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- > ‘Project Crypto’ underway in the United States
- > Hundreds of Millions Worth of Ethereum Added to Corporate Strategies
- > Stablecoin frenzy marches on as RLUSD and USDe reach milestones
‘Project Crypto’ underway in the United States
It’s been a big fortnight for digital asset regulation in the US – and crypto’s place in the financial world is slowly starting to become clear.
This week, SEC Chair Paul Atkins took centre stage as he delivered a speech unveiling the United States’ commitment to embracing cryptocurrency. It was an impassioned appearance at the America First Policy Institute on July 31st, with Atkins outlining regulatory priorities and the nation’s desire to foster unique technological innovation.
It was a far cry from the previous administration’s regulation by enforcement stance on crypto.
The speech began with emphasis:
‘The SEC will not stand idly by and watch innovations develop overseas while our capital markets remain stagnant.’ – Paul Atkins, SEC Chair
However, unlike previous crypto-related speeches, which have largely focused on rhetoric and broader goals, Atkins, alongside Commissioner Hester Peirce, detailed key legislative changes to make America the ‘crypto capital of the world’.
The first point of contention was the regulatory debate that rocked crypto between 2020 and 2024 – are digital assets considered a security? This question landed several exchanges and projects (notably XRP) in hot water with the SEC, but the current agency plans to answer this query once and for all:
‘Despite what the SEC has said in the past, most crypto assets are not securities’. – Paul Atkins
Other regulatory shifts highlighted by Atkins’ address included:
- Allowing ‘super apps’ – platforms that support buying and selling crypto, as well as staking and lending, all under the same banner.
- A focus on tokenisation, and bringing traditional assets (such as equities, commodities, property and so on) on-chain, to improve efficiency across markets.
- An ‘innovation exemption’ that will temporarily protect startups and other new businesses from certain rules that the SEC may consider antiquated.
- A better support system for initial coin offerings (ICOs) and airdrops, both for the project and the consumer.
A few days earlier, Atkins also declared that – although previous rules are still in place – the current SEC does not view on-chain staking, or even liquid staking, as ‘within the scope of the federal securities laws.’
This could be a major coup for Ether ETFs, which are awaiting the SEC’s final decision on whether they will allow in-house staking.
Regardless, one thing is clear – the United States is forging a path toward clear crypto frameworks that will forever change the industry. While not everyone is necessarily on board with a regulatory direction, it has nevertheless cemented digital currency as a legitimate player in modern finance.
Hundreds of Millions Worth of Ethereum Added to Corporate Strategies
The market has cooled off following a bumper July, but this has done little to stop big corporations doubling down on their crypto-based Treasury strategies.
At this point, everyone knows Michael Saylor and Strategy’s plan: buy up as much Bitcoin as physically possible.
But several new players have entered the fray, but this time, targeting Ethereum.
Publicly-traded gaming firm SharpLink has quickly cemented itself as the leader in this space, with the company holding over half a million Ethereum on its books, worth close to $2 billion USD.
This figure comes as SharpLink announced another purchase last week, acquiring 83,561 ETH for $264.5 million USD.
This positions SharpLink just behind Bitmine Immersion (833k ETH) as the largest corporate holder of Ethereum.
The Bitcoin mining firm aggressively targeted Ethereum to add to its balance sheet – since June 30, the team has spent nearly $3 billion USD on buying the cryptocurrency. The most recent acquisition came throughout August, when BitMine Immersion purchased another $300m USD of ETH.
After Bitcoin dominated TradFi headlines following its spot ETF approval, Ethereum is now enjoying its time in the sun. A likely benefit of ETH holdings is its staking capacity – however, SharpLink’s CEO claims this is not the only reason for their Ether push.
Rather, the wide world of DeFi potentially awaits those who adopt Ethereum as part of their long-term strategies.
‘Staking is the baseline mechanism for us to generate productive yield on all of our ETH holdings. There are further opportunities to deploy ETH across the DeFi stack in ways that manage our risk while supporting sustainable growth in the Ethereum ecosystem, which we will continue to explore and evaluate. Selective DeFi participation is the natural next step beyond staking.’ – SharpLink co-CEO Joseph Chalom
All up, treasury strategies account for over $10 billion USD worth of ETH.
Stablecoin frenzy marches on as RLUSD and USDe reach milestones
As digital asset regulation kicks in across the globe, a major focus for most governments is improving the accessibility of stablecoins.
While some nations remain unconvinced on the broader crypto sector, adoption for coins pegged to USD and other fiat currencies has steadily grown.
The stablecoin market is largely dominated by two projects – USDT (issued by Tether) and USDC (issued by Circle). Both have market caps exceeding $50 billion USD and sit in the top ten digital assets based on this metric.
However, there may be a couple of new contenders starting to throw their weight around.
Emerging as a major player, Ethena’s USDe has been one of the big stories of the year-to-date. The cryptocurrency has jumped nearly 60% in market cap within July alone, with circulating coins fast approaching the USD $10 billion milestone.
In fact, so successful was USDe’s July, that the stablecoin project generated more new supply than traditional heavyweight USDC.
Meanwhile, XRP has had a bit of a renaissance in 2025, with the coin surpassing $3 USD at certain points and on-chain activity increasing. A large part of its increased engagement has come from the XRP Ledger’s native stablecoin, RLUSD, which was released in late 2024.
Within a month the coin’s circulating supply had ballooned to $70 million USD – but by the halfway point of 2025, this figure had increased by over 800%.
As of August 5th, RLUSD hit $600 million USD in market cap, while experiencing daily trading volume in the tens of millions.
Admittedly, these figures are dwarfed by the current leaders USDC and especially USDT. However, the growth in such a short period is notable, especially given the global momentum stablecoins are currently experiencing. If more institutions and government continue to adopt pegged assets – as they have for much of the year – it is possible they will employ solutions beyond the present market duopoly.
While USDC may be losing a little steam, Tether doesn’t appear to be relinquishing its grip on stablecoin dominance anytime soon. The company’s most recent report showed almost $5 billion USD in profits in Q2 2025, while market share held steady at 61.7%.
Ben Knight
