Here’s what you’ll find in today’s edition:

• How a yield-bearing settlement network reflects a broader tokenization trend.   

• Markets are up on hopes that a US deal with China isn’t off the table. 

• Trump is still on his anti-Powell tirade. Here’s how the world is reacting.

Settlement…and yield

Because the industry’s been talking a lot about the use cases for stablecoins and onchain RWAs, it’s worth highlighting a soon-to-launch settlement network for institutions.

Called Lynq, the network will be powered by the Arca Institutional US Treasury Fund (TFND). That has a portfolio of short-term, yield-bearing US Treasurys and issues its shares via the Avalanche Blockchain. 

TFND requires AML/KYC on subscribers, and all client funds are held with US Bank.

Speaking of partners, Lynq is set to use tZERO’s special purpose broker-dealer license and Tassat’s real-time blockchain infrastructure. (Since launching in 2017, Tassat has settled more than $2.5 trillion for institutions). 

B2C2, Galaxy and Wintermute will “ensure critical mass by onboarding their top clients early, expanding adoption and establishing initial liquidity,” Arca Labs president Jerald David told me.

Arca Labs has been consulting with prime brokers, market makers, exchanges and stablecoin issuers for more than a year, David added. The goal is for funds to flow to and from exchanges to fund accounts and trades. And for stablecoin issuers to create and redeem for their users on Lynq. 

In Wintermute managing director Katryna Hanush’s words: Lynq “streamlines onboarding, subscription and redemption, offering counterparties a safer and more efficient way to transact through settlement rails that integrate regulatory clarity, real-time operations and yield.” 

That last word — yield — is important.

Taking a step back, stablecoins (aka tokenized cash) have grown to be a roughly $230 billion market. Agora co-founder Nick van Eck said at last week’s TokenizeThis conference that he expects USD-denominated stablecoins to “nuke” most non-G20 country currencies over the next 20 years as more people adopt blockchain-based finance. 

Van Eck projects that stablecoins could grow to a $2 trillion market cap in five years. 

Meanwhile, tokenized money market funds are a smaller — but growing — segment, with BlackRock’s BUIDL fund recently passing $2 billion in AUM on its own. 

Industry watchers expect this category to grow in tandem with stablecoins — with the former serving as a cash savings vehicle and the latter being an instrument for payments.

Stablecoin issuer Circle noted the demand to move between cash and yield when it acquired Hashnote in January.   

Lynq uses Tassat’s “yield in transit” functionality, meaning institutions can receive interest based on intraday fund holdings, David explained. Fund interest is sent to Lynq users in five-second increments and distributed daily. 

It remains to be seen whether Lynq can fulfill what it hopes to do. David labeled that goal, in 10 years, as aiming to “facilitate seamless interoperability between traditional and decentralized finance” via tokenized securities settlement, permissioned liquidity pools and who knows what else.

First it has to launch. Then we’ll see what sort of traction it gets and who else seeks to follow suit (and improve upon it).  

— Ben Strack

Markets Don’t Build. Builders Do.

Permissionless IV isn’t about momentum trades or macro predictions — it's about what’s already being shipped by the people rewriting crypto’s foundation.

Infra. DeFi. Consumer apps. Modular design.
This is where the next cycle gets built.

Hear from:

• Hayden Adams (Uniswap) on what it takes to build at scale.

• Jesse Pollak (Base) on bringing crypto to millions — without compromising what matters.

• Kain Warwick (Infinex) on where DeFi goes next.

• Mert Mumtaz (Helius) on what real infra looks like under pressure.

📅 June 24–26 | Brooklyn, NY

The number of days (by my count) it had been since BTC was trading above the $91,000 mark. It hovered around that level on March 6, and again earlier today. 

As of 1:30 pm ET, BTC was at roughly $91,250 — up 4% in the past 24 hours, and up 7.8% from a week ago.

Casey’s section below sheds light on what might have contributed to that surge.

US equities are once again trading on a dream. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite indexes hit intraday highs Tuesday after Bloomberg — citing unnamed sources — reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US/China trade war is unsustainable. While he expects de-escalation in the future, he said negotiations have not yet started. 

Bessent apparently made the comment at an investor event in Washington closed to the public and media. 

The Dow had gained more than 1,000 points midway through Tuesday’s session while the Nasdaq Composite rose as much as 3.3%. 

The moves once again show just how desperate investors are for signs that the White House is inking deals with trade partners. As of 2 pm ET, the Trump administration had not commented on Bessent’s reported remarks.

In a report published Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund lowered its global growth forecast to 2.8% (from 3%) in 2025 and 2026. Analysts cited “epistemic uncertainty and policy unpredictability,” adding that the US effective tariff rate is now higher than it was during the Great Depression.

— Casey Wagner

President Trump is still going after Fed Chair Powell. In a Monday Truth Social post, Trump reiterated that he wants to see lower interest rates now, adding that Powell is “a major loser.” 

Trump is hardly the first president to voice frustrations with the Fed and its leadership. But he is the only sitting president in modern history who has publicly threatened to fire the chair. 

Both Joe Biden and Barack Obama — during their respective terms — said they were disheartened by slow progress on inflation, but each also stressed their respect for the central bank’s independence. 

Of course, there’s the question of whether or not the president has the authority to remove a sitting Fed chair. Given what we’ve already seen from this administration (remember what happened at the FTC?), I’d argue fleshing out the legal argument is perhaps moot. 

Trump has shown us that he’ll usually do what he wants. Should the courts uphold his decision to remove FTC commissioners, Powell’s job is even more at risk. 

ECB President Christine Lagarde said during a Tuesday morning CNBC appearance that she hopes the Fed maintains its independence. Though she, too, has faced political pressures. When asked about what impact firing Powell could have, she declined to speculate. 

"I'm not going to comment on market reaction to hypotheticals that I hope are just not on the table,” Lagarde said. 

One argument is that growing tensions between the Fed and executive branch could boost the price of bitcoin. I’d have to disagree, though. The Fed’s independence is a key stabilizing factor of the economy, and removing this would surely damage risk assets. For now at least, bitcoin still trades like a risk asset. 

I’ll go ahead and apologize now to any bitcoin maximalists I may have offended.

— Casey Wagner

• In case you missed it, Paul Atkins was sworn into office Monday as the SEC’s 34th chair. The SEC had been plenty active (as it relates to crypto) in recent months under acting chair Mark Uyeda.

• Like BTC, ether’s price has seen a substantial increase in the past 24 hours, rising 7.5%. It hovered around $1,700 at 1:30 pm ET. 

• US spot bitcoin ETFs attracted $381 million of net inflows on Monday, according to Farside Investors data — the highest total since the category reeled in $588 million on Jan. 30.