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.

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.