The White House Digital Asset Working Group shared its report on how it plans to usher in the golden age of 'crypto', largely leaving out any mention of Bitcoin outside of reiterating earlier Presidential executive orders. The SEC’s in-kind creations/redemptions for crypto ETPs and a 10× expansion of IBIT option contract size lowered frictions and deepened liquidity, even as price chopped. Strategy raised $2.5B for its new preferred equity offering, while Marathon and Twenty One raised additional capital for the purposes of acquiring more Bitcoin, as Kraken is the latest digital asset firm planning to go public.
Bitcoin Update
Bitcoin dropped almost 4% on the week, driven by a broader risk-off move amid weaker than anticipated jobs reporting, a relatively hawkish Federal Reserve meeting, and bumpy tariff negotiations.
Early Riders Monthly Portfolio Spotlight
Onramp announced it is working on the implementation of Institution Custody for lending with Arch, as discussed in this recent podcast. The company has been busy onboarding multiple public companies through partnerships with Acropolis. Upcoming, Onramp is meeting with the Texas Blockchain Council and Comptroller about supporting Texas Strategy Bitcoin Reserve efforts. Finally, the team has added talent on the product and design team to support growth, and partnered with a media companies for bitcoin education efforts.
Acropolis continued to grow and execute on its pipeline of both private and public companies interested in securely managing and growing their bitcoin holdings.
Flash continues to deepen its positioning as the go-to Bitcoin-native commerce platform. The company launched the Flash Wallet on major app stores to provide seamless user access, and introduced on-chain payment support across key tools like ecommerce checkout and payment links, laying the groundwork for broader protocol compatibility. The app is fully compatible with the FeDi environment, in preparation to become their official point-of-sale partner.
Michael, Brian, and Liam discuss the latest in capital formation, market structure, and bitcoin adoption on this week's podcast.
You can find all our episodes on our podcast website as well as listen on YouTube, Apple, and Spotify.
Industry & Institutional Updates
SEC permits in-kind creations and redemptions for crypto ETPs by authorized participants, aligning Bitcoin/Ether products with other commodity ETPs and potentially lowering frictions and costs for issuers and investors. The SEC allowed a 10x increase in IBIT option contract size, allowing larger exposure to the asset class.
Strategy closed a record-breaking $2.5B preferred stock offering (STRC, "Stretch"), using the proceeds to acquire ~21,021 BTC at an average price of ~$117,256 per coin, bringing its total bitcoin holdings to approximately 628,791 BTC. The company also reported its 2Q25 earnings, with a $14B operating profit, driven by unrealized bitcoin gains.
Coinbase reported $1.5 billion in Q2 2025 revenue, driven by growth in derivatives and USDC adoption, despite a 26% revenue decline from the previous quarter and increased expenses related to a data theft incident. The company also increased its bitcoin holdings, which it plans to continue to do through weekly DCA.
Kraken is seeking to raise $500 million at a $15 billion valuation, positioning itself for a potential IPO in early 2026 amid growing institutional interest in regulated crypto platforms.
Kraken's Q2 2025 revenue rose 18% year-over-year to $412 million, driven by increased trading volumes and new product offerings, though adjusted EBITDA declined 7% to $79.7 million amid macroeconomic uncertainties.
Tether is transferring an additional 5,800 BTC to its Bitcoin treasury firm, Twenty One, ahead of the firm's public listing.
Marathon Digital closed an upsized $950 million private placement of zero‑coupon convertible senior notes due 2032, securing approximately $940.5 million in net proceeds to primarily purchase more Bitcoin.
Coinbase has partnered with JPMorgan Chase to enable Chase credit card holders to purchase cryptocurrencies on Coinbase starting this fall, with plans to allow users to link their Chase accounts to Coinbase and redeem rewards points for USDC in 2026.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has reiterated his support for stablecoins, viewing them as potentially more useful than traditional cash, while maintaining his skepticism toward Bitcoin, which he considers lacking intrinsic value and associated with illicit activities.
PayPal will allow U.S. businesses to accept payments in Bitcoin and 100+ other digital assets, via a new merchant option rolling out in the coming weeks, aiming to simplify cross-border payments.
Ray Dalio urged investors to allocate around 15% of their portfolios to gold and Bitcoin as a hedge against rising U.S. government debt and potential fiat currency devaluation, while expressing a strong preference for gold over Bitcoin.
Marathon Digital Holdings reported a record Q2 2025, with adjusted EBITDA soaring over 1,000% year-over-year to $1.2 billion, driven by increased Bitcoin production, improved mining efficiency, and strategic energy partnerships.
Riot Platforms reported a net profit of $219.5 million in Q2 2025, driven by a $470.8 million unrealized revaluation of its Bitcoin holdings, despite the average cost to mine Bitcoin doubling year-over-year to $43,808.
SoFi plans to reintroduce cryptocurrency services, including staking, borrowing, and stablecoin offerings, as part of its strategy to become a comprehensive digital finance platform.
Blockstream has introduced Simplicity, a new smart contract language on Bitcoin's Liquid Network sidechain, enabling mathematically verifiable contracts using Bitcoin's UTXO model.
Saf.money has closed an oversubscribed pre‑seed funding round backed by Fulgur Ventures, Plan B, Initial Capital, and 1A1z to scale its Bitcoin and stablecoin-powered cross-border payments platform, focusing on Latin American off‑ramps and new stablecoin rails in the U.S.
Bakkt Holdings priced a $75 million public offering at $10 per share, prompting its stock to plunge approximately 39–41%, as existing shareholders reacted to the steep discount and potential dilution.
Regulatory Updates
A newly released 160‑page report from President Trump’s crypto Working Group outlines a national strategy to usher in a “Golden Age of Crypto,” recommending federal-level regulatory clarity, integration of DeFi, tokenized assets in mainstream finance, and full implementation of the GENIUS Act for stablecoins, while almost nothing new about bitcoin outside of what was previously released in the working group.
Eleanor Terrett shared an interview with Rep. Bo Hines, Executive Director of the President's Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, discussing key details of the White House's crypto policy, including the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, accumulation plans, and upcoming legislation.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins formally launched “Project Crypto,” a commission-wide effort to overhaul U.S. digital-asset regulation by clarifying asset classifications, easing tokenized securities and ICO issuance, and integrating DeFi and on-chain trading into mainstream markets.
Algeria has enacted laws criminalizing all cryptocurrency activities, including owning, trading, mining, promoting, and operating wallets or exchanges, with violations punishable by up to one year in prison and fines between 200,000 and 1,000,000 dinars (~$1,500–7,700 USD).
Bolivia’s Central Bank has signed an indefinite memorandum of understanding with El Salvador’s Digital Assets Commission to build a robust regulatory framework and share blockchain intelligence tools, positioning cryptocurrency as a "viable and reliable alternative" to fiat amid Bolivia's deepening economic crisis and rising crypto adoption.
Roman Storm (Tornado Cash) trial has moved to the jury after closing arguments; prosecutors characterized the mixer as aiding money laundering, while the defense argued it was built for user privacy and that developers didn’t profit from illicit flows.
Samourai Wallet co-founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill pleaded guilty to running an unlicensed money-transmitting business tied to $2 billion in Bitcoin transactions and $100 million in laundering, facing up to five years in prison.
Chart of the Week
A recent article by Bloomberg highlighted the volume of IBIT options versus some of the other most traded ETFs, with IBIT options among top 5 most actively traded. In addition, ETF trading volume is almost 50% as large as total daily bitcoin trading volume.
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