts a new bitcoin all-time high around $120,000 in Q2, fueled by strategic reallocation away from U.S. assets.
Standard Chartered said bitcoin's primary role in a portfolio is to hedge against risks to the traditional financial system.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
JPMorgan says gold is attracting safe-haven demand from ETF and futures investors, while bitcoin is seeing the opposite trend.
Trump family's crypto ventures — including a planned stablecoin launch — could stall crypto regulatory advancements, according to TD Cowen.
Potential stablecoin legislation in the U.S. could drive a nearly 10x increase in stablecoin supply by 2028, according to Standard Chartered.
JPMorgan now lets companies make 24/7 blockchain payments in British pounds (GBP), adding to its euro (EUR) and dollar (USD) options.
"By the end of 2028 we see XRP's market cap overtaking Ethereum's," said Standard Chartered's Geoffrey Kendrick in an email to The Block.
Standard Chartered says bitcoin could benefit from rising tariff risks as signs of "U.S. isolationism" begin to shape market sentiment.
Standard Chartered now calls bitcoin a 'US isolation' hedge as it has held up better than most tech stocks in the recent market selloff.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
TD Cowen says hurdles "can still be overcome given how many Democrats are supportive of the need to enact a stablecoin bill."
Bitcoin's role as "digital gold" is being tested as volatility and ETF outflows raise investor doubts, according to JPMorgan analysts.
Standard Chartered's Geoffrey Kendrick said he likes Avalanche's approach to scaling, particularly after the recent Etna upgrade.
The bank plans to start conducting experiments in the second half of this year for a potential stablecoin launch in 2026.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
The top five yield-bearing stablecoins, including Ethena's USDe, have seen rapid growth since the U.S. election, JPMorgan analysts said.
Standard Chartered’s hypothetical ‘Mag 7B’ index, with bitcoin replacing Tesla, delivered higher returns than the original lineup.
Xapo Bank hopes to attract people back to a sector hit hard following the collapse of centralized lenders like Celsius and BlockFi in 2022.
"We estimate that Base (the dominant layer 2) has removed $50 billion of market cap from Ethereum alone," said Geoffrey Kendrick.
The continued growth of publicly listed bitcoin miners is expected as they push further into vertical integration, JPMorgan analysts said.
JPMorgan sees less than a 50% chance of a U.S. strategic crypto reserve gaining approval, citing congressional hurdles.
"Trump talks up crypto when he is before crypto investors. Yet we continue to believe this is not a personal priority," said TD Cowen.
Trump said Sunday that XRP, SOL, and ADA, along with BTC and ETH, will be included in the proposed crypto reserve.
With Solana futures set to launch on CME next month, the path for a spot SOL ETF approval could become clearer.
"Now that is a dip I would like to buy," Standard Chartered's Geoffrey Kendrick said of the $69,000–$76,500 range for bitcoin.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
JPMorgan analysts say a lack of positive catalysts and fading momentum drive lower demand for bitcoin and ether futures.