Weekly Recap: CFTC Approves First US-Regulated Bitcoin Perp

TradFi is embracing DeFi-native infrastructure. Friday closed with the CFTC clearing the first US-regulated bitcoin perpetual, while ICE chairman Jeffrey Sprecher called Hyperliquid 'bigger than Nasdaq' only two weeks after his exchange was lobbying for a crackdown.

Outside capital markets, and in another sign that regulatory certainty is opening doors for digital assets, SoFi launched its bank-issued stablecoin to its 14.7 million customers on Wednesday.

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Ethereum's decentralised staking protocol just got a big upgrade! Saturn One brings 4 ETH validators, an RPL fee switch, and more. Stake your ETH with Rocket Pool today.

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🟢 LIVE: Is it Over for DeFi?? w/ Kraken, Veda, Sentora

Camila Russo sits with Jonathan Gruener, co-director at Kraken; Sun, co-founder and CEO of Veda; and Anthony de Martino, co-founder and CEO of Sentora — the team behind the new Kraken Bitcoin Vault — on whether the recent string of exploits has changed what institutional DeFi exposure looks like.

Top Stories This Week

CFTC Approves First US-Regulated Bitcoin Perpetual Futures

The CFTC approved Kalshi's BTCPERP — the first bitcoin perpetual on a registered US exchange — and cleared Coinbase to route customers to its offshore Deribit affiliate. Same day, ICE chairman Jeffrey Sprecher called Hyperliquid 'bigger than Nasdaq,' two weeks after his own exchange was lobbying regulators to crack down on the venue. The US perpetual-futures regime opened in a hurry.

SoFi Brings Its Bank-Issued Stablecoin to 14.7 Million Members

SoFi opened SoFiUSD to its 14.7 million app members, the first US bank-issued stablecoin inside a consumer banking interface. The launch was paired with Mastercard's New York BitLicense approval the same morning, and Cash App's stablecoin rollout to its ~50 million users. Three consumer fintech rails moved stablecoin work from infrastructure to retail distribution in one news cycle.

Crypto Liquidations Near $1 Billion in 24 Hours as Leverage Unwinds

Crypto markets unwound nearly $934 million in leveraged positions over 24 hours, the year's largest single-day perp wipeout. The cascade landed against a string of recent exploits totalling roughly $1.1 billion lost to DeFi hacks over the past twelve months. Spot prices held within trend; the damage was confined to leverage.

Ethereum's ETH Gains in Line with Market Following Vitalik Buterin's EF Vision Post

Vitalik Buterin published a vision post for the Ethereum Foundation arguing for a narrower mandate centered on protocol research, core dev, and public goods — the so-called CROPS framework. The post landed amid eight senior EF departures this year and rising delegate pressure for a more commercial entity. ETH traded up roughly 2% on the day, in line with broader market moves.

Ethereum Staking Queue Reaches 3.4M ETH as Exit Backlog Drops to 64 ETH

Ethereum's validator entry queue swelled to 3.39 million ETH against just 64 ETH in the exit queue — a 53,000-to-1 lopsided reading that marked the staking market's most asymmetric demand-vs-exit ratio on record. Validators queued during a spot drawdown, which made the signal a yield-conviction one, not a price-chasing one.

Other Stories

ICE Chief Sprecher Calls Hyperliquid 'Bigger Than Nasdaq' as HYPE Run Draws TradFi Notice — the founder of the company that owns the New York Stock Exchange publicly called the decentralized exchange 'bigger than Nasdaq' — even as ICE continues pressing US regulators on how to police perpetuals.

Mastercard Wins NY BitLicense, Deepening Push Into Stablecoin Settlement — the payments giant secured one of the most demanding US state-level crypto licenses, formalizing settlement infrastructure built on the back of March's $1.8 billion BVNK acquisition.

Base Launches Azul Upgrade, Takes Step Toward Stage 2 Decentralization — the largest Coinbase-incubated L2 activated TEE+ZK multiproofs on mainnet, cutting empty blocks 99% and advancing toward Stage 2 decentralization.

MicroStrategy Pivots From Bitcoin, Buys Bonds in Unexpected Move — Michael Saylor's company disclosed bond purchases this week despite holding 843,738 BTC, marking the loudest 'never sell' Bitcoin treasury operator's first diversification into fixed income.

Ethereum Foundation's Kohaku Initiative Launches Privacy SDK for Wallet Integration — the EF-backed Kohaku Initiative released an SDK letting wallets natively integrate shielded pool protocols like Railgun and Tornado Cash via ERC-4337 mempool relaying.

Trending on The Defiant

• Crypto Liquidations Near $1 Billion in 24 Hours as Leverage Unwinds
• OpenZeppelin Pushes Back After Ex-CTO Declares All of DeFi Unsafe
• Base Launches Azul Upgrade, Takes Step Toward Stage 2 Decentralization
• Mastercard Wins NY BitLicense, Deepening Push Into Stablecoin Settlement
• SoFi Brings Its Bank-Issued Stablecoin to 14.7 Million Members

That's it for today — have a great weekend! If you enjoyed this newsletter, tell your friends!