JPMorgan is building on Base

Why JPMorgan and Shopify Are Rolling Out New Products on Ethereum Layer 2 Base

On Tuesday, JPMorgan announced that its blockchain unit is launching JPMD, a USD deposit token for institutional clients, on Base. That’s right: the world’s biggest bank by assets and the 12th largest company by market cap is putting real dollars onchain.

JPMD isn’t quite a stablecoin, but it’s close. It represents actual dollar deposits at JPMorgan and will be used by institutional clients for blockchain-based transactions. The bank plans to run a pilot over the coming months and eventually expand it to other user groups and currencies, pending regulatory approval.

To understand what this means for the broader crypto ecosystem (and why JPMorgan chose Base), we brought on Jesse Pollak, head of Base and Coinbase Wallet. In this episode, Jesse explains:

• Why JPMorgan (and Shopify) chose Base

• What deposit tokens are, and how they differ from stablecoins

• Why infrastructure is finally “ready” for institutions

• How Base scaled from 2.5 million to 35 million gas/sec

• What’s next for Coinbase users who’ll have one-tap access to onchain assets

• And Jesse’s response to the critics who said that Coinbase doesn’t give enough credit to Ethereum

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Now, let’s get into this week’s news! In today’s edition:

• 🚀 Tron makes a bold Wall Street move with help from some familiar political names

• 🏛️ Stablecoin bill clears the Senate, and Trump’s not mincing words about what’s next

• ⏳ A key crypto bill gets pushed back, throwing a wrench in summer plans

• 🔥 Hackers strike Iran’s top exchange in a politically charged crypto burn

• ⚔️ Gemini takes the gloves off in a fight with the CFTC over a whistleblower case

• 💥 One token crashes over 80% in hours, and it started with a strange liquidity twist

• 💰 Trump’s media company gets the green light for a multibillion-dollar crypto play

• 🪙 Bitcoin in the treasury? Two major chains spark debate with new proposals

• 😬 A TikTok crypto influencer gets kidnapped — but the story takes a turn

Tron Advances to Nasdaq Listing

Tron founder Justin Sun is preparing to take his crypto platform public through a reverse merger with Nasdaq-listed SRM Entertainment. The $210 million transaction, facilitated by Dominari Securities, whose advisory board includes Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, will transform SRM into Tron Inc., a digital asset treasury firm holding large reserves of TRX tokens. The move comes four months after the SEC agreed to pause its fraud case against Sun and the Tron Foundation, signaling a shift in regulatory tone under the Trump administration.

While speculation circulated about Eric Trump assuming a formal role at the company, he publicly clarified on X, “I don’t have public involvement in this company.”

The launch coincides with a deeper alliance between Sun and the Trump ecosystem. Sun has invested $75 million into Trump-linked crypto firm World Liberty Financial and helped launch its stablecoin, USD1, on the Tron blockchain.

However, Tron faces headwinds. Once favored for its low costs, average fees to send USDT on Tron have surged to over $3, raising concerns in low-income markets. “It’s not feasible,” one stablecoin executive told Unchained, warning that rising fees could drive users toward cheaper chains. Despite this, SRM shares soared over 600 percent following the announcement.

Senate Passes GENIUS Act, Trump Calls for Swift House Approval

The U.S. Senate has passed the GENIUS Act, a landmark bill establishing the first federal regulatory framework for stablecoins, by a 68–30 vote. The legislation requires stablecoin issuers to maintain full reserve backing, undergo monthly audits, and comply with anti-money laundering regulations. It also authorizes a wide range of issuers, including banks, fintechs, and retailers, to offer stablecoins under federal supervision.

The bill’s passage follows months of bipartisan negotiations and marks a rare legislative win on digital assets. However, it was not without controversy. Progressive Democrats, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren, opposed the bill due to concerns over the Trump family’s expanding crypto interests and the lack of anti-corruption clauses targeting public officials.

President Donald Trump responded to the vote by urging the House to act “LIGHTNING FAST,” calling the bill “incredible” and warning against any modifications. “NO DELAYS, NO ADD ONS,” he posted on Truth Social, framing the measure as critical to securing U.S. leadership in digital assets.

The GENIUS Act now heads to the House, where lawmakers face pressure to deliver a clean version of the bill for Trump’s signature before the August recess.

Senate Delays CLARITY Act, Jeopardizing Trump’s Crypto Timeline

The Senate will not vote on the CLARITY Act, a key crypto market structure bill, before Congress breaks for its August recess, dealing a setback to President Trump’s legislative agenda. Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott confirmed that while a hearing will be held next month, the markup is postponed until the fall.

This delay narrows the window for passing both the CLARITY Act and the GENIUS Act — the two centerpiece bills of the Trump administration’s digital asset strategy. The GENIUS Act, which addresses stablecoin regulation, remains on track, having cleared the Senate Banking Committee in March.

A spokesperson for Scott stated, “Chairman Scott and his colleagues remain laser-focused on getting legislation to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets to President Trump’s desk as soon as possible.”

The CLARITY Act has already passed through House committees with bipartisan support, but friction has emerged over provisions banning elected officials from crypto business activities. That disagreement has contributed to the holdup, casting doubt on whether Trump’s hoped-for signing ceremony, once envisioned for August on the South Lawn, will go ahead as planned. For now, a stablecoin-only bill may be the administration’s best shot at a summer crypto victory.

Pro-Israel Hackers Burn $90 Million in Crypto, Crippling Iran’s Nobitex Exchange

The Iran–Israel conflict has reached the crypto arena, with a pro-Israel hacker group claiming responsibility for a $90 million exploit on Nobitex, Iran’s largest crypto exchange. The group, Gonjeshke Darande — also known as Predatory Sparrow — says the attack was not financially motivated but intended as political sabotage.

Funds stolen across Bitcoin, TRX, Dogecoin, and other assets were sent to “vanity” addresses containing phrases like “terrorist” and “NoBiTEX,” making them permanently inaccessible. “It is practically infeasible to find the private key which maps to such a public address,” security researcher Yehor Rudytsia told CoinDesk, confirming the funds were effectively burned.

“This appears to be an act of politically motivated sabotage,” Elliptic co-founder Tom Robinson said in an interview with CoinDesk.

The hackers also leaked Nobitex’s source code and warned that any remaining funds are vulnerable, heightening concerns of further damage. The attack follows a similar breach on Iran’s state-owned Bank Sepah and comes amid escalating physical and cyber confrontations between Iran and Israel. With Nobitex long accused of aiding Iranian sanction evasion, the incident could significantly disrupt Iran’s ability to move capital during an intensifying regional crisis.

Gemini Blasts CFTC Over ‘Lawfare’ Tied to Faulty Whistleblower Case

Gemini has accused the Commodity Futures Trading Commission of weaponizing false whistleblower claims to justify its 2022 lawsuit against the crypto exchange. In a letter to the CFTC Inspector General, Gemini alleged the agency’s enforcement staff pursued the case based on a “lie-riddled” report from former COO Benjamin Small, who was fired in 2017 for allegedly covering up rebate fraud.

The exchange claims the CFTC embraced Small’s claims without scrutiny, launching a multiyear investigation that culminated in a lawsuit over Gemini’s 2017 Bitcoin futures product. 

Although the company settled for $5 million in January without admitting fault, it now argues the case reflects a “toxic” culture within the CFTC. Citing internal criticism from Acting Chair Caroline Pham, Gemini called for a broad overhaul of the enforcement division to prevent politically motivated or career-driven actions against market participants.

ZKJ Token Collapses Over 80% Amid Liquidity Spiral and Onchain Attack

Polyhedra’s native token ZKJ plunged more than 80% over the weekend, following a chain of liquidity shocks triggered by abnormal transactions tied to its partner ecosystem. The crash began after the KOGE/USDT liquidity pool was drained, pushing investors to convert KOGE into ZKJ through a still-active pool, overwhelming ZKJ’s liquidity and sparking a cascade of redemptions.

Polyhedra later attributed the event to a coordinated onchain liquidity attack and large token transfers by market maker Wintermute. “Wintermute’s address deposited over 3.39 million ZKJ tokens to centralized exchanges in the hour surrounding the crash,” the company said.

The interlinked nature of ZKJ and KOGE, which shared incentives under Binance’s Alpha Points program, intensified the sell-off. In response, Binance updated its rules to disqualify trading volume from affected pairs.

Polyhedra acknowledged that its liquidity pools were structurally fragile, contributing to the scale of the collapse.

Trump Media Wins SEC Approval for $2.3B Raise and Bitcoin Treasury

Trump Media & Technology Group has received regulatory clearance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to raise $2.3 billion and begin holding bitcoin on its balance sheet. The approval allows the company to proceed with a resale offering of roughly 85 million shares, including equity and convertible notes, to around 50 investors.

CEO Devin Nunes said the firm plans to integrate bitcoin as a core treasury asset, with custody managed by Crypto.com and Anchorage Digital.

In a parallel filing, the company also submitted paperwork for a dual bitcoin and ethereum spot ETF under the Truth Social brand. The proposed fund would allocate 75% to bitcoin and 25% to ether, with Crypto.com serving as both custodian and liquidity provider. The ETF would join a growing roster of crypto funds alongside giants like BlackRock and Fidelity.

In related news, DT Marks DeFi, a firm linked to President Donald Trump and his family, cut its equity in World Liberty Financial from 60% to 40%, continuing a quiet selloff amid political scrutiny over digital asset involvement and insider access tied to presidential influence.

Polkadot and Cardano Eye Bitcoin Reserves, Stirring Community Debate

Two major blockchain projects, Polkadot and Cardano, are considering converting treasury funds into bitcoin, prompting active debate within their respective communities.

On Polkadot, a proposal to convert 500,000 DOT into Threshold Bitcoin (tBTC) using a year-long dollar-cost averaging strategy has divided members. Proponents argue the move would improve long-term financial resilience and diversify treasury holdings. “This proposal is about risk management and operational continuity, not market timing or speculation,” wrote the pseudonymous proposer, hippiestank. Critics, however, question the logic of selling DOT at historic lows while Bitcoin trades above $100,000.

Meanwhile, Cardano co-founder Charles Hoskinson has suggested converting $100 million in ADA into bitcoin and Cardano-native stablecoins to jumpstart the network’s DeFi economy. “We could… convert some of it into bitcoin to prime bitcoin DeFi,” he said, dismissing concerns over market impact as “inexperienced.”

Fun Bits: Kidnappers Free TikTok Crypto Trader After Discovering He’s Flat Broke

It was a ransom gone wrong, and unintentionally quite funny. A 26-year-old TikTok crypto trader in France was reportedly kidnapped last Friday by four men demanding €50,000 in crypto. But the plan unraveled fast once the captors got a look at his wallet.

After forcing him into a stolen car and allegedly roughing him up, the kidnappers were stunned to find out their target didn’t have the funds. The influencer, who has 40,000 TikTok followers, showed them his account balance, which was apparently emptier than a memecoin whitepaper. He was released the next day.

Watch the weekly recap on YouTube!