Blockchain & Digital Assets Weekly Briefing - Week 48
- danae317
- Nov 28, 2025
- 12 min read
Updated: Jan 9
Week ending 28th November 2025
This week in digital assets: JPMorgan has filed a new Bitcoin-backed bond via IBIT, signaling ongoing institutional interest. Klarna launches its own stablecoin to reduce cross-border payment costs, while Texas becomes the first U.S. state to hold a Bitcoin ETF in its strategic reserve. Canada approves QCAD, the country’s first fully regulated stablecoin, and China quietly regains its role in global Bitcoin mining.
JPMorgan files new Bitcoin-backed bond via IBIT.
Klarna launches its own stablecoin to cut the cost of cross-border payments.
Texas becomes first U.S. state to invest in Bitcoin ETF IBIT for its strategic reserve.
Canada approves QCAD — first fully regulated Canadian dollar stablecoin.
China quietly reclaims its place in global Bitcoin mining.
Beyond the Brief
JPMorgan files new Bitcoin-backed bond via IBIT
On 24 November 2025, the world's largest bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co., filed with the U.S. regulators a prospectus to launch a structured note — effectively a bond — linked to iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), the spot-Bitcoin ETF from BlackRock. The product is officially described as “Auto-Callable Accelerated Barrier Notes Linked to the iShares® Bitcoin Trust ETF, due December 20, 2028.”
[For a note described as “Auto-Callable,” it is the issuer (the bank, i.e. JPMorgan Chase & Co. in this case) that decides whether or not to redeem (call) the note early — not the investor.]
IBIT is widely considered the flagship regulated vehicle for Bitcoin exposure: a physically backed Bitcoin ETF built to reflect the price of BTC while offering a familiar ETF wrapper to investors.
What's a structured note? A structured note is a debt obligation of JPMorgan. This is standard across the industry. JPMorgan is not required to buy the underlying ETF; JP Morgan would typically hedge exposure using a mix of:
Therefore, popularity of the note does not automatically translate into IBIT buying pressure. |
Key Features of the Bond (per $1,000 face value)
Early redemption (December 2026): If IBIT is at or above its Initial Value on the observation date, the note is automatically called and pays at least $1,160 — a 16% return.
Extended maturity (to 2028): If IBIT stays below the target in 2026, the note remains active until 2028. At maturity — depending on IBIT’s performance — the payout becomes 1.5 × any upside that IBIT achieves since issuance, with no cap on gains.
Example If IBIT is +40% from issuance → the note pays +60% If IBIT is +100% → the note pays +150%
Downside exposure: While some earlier reporting suggested “protection,” the filing clarifies that repayment depends on IBIT’s performance. If the ETF falls significantly by 2028, investors may lose a portion — or more — of their principal.
In short: this bond offers a structured way to bet on Bitcoin’s future via IBIT — a combination of a scheduled limited upside (if conditions met early) or leveraged unlimited upside (if held long), but with full exposure to downside if the market under-performs.
Why this move is significant
Mainstream Finance Meets Bitcoin — via a Familiar Wrapper
By tying a structured note to IBIT, JPMorgan packages Bitcoin exposure into a regulated financial instrument (a bond), rather than a direct crypto holding. This lowers operational barriers (no wallets, custody, exchanges) and offers a traditional-finance interface — potentially making Bitcoin exposure more palatable to institutional investors or conservative clients.
IBIT itself was designed for precisely that: provide “exposure to Bitcoin through the convenience of an exchange-traded product,” eliminating many hurdles associated with direct crypto custody.
Leveraged Exposure — Structured, with Optional Early Exit
The dual structure (early call + longer-term leveraged upside) allows investors to choose between a relatively modest fixed return or a high-reward scenario. For those betting on a Bitcoin rebound or rally, the 1.5× upside — without cap — offers exposure significantly stronger than simply owning IBIT shares.
At the same time, the early-call option (with 16% return) may appeal to investors seeking a shorter-term return with some clarity, albeit conditional.
Reflects Growing Institutional Integration of Crypto
This is not an isolated move: data filings show that as of late 2025, JPMorgan increased its own holdings of IBIT by 64%, bringing its position to over 5.28 million shares (valued at hundreds of millions of dollars) — a clear sign of growing institutional comfort with Bitcoin exposure via regulated funds.
Together with earlier decisions (e.g. accepting certain crypto-linked assets as collateral for loans), this structured note underscores a shift: Bitcoin and related crypto assets are increasingly seen as a “tradable macro asset class” within traditional finance frameworks.
Spot Bitcoin ETF or JP Morgan Bitcoin-backed notes?Regulations: Many institutional investors cannot buy IBIT directly A. Some institutions are restricted from holding ETFs with crypto exposure Examples include:
Many of these can buy structured notes from a major bank — but cannot hold a spot Bitcoin ETF. B. Bank-issued notes are “approved” products These are easier to plug into:
For many clients, the note is simply buyable, while a spot Bitcoin ETF is not. Internal Risk Weighting and Compliance: Notes fit better than ETFs For institutions:
The former often carries lower compliance restrictions even if the payoff references a volatile asset. Liquidity and Return Planning With a spot Bitcoin ETF: You have full liquidity and full exposure to Bitcoin price changes — good if you want flexibility, but unpredictable. With the note:
This appeals to investors who need structured timelines (e.g., private-bank portfolios, yield-targeting strategies). |
JPMorgan’s new auto-callable note isn’t a Bitcoin-backed bond — it’s an engineered exposure product that tracks IBIT’s price while embedding leverage, optionality, and structured risk transfer. Although investors carry the downside tail risk, the note reflects a clear and growing trend: major global banks are now building sophisticated, regulated instruments around Bitcoin’s market behavior. This shift signals that Bitcoin is no longer treated as a fringe asset but as a financial variable worthy of institutional-grade structuring. Even with its complexities, the arrival of products like this shows how deeply Bitcoin is being integrated into traditional finance — and that integration continues to accelerate.
Klarna launches its own stablecoin to cut the cost of cross-border payments
Klarna, the Swedish fintech best known for buy-now-pay-later services, has just launched its first stablecoin, named KlarnaUSD. KlarnaUSD is built on the blockchain platform Tempo, developed by Stripe and Paradigm, and uses the stablecoin-infrastructure system offered by Stripe’s stablecoin-service provider Bridge. Klarna says its goal is to drastically reduce costs for cross-border payments — by bypassing expensive legacy infrastructures such as the SWIFT network — potentially making international transfers cheaper and faster for both merchants and consumers.
What Klarna promises
Klarna has 114 million customers and processes around US$112 billion in annual gross merchandise volume. With that scale, the company claims it can leverage KlarnaUSD + Tempo blockchain infrastructure to challenge traditional payment networks.
The stablecoin is initially launched on Tempo’s testnet, with a public mainnet release planned in 2026 — giving Klarna time to integrate, test, and refine the system before going live.
Klarna frames this move as a transformation: from a simple BNPL player toward functioning more like a "digital bank", embracing blockchain rails and digital-asset infrastructure in its broader payments and remittance strategy.
Why this matters for digital-asset space and payments industry
Klarna’s move signals that established fintech players are increasingly willing to embrace digital-asset infrastructure — stablecoins are no longer the exclusive domain of crypto-native firms. That may help bridge the divide between “traditional finance” and “crypto world.”
If stablecoin-based settlement becomes mainstream, especially across borders, this could reduce friction, cost and latency for international payments — potentially benefitting consumers, merchants and remittance flows globally.
On the flip side, adoption will test whether stablecoins can live up to their promises in real-world, high-volume scenarios, and whether regulators, users and financial ecosystems accept them broadly. Klarna’s success or failure may help shape those outcomes in the coming years.
Texas becomes first U.S. state to invest in Bitcoin ETF IBIT for its strategic reserve
The state of Texas has reportedly executed the inaugural allocation for its newly established cryptocurrency reserve — purchasing approximately US$5 million of the bitcoin ETF iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), sources say.
What happened
Under the 2025 law Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Investment Act (SB 21), the state set aside US$10 million to build a bitcoin reserve.
On November 20, 2025, Texas reportedly acquired US$5 million worth of IBIT — effectively giving the reserve its first exposure to bitcoin.
The purchase serves as a provisional measure: because dedicated custody infrastructure is not yet finalized, the ETF offers a compliant, ready-made vehicle for exposure.
Why this matters — and what remains uncertain
The move carries symbolic and structural weight: if confirmed, Texas becomes the first U.S. state to allocate public-treasury funds into a bitcoin-backed instrument as part of a state-managed digital-asset reserve.
However, it is not yet a direct purchase of bitcoin on-chain. ETF-based exposure does not remove coins from the liquid market — unlike self-custodied BTC holdings, which would reduce supply and raise different regulatory, audit and security questions.
Officials have yet to publish detailed documentation about the transaction or a finalized plan for custody and long-term storage.
Critical perspective: small sum, big signal — but limited near-term impact
On one hand, the US$5 million allocation is modest in the context of a state budget. It does not meaningfully shift financial risk or drastically alter the state’s balance sheet. On the other hand, the significance lies in precedent: by formally allocating public funds into a bitcoin product, Texas potentially opens the door for other states to consider similar reserves — especially as regulatory clarity around digital assets improves.
Still, relying on an ETF rather than direct bitcoin ownership tempers some of the structural implications often associated with “bitcoin treasury” — such as reducing circulating supply, self-custody, or delivering a permanent, un-correlated reserve asset. Until Texas — or another state — moves toward self-custody and transparently publishes its holdings framework, the reserve remains symbolic more than systemic.
Canada approves QCAD — first fully regulated Canadian dollar stablecoin
The trust behind QCAD, QCAD Digital Trust (via Stablecorp Digital Currencies Inc.), has officially received a “final receipt” for its prospectus — marking QCAD as the first stablecoin fully compliant with Canada’s regulatory framework for fiat-backed digital assets.
What this approval means
Regulatory validation: QCAD’s approval reflects that Canadian regulators now recognize a framework for stablecoins, a milestone for digital-asset oversight in the country.
Fully reserved, CAD-backed stablecoin: Each QCAD token is backed one-to-one with Canadian-dollar reserves held at regulated financial institutions. The reserves are maintained by QCAD Digital Trust on behalf of token holders — a structure designed to provide transparency and maintain the stable value.
According to the prospectus, the stablecoin is backed exclusively by high-quality Canadian-dollar assets held in segregated trust accounts. The “Reserve Assets” consist of three categories:
Cash in Canadian dollars held at regulated financial institutions.
Short-term Government of Canada debt — investments with a remaining maturity of 90 days or less, issued or fully and unconditionally guaranteed by the federal government.
Units of CAD-denominated money-market funds that are licensed and regulated in Canada or the United States.
These assets must at all times equal or exceed the total value of all QCAD in circulation, forming the core of the coin’s 1:1 backing requirement.
Potential for wide use: The issuer highlights QCAD’s capacity to enable lower-cost payments and transfers across Canada and internationally — potentially improving efficiency for individuals, businesses, e-commerce, remittances and cross-border transfers.
Strategic ambitions behind QCAD
The approval opens the door for further growth and infrastructure building:
Through a strategic partnership with DeFi Technologies Inc., which invested in Stablecorp in September 2025, the plan is to integrate QCAD into products such as CAD-linked exchange-traded products (ETPs), yield-bearing services and structured financial products.
The firms aim to supply liquidity, provide institutional-grade on/off-ramps, and support mint/redeem operations — positioning QCAD as a core “Canadian-dollar rail” bridging traditional finance and digital assets.
Additionally, there are indications of a long-term security roadmap: including coordination with a quantum-security partner to future-proof the system as QCAD scales.
Critical perspectives & open questions
While this represents a milestone, several aspects deserve cautious attention:
Adoption uncertain: The success of QCAD depends not only on regulatory approval, but on real adoption — merchants, payment processors, banks and consumers need to accept it. The digital-asset sector globally still faces headwinds around real-world usage, beyond speculative trading.
Regulatory framework still evolving: Although QCAD is approved under the interim framework for “Value-Referenced Crypto Assets” (VRCAs) of the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), this framework remains relatively new. Long-term regulatory clarity — especially how stablecoins fit into banking, payments, taxation and systemic-risk regulation — remains to be seen.
Competition and trust dynamics: Other stablecoins and payment infrastructures (fiat or crypto-based) may compete. Whether QCAD can gain sufficient trust — among institutional players, regulators and everyday users — will determine its impact.
China quietly reclaims its place in global Bitcoin mining
More than four years after China’s comprehensive ban on cryptocurrency activities, including Bitcoin mining, the sector appears to be making a subtle comeback.
A “Silent Revival” of Bitcoin Mining
According to Hashrate Index data, China’s share of global Bitcoin mining reached approximately 14% by the end of October 2025, placing it third in the world again.
The resurgence is discreet, concentrated in provinces with cheap electricity like Xinjiang and Sichuan, which also have substantial data center infrastructure.
Factors Driving the Comeback
Several elements explain this renewed activity:
Bitcoin’s price increase in recent months has made mining significantly more profitable.
Overcapacity in electricity generation in certain provinces, partly due to investments in data centers, provides low-cost power ideal for mining.
Demand for mining equipment is rising again: for example, ??Canaan Inc. reports that in 2025, China accounted for over half of its quarterly revenue, up from just 2.8% in 2022, according to a Reuters report.
Ban Still in Place — But Largely Unenforced
Officially, mining remains prohibited since 2021, as the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) cited financial stability risks and high energy consumption.
Yet mining continues in affected regions.
This de facto tolerance may indicate a more flexible approach by Beijing toward digital assets — the ban remains, but enforcement is inconsistent.
Beyond the Brief
Opinion: Tokenizing the Private Market: A 1920s-Style Financial Experiment in the Digital Age
In the roaring 1920s, the United States witnessed a dramatic democratization of finance. Ordinary Americans, drawn by the allure of stock market gains, increasingly invested on margin — borrowing money to buy stocks that were often overvalued or speculative. For a time, it seemed like a golden age of opportunity. But when prices fell, leverage magnified losses, triggering a cascade of defaults that culminated in the 1929 crash.
Fast forward to the present, and we are witnessing a strikingly similar trend: the democratization of private markets through tokenization. Advances in blockchain and digital finance are enabling retail investors to access private equity, venture capital, and private debt — assets that were historically reserved for institutional players. Tokenization promises unprecedented liquidity, fractional ownership, and a chance for everyday investors to participate in the profits of previously opaque markets.
But there is a dark side.
The hidden risks of tokenized private markets lie in the very characteristics that make them appealing: opacity, leverage, absence of mark-to-market pricing, and methodological heterogeneity. Private market assets are not priced continuously in liquid markets; valuations rely on internal models, appraisals, or fund-reported estimates. Different funds often use different valuation methodologies, creating uncertainty and fragmentation. When tokenized private assets are used as collateral for loans — a likely next step — leverage becomes invisible and potentially excessive. Overstated or miscalculated valuations may hide true credit exposure. Defaults could cascade rapidly across borrowers and lenders, as participants rely on different and sometimes inconsistent valuations. This mirrors the 1920s stock boom: democratization empowers ordinary investors, but systemic risk accumulates quietly behind the scenes.
Regulation is unlikely to provide immediate safeguards. Financial innovation historically outpaces oversight. Just as brokers in the 1920s operated with little scrutiny, tokenized private markets today exist in a regulatory grey zone. To prevent a modern financial crisis, proper regulation is essential, including:
Frequent and standardized reporting of valuations to reflect real-time or near-real-time conditions.
Transparent leverage metrics for tokenized collateral, including loan-to-value ratios, total exposure, and concentration, so market participants can understand systemic risk.
Assessment and monitoring of valuation standards: ensuring that tokenized private assets are valued according to clear, auditable frameworks. This reduces uncertainty from heterogeneous methods and allows participants to compare assets reliably.
Limits on collateralized borrowing to prevent excessive credit expansion against illiquid assets.
Disclosure requirements for retail investors, ensuring they understand the risks of illiquid, opaque private assets.
This is not a call to halt innovation. Tokenization has enormous potential to broaden access, improve efficiency, and democratize wealth. But history offers a warning: without mark-to-market transparency, robust valuation standards, prudent leverage management, and timely regulation, democratization can become a vector for financial instability.
In the race to make private markets accessible, the key question is whether we will repeat the mistakes of the 1920s or design a system that empowers retail investors without sowing the seeds of the next financial crisis.
WHAT WE ARE READING (OR WATCHING)
The Stablecoin Standard
Deutsche Börse locks in third euro stablecoin amid broader EU adoption
Visa taps Aquanow to boost stablecoin settlement capabilities
The Nakamoto Engine
For One Abu Dhabi Fund, Crypto Is a ‘Store of Value’
Crypto on the Balance Sheet
MSTR Investors: Mark Your Calendars for Jan. 15 — Billions Could Be Wiped Off in 1 Day
The Tokenized Economy
BlackRock Fund Offered on Binance Marks Shift in Crypto Plumbing
The Global Pulse
Hassett Emerges as Frontrunner in Trump Fed Chair Audition
Beyond the Chain
Bitcoin to burgers: everyday crypto payments boom in South Africa
Largest US Pension Fund CalPERS Faces Heavy Losses As Strategy Investment Drops To $80M
This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Please do your own research or consult a licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions.
