Trump Admin Yanks Quintenz Nomination After Winklevoss Clash

Hi! In today’s edition:

• ❌ Winklevoss block Quintenz’s CFTC bid?

• 🧾 SEC moves to put stocks on blockchain

• 🚨 BNB Chain X hacked, $8K lost, users warned

• 🎙️ Stripe’s Bridge says: stablecoins for everyone

• 🎧 Perps > spot? Bits + Bips debate

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White House Pulls Brian Quintenz's Nomination to Lead CFTC

The Trump administration has officially withdrawn Brian Quintenz's nomination to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Quintenz, previously a CFTC commissioner and head of crypto policy at Andreessen Horowitz, was initially seen as a pro-crypto advocate who had widespread support in the industry.

The withdrawal comes after significant opposition from Gemini co-founders and major Trump donors Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who reportedly lobbied to rescind Quintenz's nomination.

After learning of those efforts, Quintenz had shared a series of private texts between himself and Tyler Winklevoss, in which Winklevoss sought assurances around the handling of Gemini's ongoing regulatory dispute with the CFTC. Quintenz declined to offer them.

“I believe these texts make it clear what they were after from me, and what I refused to promise,” he said.

The CFTC is currently operating with only Acting Chair Caroline Pham.

SEC Pushes Plan to Make Stocks Tradable on Blockchain: Report

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly developing a plan to allow stocks to trade on blockchain platforms similar to crypto assets, according to a Tuesday report from The Information.

An early-stage proposal is said to detail plans that would let investors buy and sell tokenized versions of equities on approved crypto platforms. 

Earlier this week, NovaDius Wealth Management President Nate Geraci noted that the NYSE had met with the SEC’s Crypto Task Force to discuss tokenized equities.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins had previously described tokenization as an “innovation” that the agency should seek to advance and not restrict.

The development comes as platforms like Robinhood and Kraken have started offering tokenized stocks, while Coinbase is seeking a green light to do the same. 

Last month, the Nasdaq also filed for a rule change to permit trading of tokenized stocks and exchange-traded products.

CZ Confirms BNB Chain’s X Account Compromised 

Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) warned users not to click any links posted from BNB Chain’s official X account after confirming that it had been compromised on Tuesday.

The warning came after BNB Chain’s X account posted numerous links to phishing websites, with one malicious link inviting users to vote on a BNB rewards date after teasing a “BNB x Aster airdrop.”

“The hacker posted a bunch of links to phishing websites that ask for Wallet Connect. Do NOT connect your wallet,” wrote CZ.

At 5 am ET, the BNB Chain team posted that they had regained access to the account, noting that the estimated losses were $8,000 and that the victims “will be compensated fully.”

Will Every Company Have Its Own Stablecoin? Yes, Says Stripe's Bridge

Stripe-owned Bridge just launched Open Issuance… could this break the stablecoin duopoly?

Stablecoins are already the backbone of crypto markets. But what happens when every company, from fintechs to banks to e-commerce giants, can launch their own? 

Zach Abrams, co-founder and CEO of Bridge (acquired by Stripe), joins Unchained to announce the launch of Open Issuance, a platform that lets anyone spin up their own stablecoin. 

He explains why this could end the current stablecoin oligopoly, how interoperability will keep fragmentation from becoming chaos, and why the future of money movement may look very different from today.

Bits + Bips: Why Spot Crypto Is Going to Die Out and Perps Take Over

From SWIFT’s big crypto play to Binance’s eye-watering valuation, DAT grifts to DeFi billionaires, and perps v. spot trading, B+B debates the big issues driving crypto’s bull run.

Crypto’s bull run may be far from over, but the battleground is shifting. 

On this week’s Bits + Bips, Bill Barhydt of Abra and Robert Leshner of Superstate join Ram Ahluwalia and Steven Ehrlich to debate: 

• The current state of the markets with a looming government shutdown 

• SWIFT’s move to build on Linea, an Ethereum layer 2

• Hyperliquid vs Aster

• The future of perps vs. spot 

• Why some DATs are starting to look like grifts 

• Whether DeFi billionaires will ultimately eclipse their CeFi predecessors 

Plus: Binance’s and Tether’s valuation, CZ as the entrepreneur of the decade, and why the industry may be entering an era of “perpification.”

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

• 🎯 Robinhood said it is preparing to expand its prediction market products globally as demand grows in the UK and EU, while also grappling with different regional rules that could classify such markets as gambling.

• 📱 House Republicans are investigating nearly a year’s worth of deleted texts from former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, lost during a critical period of crypto crackdowns, raising concerns over government transparency and legal compliance.

• 🏦 The SEC gave a green light to crypto custody by state-chartered trust firms through a no-action letter, marking a shift in tone under Chair Paul Atkins as the agency moves away from previous restrictions championed by Gary Gensler.

• 🛑 European financial regulators proposed banning stablecoins issued in multiple countries over fears they could destabilize markets, raising questions about how major players like Circle and Paxos will operate across borders.

• 📺 Tether teamed up with video platform Rumble to roll out its new USAT token to the U.S. market, aiming to tap Rumble’s 51 million monthly users.

• 💵 Trump-backed World Liberty Financial said it is actively working to tokenize real-world assets such as oil, gas, cotton and timber and pair them with its USD1 stablecoin, which has already grown to $2.7 billion in size and will soon launch on the Aptos blockchain alongside a planned debit card and mobile app.

• 📈 Tether added $1 billion in bitcoin to its reserves, bringing its total BTC stash to $9.7 billion, as the supply of its USDT stablecoin surged to nearly $175 billion and a new U.S. dollar-backed token entered the U.S. market.

• 🇯🇵 Japanese firm Metaplanet bought 5,268 more bitcoin for about $600 million, lifting its total to 30,823 BTC worth $3.6 billion and making it the world’s fourth-largest corporate holder with an unrealized gain of over 7.5%.

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