🚨BREAKING: A Nasdaq-listed company exec told me their rep reached out suggesting they object to tokenized trading of their shares on OKXICE and offered to hold a call to discuss why. 38 companies have now opted out. Here's the DM:

UPDATE: Walmart and Eli Lilly are now among the companies opting out of tokenized trading of their shares on @okx and @ICE_Markets' OKXICE venue. Carnival, Cigna and Arcos Dorados also objected in the venture's updated notice dated Oct. 28, bringing disclosed objections to 38 of the original 62 names. JPMorgan, which objected earlier this week, told @CoinDesk: "We are encouraged by the potential of tokenization but also need to be thoughtful about how our shares are represented and traded."

The @bankofengland just launched a consultation on letting clearing houses accept tokenized collateral. The Bank said the existing regulatory framework "is not a barrier" for clearing houses accepting tokenized forms of eligible collateral, but it "must remain capable of being valued, transferred and realised when needed, including in stressed conditions." It also said tokenization "could support firms to respond more effectively to margin calls." The consultation goes until Feb 12, 2027.

UPDATE: The full-page WSJ ad telling CEOs to opt out of tokenized stock trading was paid for by Common Sense Leadership Fund. It is a "conservative-leaning nonprofit organized as a 501(c)(4)," which means it is a tax-exempt group focused on "social welfare," per a @CoinDesk report. Who ultimately funded it is still unclear. The ad's QR code linked to a Nasdaq FAQ explaining why it opted out of tokenized securities venues, but Nasdaq told CoinDesk it had no connection to the ad and never contributed to the nonprofit and nor authorized the link.

🚨NEW: From building companies acquired by Microsoft, Intuit and Mastercard to serving as U.S. ambassador to Austria, @ttraina has had a unique path into crypto. He’s now founder and CEO of @KresusOfficial and chief business officer at @tfh_technology. In this episode, Trevor shares how he helped persuade President Trump to embrace crypto at a fundraiser he co-hosted in 2024. He also explains why he’s skeptical of Anthropic’s warnings about AI’s potentially catastrophic effects on humanity, whether stablecoins could shore up demand for U.S. Treasuries, and why he believes everything will eventually move onchain.

Just wrapped a podcast recording with @jacqmelinek, founder of StrataMedia, at @StellarOrg Meridian in Lisbon. We covered: - The rebrand from Token Relations to StrataMedia - How she's working with major asset managers to gatecrash crypto media zeitgeist - Building distribution, and the tricks of the trade that actually work - When institutionalization can feel inauthentic - Going from journalist to startup founder Episode coming soon.

LIVE FROM @StellarOrg MERIDIAN @DenelleDixon fireside with Anthony @Scaramucci had a lot of good takeaways. Here are the key ones: - Scaramucci thinks tokenized assets onchain will rise from ~$39B to closer to $100B in a years-time - Denelle asked if companies ready for equities onchain? Scaramucci says those opting out are a result of "regulatory pressure" as people "don't want to go infront of congress" - "But equities is where the excitement is and volaitiltiy is. If you get these stocks onchain and tokenize these stocks...then it's full adoption. Once you get it up and running and prove all those fears are wrong then you'll get a tsunami of adoption." - They discussed how Stellar having safe, final, secure transactions within hours, and removing intermediaries opens the question of: how much technological innovation would that unleash? He argues it opens "unbelievable amounts of economic innovation." “If you had better technology there's resistance…but better technology gets adopted. If you're going to trade 24/7 around the world…some people say it'll be more risky but I argue it doesn't... Long term it'll reduce volatility.” - Scaramucci

🚨 @The_DTCC's Tokenization Service went live today: - 34 securities available to tokenize at launch - DTCC didn't publicly disclose which ones, but said they'd come from select large-cap Russell 1000 stocks, select ETFs and US Treasuries - Each token is backed 1:1 by a security held at DTC with the same legal rights - Tokens can move 24/7 between DTC-registered wallets @CantonNetwork and DTCC's private Besu network are live at launch, with @StellarOrg and Circle's @Arc expected in 2027. For context, DTC has about $30 trillion in assets under custody.

JUST IN: @RobinhoodApp just reported Q3 earnings with record revenue of $1.42B, up 9% QoQ Here's what they highlighted on crypto: - Crypto revenue rose 20% QoQ to $120M - Crypto notional volume rose 25% QoQ to $50B, with an interesting split of $21B on the Robinhood app and $29B on Bitstamp - Robinhood Chain did over $80B in DEX volume and $50M+ in chain fees in its first quarter on mainnet - Crypto trading launched in the UK, and Robinhood got approval from Dubai's DFSA to launch there, including crypto - If you count it in the crypto category, prediction markets were the standout, with event contracts traded up 20% QoQ to a record 16.4B. Shares are down about 3% after hours. Even with the quarterly bump, its crypto revenue is still down 55% from a year ago. But the QoQ growth shows that bull market energy is back :) Will be monitoring to see whether Q4 shows similar growth and whether we’ll have the bull market in full swing by EOY.

MEN IN BLACK? MORE LIKE WE ARE SO BACK @TokenRelations is on the ground for @StellarOrg Meridian in Lisbon Find us IRL at the event or subscribe to our Stellar newsletter below to catch ALL the details. Stay tuned.

A lot of the stablecoin adoption from banks, fintechs etc. making headlines right now has been in the works for years. As @withAUSD's post below highlights my thoughts on it: it's all about repetition and building trust. Hear me talk about this & more on Agora Quickfire here!

Hear what our founder @jacqmelinek had to say about stablecoins and the biggest headlines on our radar. As well as the most overrated narrative. (Hint: it starts with p and ends in rediction markets)

Trust in a stablecoin isn't built by headlines. It's built by repetition. @jacqmelinek, Founder of @StrataMedia_ and Co-host of @CryptoAmerica_, on why banks and fintechs are already using stablecoins behind the scenes. Check out the Agora Quickfire 👇

Today's pod is with @raagulanpathy, founder and CEO of @KASTxyz, diving into: - Why stablecoins moving from trading to general purpose financial infrastructure led him to start KAST - KAST's vision for serving global citizens, freelancers and businesses - How KAST uses stablecoins to give globally mobile users one account for USD balances, cards and cross-border payments - Why he thinks stablecoin-built neobanks can become some of the largest financial institutions - KAST Solo, a stablecoin-based business account for freelancers and solopreneurs TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Introduction to KAST 01:20 From Circle and USDC to Founding KAST 02:33 Why Leave Circle to Start a Company? 04:49 What Problem Is KAST Solving? 05:13 Building a Global Neobank on Stablecoins 06:12 Banking for Global Citizens and Remote Workers 07:54 Can Neobanks Replace Traditional Banks? 08:34 Why Traditional Banking Falls Short 09:18 KAST's Long-Term Vision 10:23 Building a Global Financial Platform 11:18 Why Customers Want Everything in One Place 12:05 Why KAST Is Moving Beyond Stablecoin Messaging 13:13 Are Stablecoins Becoming Boring? 15:00 Why Crypto Needs to Focus on Real Problems 16:47 Building Better Cross-Border Payments 18:00 Personal vs. Business Banking 19:15 Introducing KAST Solo for Freelancers 21:10 How KAST Decides What Products to Build 22:21 What Customers Want From KAST 23:07 Product Development and Customer Feedback 24:32 Why Simplicity Is a Competitive Advantage 26:33 Why Every Extra Click Matters 27:34 Product Challenges and Lessons Learned 30:10 What Will Banking Look Like in the Future? 31:43 Building a Bank for the Next Generation 33:35 Why People Don't Switch Banks 35:25 What Makes KAST Different? 35:49 Advice for Founders and Entrepreneurs Watch below or on X:

NEW: @JanusHenderson is launching JQQQ, a tokenized fund licensed to track the Nasdaq-100, built with @centrifuge on @StellarOrg It's open to eligible non-US professional investors to start, with a $100K minimum.

IS BLACKROCK GOING DEEPER INTO THE JAPANESE MARKET? 💴 Today @BlackRock signed an MOU with SBI Holdings and @StartaleGroup to explore connecting tokenized money market funds with JPYSC, a yen stablecoin. A lot of words there, so what does that actually entail? For now, the companies have basically agreed to study it together on 3 fronts: 1) the tech to connect tokenized MMFs with JPYSC 2) business models/distribution 3) the regulatory side BlackRock Japan signed it too, and its CEO said the goal is to bring BlackRock's global tokenization know-how to Japanese investors. At a high level, BlackRock's other stablecoin ties are mostly in dollars and are further along. It manages the fund holding most of @circle's USDC reserves, BUIDL became tradable against USDC via UniswapX through @Securitize in February and @ethena announced a $100M facility in June to let BUIDL holders move into stablecoins outside market hours. The closest comparison is in Hong Kong, where BlackRock got approval in September for an HKD tokenized MMF that investors will be able to buy and redeem with HKDAP, a Standard Chartered-backed stablecoin. The Japan deal follows the same model in yen, just at a much earlier stage. Nothing too concrete yet, but worth keeping an eye on.

SoFi reported Q3 earnings today, with revenue up 44% year over year to $1.4B Here's what they highlighted on crypto: - Its $25B card program is moving via SoFiUSD stablecoin settlement - It connected to @Kraken parent Payward for 24/7 institutional settlement - SOFIE launched this month, a tokenized deposit paying 4.40% APY - September trades were up 14% from August - About 44% of September traders made their first-ever trade - $BTC led with 39% of trading volume, followed by $XRP at 18% $SOFI is up about 5% pre market