📉 Stock Markets Tank as Investors Panic Over Tariff Plans. The S&P 500 is down 4.8%, the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 6.0%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 4.0%.
🍵 Matcha DEX Aggregator Launches on Solana. The 0x-built platform now supports trades on both SVM and EVM-compatible blockchains.
💸 Republic Acquires Crypto Trading Firm INX Digital for $55M. The existing INX shareholder has agreed to buy all outstanding shares in a deal that could swell to $60 million.
📸
Daily Market Snapshot: 'Liberation Day' shocked markets and ate up plenty of good will from some of Trump's most ardent supporters as Wall Street suffered its worst day since 2020's COVID panic. Meanwhile, crypto's response felt comparably muted, with assets dipping a few percentage points lower but avoiding the plunges typically seen during cataclysmic days for Wall Street.
Prices as of 6pm ET
24hr
7d
Crypto $2.66T
↘ 1.8%
↘ 7.3%
BTC $82,741
↘ 0.4%
↘ 5.3%
ETH $1,813
↘ 0.1%
↘ 9.7%
. . .
WEEKLY ROLLUP
Trump's Tariff Tumble
What just happened to markets?
This week, Alex Thorn joins us to unpack Trump's shocking tariff announcement that sent markets plunging and investors scrambling.
Circle files for its IPO, revealing surprising financials, while the FDIC gives banks the crypto green light. CoreWeave debuts with a blockbuster IPO, and Eric Trump dives deeper into Bitcoin mining. We cover all this chaos and more in this week’s Weekly Rollup.
The crypto industry has been awfully focused this cycle on how it can make its mark on the future of the internet by churning out new tokens. But amid all of this Crypto Twitter clamoring, there's been a silent revolution in progress toward promoting greater financial access in various corners of the globe.
The last time we explored this topic, I dug into how stablecoins have become lifelines in places like Lebanon, Nigeria, and Turkey—where traditional banking systems are failing and access to financial infrastructure is a privilege, not a guarantee.
Today, let's zoom in on how this transformation is actually playing out on the ground. 👇
Stablecoins as the New Financial System
Stablecoins aren’t just speculative assets – they’re building blocks for a new, inclusive, and internet-native financial system, and they are slowly becoming a larger piece of the overall crypto ecosystem.
The idea is simple: give people programmable dollars they can actually control. But the implications are massive. Here are the core components of this emerging architecture:
1️⃣ Borderless Payments & Remittances
Legacy remittance rails are slow and expensive—often charging 5-10% in fees and taking days to settle. With stablecoins like USDT on TRON, cross-border payments are instant and cost less than a penny. In emerging markets, this is more than convenience—it’s survival.
In countries facing capital controls, inflation, or banking collapse, people are turning to stablecoins to store value. Self-custodied wallets enable anyone to hold and protect their money without relying on a trusted third party.
3️⃣ DeFi-Powered Microfinance
Stablecoins are the gateway to onchain credit. Protocols like Aave, Goldfinch, and Centrifuge allow people to access loans, lend capital, or tap decentralized credit scoring systems—no bank account required. There’s a reason why we see DeFi protocol year-over-year growth increasing worldwide.
Freelancers in places like Kenya, Venezuela, and the Philippines are increasingly getting paid in stablecoins. Platforms like Braintrust and Valora bypass banking infrastructure and deliver global, stable compensation.
This is the unlock. Today, stablecoins are backed by U.S. Treasuries, but most of the yield is kept by issuers. With regulatory clarity, stablecoins could offer interest-bearing accounts to anyone with an internet connection, turning them into globally accessible savings tools. Consumers could earn 4%+ instead of the 0.01% banks offer, and billions could access interest-yielding dollars for the first time.
(For additional learning here, see Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’s recent post on this topic.)
The Path Forward
Stablecoins are no longer a side narrative, they’re the main story. They’ve already settled over $5.28 trillion in value. They’re being used by people, not just protocols. And with features like onchain interest on the horizon, they’re rapidly becoming the foundation of a new kind of banking.
To get there, we need to finish the job:
Enable onchain interest for regulated stablecoins.
Expand on/off ramps to make fiat conversion seamless.
Improve wallet UX for mainstream users.
Build and support the local ecosystems already thriving on these rails.
The result? A permissionless, programmable, borderless financial system – built not in theory, but in real time, by real people, solving real problems.
Experience the next generation of onchain finance with Mantle—where blockchain meets everyday banking. Powered by a $4B treasury, Mantle Network and mETH Protocol, Mantle is launching three innovation pillars: Enhanced Index Fund for optimized crypto exposure, Mantle Banking for blockchain-powered banking, and MantleX for AI-driven innovation. Stay tuned and enter the future of on-chain finance with Mantle.
Not financial or tax advice. Bankless content is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This newsletter is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
Disclosure. From time to time, we may add links in this newsletter to products we use. We may receive a commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless team holds crypto assets.
