Crypto Currents: Ripple taps BNY Mellon as Treasury tightens mixer rules

As Bitcoin navigates market crosscurrents and the broader crypto landscape undergoes rapid evolution, legal, institutional, and technological developments are constantly reshaping the financial world. Stay up on the crypto news that matters with “Crypto Currents,” daily from The Fly. Join us 2PM daily for your essential briefing on the fast-moving world of cryptocurrency on FlyCast radio, available to subscribers at TheFly.com. Also, subscribe to our YouTube channel for the Crypto Fly By weekly recap.

TRADITIONAL FINANCE AND CRYPTO CONVERGE: In one of the most significant tie-ups between traditional finance and the digital asset industry this year, Ripple announced it has selected BNY Mellon (BK) as the primary custodian for its new U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin Ripple USD (RLUSD). As the nation’s oldest bank, BNY Mellon will hold the U.S. dollar cash and Treasury bill reserves that collateralize the stablecoin, a move designed to bring institutional-grade trust and security to the project. The news comes as Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, prepares to testify before a U.S. Senate committee to discuss the future of digital asset market structure, placing the company at the center of both institutional adoption and regulatory debate.

INSTITUTIONS AND INFLUENCERS MAKE BOLD MOVES: While the regulatory environment intensifies, prominent investors and corporations are deepening their commitments to digital assets. In a major headline, real estate mogul Grant Cardone announced he has diversified a significant, nine-figure portion of his portfolio from real estate into Bitcoin (BTC). Citing the asset’s scarcity and resilience, the move represents a major vote of confidence. In another significant endorsement for the Bitcoin network, Jack Dorsey’s Block (XYZ) officially launched its ‘Bitchat’ protocol, a decentralized, censorship-resistant social media platform built directly on Bitcoin and designed to integrate with the company’s Bitkey wallet. Corporate adoption of other assets also continues, as SharpLink Gaming (SBET) saw its stock jump 26% after acquiring nearly 7,700 Ethereum (ETH), bringing its total holdings to a value of approximately $533M.

REGULATION AND PLATFORM EVOLUTION: The U.S. Treasury Department signaled a tougher stance on illicit crypto activities, with its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, issuing stricter guidance for cryptocurrency mixers. A mixer is a service that obscures the trail of transactions on a blockchain by pooling funds from many users and redistributing them, making it difficult to trace the original source of the coins, making it a prime vehicle for money laundering. The new rules require all U.S.-based crypto service providers to implement enhanced monitoring and reporting for funds routed through such services. On the technology front, NFT marketplace OpenSea acquired token trading platform Rally to bolster its platform’s capabilities. Elsewhere, BNB Chain (BNB) has rolled out its “Fast Finality” upgrade, aiming to reduce transaction confirmation times to under four seconds and significantly boost performance for its ecosystem of decentralized applications.

PRICE ACTION: As of the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $108,976.26, while Ethereum (ETH) was trading at $2,651.45.