Weekly: Fed cuts rates, Do Kwon behind bars, Ukraine leads in stablecoins, and US banks integrate cryptocurrencies

Summing up the week: the US interest rate has finally been nudged slightly lower, one of the loudest crypto scandals ended with a real prison sentence, Ukraine is officially in the club of global leaders in stablecoins, and American banks are one step closer to full-fledged crypto infrastructure. 

Bitcoin: the market has cooled, but not broken

Bitcoin is holding around 90 thousand dollars after a week of trading in the 88–94 thousand range. Money keeps flowing out of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, and the market is entering a cooling phase: capitalization and volumes are falling, and traders mostly expect sideways movement until the end of the year. Major banks are cutting long-term forecasts due to weaker institutional demand, but the digital gold narrative remains strong.

Ethereum: ETF with staking and the idea of gas futures

One of the largest players is filing for a spot Ethereum ETF with staking; if it is approved, institutions will be able to invest in ETH and immediately receive staking yield. 

Vitalik Buterin is proposing an on-chain gas futures market to lock in transaction fees in advance. This is another step toward Ethereum looking like a full-fledged financial system rather than just a DeFi sandbox.

The Fed cut rates

The Fed lowered the key rate by 25 bps to 3.5–3.75% – the market expected this, so there was no real surprise. The intrigue now is how the rhetoric will change by 2026 and who will head the Fed under the new administration. 

For crypto this means higher volatility without a clear trend: Bitcoin can either bounce into the 87–93 thousand range or go into a deeper correction if macro data disappoints.

Do Kwon and Terra: a loud crash that ended in real jail time

Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon received 15 years in prison for fraud and conspiracy around the collapse of Terra, which cost investors billions. The court ruled that the market was deliberately misled and the risks of the algorithmic stablecoin were understated. This is a clear signal for the industry: from now on, not only brands but also specific individuals are responsible for major crashes.

Stablecoins: Ukraine is among the global leaders

Ukraine has topped the global ranking by the share of stablecoin transactions relative to GDP – we are not just pro-crypto in words but are actually using it massively in everyday payments.

The rest of the world is also catching up: major platforms are testing payouts in stablecoins, and regulators in the Emirates and the UK are preparing full-fledged rules for them. Stablecoins are finally turning from a crypto toy into a normal payment instrument.

US banks: crypto enters through the front door

The US regulator OCC has preliminarily approved trust banking licenses for several major crypto companies and allowed national banks to conduct risk-free operations with crypto assets under strict control. 

In practice, this is a bridge between crypto and the traditional banking system: regulators are quietly preparing banks for a reality where crypto is as normal a service as online banking or a mobile app.

Infrastructure and tokenization: preparing the ground for the next wave

Tokenization is gaining momentum: major issuers and banks are preparing tokenized shares and liquidity funds to give institutions more flexible instruments within a regulated framework. 

Prediction markets and tokenized shares are turning from a hobby for enthusiasts into a serious tool for traders, and mass adoption is happening via integrating crypto payments into fintech services, wallets built directly into smartphone firmware and network hard forks tailored for real-world assets and stablecoins.

Regulation and security: more rules and more responsibility

In the US, the struggle continues over who exactly controls the crypto market: some regulators are launching pilots where BTC, ETH and USDC become full-fledged collateral for derivatives, while others acknowledge that not every token is a security.

On the security front, things are also hot: scammers are extracting money through social networks and Discord, breaking into the accounts of well-known figures and launching fake memecoins on their behalf, and the number of physical attacks to gain access to wallets is growing. For investors, the conclusion is simple: security is not just passwords and seed phrases, but also basic offline hygiene and minimal showing off of your balances.

AI + finance: technologies that are already making money

Artificial intelligence is moving ever deeper into the financial sector: major companies are rolling out new models, and banks and funds are investing billions in AI and blockchain to cut costs and launch new products. One of the world’s leading banks is already openly saying that these investments bring in extra billions in profit every year – for big players this is no longer an experiment, but a fully fledged business engine for years to come.

What does all this mean for an investor

The Fed is cautiously easing conditions, markets are behaving restrainedly, and Bitcoin and Ethereum look more like a healthy correction than a crash. Stablecoins (with Ukraine already among the leaders), tokenization and infrastructure are moving into direct integration with banks and regulators – effectively laying the foundation for the next cycle. 

For an investor, this is a time not to react emotionally but to soberly reassess risks and keep the focus on stablecoins, RWA tokenization and infrastructure projects – these are the ones that can benefit the most from the next growth wave.

Kursoff’s view

If you boil all the news down to one takeaway, the market looks restrained but rather healthy: the Fed is easing conditions without turning on cheap money, Bitcoin and Ethereum look like a correction and a reassessment of risks, and stablecoins (with Ukraine among the leaders), together with tokenization and infrastructure, are moving into deeper integration with banks and regulators. For an investor, this is the time not to chase memecoins but to calmly put their portfolio in order.