The Daily: 'BTC still has room to catch up,' and more

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

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Bitcoin is holding above $84,000, with K33 saying BTC still has room to catch up. William Blair sees Coinbase and Circle shares positioned to benefit from a broader crypto recovery as earnings estimates stabilize. Chainalysis, meanwhile, estimates the crypto economy contracted just 1.6% over the past year despite a $2.1 trillion decline in market capitalization.

Tokenization is moving further into traditional finance. Blockchain.com and NYSE plan to give Blockchain.com users access to tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs, while Canada's six largest banks are exploring a tokenized deposit system for payments. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig, meanwhile, said financial markets need to prepare for "mass tokenization."

Prediction markets are drawing more attention in Washington. The CFTC warned that "mention market" contracts carry heightened manipulation risks, while Senate Banking Democrats called for a hearing on prediction markets as Republican committee members met privately with Kalshi.

Stablecoin use could also get a boost from stronger protections. Visa found that adoption intent rises from 36% to 56% when users are offered bank-level protections. Galaxy also added $100 million of Sky's sUSDS to its treasury and bought SKY tokens as the firms deepen their lending ties.

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K33 says bitcoin still has room to catch up after breakout

K33 said bitcoin still has room to catch up with gold and equities after breaking above $80,000, with the firm viewing the cycle low as already behind it.

• Bitcoin reached $86,000 earlier this week for the first time since January, helped by strong institutional demand and ETF inflows.
  K33 pointed to the largest daily ETP inflow since November 2024, while U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs drew nearly $1 billion on Monday.
• Nexo was more cautious, citing thinner trading volume, narrower market breadth and less convincing derivatives positioning as risks to the rally.
• Capital.com's Daniela Hathorn sees $87,000 to $88,000 as the immediate resistance zone, followed by $90,000, with $80,000 becoming a more important support level below.

Blockchain.com, NYSE plan access to tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs

Blockchain.com and NYSE signed an agreement to give Blockchain.com users access to tokenized U.S. exchange-listed stocks and ETFs through NYSE's planned digital platform.

• The service is not yet live and depends on the launch of NYSE's digital alternative trading system and required regulatory approvals.
• The platform is expected to support 24/7 trading, fractional shares, stablecoin funding and immediate onchain settlement.
• The companies also plan to exchange market data, with ICE distributing Blockchain.com's crypto data and Blockchain.com adding certain ICE and NYSE stock data to its app.
• Blockchain.com already offers tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs outside the U.S. through Ondo Finance.

Crypto economy fell just 1.6% despite $2.1 trillion market cap rout: Chainalysis

The global crypto economy contracted just 1.6% to $9.4 trillion in the 12 months ended June 30, according to Chainalysis.

• The relatively small decline came even as total crypto market capitalization fell 50%, or $2.1 trillion, during what Chainalysis called the worst crypto bear market since 2022.
• Value flowing into exchanges, DeFi protocols and other crypto services fell 4.3% to $8.9 trillion.
• Domestic peer-to-peer transfers jumped 302.9% to $228.7 billion, while cross-border stablecoin flows rose 77.5% to $220.3 billion.
• Brazil ranked first in Chainalysis' 2026 global crypto adoption index, followed by the U.S., Nigeria, Japan and South Korea.

Galaxy adds $100 million of Sky's sUSDS to treasurys

Galaxy added $100 million of Sky Protocol's yield-generating sUSDS stablecoin to its corporate treasury, funding the purchase from its own balance sheet.

• The firm also approved sUSDS as collateral across its institutional trading business, which carries an average loan book of $1.4 billion.
• Clients can use sUSDS as collateral for loans while continuing to earn the Sky Savings Rate on the full position.
• Galaxy also acquired an undisclosed amount of SKY tokens as the firms deepen their treasury and lending relationship.
• The two already have several lending arrangements, including a $500 million warehouse facility from Sky ecosystem Prime Agent Grove.

Stablecoin adoption intent rises with bank-level protections, Visa says

Stablecoin adoption intent among Americans rises from 36% to 56% when hypothetical bank-level fraud protection and deposit insurance are added, according to a Visa survey.

• Willingness to use stablecoins rises to 45% when they are offered through an existing financial provider.
• About 64% of respondents said trust depends more on the payment provider than the underlying technology.
• Commercial banks and global payment networks were the most trusted providers of digital currency services, with 61% and 60% of respondents expressing trust, respectively.
• Still, 56% of respondents said they had never heard of stablecoins.

In the next 24 hours

• U.S. weekly jobless claims and August new home sales data are due Thursday, with Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin and Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson also scheduled to speak.
• ECB officials Isabel Schnabel and Philip Lane are scheduled to speak Thursday.
• SoSoValue, Nillion, Big Time and Humanity Protocol are among the crypto projects set for token unlocks Thursday.

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