Today’s edition unpacks the continued convergence of crypto and TradFi. Plus, we take a look at how New York City Mayor Eric Adams seems to be taking a page out of Donald Trump’s crypto playbook. Here goes:

Convergence catch-up

As many in the US are enjoying a holiday weekend, let’s take a moment to catch our breath. 

Last week featured a couple milestones. While a lot of crypto folk have long dismissed JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and his comments on the space (i.e. that bitcoin is “worthless” and a “pet rock”), it was hard to ignore his semi-change of heart. 

I say “semi” because Dimon still doesn’t like bitcoin — and actually likened buying it to smoking. But the bank is set to let clients access BTC, as he noted at JPMorgan’s May 19 Investor Day: “I defend your right to buy bitcoin.”

These remarks come amid a broader trend of traditional financial giants seeking more entry points into the crypto space. I highlight a number of those efforts in this story. That piece also focuses on an exception: Vanguard, which has gone as far as blocking crypto ETFs from trading on its platform.

Industry watchers told me the world’s second-largest asset manager will ultimately cave.

“They say everyone gets the bitcoin price they deserve,” Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said. “I’d say every brokerage gets the bitcoin entry point it deserves, too. But make no mistake, the day is coming.”

It was fitting that Dimon’s surrender of sorts preceded bitcoin hitting a new all-time high of around $112,000 last week.

Swan Bitcoin CIO Ben Werkman said it was “tariff scare” that prompted bitcoin’s pivot from a risk-on asset to a risk-off play.  

“So now when we’re seeing these flights to safety, bitcoin’s finding a place in those transactions,” he told me. “And people are looking at what’s going to have to come in the US for them to stabilize around rates…and I think they’re starting to see the path to easing opening back up again.”  

It’s also hard to ignore the uptick in companies buying bitcoin in recent months. Michael Saylor-led Strategy’s pile totaled 576,230 BTC as of last week. Metaplanet has nearly doubled its bitcoin stack in Q2, to 7,800 BTC. 

Nasdaq-listed DigiAsia’s board of directors last week approved a plan to create a bitcoin treasury reserve, and the company said it was looking to raise $100 million to execute on that.

Werkman was recently named a board member of Strive Asset Management, a firm co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy that revealed its aim earlier this month to “maximize bitcoin exposure per share over the long run.” 

“The type of foundational buying pressure from long-only participants — people that aren’t sellers — is really growing, so that’s building a foundational bid underneath bitcoin,” Werkman explained. (My full Q&A with Werkman will hit blockworks.co this week).

And beyond bitcoin, the Wall Street Journal reported that several large commercial banks are considering issuing a joint stablecoin. 

This jibes with Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan’s February remarks about entering that business upon regulatory clarity. Not to mention the stablecoin growth projections we’ve been hearing.  

Those in the US best have a restful Memorial Day night, as we don’t expect news to slow down on any of these fronts.

— Ben Strack

Eric Adams is pulling a Donald Trump. Or he’s trying to, at least. That was my takeaway from the inaugural NYC Crypto Summit at Gracie Mansion last week. 

Adams — New York’s controversial, no-longer-federally-indicted mayor — hasn’t talked about crypto much since taking office in 2022.

Adams promised on the campaign trail to take his first three paychecks in bitcoin. When the city’s Treasury department couldn’t make this happen, he opted to buy BTC and ETH himself on payday.

For the last several years, the War on Rats has been the Adams administration’s main focus. But last month, city officials announced the Crypto Summit — a press conference followed by private roundtable discussions with industry executives and city officials. 

The purpose, Adams said, was to come up with new ways the city can leverage crypto and blockchain technology to create jobs, improve operations and expand access to financial services. The event was complete with speeches from Tether co-founder Brock Pierce and Bitcoin Center creator Nick Spanos. There was also an open bar starting at 2 pm. 

Spanos (and most of the people at the roundtable, I’m told) is primarily interested in abolishing the BitLicense, the Department of Financial Services-issued business license digital asset companies need to operate in the state. The fact that the mayor of New York City does not have the authority to nix the BitLicense was not mentioned. 

After a couple hours of roundtable discussion, the party moved outside. Hundreds of guests donning attire falling somewhere between “boardroom and ballroom,” per an attendee I spoke with, gathered under a tent in Gracie Mansion’s backyard for a post-summit reception. Several other attendees told me they only came to get a look inside the famous house. 

It doesn’t take an experienced political strategist to gather that Adams is probably looking for money. His first words to the crowd on Tuesday were literally “I smell money.” 

He’s running for re-election — this time as an independent — and his competition already has amassed big budgets. We all saw what crypto industry donations did for Trump’s campaign. I imagine Adams has been taking notes. 

That doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t or can’t see New York crypto policy evolve, and who knows what the new advisory council will come up with. But for now, I’m not holding my breath.

— Casey Wagner