NEW: Ripple Applies For US Banking License to Strengthen Its Position in Crypto Market

Ripple Labs is applying for a US national banking license in a major push to build confidence around its stablecoin RLUSD. CEO Brad Garlinghouse confirmed the move on X, stating the company applied with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Ripple also aims to secure a Federal Reserve Master Account through Standard Custody, which it bought in February 2024. This would let Ripple hold RLUSD reserves directly with the Fed, providing stronger protection for stablecoin holders.

Circle also recently applied for a similar license after the US Senate passed the GENIUS Act, which sets standards for stablecoins and puts large issuers under OCC oversight. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire called it a proactive step to align with new dollar-backed token regulations. Anchorage Digital remains the only crypto firm so far with a national bank charter.

Ripple believes federal oversight will strengthen trust in the $RLUSD stablecoin, which is already regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services. Garlinghouse said clear rules from Congress and greater bank support are helping crypto grow responsibly.

Crypto brings private markets to the public

This is a segment from The Breakdown newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.

“Private markets are the new public markets.”

— Matt Levine

Because I was a professional trader for a long time, people have always asked me for investment advice.

At first, I’d try to explain that traders don’t know anything about investing, but then they’d just ask me for trading advice, as if it were the same thing.

(Full disclosure: Traders don’t know much about trading, either. It’s mostly luck.)

Eventually, I stopped trying to explain the difference and started just offering the standard advice instead: Put it all in an US equities index fund. 

For anyone…

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June ADP report shows massive miss in private-sector jobs

This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.

June’s ADP employment report was a remarkable miss. 

Analysts expected the private sector to add 100,000 positions. In reality, private payrolls lost 33,000. 

It’s the first negative print since March 2023, although the figure has declined every month since March 2025. 

Stocks initially opened lower Wednesday but rebounded later on President Trump’s announcement that the US had penned a trade agreement with Vietnam, fueling optimism that other deals will be struck before the July 9 deadline. 

Odds of a 25bps interest rate cut later this month increased to 23.8%, up from…

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LATEST: BlackRock Earns More From Bitcoin ETF Fees Than Its S&P Fund

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has surpassed its own flagship S&P 500 ETF (IVV) in annual fee revenue according to Bloomberg. IBIT which launched only 18 months ago has quickly grown to $75 billion in assets with a 0.25% fee generating about $187.2 million each year. In comparison IVV with $624 billion under management earns $187.1 million thanks to its much lower 0.03% fee.

Investors have poured $52 billion into IBIT since spot Bitcoin ETFs began trading in January 2024 showing strong demand for Bitcoin exposure without opening new crypto accounts. IBIT now controls over 55% of the spot Bitcoin ETF market and saw outflows in just one month. BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF has even climbed into the top 20 most traded funds in the US.

This success highlights a shift in market confidence towards Bitcoin as a store of value with many hedge funds pensions and banks embracing it. Bloomberg data shows total spot Bitcoin ETF flows reached $54 billion with IBIT capturing the lion’s share.

Bloomberg

Investment Holding Company Belgravia Hartford Capital Completes Fourth Bitcoin Acquisition

Today, Belgravia Hartford Capital Inc. (CNSX: BLGV) has announced it has completed its fourth Bitcoin acquisition, purchasing 9.35 BTC for $1 million at an average price of $106,918 per Bitcoin. 

BLGV has purchased 9.35295508 BTC for a total of $1,000,000.00 at $106,918.08 per BTC⁰Total Holdings in the BTC treasury are now 15.74611987 BTC for $105,449.46 per coin for a total of $1,660,094.35 https://t.co/Zdz19YbCP8

— Belgravia Hartford (@BelgraviaBLGV) July 2, 2025

With this purchase, Belgravia’s total Bitcoin holdings now stand at 15.75 BTC, valued at approximately $1.66 million. The company’s average acquisition cost across all purchases is $105,449 per BTC. The…

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What the Sony Walkman and Bitcoin have in common

This is a segment from the Supply Shock newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.

Satoshi stood on the shoulders of giants when they built Bitcoin.

Bitcoin could’ve only arrived in 2009 after the World Wide Web came along in 1989, which was only so accessible due to the advent of the microprocessor in the early 1970s. 

All three innovations are echoes of the telegraph.

I’m here to tell you that Sony’s Walkman may have been just as important.

The release of the first Sony Walkman wasn’t exactly on this day. It was yesterday, in 1979, that Sony began selling the TPS-L2 in Japan — a blue, pocket-sized portable cassette player that became a worldwide…

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LATEST: Belgium’s KBC Bank Will Offer Bitcoin And Ether To Retail Customers

KBC Bank one of Belgium’s largest financial institutions is preparing to open crypto investment to its customers through its Bolero platform according to local outlet L’Echo. Bolero the online investment arm of KBC will roll out Bitcoin and Ether investment options later this year with regulatory approval expected by autumn. A KBC spokesperson confirmed that investors will be able to buy Bitcoin and Ether directly in a secure environment with a focus on education security and regulatory compliance.

The move would make KBC the first major Belgian bank to offer retail crypto services according to the report. Currently most Belgian customers rely on foreign platforms like Binance Coinbase and OKX or fintech apps such as Revolut and N26 to trade cryptocurrencies.

European banks have been moving deeper into crypto with Deutsche Bank and Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe in Germany also reportedly planning to launch their own crypto services in coming months. This trend shows growing confidence in crypto as a legitimate investment class supported by strong interest from retail clients seeking secure regulated options.

 Report

Tech Billionaires Launch Erebor Bank To Serve Bitcoin And Crypto Startups

A group of tech billionaires led by Palmer Luckey, co-founder of military contractor Anduril, are launching a U.S. bank named Erebor to serve startups, including Bitcoin and other crypto businesses, according to a Financial Times report.

The bank would be backed by tech investors including the Founder of Venture Capital Firm 8VC Joe Lonsdale, and the co-founder of Defence Group Palantir Peter Thiel’s, according to people familiar with the matter.

Erebor will be run by the CEO of Aer Compliance Owen Rapaport and co-CEOs Jacob Hirshman, who previously worked as an adviser at Circle, and the co-founder. The senior executive vice-president at New Jersey-based Valley National Bank…

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‘MicroStrategy Of Ethereum’ Approach Gains Popularity As BitDigital Raises $163 Million

Bit Digital Inc. BTBT has successfully raised approximately $163 million through an underwritten share offering, with the full exercise of underwriters’ option enabling the company to launch an Ethereum ETH/USD treasury initiative.

What Happened: The Nasdaq-listed firm issued 86.25 million ordinary shares, securing net proceeds of $162.9 million to acquire and stake ETH as part of its corporate treasury strategy.

This move reflects a growing trend among public companies adopting crypto treasury strategies.

BitMine Immersion Technologies BMNR recently completed a $250 million private placement to establish an ETH treasury, signaling its transition from Bitcoin-only holdings.

Benzinga

‘Crypto markets are in a weird spot’ while public markets heat up

This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.

Any time you have Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi and 6MV’s Mike Dudas on the same stage, you know you’re in for a good (and insightful) time. 

They didn’t disappoint last week when they shared a stage with Selini Capital’s Jordi Alexander and Blockworks Research’s Boccaccio. 

Qureshi noted that right now, crypto markets are in a weird spot. 

“I’ve never seen this place where crypto markets are kind of staid and rational and reasonable, and they’re kind of [sitting on the] sidelines. And public markets are just a bullion, they’re insane. 

“No one understands what’s…

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