Crypto Currents: Wall Street quietly embraces Ethereum plumbing

Crypto.com is building a proprietary trading desk to bet against its users, while major financial institutions quietly adopt Ethereum to streamline settlement. Meanwhile, Russia moves to legalize retail crypto trading to circumvent sanctions. Stay up on the crypto news that matters with “Crypto Currents,” daily from The Fly. Join us at 2 PM ET for your essential briefing on the fast-moving world of cryptocurrency on FlyCast radio. Also, subscribe to our YouTube channel for the Crypto Fly By weekly recap.

WALL STREET ADOPTS ETHEREUM FOR BACK-END SETTLEMENT: Major financial institutions are increasingly utilizing the Ethereum blockchain as “financial plumbing” to automate settlements and reduce reconciliation times. According to a report by Cointelegraph,, stablecoin market capitalization surged to $300B following the passage of the GENIUS Act in July 2025. Firms like Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) have integrated stablecoin settlement APIs to facilitate near real-time transactions between merchants and banks. JPMorgan (JPM) has rebranded its blockchain division to Kinexys and launched a money market fund on the public blockchain, while BlackRock (BLK) has seen its BUIDL fund exceed $1B in assets. These institutions are leveraging the network to replace slower, manual reconciliation processes with automated smart contracts, helping to pave the way for the future of finance.

CRYPTO.COM HIRING TRADERS TO BET AGAINST CUSTOMERS: According to a job listing reviewed by Bloomberg, Crypto.com is recruiting a “quant trader” to manage a market-making team that will trade against its own customers on its prediction market exchange. The Singapore-based company is seeking staff to buy and sell financial contracts tied to sports outcomes, mirroring strategies used by competitors like Kalshi and Polymarket. While prediction markets position themselves as neutral platforms, critics argue internal trading teams create conflicts of interest similar to traditional sportsbooks. A company spokesperson stated they do not rely on proprietary trading for revenue and that the internal team has no special access to data. This move comes as sports betting giants like DraftKings (DKNG) and Flutter Entertainment (FLUT) launch their own prediction market products.

RUSSIA MOVES TO LEGALIZE RETAIL CRYPTO TRADING: The Bank of Russia announced in a statement Tuesday that it has prepared a framework to allow retail investors to purchase cryptocurrency, marking a significant regulatory shift. Bloomberg reports that under the new rules, non-qualified investors could buy liquid assets like bitcoin (BTC-USD) and ether (ETH-USD) after passing a knowledge test, with annual transactions capped at 300,000 rubles. While the central bank maintains that crypto is a “high-risk” asset, the move acknowledges the growing use of digital assets for international transfers amid ongoing sanctions. Qualified investors would face fewer restrictions, though anonymous tokens remain prohibited.

TROUBLES IN CORPORATE TREASURIES: ZOOZ Power (ZOOZ) has received a deficiency notice from the Nasdaq after its share price fell below the $1 minimum requirement. The company, which holds over 1,000 bitcoin as a strategic treasury asset, joins KindlyMD (NAKA) in receiving a deficiency notice. ZOOZ Power has seen its stock struggle despite the broader adoption of corporate bitcoin treasuries. The company has until June 2026 to regain compliance and stated it may consider a reverse stock split if necessary. Meanwhile, despite market volatility, Strategy (MSTR) continued its accumulation strategy into December, adding roughly $980M in bitcoin to its balance sheet.

SOUTH KOREAN CARD GIANT TESTS STABLECOIN PAYMENTS: South Korean payments processor BC Card, a subsidiary of KT Corp (KT), has completed a stablecoin payment pilot for foreign users, Cointelegraph reports. In related adoption news, PayPal (PYPL) is now allowing U.S. content creators on YouTube to receive payouts in its dollar-pegged stablecoin, further integrating digital assets into the gig economy.

PRICE ACTION: As of time of writing, bitcoin was trading at $87,366.05, while ether was trading at $2,925.67, according to price data from CoinDesk.