Scenius Sync (Issue # 153)
GENIUS Act Regains Momentum, FTX To Begin $5B In Payouts, JPM Will Let Clients Buy BTC, BlackRock’s sBUIDL Launches First Defi Integration with Euler on Avalanche & Circle Courting Acquisition Bids
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Essential News 🗞
Senate Stablecoin Bill Passes Key Vote as GENIUS Act Regains Momentum
Against all odds, the Senate’s stablecoin bill has regained political momentum, passing a key procedural vote Monday evening that has set the legislation on track for passage within days. Less than two weeks ago, the bill, dubbed the GENIUS Act, failed to pass the same procedural cloture vote—which ends debate on a measure and advances it towards full floor consideration. At the time, a perfect storm of political winds conspired to derail support for the bill among pro-crypto Democrats. Chief among them: mounting anger in the Democratic Party over President Donald Trump’s perceived crypto-related conflicts of interest. But tonight, key Democrats jumped back aboard the measure. Having received more than 60 votes, the bill will now cruise towards a full floor vote, which could happen as soon as tomorrow, one Senate source familiar with the matter told Decrypt. If all goes according to plan, the vote on the bill itself should see the same margin of passage as tonight’s procedural vote. The bill would then need to pass a vote in the House before heading to President Trump’s desk. If signed into law, the GENIUS Act would establish a framework for legally issuing stablecoins in the United States.
More coverage here.
FTX to begin $5 billion in creditor payouts May 30 under bankruptcy plan
FTX Trading Ltd., the parent company of the bankrupt crypto exchange, will begin distributing more than $5 billion to creditors beginning on May 30 as part of the second phase of its Chapter 11 reorganization plan. “FTX will commence distributions to holders of allowed claims in the Plan's Convenience and Non-Convenience Classes that have completed the pre-distribution requirements on May 30, 2025,” the FTX estate wrote in an announcement on Thursday. Eligible creditors are expected to receive their funds from either Bitgo or Kraken within one to three business days beginning May 30, 2025.
DOJ launches investigation into Coinbase cyberattack: Bloomberg
The cyberattack and subsequent ransom request on Coinbase are being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice, including those in the department’s criminal division in Washington, Bloomberg reported Monday, citing a source familiar with the matter. Last Thursday, Coinbase disclosed an attack in which a group of cyber criminals tried to extort $20 million from Coinbase to keep stolen customer data off the internet. The company said the incident could cost between $180 million and $400 million in expenses relating to remediation costs and voluntary customer reimbursements.
Movement Labs Secretly Promised Advisers Millions in Tokens, Leaked Documents Show
Leaked agreements show Movement Labs signed memos offering two advisers access to as much as 10% of the MOVE token supply. The scandal-plagued startup, backed by Trump’s World Liberty Financial, never disclosed the deals to investors or the public. Movement Labs says the agreements were non-binding, but one adviser — referred to internally as a “shadow co-founder” — is now threatening legal action to claim tokens worth more than $50 million. The revelations deepen the fallout from Movement’s market-making scandal, sparking a public rift between co-founders.
CFTC commissioner will step down to become Blockchain Association CEO
Summer Mersinger, one of four commissioners currently serving at the US financial regulatory body Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), will become the next CEO of the digital asset advocacy group the Blockchain Association (BA). In a May 14 notice, the Blockchain Association said its current CEO, Kristin Smith, would step down for Mersinger on May 16, allowing an interim head of the group to work until the CFTC commissioner assumes the role on June 2. Though her term at the CFTC was expected to last until April 2028, the BA said Mersinger is set to leave the agency on May 30. The departure of Mersinger, who has served in one of the CFTC’s Republican seats since 2022, opens the way for US President Donald Trump to nominate another member to the financial regulator. Rules require that no more than three commissioners belong to the same political party
Innovation & Adoption 💡📈
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says the bank will let clients buy bitcoin
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said clients of the bank can now buy bitcoin, but he reiterated his long-held skepticism about cryptocurrencies. The move puts JPMorgan alongside other major banks such as Morgan Stanley, which already allows its financial advisors to pitch clients on some bitcoin ETFs for eligible clients. While JPMorgan will offer bitcoin access, U.S. banks remain constrained by Federal Reserve rules restricting direct involvement with crypto firms.
BlackRock’s sBUIDL launches 'first direct DeFi protocol integration' with Euler on Avalanche
BlackRock’s nearly $3 billion tokenized Treasury fund has launched its “first direct DeFi protocol integration” with Euler on Avalanche, according to an announcement on Thursday. The launch builds on the sToken framework developed by Securitize, which enables tokenized products like BUIDL to expand further onchain.
Circle courting acquisition bids from Coinbase and Ripple, asks for at least $5 billion: Fortune
Circle Internet Financial, the issuer of the second-largest stablecoin, is reportedly courting buyers at a valuation of at least $5 billion, according to Fortune on Monday. The alleged sales talks — reportedly involving its longtime partner Coinbase and recent stablecoin rival Ripple — are happening while the San Francisco-based startup still pursues a public listing. In April, Circle filed a prospectus for an initial public offering at an unknown valuation. Later that month, Ripple — which has been on a bit of an acquisition spree — offered to pay between $4 billion and $5 billion to acquire the firm. Circle reportedly declined the bid at the time, saying it was too low.
JPMorgan, Chainlink and Ondo Finance test cross-chain settlement of tokenized treasury fund
JPMorgan's blockchain unit Kinexys, Chainlink, and Ondo Finance have completed a test transaction that settled a tokenized U.S. Treasuries fund across a public and a permissioned blockchain network. The trial showed how different blockchain systems can work together to move real-world assets. The transaction took place on the test network of Ondo Chain — a new blockchain built by Ondo Finance for tokenizing real-world assets — and used a method called "Delivery versus Payment," or DvP. In this setup, the asset and payment move simultaneously, reducing the risk that one side fails to deliver. The asset being settled was OUSG, a tokenized short-term U.S. Treasuries fund issued by Ondo Finance. The payment side used blockchain deposit accounts on JPMorgan's permissioned Kinexys Digital Payments network, with Chainlink providing the infrastructure to securely coordinate the process across both systems.
Alchemy Acquires Solana Developer DexterLab for Undisclosed Sum
Blockchain development platform Alchemy said it has acquired Solana developer DexterLab for an undisclosed sum. Alchemy said the acquisition will help consolidate Solana development alongside that of Ethereum to reduce complexity for projects building across multiple networks.