PLUS: Tokenized treasuries hit record

March 13, 2025

The biggest crypto news and ideas of the day 

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Welcome to The Node! This is Ben Schiller to take you through the latest crypto news. 

 

In today's news from CoinDesk reporters:
Trump Family Held Talks to Buy Stake in Binance.US: WSJ
BlackRock's BUIDL Fund Tops $1B with Ethena's $200M Allocation
Tokenized Treasuries Hit Record $4.2B Market Cap as Crypto Correction Fuels Growth

Gold Jumps to New Record, for Now Winning Debate Against Bitcoin as Risk-Off Asset

 

Opinion: Rather than embracing innovation, Senator Elizabeth Warren pursues legislation that would smother stablecoins in their infancy, says Sen. Pat Toomey (retired).👇

 

Trump Family Discussed Binance.US Deal

  • A Trump family representative discussed buying a stake in Binance's U.S. arm.
  • The stake could have been acquired via the Trump-family backed project, World Liberty Financial, Wall Street Journal reported.
  • Steve Witkoff, a friend of the U.S. president, was involved in the talks.
 

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CME Bitcoin Futures Drop 

  • The bullish sentiment in the bitcoin market following Donald Trump's election victory has fizzled out, as indicated by the narrowing spread between next month and front-month BTC futures on the CME.
  • The market has likely moved past the narrative that a pro-crypto President is beneficial for the industry, with macro correlations now driving the market.
  • The CME futures curve is still in contango.
 

BlackRock's BUIDL Tops $1 Billion

  • BlackRock's BUIDL token, issued with Securitize and backed by U.S. Treasuries, has surpassed $1 billion in assets, boosted by a $200 million allocation from crypto protocol Ethena.
  • BUIDL, a key reserve asset for multiple yield-generating offerings, is increasingly used as collateral on trading platforms and plays a significant role in the tokenization of traditional financial instruments.
  • Ethena's yield-generating USDtb token, backed by USDC and USDT stablecoins and BUIDL tokens, now has a $540 million supply, reflecting a strong belief in the value of tokenized assets.
 

Tokenized Treasuries Hit $4.2 Billion

  • Amid a broad-market correction, digital asset investors have turned to tokenized U.S. Treasury products, pushing their combined market capitalization to a record $4.2 billion.
  • The asset class added $800 million market value since late January, with Ondo Finance's two tokens, BlackRock's BUIDL, Franklin Templeton's BENJI and Superstate's USTB all expanding over the past month. Hashnote's USYC declined.
  • The growth of tokenized treasuries outpacing stablecoins during the crypto downturn is seen as a "flight to quality," with investors shifting to safer, yield-bearing assets, said Brian Choe, head of research at rwa.xyz.
 

Opinion: The Risk to Stablecoins

Retired Senator Pat Toomey: 

Imagine a world where every dollar you spend is tracked, approved, or denied in real time by a government agency. You attempt to send money to a friend for a political donation, but the transaction is blocked because the recipient is on a government “watch list.” You buy a book critical of a powerful politician and your account is flagged for review.

 

This dystopian future sounds outrageous but it’s the logical endpoint of a fully government-controlled and monitored monetary system for which some prominent U.S. policymakers advocate. Its defenders argue that such a government-omniscient system would prevent crime. In reality, it would destroy the core freedoms of financial privacy and autonomy. Stablecoins are an existing alternative to this dystopia. They are both a major financial innovation, and a bulwark against creeping financial authoritarianism. The U.S. Congress must support this technology as the Senate Banking Committee weighs legislation to provide clarity for the industry and its customers.

 

Stablecoins, digital currencies pegged to the value of traditional currencies like the U.S. dollar, provide the benefits of cryptocurrency — fast, inexpensive, borderless, and programmable transactions — without the price volatility of assets like Bitcoin. They are typically backed 1:1 with U.S. dollar cash and cash equivalents, providing stability and trust. Their programmability allows transactions to be executed automatically when specified conditions are met, unlocking enormous potential for automated finance, supply chain efficiency, and global commerce.

 

Senators across the U.S. political spectrum, who understand the technology’s current use cases and the vast future possibilities we can’t yet fully envision, have proposed thoughtful legislation to guide regulations that will foster innovation while protecting consumers. This collaborative approach reflects an understanding that stablecoins could revolutionize global finance, enhance financial inclusion, and preserve the U.S. dollar’s dominance in the digital age.

 

Unfortunately, some senators, especially Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), stand in stark opposition to this progress. Rather than embracing innovation, she pursues legislation that would smother stablecoins in their infancy. Senator Warren paints stablecoins as tools for illicit activity, claiming they primarily facilitate fraud, drug trafficking, and terrorist financing. Her characterization is not just inaccurate — it’s dangerously misleading.

 

The data directly contradicts Senator Warren’s claims. Multiple reports from blockchain analytics firms consistently show that illicit activity represents a tiny fraction of stablecoin transactions — often less than 1% of total volume. In fact, traditional cash is far more frequently used for money laundering and illicit trade than stablecoins ever have been. Blockchain technology, with its permanent and transparent ledger, actually makes illegal activity easier to track and prosecute than cash-based crime.

 

Senator Warren’s misinformed worldview leads her to advocate for a closed, government-monitored financial system — one in which every transaction is scrutinized, private financial activity becomes impossible, and access to financial tools is tightly controlled. In addition to being a morally objectionable invasion of privacy, her design would be operationally impossible to implement.

 

It would also weaken the dollar’s global dominance, as emerging economies and developing nations would turn to other digital currencies that are easier to access and use. Her constraints could not only impede the development of an important new technology, but also disrupt and harm ordinary Americans and businesses, and people around the world, who are using stablecoins today to move value across the internet as easily as sending an email or text message, often at a fraction of traditional costs. 

Read the rest here.

 

The Mainstream Media

 

Congress’ crypto era is here – Politico

India arrests crypto administrator with Russia links wanted by US – BBC

Argentina seeks arrest of U.S. crypto figure tied to Melania and Milei cryptocurrencies – Reuters

 

Golden Age

 

 

 
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