Tokenization Weekly - No. 85

🚀 Crypto & Blockchain Weekly Digest: July 28 – August 3, 2025

1️⃣ White House Releases Comprehensive Crypto Policy Report, No Bitcoin Reserve Details 📄

- Policy milestone: The White House released its first major 163-page cryptocurrency policy report on July 30, outlining the Trump administration's strategy to make America the "crypto capital of the world". The report provides regulatory clarity but notably omits specific plans for a federal Bitcoin Strategic Reserve.

- Key recommendations: The document calls for SEC and CFTC to use existing authorities to enable digital asset trading at the federal level, establishes tax reform proposals including minimum transaction thresholds for capital gains, and pushes for technology-neutral regulatory frameworks within clear jurisdictional boundaries.

- Regulatory directive: SEC Chairman Paul Atkins confirmed the agency will play a key role in developing federal frameworks and implementing new Congressional legislation, marking a shift from the previous "regulation by enforcement" approach.

2️⃣ Ethereum Celebrates 10th Anniversary with Price Rally to Near $4,000 🎂

- Historic milestone: Ethereum marked its 10th anniversary on July 30, 2025, celebrating a decade since the genesis block launch in 2015. The anniversary featured global livestreams, meet-ups, and the launch of a limited-time free NFT that attracted thousands of participants

- Price surge: ETH climbed near $4,000 during anniversary week, hitting year-to-date peaks with strong institutional adoption and ETF inflows. The price rally reflected growing confidence in Ethereum's long-term blockchain dominance and upcoming Pectra upgrade improvements.

- Perfect uptime: Ethereum celebrated achieving 100% uptime over its 10-year history with no network downtime, reinforcing trust in its infrastructure. The anniversary highlighted Ethereum's evolution from a simple smart contract platform to the backbone of DeFi, NFTs, and decentralized applications.

3️⃣ Hong Kong Launches Stablecoin Licensing with Strict Identity Verification Requirements 🇭🇰

- Regulatory milestone: Hong Kong's comprehensive stablecoin licensing regime officially took effect on August 1, 2025, with applications open until September 30 for first-round consideration. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced that initial stablecoin holders must undergo identity verification due to concerns about money laundering and financial crime risks.

- Verification requirements: Every compliant stablecoin holder's identity must be verified by one of three authorized parties: licensed stablecoin issuers, regulated financial institutions/virtual asset service providers, or reliable third parties. This represents a more cautious approach than initially expected by the market.

- Industry impact: Over 50 firms have expressed interest in applying, but HKMA CEO Eddie Yue warned the market has become "overly excited" and expects fewer than 10 licenses to be approved in the first batch. The first licenses are expected to be issued in early 2026.

4️⃣ Visa Expands Stablecoin Settlement to Include PYUSD, USDG and EURC Across New Blockchains 💳

- Platform expansion: Visa announced support for three additional stablecoins—PayPal USD (PYUSD), Paxos Global Dollar (USDG), and Circle's euro-backed EURC—through a partnership with Paxos. The platform now supports four stablecoins across four blockchains.

- New blockchain support: Visa added Stellar and Avalanche blockchains to its existing Ethereum and Solana networks, creating a multi-chain foundation for global stablecoin settlements. The expansion aims to improve interoperability and reduce friction for wallets and developers.

- Market positioning: With over $225 million in stablecoin volume settled to date, Visa became the first major payments network to settle transactions in stablecoins. The company targets institutions moving money globally, emphasizing that "every institution will need a stablecoin strategy".

5️⃣ Coinbase Plans "Everything Exchange" with Tokenized Stocks and Prediction Markets 📊

- Product expansion: Coinbase announced plans to launch tokenized stocks, prediction markets, derivatives, and early-stage token sales for U.S. users in the coming months. The "everything exchange" strategy positions Coinbase as a comprehensive on-chain trading platform beyond cryptocurrencies.

- Bitcoin treasury growth: CEO Brian Armstrong revealed Coinbase added 2,509 BTC ($290 million) in Q2 2025, bringing total holdings to 11,776 BTC worth $1.26 billion. The company's Bitcoin cost basis increased to $740 million, demonstrating continued institutional accumulation.

- Regulatory timing: The announcement coincided with the SEC launching "Project Crypto" to modernize securities regulations for crypto trading. Coinbase's expansion directly competes with Robinhood, Kraken, and Gemini, all of which offer tokenized equities outside the U.S.