Eterna's Insights - June 2025

Circle’s Blockbuster IPO Signals a New Era for Regulated Stablecoins

Circle, the issuer of USDC, made its public market debut on the New York Stock Exchange in early June 2025 under the ticker CRCL, raising approximately $1.1 billion. The IPO marked a watershed moment for the crypto industry, with Circle's stock surging 168% on its first day of trading, driven by investor optimism around the future of regulated stablecoins. That momentum only intensified throughout the month, buoyed by the passage of the Genius Act, which provided long-awaited regulatory clarity for dollar-backed digital assets and triggered a broader wave of institutional interest.

By the end of June, Circle’s market capitalization had climbed to the $40–50 billion range, briefly nearing parity with the total value of USDC in circulation. The sustained rally reflected growing conviction in Circle’s role as critical infrastructure for tokenized money, with investors increasingly viewing it as a core proxy for stablecoin exposure. The IPO not only validated Circle’s regulatory-first approach, but also cemented its position at the heart of the digital financial system - one where compliant, programmable dollars underpin a new generation of financial applications.

Robinhood and Kraken Double Down on Tokenization with RWA Push

Last week at EthCC, Robinhood unveiled its boldest move yet in crypto infrastructure: Robinhood Chain, an EVM-compatible Layer 2 built on the Arbitrum Orbit stack, and the launch of tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs in Europe. The new system allows users to trade traditional equities through the Robinhood app while minting tokenized wrappers of those assets onchain - enabling transfers, DeFi interaction, and self-custody previously impossible with legacy rails. The underlying securities remain held by a U.S. broker-dealer, with token mints and burns mapped to each transaction. Controversially, Robinhood is also offering European users exposure to tokens tied to private companies like OpenAI and SpaceX, despite public distancing from the companies themselves. Robinhood’s Layer 2 and token engine underscore its ambition to make crypto infrastructure core to global finance, leveraging its consumer distribution across staking, perpetuals, and 24/5 tokenized trading.

Kraken is similarly deepening its RWA presence, joining the xStocks Alliance alongside Backed Finance to enable trading of over 55 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs - accessible both on its exchange and across the Solana DeFi ecosystem. Kraken is also partnering with Fire Labs on a regulated, bank-issued stablecoin, integrating with its Kraken Embed API to help traditional institutions bridge into digital assets. These moves signal a growing alignment between large fintechs and the tokenization thesis. Notably, the Eterna Capital team attended both Permissionless in Brooklyn and EthCC in Cannes in the last two weeks, witnessing firsthand the growing institutional momentum - and offering us the opportunity to directly engage with the top-tier firms shaping the next chapter of digital finance.

Corporate Crypto Treasuries Surge Amid Renewed Leverage Bets

The corporate crypto treasury wave intensified in June, with companies continuing to raise capital through convertible bonds and equity offerings to amass crypto assets. CleanSpark, now the seventh-largest public Bitcoin holder, added to its 12,608 BTC while becoming the first miner to surpass 50 EH/s in hashrate. Meanwhile, firms like Genius Group and The Blockchain Group accelerated Bitcoin purchases using aggressive financing strategies, mirroring the playbook of Strategy. New entrants such as ProCap Financial, led by Anthony Pompliano, announced a $1 billion SPAC merger aimed at building a large-scale BTC treasury operation, complete with lending and derivatives arms.

The model is also expanding beyond Bitcoin. DDC Enterprise added 230 BTC in June, while others like VivoPower, Webus, and SharpLink began building treasuries backed by XRP and ETH, signaling growing diversification. While concern about rising leverage, debt maturity timelines, and increasingly risky strategies is warranted, we currently see limited systemic risk - and even in stress scenarios, firms are likely to pursue traditional financing options before resorting to treasury asset sales.

Washington Momentum Spurs Institutional Stablecoin Race

In June, the U.S. Senate passed the GENIUS Act with broad bipartisan support, marking the most significant federal action yet on stablecoin regulation. The bill outlines a comprehensive framework for issuance, governance, and supervision of fiat-backed stablecoins - mandating full reserves in high-quality liquid assets and establishing dual oversight by the Federal Reserve and state regulators. As the bill advances to the House, where efforts to merge it with the broader CLARITY Act face opposition from President Trump, market participants are already treating GENIUS as a turning point for compliance-aligned digital dollars. If passed independently, it could be the first major piece of crypto legislation signed into law by August.

Amid this regulatory tailwind, Fiserv announced the launch of FIUSD, a new USD-backed stablecoin designed for banks, merchants, and fintechs, with support from partners like PayPal and Mastercard. Meanwhile, JPMorgan is rumored to be preparing a new Ethereum-based stablecoin for commercial use - signaling renewed competitive pressure among legacy institutions. Reports also surfaced of a potential consortium of large U.S. banks exploring a jointly issued stablecoin to challenge crypto-native incumbents. With policy clarity accelerating and traditional finance aggressively entering the market, stablecoins are rapidly evolving from crypto infrastructure into mainstream financial plumbing.

Prediction Markets Achieve Unicorn Status Amid Geopolitical Surge

Prediction markets are cementing their place as real-time indicators of global sentiment, with onchain platform Polymarket returning to the geopolitical spotlight amid rising U.S.-Iran tensions last month. Its “U.S. military action against Iran before July?” contract attracted $18.15 million in volume across 25,819 bets and 7,640 participants. While smaller, the earlier “Iran missile strike on Israel” market provided an accurate early signal ahead of real-world escalation, reinforcing the value of these markets during high-stakes uncertainty. Late in June, both Polymarket and its fiat-based rival Kalshi also showed sharp responsiveness to the New York City mayoral primary, with odds on Zohran Mamdani’s victory shifting rapidly ahead of mainstream coverage - illustrating their core thesis: these markets often surface emerging consensus faster than traditional media or polls.

The space is now attracting serious capital. Polymarket is finalizing a $200 million raise at a $1 billion+ valuation, led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund. Kalshi followed with a $185 million round at a $2 billion valuation, led by Paradigm. The scale of these raises signals growing investor conviction in prediction markets as a core financial primitive. Kalshi operates under full CFTC oversight, offering legally tradable event contracts in the U.S., while Polymarket - despite geofencing U.S. users under a CFTC settlement - remains dominant globally via stablecoins and smart contracts. As market volumes climb and predictive accuracy continues to impress, these platforms are evolving from niche curiosities into vital infrastructure for forecasting politics, economics, and global events.

Eterna Portfolio Company Spotlight:

Securitize Accelerates RWA Leadership with Record Issuance and Exchange Integration

In June 2025, Securitize achieved a record-breaking month with over $500 million in tokenized U.S. Treasuries issued on-chain, highlighting accelerating institutional demand for real-world assets (RWAs). The platform continued to expand its footprint through enhanced investor onboarding, streamlined compliance workflows, and product upgrades that improved scalability and user experience. Institutional participation rose significantly, supported by growing trust in Securitize as the leading infrastructure for compliant asset tokenization. Notably, BlackRock’s BUIDL U.S. Treasury fund issued via Securitize was approved as collateral on major exchanges including Crypto.com and Deribit, marking a major milestone in the integration of tokenized RWAs into broader crypto markets. These developments reflect Securitize’s growing role in bridging traditional finance and decentralized markets, as tokenized assets move from early experimentation toward mainstream adoption.