Ripple Takes the Hidden Route 🛣️
Digital Asset Dispatch - Edition #1 (April - 2025)
Welcome to Digital Asset Dispatch - where blockchains talk, and we actually listen.
Markets swing. Tokens pump, dump, then maybe pivot to payments. Headlines hype the next Bitcoin ETF while a random protocol just bridged half a billion overnight. Meanwhile, regulators are still figuring out how to spell ‘Web3’.
In the middle of all that? This newsletter.
Each month, we will cut through the noise and surface the plays, pivots, power moves, and plot twists across the digital asset space. From DeFi’s drama to TradFi’s token games—if it mattered, it’s in here.
No filler. No corporate jazz. Just the hottest updates from the wild world of digital assets - served straight.
Let’s dig in >>>>
Wanna get this alpha straight to your inbox every month?
This Month’s Dispatch:
📌 Thread of the Month – One thread that lit up the feed.
🔟 Top 10 Moves – The biggest headlines, no fluff.
📊 Blocks, Trends & Breakdown—Segment by Segment!
📚 Read & Recharge – Curated reports to keep you sharp.
📌 Featured Story: The Bitcoin Reserve Nobody Saw Coming
While most eyes were locked on ETFs and memecoins in 2025, a bold and bizarre headline started circulating: Trump’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
Yes, you read that right.
Tucked beneath the political noise is a move that could reshape how nations approach digital assets. A strategic stockpile of Bitcoin and other digital assets - framed not just as an investment, but as infrastructure. Power. Leverage.
Whether you see it as monetary chess or campaign theatre, this move signals something bigger: the weaponisation of digital assets at a national level. It’s not just about holding crypto anymore; it’s about controlling its narrative, infrastructure, and long-term economic power.
Rod D. Martin dropped a thread that breaks down why this might be the most important crypto development of the decade; and why almost nobody’s paying attention.
🚀 Like what you’re seeing? Don’t miss a beat—get the next Digital Asset Dispatch straight in your inbox.
Edition #1 is here, unpacking the digital asset chaos across chains, coins, and capital >>
Here's the TL;DR:
10 Stories That Moved the Market in April 2025
Stablecoins Are Building the Future
⇾ Circle announced a new payments and remittance network, aiming to make USDC a seamless settlement layer for global money movement.
⇾ Visa is reportedly joining the Paxos-Robinhood stablecoin consortium, stepping into a growing alliance around regulated stablecoin issuance.
Crypto Playbook
⇾ Standard Chartered and OKX launched a collateral mirroring program, allowing institutions to use assets held at the bank while trading on OKX.
⇾ Binance announced a new fund structure for crypto asset managers, offering separate accounts modelled after traditional finance setups.
Major Focus on Payments
⇾ Mastercard unveiled global stablecoin acceptance and payment capabilities to ensure that individuals and businesses can conduct stablecoin transactions “anytime” and “anywhere”.
⇾ JPMorgan added GBP support to its blockchain payment network, Kinexys, widening its reach beyond U.S. dollar settlements.
The New Compliance Gold Rush
⇾ Hong Kong’s securities regulator released new crypto staking rules, requiring licensed exchanges to meet strict custody and risk management standards.
⇾ BlackRock secured a crypto asset registration with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), giving it the green light to offer digital asset services.
TradFi Pipes Meet Blockchain
⇾ Ripple confirmed it will acquire prime broker Hidden Road for $1.25 billion, deepening its expansion into institutional financial services.
⇾ BNY Mellon started feeding digital asset reserve data onto blockchains, taking a step toward transparent, on-chain accounting for tokenised assets.
Stablecoins and Tokenised Deposits are no longer just plumbing behind the scenes—they’re fast becoming the lifeblood of global payments. With faster rails and frictionless swaps, the race to own digital cash is officially on.
Stripe began testing support for USDC payments across Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon as part of a renewed push into crypto-enabled commerce. After years of staying on the sidelines, the company is exploring stablecoins again - this time with faster, low-cost blockchains - aiming to streamline global payments and position itself for the projected $3.7 trillion stablecoin market.
Coinbase introduced free conversions for PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin, making it easier for users to move in and out of the asset without incurring fees. The move comes as competition heats up in the stablecoin space, and reflects Coinbase’s effort to give PYUSD a stronger foothold by lowering friction and boosting usage across its platform.
Ripple integrated its RLUSD stablecoin into its cross-border payments network to meet higher-than-expected institutional demand. By baking RLUSD into its core infrastructure, Ripple is looking to expand its role in global settlements, leveraging a stable, blockchain-native asset to improve speed, reduce costs, and offer more control over liquidity.
Tokenisation of real-world assets is picking up serious steam, turning everything from real estate to credit into blockchain-native value. The battle to tokenise the physical world is moving from hype to high-stakes execution.
WeBank, the Chinese digital bank backed by Tencent, launched a new blockchain infrastructure called Potos aimed at powering real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation. By creating a dedicated chain that supports RWA standards, WeBank is betting on tokenised assets becoming a major pillar of finance, and wants to build the rails for a future where physical and digital value flow seamlessly across networks.
Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) issued a public warning after spotting several firms falsely claiming to be part of its real estate tokenisation pilot. The regulator moved quickly to clamp down on misinformation, aiming to protect investors and maintain trust as Dubai positions itself as a global leader in regulated digital asset innovation.
Mantra, a layer-1 blockchain focused on regulated assets, announced a $108M fund to accelerate real-world asset tokenisation projects. With tokenised treasuries, real estate, and private credit gaining momentum, Mantra is looking to capitalise early by funding ecosystems that bridge traditional finance with blockchain-based markets.
Crypto Exchanges and Trading Infrastructures are breaking boundaries, blending crypto, stocks, and more into all-in-one financial powerhouses. In the new era of trading, walls are coming down and platforms are levelling up.
HashKey Capital announced plans to launch an Asia-focused XRP Tracker Fund, with Ripple stepping in as the anchor investor. The move is designed to tap into growing regional demand for digital asset investment products, especially among institutions looking for structured exposure to major blockchain assets like XRP.
OKX revealed its intention to expand into the U.S. market, with plans to establish a regional headquarters in California. As regulatory landscapes shift and the appetite for compliant crypto services grows, OKX is aiming to build a stronger, regulated presence in the U.S. to capture new growth opportunities and stay competitive in global markets.
PayPal expanded its crypto footprint by adding support for Chainlink and Solana, bringing more token options into its offerings. The update signals PayPal’s deeper commitment to integrating blockchain assets into mainstream financial services, positioning itself to serve a broader user base as adoption of crypto-enabled payments and applications continues to climb.
Kraken announced it will start offering U.S. stocks and ETFs through a collaboration with broker-dealer Alpaca, marking its first move into traditional equities. By bridging crypto and stocks under one roof, Kraken is aiming to diversify its offerings, tap into broader retail investment demand, and position itself as a more comprehensive financial platform beyond crypto trading.
Regulatory and Policy Developments are flipping from fear to fuel, as crypto players race to stack licenses and lock in legitimacy. Compliance isn’t a bottleneck anymore—it’s a competitive weapon.
Ripple is reportedly set to acquire Hidden Road, a digital asset prime broker, shortly after the firm secured a U.S. broker-dealer license. The move signals Ripple’s intent to go deeper into institutional markets by gaining licensed access to traditional financial infrastructure and expanding its footprint in regulated securities.
Kraken secured a restricted dealer license in Canada, allowing it to continue operating legally as the country enforces stricter crypto rules. At a time when global exchanges are exiting the Canadian market due to regulatory hurdles, Kraken’s move reflects a long-term bet on Canada as a stable and compliant environment for crypto growth.
Galaxy Digital received regulatory approval in the UK to expand its derivatives trading operations, gaining a key license that strengthens its European presence. The approval gives Galaxy a green light to broaden its offerings to institutional clients and deepen its foothold in one of the region’s most important financial markets.
Bitpanda secured a MiCA license from Austria’s Financial Market Authority, becoming one of the first platforms to hold MiCA-compliant licenses across three different EU countries. As the EU gears up to roll out unified crypto regulations, Bitpanda is positioning itself ahead of the curve to operate seamlessly across borders in a regulated environment.
Blockchain Infrastructure and Layer Developments are setting the stage for a smarter, faster, and more connected digital economy. New upgrades, new rewards, and new rails are reshaping what blockchains can actually do.
Ethereum developers confirmed May 7 as the official date for the Pectra upgrade, setting the stage for a major technical milestone. With improvements targeting scalability, security, and network efficiency, the upgrade marks an important step in Ethereum’s ongoing roadmap to make the network more robust and user-friendly for developers and end-users alike.
Huma Finance teamed up with Visa to launch a new blockchain-powered payment system aimed at transforming how businesses and individuals settle transactions. By combining Visa’s reach with Huma’s decentralized finance expertise, the partnership is targeting faster, more flexible payment solutions that bridge traditional finance with blockchain technology.
Polygon unveiled a new Aggregator Program that will reward successful blockchain projects with airdrops of up to 1.5% of the total POL token supply to stakers. The initiative is designed to fuel innovation within the Polygon ecosystem, encouraging developers to build and scale while giving POL stakers direct exposure to the success of new projects.
Decentralised Finance is powering up again, with surging volumes and a new wave of institutional-grade moves. DeFi isn’t just surviving the cycle—it’s rewriting the next one.
PancakeSwap posted its strongest quarter since launch, hitting $205B in trading volume in Q1 2025. The surge highlights renewed momentum for decentralized exchanges on BNB Chain, with rising activity likely driven by user incentives, multi-chain expansion, and the broader market recovery lifting on-chain trading.
Sky and Spark Protocols jointly deployed $25 million into a lending pool on Maple Finance, with plans to potentially double the allocation. The move reflects a growing appetite among DeFi-native entities to back institutional-grade credit platforms, signaling deeper confidence in on-chain lending infrastructure and its role in real-world financing.
Curve Finance recorded its highest-ever quarterly trading volume in Q1 2025, fueled by increased stablecoin activity and heightened on-chain liquidity. The spike underscores Curve’s continued relevance in the DeFi ecosystem as a go-to platform for stable asset swaps, even amid evolving competition from newer protocols.
Securities, Exploits and Risk Events continue to shadow the crypto boom, reminding the industry that where there’s value, there’s risk. Scams, collapses, and security gaps are still major plotlines in the digital asset saga.
The FBI reported that Americans lost $9.3 billion to crypto-related scams in 2024, marking a sharp rise from previous years. The staggering figure highlights how fraud remains a major risk in the digital asset space, reinforcing the urgent need for stronger consumer protections, better on-chain security tools, and more public awareness campaigns.
KiloEx, a decentralised derivatives exchange, announced it would compensate users affected by a $7 million exploit that struck its platform. The decision to cover user losses is aimed at restoring trust, maintaining its reputation, and signalling a commitment to accountability at a time when security breaches continue to haunt DeFi protocols.
Mantra’s OM token suffered a brutal 90% crash, wiping out most of its value in a sudden plunge. The collapse drew attention to the extreme volatility still lurking in smaller crypto assets, underscoring how fragile liquidity and investor sentiment can be—especially for projects operating at the intersection of DeFi and real-world asset tokenisation.
And that’s a wrap 👋
Hope this edition of Digital Asset Dispatch gave you a front-row seat to the moves, milestones, and mayhem shaping the future of finance. The world of tokens, chains, and digital value never sleeps - and neither do we.
And before you go, we’ve lined up some must-have resources to keep you ahead of the curve and ready for whatever’s next.
Fund Tokenisation - BLOCKINVEST
Stablecoins: The future of money? - Roland Berger
WEB3 & CRYPTO IN FRANCE AND EUROPE - Deloitte
If you're hungry for more fintech insights, check out some of our other work at WhiteSight.
If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog, Fintersections, where our team members analyse the convergence of fintech with the world.
Fintech research is in the WhiteSight DNA, so if you'd like to get in touch for features, sponsorships, and content marketing services, reach out to us at hello@whitesight.net.
And lastly, to stay updated on everything fintech and web3, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, and don't be shy to show some ❤️