21 Oaks Newsletter — June 2026
On the regulatory side, the playing field is shifting toward clarity: the Bank of England replaces strict holding limits with an issuance cap of GBP 40 billion, the US Senate bars the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC, and the US Treasury is simultaneously pushing for the CLARITY Act and a Bitcoin reserve. In asset management, tokenization is accelerating: Franklin Templeton (BEN) is establishing its own crypto division, BlackRock (BLK) is launching a Bitcoin income ETF, and State Street (STT) as well as Invesco (IVZ) are rolling out GENIUS-compliant reserve funds for stablecoin issuers. In market infrastructure, established players are following suit — JPMorgan (JPM) and Citi (C) are planning a tokenized deposit network, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is forming a joint venture with OKX for tokenized equities, and Mastercard (MA) is expanding its stablecoin settlement. The strategic direction is clear: TradFi is now actively occupying the bridge between regulated capital markets and on-chain infrastructure.
BREAKING
- Bank of England drops its planned individual holding limits for sterling stablecoins and instead sets an issuance cap of GBP 40 billion — clearing the way for a market launch in 2027. Source
MORE
- US Senate passes a housing bill that prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC, enshrining a four-year ban. Source
- US Treasury signals progress in building a Bitcoin reserve and pushes for passage of the CLARITY Act. Source
- Franklin Templeton (BEN) files for two Bitcoin DRIP ETFs that automatically reinvest stock dividends into BTC exposure. Source
- BlackRock (BLK) brings a Bitcoin income ETF to market, offering investors ongoing distributions on BTC exposure. Source
- A banking consortium led by JPMorgan (JPM) and Citi (C) plans to launch a tokenized deposit network in early 2027. Source
- State Street (STT) and Invesco (IVZ) are both launching GENIUS Act-compliant funds that specifically address the reserve market for stablecoin issuers. Source
- Goldman Sachs (GS) wins Apex and Archax as partners for its tokenized real estate fund project. Source
- Mastercard (MA) expands settlement options for 24/7 card payments to include USDC, PYUSD and RLUSD. Source
- Stripe, Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) are among the backers of a soon-to-launch stablecoin platform. Source
- Tether brings a tokenized gold Visa card with XAUT rewards to market. Source
- BlackRock (BLK) integrates Ethena's USDe into its Aladdin risk management platform. Source
- Franklin Templeton (BEN) launches a dedicated crypto division after completing the acquisition of 250 Digital. Source
- Spark and Uniswap are building a stablecoin FX layer on Uniswap v4, starting with a liquidity migration of $150 million. Source
- Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and OKX form a joint venture led by Andrew Cuomo for tokenized equities and market infrastructure. Source
- Kraken introduces perpetual futures for US traders via a CFTC-regulated trading venue. Source
- Coinbase (COIN) unveils a tool that enables AI agents to execute crypto trades and payments on behalf of users. Source
- Cboe (CBOE) launches a prediction market suite with binary option contracts on the S&P 500. Source
- Meta (META) is developing the prediction market app Arena at the direction of Mark Zuckerberg, intended to compete with Polymarket and Kalshi without wagering money. Source
- CME Group sues the CFTC over the approval of perpetual futures in the US, accusing the agency of an abrupt change of course. Source
SPEAKERS' CORNER
- In conversations with market participants, we are frequently asked whether we are currently in an AI or tech bubble. Given the high valuations of many US tech stocks, the question is understandable.
- Our assessment remains unchanged: the long-term megatrend is intact. We continue to observe high developer activity in the blockchain sector as well as increasing investment by established financial institutions in tokenization and distributed ledger technology.
- It is also notable that the previously high correlation between Bitcoin and the iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF has no longer held since the beginning of May. This could favor future reallocations from tech stocks into digital assets.
- We therefore view short-term market corrections not as a risk, but as an opportunity to further build positions in selected companies and protocols.
Translated from the German original, which is the authoritative version. Read the German version
