How Companies Use Cryptocurrency Today

Wall Street firms are doubling down on digital assets. Last week's Q2 2025 earnings season exposed a clear divide: while some major banks and firms were relatively silent on digital assets, others positioned themselves as crypto pioneers. Recent legislative developments created more regulatory clarity and running room for financial institutions to explore institutionalizing digital assets, and the market leaders have been front running investments and partnerships and are wasting no time staking leadership claims in the space. Which firms are positioning, partnering, and investing to establish a lead? BlackRock has positioned itself as a leader in shaping the future of finance, with increasing involvement in digital assets, tokenization, and managing stablecoin reserves. Beyond the earnings rhetoric, what is BlackRock doing to drive this innovation? BlackRock's business relationships reveal the depth of their digital asset strategy. Their partnerships span cryptocurrency custody (Coinbase, Anchorage Digital), stablecoin backing (Ethena), and blockchain infrastructure (Injective). They've also invested in digital asset trading platforms like Flowdesk and fintech innovators including Upvest, Texas Stock Exchange, and Sokin; creating a comprehensive ecosystem for digital asset integration across trading, custody, and tokenization. Insights on other major players' digital assets strategies from CB Insights' Earnings Analyst agent insights on their Q2 earnings calls: → Citigroup emerged as another aggressive adopter, with CEO Jane Fraser expressing "high confidence and enthusiasm" about Citi Token Services' ability to provide "multi-asset, multi-bank, cross-border, always-on solutions without needing to partner with other banks." → BNY Mellon and State Street focused heavily on stablecoin infrastructure, with BNY serving as "reserve custodian for Société Générale's first USD stablecoin in Europe" and "primary custodian for Ripple's US stablecoin reserves." State Street's CEO highlighted how "tokenization of money market funds enables uses of these assets in a different way than originally anticipated." CB Insights' Earnings Analyst agent help identify these strategic pivots immediately after calls. Want insights analysis on the major tech firms announcing earnings this week? Comment "Mag7" below for free access to CB Insights' Earnings Analyst breakdown of each Mag7 Q2 2025 quarter and where they are headed.

💡 The 2025 Stablecoin Playbook Stablecoins have become a critical part of the global financial system. In 2025, they’re powering everything from international payroll to consumer payments, remittances, savings tools, and enterprise liquidity management. 🞕 Define Stablecoins Stablecoins are blockchain-based digital tokens designed to maintain a stable value, typically backed one-to-one by fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar or euro. Unlike cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, which are volatile and speculative, stablecoins are intended for reliable use in payments, settlement, and value storage. 🞕 #Stablecoin and #CBDC Stablecoins differ from central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in an important way. While CBDCs are issued and controlled directly by central banks, stablecoins are issued by private entities. These issuers may include fintech companies and other regulated financial institutions, including banks. Both stablecoins and CBDCs aim to digitize money, but stablecoins are currently more widely available and already used in commercial and financial applications. 🞕 #CrossBorder Payment Opportunity With a total market capitalization exceeding $208 billion and a growing presence in cross-border payments, corporate treasury operations, and emerging market finance, stablecoins are fast becoming a relevant tool in global finance. As regulation evolves and enterprise adoption increases, banks face a strategic question: how should they position themselves? ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 🞕 #FutureFinance Momentum by #Banks ➟ JPMorgan’s blockchain unit expanded its JPM Coin platform to support euro-denominated payments on its network, with Siemens as the first corporate client to use the Euro JPM Coin ➟ Société Générale’s crypto arm (SG-Forge) launched a euro-pegged stablecoin called EUR CoinVertible (EURCV) and restructured it to be fully compliant with the EU’s new MiCA regulations, even obtaining an e-money license to broaden its usage ➟ BNY Mellon deepened its partnership with Circle (issuer of USDC), enabling certain bank clients to send funds directly to or from Circle for USDC stablecoin creation and redemption – a notable integration between traditional banking and stablecoins ➟ Standard Chartered’s Hong Kong branch formed a joint venture with Animoca Brands and HKT to apply for a Hong Kong Monetary Authority license to issue a Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin ➟ Japan’s three largest banks (MUFG, SMBC, and Mizuho) joined a pilot platform called “Project Pax” to use stablecoins for cross-border payments; the system integrates SWIFT messaging with blockchain    ➟ Wells Fargo piloted a proprietary digital cash system and reported that this blockchain-based network was faster and more efficient than the traditional SWIFT system for internal cross-border transfers ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 🎯 Great Read to help product builders, fintech teams, and developers understand how to navigate the stablecoin landscape with clarity and confidence

Every fintech is rushing to add crypto. But most are making the same 3 mistakes... I've analyzed how PayPal, Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard approached crypto integration. What I found was surprising The biggest players succeeded by avoiding the obvious moves. Here are the 3 biggest mistakes most companies make: 1// Starting with trading features PayPal learned this lesson the hard way. While crypto trading seems like an obvious entry point, it's already heavily commoditized with shrinking margins. The regulatory burden is massive, and we're seeing the fallout. Just look at Affirm - they've already shut down their entire trading program after realizing the economics don't work. 2// Ignoring stablecoins Most companies overlook stablecoins in favor of mainstream crypto, but the data tells a different story. Stablecoin market cap has grown 300% year over year, with transaction volume hitting $20T in 2024. This is why we're seeing Visa build their entire VTAP platform around stablecoins and PayPal launch their own PYUSD. The unit economics simply make more sense than crypto trading. 3// Building everything in-house The race to market is too critical for building from scratch. Stripe recognized this when they acquired Bridge for $1.1B. Visa partnered with BBVA to launch VTAP. PayPal leveraged their existing payment rails instead of rebuilding. Mastercard joined forces with Paxos. The pattern is clear: speed to market matters more than perfect technology. Here's what the winners are doing instead: They're focusing on foundational infrastructure - solving real payment processing challenges, improving cross-border settlement, and building institutional services. Rather than reinventing the wheel, they're using existing rails where possible and partnering strategically for missing capabilities. Most importantly, they're starting with stablecoins. The regulatory path is clearer, the use cases are immediate, and the margins are sustainable. This approach is driving faster adoption across the board. The reality is that the companies winning in crypto are solving real payment problems. Want to see my detailed breakdown of how each major fintech player is approaching crypto? Drop a "+" in the comments and I'll share the analysis.

While most businesses debate whether Bitcoin is legitimate, tech leaders are putting serious money where their convictions are. Tesla holds 11,509 Bitcoin. SpaceX holds 8,285. Even companies like Figma, MercadoLibre, and Rumble have allocated significant portions of their treasury to cryptocurrency. This isn't speculation, it's strategic treasury management. Here’s why tech companies choose Bitcoin over cash: 1) Hedge against inflation. Traditional cash loses purchasing power over time. Bitcoin offers an alternative store of value that operates independently of government monetary policy. 2) Portfolio diversification. Instead of holding all assets in dollars, these companies spread risk across different asset classes. 3) Philosophical alignment. Many tech leaders believe in decentralized systems and want their business practices to reflect those values. The business lesson beyond crypto: Smart companies don't just follow industry norms. They make calculated bets on emerging trends before they become obvious. Whether it's Bitcoin, AI technology, or new market opportunities, the businesses that thrive are often the ones willing to take measured risks while others wait for certainty. Tesla didn't buy Bitcoin because it was popular. They bought it because they believed in its long-term potential when most corporations were still skeptical. The question isn't whether Bitcoin will succeed. It's whether you're making strategic decisions based on your own analysis or waiting for consensus.

🚨 JUST-IN: Franklin paid in tokens. We keep a running list of how institutions actually use blockchain. Not what they announce. What they do. Yesterday, Franklin Templeton added something new to that list. They used their own tokenized money market fund shares to pay for a corporate acquisition. On-chain. Earning yield. Think about it: A $1.74 trillion asset manager just turned a blockchain token into corporate M&A currency. Here's what actually happened: Franklin Templeton is acquiring 250 Digital, spun out of @CoinFund. Part of the deal was settled in BENJI tokens. BENJI = shares in Franklin's OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund. $864M in assets. 3.58% yield. The recipients earn yield the moment they receive payment. Money that works while it moves. The new division is called Franklin Crypto. Here's where it gets interesting: They didn't buy AUM. They bought a leadership team you can't assemble from scratch. Christopher Perkins runs the unit. 13 years at Citi. Ran global futures, clearing, and FX prime brokerage. Testified before Congress. Sits on CFTC advisory committees. Co-invented the first crypto interest rate benchmark. Seth Ginns is CIO. 17 years at Jennison Associates (PGIM). Angel investor in Coinbase in 2012. This is a TradFi all-star team with crypto conviction. That combination barely exists. But the real story isn't the people. It's the stack they're building. BENJI is already live on Stellar, Polygon, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Aptos, and BNB Chain. They're expanding to Canton Network , Solana, Base, and European markets. Active crypto management is the next battleground. Most crypto investing today is passive. Franklin is building for token selection, yield strategies, and cross-chain execution. The 2026 arms race in tokenized money market funds: * BlackRock BUIDL sits at $2.2B across Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Chain * State Street and Galaxy are racing to launch SWEEP on Solana with a $200M Ondo seed * Fidelity Investments launched its own stablecoin, FIDD Every headline will say "Franklin buys crypto team." They're missing the real story. 🔺Track institutional adoption of crypto in one place & join 35k+ digital asset leaders as long as it's free: https://join.fiftyone.xyz/

𝐓𝐡𝐞 “𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞” 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞: 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐑𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞-𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 For those of us watching the space between TradFi and DeFi shrink the last couple years, Ripple just built a critical bridge that most might miss simply because of how "boring" it looks. By integrating stablecoin and digital asset management directly into their Treasury Management System (TMS), they’ve effectively removed the "crypto" headache for corporate CFOs.  No more juggling separate wallets, complex custody setups, or manual reconciliations that don't talk to your bank account. It’s all just... there, in one dashboard, alongside your fiat. This mirrors the "platformization" we’re seeing across the industry. Like Stripe’s recent move to bring back crypto payments or BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, the trend is clear, the most successful players aren't asking enterprises to change how they work. Instead, they are hiding the complexity of the blockchain under the hood of tools these companies already use. We are moving away from "crypto-native" apps and toward "crypto-enabled" infrastructure where the end-user doesn't even have to care about the underlying rails.  Markets move on simplicity. Strategically, this is the "Apple-ification" of enterprise finance. Ripple is no longer trying to convince banks to "switch to crypto." Instead, they are making crypto so invisible and easy to use that enterprises adopt it simply because it’s a better, faster tool for managing money. By acquiring GTreasury and Hidden Road, Ripple didn't just buy users; they bought the trust and the 40-year heritage of the existing financial system. They are positioning themselves as the ultimate abstraction layer. So where is this headed? Total liquidity convergence. Soon, the distinction between a "digital asset" and "cash" will be a relic of the past, and treasury teams will move value across borders with the same ease we send an email today. #Ripple #TreasuryManagement #Stablecoins #FinTech #DigitalAssets #CFOInsights

Crypto #payments are gradually but steadily gaining popularity and inevitably becoming part of a multi-polar payments’ landscape. Let’s take a look. Among all the discussions around blockchain #innovation, it often gets forgotten that payments were the first use case, famously documented in the exchange of 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 Papa John’s pizzas in 2010. Since then, thousands of cryptocurrencies have been created but one thing remains unchanged: a cryptocurrency is, by definition, a payment method, created as a digital alternative to traditional #money. A few reasons stand behind #crypto payments’ potential: —    The absence of trusted third parties like banks or card networks —    Increased efficiency resulting in reduced transaction costs   —    Transparency combined with enhanced privacyy   —    A global network almost not limited by borders   Most popular use cases: —  Remittances & money transfer —  Payroll & social benefits —  Cross-border payments for SMEs —  Merchant acceptance When we talk about crypto payments becoming mainstream the latter is by far at the tip of the spear, with developments across 3 main levels: 1.    Merchants and big brands (i.e. Newegg, Starbucks, Twitch) accepting crypto as a means of payment.   2.    Payment providers (i.e. Shopify, Paypal) integrating crypto payments into their platforms. Stripe’s move to bring back crypto payments after a pause of 6 years citing "real utility" has made big headlines.   3.    Visa and Mastercard crypto card offerings (credit, debit, prepaid) that not only allow customers to pay for goods and services, but also permit to convert crypto to fiat and withdraw funds in fiat. At the same time regulation is catching up with various initiatives around the globe, building exactly on the above momentum as an explicit sign of crypto’s evolutionary path. The best example is the EU’s MiCA (Markets in Crypto-assets) regulation that wants to not only build a clear legal framework for crypto assets but also to address issues such as customer & investor protection, financial crime, market manipulation and fair competition. One pattern comes out as a clear outcome from these developments: the strong interconnection between crypto and traditional finance. Unlike what many believe, crypto’s success is being built – step by step – as a reliable enhancement to existing financial infrastructure. Which, in turn, has created the need for companies that act as efficient crypto-to-fiat gateways, bridging the gap between the two worlds. Estonian-licensed CryptoProcessing.com by CoinsPaid is a good example of such a crypto ecosystem provider. In an increasingly versatile digital payments arena, the offering of cryptocurrencies has become a tool of choice and diversification rather than one of endorsement. And with around 1% crypto penetration in the real economy, we are just beginning to scratch the surface of crypto payments’ potential. Opinions: my own, Graphic source: CoinsPaid

When I started Triple-A in 2020, I had one specific vision for the company. At the time, there were 100 million crypto owners. For comparison, PayPal had 377 million. And as always in payments, there was the classic chicken-and-egg problem—the challenge of attracting both merchants and consumers to adopt a new payment system. The consumer side was already partly solved, as some people wanted to pay in crypto. But there were no merchants able to accept it. So my vision was to address the consumer market and enable merchants to accept crypto payments without having to handle it. But soon after, a new use case emerged. B2B businesses started coming to us. I remember an accounting firm in Dubai telling us, “Some of our customers want to pay us in crypto, but we don’t know how to do it.” A lawyer in Singapore had a similar issue: “My client wants to pay me in crypto, but we can’t touch crypto. Can you help?” So we started tackling B2B payments, mainly for service providers. Now, a third wave is emerging. It involves physical goods. We recently onboarded a new customer who operates in Africa and uses stablecoins to pay suppliers in China. We help the company by accepting payments in stablecoins and transferring yuan to their suppliers. It’s exciting to be at the forefront of the crypto revolution. It started with consumers, but more and more B2B companies are realizing how powerful it can be. Sources: https://lnkd.in/gFBiKFXP https://lnkd.in/gGVgBVRE

📊 Why is blockchain tech the next evolution of payments? 📊 ⛓️💡I’ve written in the past, as to why I think blockchain tech is the future of payments. Not cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, which are still very much an investment asset. But stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies pegged to a real world currency ⛓️❓But why? Current systems are siloed. In the current system, you’ve got a merchant, a payment aggregator, a payment gateway, an acquiring bank, an issuing bank, and payment networks (ex: VISA, Mastercard). Settlements, recon & refund in a multi party model such as this anyway takes effort, a lot of which is manual. ⛓️💡Payments infra built on blockchain, utilizes Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), so, instead of having one source of truth, each participant has an identical copy of the data, updated simultaneously. And because everyone is on the same blockchain, bypassing middlemen is a core value prop. Which reduces txn & processing costs, especially in more complex flow such as xborder ✅💡Global payment networks, banks and fintechs are betting on this, the newest entrant being Hitachi (is a PA in India now). Ex: 1️⃣ 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝:  Multi Token Network in ‘23 to enhance blockchain interoperability. Crypto Credential in ‘24 for universal identity standards  2️⃣ 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚: Tokenized Asset Platform in ‘24 for banks to create & experiment with their own fiat backed digital currencies 3️⃣ 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭: Crypto exchange called RevolutX in ‘24. Investing in own stablecoin pegged to the euro 4️⃣ 𝐇𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢: Indian subsidiary invested in Spydra, a startup focused on real-world asset tokenization on blockchain 5️⃣ 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐞: Acquired Bridge, a stablecoin platform in ‘24 for $1.1B, to allow payments & settlements in stablecoins. Partnered with Remote, which allows companies to pay their global contractors using stablecoins 6️⃣ 𝐉𝐏 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧: Invested in blockchain tech (Link network, Onyx), and its own stablecoin: JPM Coin, pegged to the USD 7️⃣ 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐀𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐚: Led by BIS, aims to create a unified ledger that integrates tokenized deposits from commercial banks with wholesale CBDCs. It involves collaboration among 7 central banks and others 8️⃣ 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚: Holds 80+ patents in blockchain tech. In 2025 the CEO stated that the banking industry will jump into this if regulators give it the green signal ⛓️💡Of course, there are practical issues. Banks will not move to blockchain that easily. So having on / off ramp systems that allow easy switching between fiat & blockchain will definitely be a need (Check attached slides to see visualization). But that's not something that can't be solved ✅💡The current system has constraints. Also its not as if 100% of payments will move to blockchain; it'll co-exist with fiat systems. But a significant % could move. And maybe that’s why international banks & fintechs are investing here To read the deep dive click here: https://lnkd.in/g_xubaJ9

Today, the team at Artemis released the most comprehensive report on stablecoin payments usage to date. We at Dragonfly supported them in compiling research and insights for the report. A few of the most exciting key takeaways for us 👇 1/ B2B payments now dominate stablecoin activity, with an annualized volume of $36B. Companies are using stablecoins for supplier payments, treasury management, and cross-border invoicing. 2/ P2P volumes have stagnated while card linked volumes have also started to see steepening growth - indicating the use of real world payments for goods vs. just remittance or cross border money movement 3/ We still see USDT dominate share in most regions for payments - with pockets of outperformance for USDC in India, Argentina, and Mexico. There was some indication recently that USDC could be gaining in the B2B segment, but we will need to see more months of data 4/ For payments, Tron and Ethereum mainnet still dominate. With Polygon and BSC gaining some small market share recently, and Solana still quite nascent behind that Thanks to Nic Carter and the Castle Island Ventures team for collaborating with us on this. Download the full report here: https://www.stablecoin.fyi