This ban would make big banks happy

Why a U.S. Ban on Yield-Bearing Stablecoins Would Help 'Too Big to Fail' Banks

The Senate may soon pass a ban on interest-bearing stablecoins in the U.S. NYU Business School professor Austin Campbell explains why that would be a “mistake” — one that the U.S. made before.

Yield-bearing stablecoins have had decent growth, now topping $6 billion in supply and paying out nearly $600 million to users, according to data from Stablewatch. But just as these products go mainstream, the U.S. Senate is moving forward with a stablecoin bill that could ban them outright in America.

In this episode, NYU professor and Zero Knowledge Consulting founder Austin Campbell joins Laura to break down:

• Why yield-bearing stablecoins are under fire in Washington

• Why Dems are pushing for the ban and who stands to benefit

• How this bill could give foreign issuers an edge over U.S. ones

• Whether yield-bearing stablecoins are securities under U.S. law

• And what the future holds for projects like Ethena, Sky, and others

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:

• 💰 Circle explores $5B sale while prepping IPO paperwork

• 🕵️ DOJ investigates Coinbase breach tied to insider collusion

• 💥 Cetus hacked for $260M, sending Sui tokens into freefall

• 🇦🇷 Argentina shuts down LIBRA probe amid memecoin fallout

• ⚖️ Genesis sues DCG and Barry Silbert for $3.1B in damages

• 📱 Solana Mobile unveils SKR token and ships second smartphone

• ⚡ Anza proposes Alpenglow, a speed-focused Solana protocol upgrade

• 😶 Ripple CEO ghosted by Senator Lummis after public invite

Circle Weighs $5B Sale as IPO Plans Remain Uncertain

Stablecoin issuer Circle is reportedly exploring a potential $5 billion sale to either Coinbase or Ripple, even as it continues preparations for a public listing. According to Fortune, the discussions are informal and preliminary, with no official offers on the table.

The move follows Circle’s S-1 IPO filing in April, with JPMorgan and Citi valuing the company in the $5 billion range. While Ripple’s reported bid of $4 to $5 billion was rejected last month, insiders say Coinbase remains a more likely suitor due to its close ties with Circle. The two firms co-founded the Centre Consortium and share revenue from interest on USDC reserves.

Coinbase’s agreements also give it certain rights over Circle’s assets in case of insolvency. “Aligning incentives is essential,” Circle General Manager Emmett Hollyer has said previously, highlighting the platform’s structure.

In a statement to the media, Circle maintained, “It is not for sale,” affirming its commitment to the IPO.

DOJ Launches Probe into Coinbase Cyberattack

The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into the recent cyberattack on Coinbase, focusing on the individuals behind the breach rather than the company itself. The probe follows a May 11 ransom demand in which an unidentified actor claimed to have stolen sensitive customer data and internal documents, seeking $20 million in exchange for silence. Coinbase refused the demand and instead offered a $20 million reward for information leading to an arrest.

On Wednesday, Coinbase disclosed new details about the incident in a filing with Maine’s attorney general. The company confirmed that 69,461 customers had their personal and financial data compromised in a breach that began on December 26, 2024, and continued undetected for months. The hacker reportedly bribed overseas customer support agents to access account details including government-issued IDs, addresses, and balances. Coinbase estimates potential costs between $180 million and $400 million for remediation and reimbursements.

Cetus Exploit Drains $260M From Sui Ecosystem

Cetus Protocol, the largest decentralized exchange and liquidity provider on the Sui blockchain, has been hit by a massive exploit resulting in the loss of approximately $260 million. According to onchain analysts, the attacker used spoof tokens and manipulated liquidity pool price curves to withdraw real assets without proper deposits.

This is the seventh largest hack in crypto history, according to Rekt. 

Cetus confirmed the incident on X, stating that its smart contracts were paused “for safety” and that an investigation is ongoing. Preliminary findings indicate the attacker exploited broken reserve calculations and added near-zero liquidity to drain major pools, including those holding SUI and USDC.

The breach has caused a widespread crash in Sui-based tokens. The DEX’s token CETUS dropped over 40%, while Binance founder CZ stated that his team has offered support to the Sui network.

The wallet linked to the exploit reportedly moved significant funds across blockchains, further complicating recovery efforts.

Argentina Shuts Down LIBRA Task Force

Argentine President Javier Milei has officially dissolved the special investigative unit probing the controversial LIBRA memecoin scandal, just months after the token’s dramatic rise and fall drew widespread scrutiny. The decision was formalized through Decree 332/2025, signed by Milei and Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona, and published in the country’s official gazette.

The unit, known as the Unidad de Tareas de Investigación (UTI), was formed to investigate Milei’s ties to LIBRA, a Solana-based memecoin that soared to a $4.5 billion market cap following a February endorsement by the president on social media. The token lost over 97% of its value within hours, resulting in investor losses estimated at $250 million.

The decree states that the unit had “fulfilled its purpose” by submitting findings to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. During the investigation, the UTI collaborated with the central bank and anti-corruption office, examining alleged insider gains exceeding $100 million.

Genesis Sues Parent Company DCG

Genesis Global has filed two major lawsuits against its parent company, Digital Currency Group (DCG), seeking over $3.1 billion in damages. The filings, submitted in Delaware and New York courts, accuse DCG and CEO Barry Silbert of orchestrating fraudulent asset transfers and misleading creditors in the lead-up to Genesis’s bankruptcy in January 2023. Central to the case is a $1.1 billion promissory note issued by DCG in 2022 to cover losses from the collapse of Three Arrows Capital, which Genesis argues lacked real liquidity.

Genesis claims DCG used the firm as a corporate “alter ego,” executing over $1.2 billion in improper transfers, including large volumes of bitcoin, ether, and other crypto assets. “Genesis was recklessly operated, exploited, and then bankrupted,” one complaint alleges.

Meanwhile, other legal challenges are unfolding across the industry. The SEC has charged Unicoin and its executives with a $110 million fraud tied to falsely marketed token rights, and Bancor is suing Uniswap for allegedly infringing on its patented automated market maker technology used in decentralized exchanges.

Moreover, Strategy, its executive chair, Michael Saylor, and other senior suits are being sued by investors alleging that the company misrepresented profitability and risk metrics during its bitcoin accumulation process, citing misleading fair-value accounting practices under new FASB rules.

Solana Mobile Launches SKR Token and Sets Phone Release Date

Solana Mobile has announced the launch of SKR, a native token designed to power and incentivize its growing decentralized mobile ecosystem, alongside the release of its second crypto-focused smartphone, the Seeker, which is set to ship on August 4.

The SKR token will act as the foundation of the Solana Mobile ecosystem’s economic model, offering rewards and governance rights to users, developers, and hardware partners. “It transforms the traditional mobile business model by giving stakeholders actual ownership in the platform,” said Emmett Hollyer, General Manager of Solana Mobile.

The rollout also introduces TEEPIN, a new decentralized architecture that relies on secure hardware in modern smartphones to validate user interactions through cryptography. “We’re unlocking open innovation, platform ownership, and a decentralized future for mobile,” said Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder and CEO of Solana Labs.

Anza Unveils ‘Alpenglow’ to Redefine Solana’s Core Consensus Protocol

Infrastructure firm Anza, a spinout from Solana Labs, has proposed a sweeping upgrade to Solana’s consensus mechanism with the introduction of Alpenglow, a protocol its developers call the most significant change in the network’s history.

Alpenglow aims to replace Solana’s current systems, TowerBFT and the proof-of-history model, with two new components: Votor and Rotor. Votor manages voting and block finalization, while Rotor is designed to disseminate data more efficiently, reducing network latency and improving confirmation speeds.

Anza claims Alpenglow can achieve transaction finality in as little as 150 milliseconds. “This overhaul will make Solana viable for entirely new categories of applications that demand real-time performance,” said Bitwise analyst Danny Nelson.

According to Roger Wattenhofer, one of the researchers behind Alpenglow, the proposal could go live at the end of 2025 or early 2026, but it still needs to go through a governance process.

Fun Bits: Ripple CEO Left on Read by Senator Lummis

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse learned the hard way this week that even crypto moguls can get ghosted. After Senator Cynthia Lummis canceled a planned meeting, Garlinghouse took to X with a public invite for a makeup chat, offering to hash out crypto strategy live on an X Space or onstage at a future event.

“I invite you to join me… to talk about how to make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world,” he posted. The senator’s response? Radio silence.

Crypto Twitter had thoughts. “Weird tweet,” said Chainlink’s Zach Rynes. 

Pierre Rochard, CEO of a Bitcoin bond company, mused that Garlinghouse might have burned bridges with his past jabs at Bitcoin and support for CBDCs. 

For now, the only blockchain Brad’s navigating is the chain of unanswered DMs.

Watch the weekly recap on YouTube!