Scenius Sync (Issue # 171)
Tether Raising $15B @ $500B Val, Plasma's XPL Token Debut Hits $2.4B MCap, SEC & FINRA Probe Pre-DAT Trade Activity, Vanguard Eyes Crypto ETF Access for Clients, & Kraken Raises $500M @ $15B Val
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Essential News 🗞
Crypto Giant Tether Seeks Funding at $500 Billion Valuation
Tether Holdings SA is in talks with investors to raise between $15 billion and $20 billion in exchange for a roughly 3% stake through a private placement. The deal could value the company at around $500 billion, putting it into the same league as OpenAI and Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Tether’s chief executive officer Paolo Ardoino said the company is evaluating a raise from a group of high-profile investors “to maximize the scale of the Company’s strategy across all existing and new business lines”.
More here: SoftBank, Ark May Back Stablecoin Giant Tether in Massive Funding Round: Report
SEC, FINRA probe suspicious stock trades before crypto treasury announcements
U.S. regulators are investigating potentially suspicious stock trading patterns that occurred before publicly listed digital asset treasury companies (DATs) announced plans to buy crypto, Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. WSJ reported Thursday that the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra) have reached out to some companies among the more than 200 DATs. The regulatory inquiries focused on unusual trading patterns, including abnormally high trading volumes and sharp stock price increases in the short periods preceding public announcements about crypto purchases, according to the report. Specifically, SEC officials have cautioned companies about potential violations of Regulation Fair Disclosure. The rule requires that material, non-public information be shared broadly, rather than selectively, with analysts, investors, or other market participants who could potentially benefit from trading ahead of official announcements.
Coverage from Reuters, here.
South Korea’s Upbit to merge under internet giant Naver via stock swap: report
South Korean internet giant Naver plans to exchange shares with Dunamu, the parent company of Upbit, in a move that would make Dunamu its subsidiary, according to local news. The reported deal comes as South Korea works to establish clearer regulations for the crypto sector, particularly around stablecoins pegged to the local currency.
White House eyes year-end finish line for sweeping crypto market structure bill
White House Crypto Council’s Patrick Witt said that he expects the crypto market structure bill to pass by the end of this year. Witt said the council is working with the House and the Senate to get the bill on U.S. President Trump’s desk as soon as possible. The crypto market structure bill refers to a set of several legislation in the U.S. that aim to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets.
Crypto exchange KuCoin appeals $14 million penalty from Canadian regulator over AML violations
Canada’s financial intelligence regulator has imposed a C$19.5 million ($14.1 million) administrative monetary penalty on crypto exchange KuCoin for failing to comply with the country’s anti-money laundering and terrorist financing laws. The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) announced on Thursday the penalty imposed against Peken Global Ltd., KuCoin’s operating entity, on July 28, 2025. Specifically, the regulator found that the firm failed to register in Canada as a foreign money services business, neglected to report large cryptocurrency transactions exceeding C$10,000, and did not file suspicious transaction reports.
Innovation & Adoption 💡📈
Stablecoin-Focused Plasma’s XPL Token Debuts With Over $2.4B Market Cap
The stablecoin-focused Plasma blockchain’s native token, XPL, debuted on major exchanges, including Binance and OKX, on Thursday. The token drew a price of up to $1.54 in early trading, resulting in a market capitalization of over $2.8 billion. The plasma token has a genesis supply of 10 billion, of which 18% or 1.8 billion is now in circulation. The Plasma network also debuted with over $2 billion in stablecoin total value locked and an EVM-compatible design.
More coverage from The Block here: Stablecoin-focused Layer 1 Plasma goes live introducing XPL token and DeFi integrations
Vanguard Eyes Crypto ETF Access for Brokerage Clients
The world’s second-largest asset manager, Vanguard, is preparing to allow access to crypto ETFs on its brokerage platform, Crypto In America has learned. The mutual fund behemoth with $10 trillion in assets under management has, until now, remained on the sidelines when it comes to digital assets, opting for a more conservative approach than rivals Fidelity Investments and Charles Schwab. According to a source familiar with the company’s plans, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Vanguard has begun laying the groundwork and holding external discussions in response to strong client demand for digital assets and a shifting regulatory environment. The source said there are currently no plans for Vanguard to launch its own products, as BlackRock has done. Instead, the firm is considering letting brokerage customers access select third-party crypto ETFs, though it remains unclear when a decision will be made or which products would be offered.
Kraken Raises $500M in Funding Round Valuing Crypto Exchange at $15B: Fortune
Kraken reportedly closed a $500 million funding round, valuing the crypto exchange at $15 billion, with backers including investment managers, venture capitalists and co-CEO Arjun Sethi. The funding round sets the stage for a long-awaited IPO, expected to take place next year. The company has undergone significant transformation under Sethi’s leadership, including the acquisition of NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion.
Relatedly, Kraken in Talks With Strategic Investor at $20 Billion Valuation
Cloudflare Unveils U.S. Dollar Stablecoin for AI-Powered Internet Economy
Cloudflare announced NET Dollar, a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin for online payments. The token is designed to support microtransactions in the “agentic web,” driven by artificial intelligence agents. CEO Matthew Prince said stablecoin transactions could replace ads and bank transfers as the internet’s core business model.
UniCredit, ING Among Nine Lenders Developing Euro Stablecoin
Nine European banks have joined forces to develop a euro-based stablecoin, as they seek to establish an alternative in a US dollar-dominated market.
The lenders are UniCredit SpA, ING Groep NV, DekaBank, Banca Sella, KBC Group NV, Danske Bank AS, SEB AB, CaixaBank SA and Raiffeisen Bank International AG, according to a statement from DekaBank. The stablecoin is scheduled to be launched in the second half of 2026. The aim is “to create a European alternative to the stablecoin markets dominated by the US so far, thus contributing to Europe’s strategic autonomy in payments”, the statement said. The consortium has established a new company in the Netherlands to house the project. The group said in the statement it is open to other banks joining the initiative.