Wyoming Launches FRNT Stablecoin Across 7 Blockchains

Hi! In today’s edition:

• 🏛️ Wyoming’s FRNT stablecoin is live on 7 blockchains

• 💳 Bullish just IPO’d — paid in stables only

• ⚡ SoFi taps Lightning for Mexico remittances

• 📉 Crypto wipeout: $537M liquidated

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Wyoming Launches FRNT Stablecoin on Several Blockchains

Wyoming has launched the Frontier Stable Token (FRNT), a landmark Visa-supported stablecoin issued directly by a U.S. state agency, the Wyoming Stable Token Commission, fully backed by U.S. dollars and short-term Treasury bills.

FRNT debuted on Tuesday with multichain compatibility, launching simultaneously across seven major blockchain networks: Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base.

The stablecoin’s interoperability and token issuance are powered by LayerZero, while its custody and reserve management are being handled by Franklin Advisers.

“There’s no clearer signal of where finance is heading than a U.S. state putting the dollar onchain,” said LayerZero in a post on X.

Despite the mainnet launch, FRNT still isn’t publicly available for general use due to “lingering regulatory hurdles,” according to Crypto In America host Eleanor Terrett.

Rob Hadick, partner at Dragonfly, commented on X, “People still do not understand how much trouble the issuer banks are in.”

Players across crypto, fintech, and banking are clamoring to compete on the same turf but from different directions — who will be the winners and losers?

Laura sits down today LIVE to chat about distribution with Phantom’s Brandon Millman and Pudgy Penguins’ Luca Netz. Tune in at 12:30 pm ET/9:30 am PT on YouTube or X!

Bullish Settles $1.15B IPO Entirely in Stablecoins

Crypto exchange Bullish has made history by settling its entire $1.15 billion initial public offering (IPO) using a diverse basket of stablecoins — a first for the U.S. capital markets. 

The IPO, which closed Aug. 14, was primarily conducted on Solana, with traditional investment bank Jefferies serving as the settlement agent. Jefferies handled the minting, conversion and delivery of several U.S. dollar and Euro-denominated stablecoins.

Bullish said the vast majority of IPO proceeds were settled in Circle’s stablecoin USDC, exclusively custodied by Coinbase.

Other stablecoins involved in the transaction included Paxos-issued USDG and PayPal USD (PYUSD), Ripple USD (RLUSD) and World Liberty Financial’s USD1.

“We view stablecoins as one of the most transformative and widespread use cases for digital assets," said Bullish CFO David Bonanno in a statement. 

“Internally, we leverage them for rapid and secure global fund transfers, especially on the Solana network.”

SoFi Launches Lightning Network Remittances

SoFi Technologies is set to become the first U.S. bank to integrate the Bitcoin Lightning Network and Universal Money Address (UMA) for international money transfers.

The Nasdaq-listed firm partnered with Lightspark to enable real-time, low-cost global payments directly from its app. The service will debut with support for remittances to Mexico, with plans to expand to additional countries over time.

Lightspark, founded by ex-PayPal and Meta executive David Marcus, specializes in Bitcoin infrastructure and launched UMA to facilitate seamless, global payments using blockchain’s speed and efficiency.

“Digital banks are embracing UMA because it's fast, cheap, and secure, and it uses the only open payments network that exists, Bitcoin,” said Lightspark CEO David Marcus.

Over $500 Million Liquidated as Crypto Selloff Accelerates 

The crypto market experienced a sharp selloff marked by $537 million in liquidations of leveraged long positions within just 24 hours, according to data from CoinGlass.

A little more than $454 million of those liquidations came from traders betting on a higher price. Bitcoin fell 3% to an intraday low of $112,578 while ether declined 9% to an intraday low of $4,064, before recovering slightly by Wednesday morning.

“Options markets show heightened engagement, with open interest climbing above its extremes and volatility spread surging, reflecting increased hedging and speculative activity,” noted Glassnode in its weekly market pulse newsletter, while cautioning that spot market momentum has softened.

The negative price action comes amid a backdrop of slowing job growth in the U.S., and the anticipation of possible rate cuts that could reshape investor risk appetite quickly.

All eyes will be on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as he takes centre stage at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium this Friday.

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• 🪙 Tether hired Bo Hines, Trump’s former crypto policy adviser, to spearhead its U.S. expansion and prepare a new institution-focused stablecoin launch later this year.

• 🏈📊 Robinhood partnered with Kalshi to launch prediction markets on NFL and NCAA football games, expanding its trading hub into sports wagering ahead of the 2026 season.

• 🪙 Fed Vice Chair Michelle Bowman said central bank staff should be allowed to hold small amounts of crypto to better understand the technology, while warning that outdated legal frameworks risk leaving the U.S. behind in blockchain adoption.

• ⚖️ A U.S. judge ordered EminiFX founder Eddy Alexandre to repay $228.5 million to over 25,000 victims of his fake “AI-powered” crypto scheme, adding to his nine-year prison sentence for defrauding investors in his church and community.

• 🦾 MetaMask integrated TRON into its wallet, extending support beyond Ethereum and Solana to give its 100M+ users direct access to the network that dominates global USDT transfers.

• 🏛️ Senator Tim Scott pushed for a crypto market structure bill by September, accusing fellow Senator Elizabeth Warren of blocking bipartisan support for legislation he says could reshape U.S. digital asset regulation.

• 🏦 Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital will tokenize $300 million across two hedge funds on Avalanche with support from Tokeny and Apex Group, highlighting Wall Street’s growing embrace of blockchain fund structures.

• 🦄 SharpLink bought $601 million worth of ether last week—143,593 ETH at $4,648 each—bringing its holdings to 740,460 coins as it pursues a goal of owning 1% of the total supply.

1. Omid Malekan, Adjunct Professor at Columbia, on “why the banking lobby's arguments against stablecoin issuers paying interest (because it supposedly raises borrowing costs) are flawed”

2. Fundamentals vs. Flows by DBA co-founder Jon Charbonneau