Blockchain & Digital Assets Weekly Briefing - Week 50
- danae317
- Dec 12, 2025
- 9 min read
Week ending 12th December 2025
Digital assets continue to evolve across finance, infrastructure, and regulatory frameworks worldwide. In Europe, France’s BPCE has begun offering crypto trading directly to retail banking customers, marking a major traditional banking entry into digital-asset services. Meanwhile in Asia, Malaysia has launched RMJDT, a ringgit-backed stablecoin designed to facilitate cross-border trade and payments under a regulated sandbox framework. On Wall Street, a novel Bitcoin “After-Dark” ETF filing targets overnight BTC returns, reflecting new investment product innovation outside regular market hours. In the U.S., regulators have clarified that national banks may act as intermediaries in crypto trades without holding the underlying assets, broadening institutional roles in digital markets. Finally, broader market infrastructure is shifting as tokenized shares and on-chain capital-raising mechanisms gain attention for enabling public companies to access blockchain-native funding channels.
Historic shift in France as major bank BPCE launches crypto trading for retail users.
Malaysia launches RMJDT: A ringgit-backed stablecoin for cross-border payments.
Wall Street sleeps — Bitcoin doesn’t: new ‘After‑Dark’ ETF aims to capture BTC’s overnight gains.
U.S. regulator lets national banks act as crypto brokers — without holding the crypto.
Superstate enables public companies to raise capital on‑chain via tokenized shares.
Historic shift in France as major bank BPCE launches crypto trading for retail users
BPCE, the large French banking group behind Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Épargne, allows about 2 million of its retail customers to trade major cryptocurrencies directly through its mobile banking apps.
What BPCE is doing
Since Monday, clients of four regional BPCE banks will be able to buy and sell Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL) and USD Coin (USDC) and other major cryptocurrencies through the native banking apps.
The service is provided via a separate digital-asset account managed by BPCE’s crypto-focused subsidiary Hexarq.
There is a monthly fee of €2.99 per account, plus a 1.5% commission per trade (with a minimum charge of €1 if the trade is small).
BPCE intends to expand the offering over time to its full retail customer base — roughly 12 million customers — by 2026.
Significance and Opportunities
This move marks a significant step by a major traditional bank toward integrating crypto services into mainstream banking. By offering crypto trading directly within banking apps, BPCE potentially lowers the barrier for consumers unfamiliar with dedicated crypto exchanges.
For crypto markets, increased retail access via a reputed bank could enlarge the pool of investors — introducing new demand beyond traditional crypto-native users.
It reflects a broader trend across Europe, where some banks are cautiously opening doors to digital assets — possibly anticipating regulatory clarity and growing demand.
Malaysia launches RMJDT: A ringgit-backed stablecoin for cross-border payments
A new stablecoin called RMJDT, pegged to the Malaysian ringgit, has been officially launched by Bullish Aim Sdn Bhd — a company chaired and owned by Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, the Regent of Johor.
What is RMJDT and how it works
RMJDT is pegged 1:1 to the Malaysian ringgit and is backed by real ringgit assets: cash deposits and short-term Malaysian government bonds.
The token is issued on Zetrix, the core layer-1 blockchain underlying the national Malaysia Blockchain Infrastructure (MBI).
RMJDT is being introduced under a regulated sandbox framework overseen by Malaysian authorities.
Intentions behind the launch
The primary aims are to facilitate faster, blockchain-based payments and cross-border trade settlements — making international transactions more efficient for Malaysian businesses and trade partners.
Officials hope RMJDT will help promote the use of the ringgit in regional and global trade, thereby boosting foreign direct investment (FDI) into Malaysia.
To undergird the infrastructure, Bullish Aim is also establishing a digital-asset treasury company (DATCO), initially allocating RM 500 million in Zetrix tokens — with plans to expand to RM 1 billion. This treasury will help stabilise network fees and support up to 10% of validator nodes in the MBI.
Critical considerations and potential challenges
Transparency of reserves: While RMJDT is reportedly backed by cash and bonds, details on how often backing will be audited or publicly verifiable remain unclear. Without transparent, regular audits, stablecoin-backing claims can be difficult to independently confirm.
Reliance on a single blockchain framework: Building on Zetrix links RMJDT’s fate to the success and adoption of that platform. If Zetrix fails to attract adequate users or faces technical setbacks, RMJDT could suffer.
Market trust and competition: RMJDT must earn trust against existing fiat-based systems and competing stablecoins or digital payment solutions — a non-trivial task especially in cross-border contexts.
What this means for Malaysia and the broader crypto ecosystem
The launch of RMJDT represents one of the first major attempts by a national-scale entity in Southeast Asia to issue a fiat-backed stablecoin under regulated conditions. If successful, it could pave the way for broader use of national currencies in digital form and support Malaysia’s ambitions to integrate blockchain into national trade and finance.
At the same time, RMJDT’s future will hinge heavily on transparency, regulatory clarity, and real adoption — not just from crypto-native users, but from traditional businesses and governments.
Wall Street sleeps — Bitcoin doesn’t: new ‘After‑Dark’ ETF aims to capture BTC’s overnight gains
A recently filed proposal seeks to launch a novel ETF designed to give investors exposure to Bitcoin — but only when U.S. equity markets are closed. The fund, dubbed Nicholas Bitcoin and Treasuries AfterDark ETF, would hold short‑term U.S. Treasuries or cash during the day and shift into Bitcoin-linked futures and related instruments after market close.
What is the “After‑Dark” approach
The AfterDark ETF — filed by Tidal Trust II — intends to avoid holding actual Bitcoin directly. Instead, it plans to gain exposure via futures contracts, options, and by investing in other Bitcoin ETFs or ETPs.
During U.S. daytime hours (when equity markets are open), the fund would remain in cash equivalents or short-term Treasuries, aiming to reduce exposure to intraday volatility.
Once the U.S. market closes, positions shift into Bitcoin-related instruments — theoretically capturing the asset’s overnight performance, before reverting to safer assets at market open.
Why This Strategy?
Advocates point to a historical pattern: much of Bitcoin’s upward movement tends to occur during after-hours, when U.S. equity markets are closed. One analyst quoted in the filing — Eric Balchunas — suggested that this “night-only” exposure could deliver better returns for investors who don’t want full-time crypto exposure. He added:
[The] bigger takeaway here is the ETF industry is going to try everything.”
Moreover, this filing reflects a broader trend in which ETF issuers increasingly experiment with niche, timing-based designs, beyond traditional spot or futures ETFs.
U.S. regulator lets national banks act as crypto brokers — without holding the crypto
On 9 December 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued Interpretive Letter 1188, formally confirming that U.S. national banks may act as intermediaries in “riskless principal” crypto-asset transactions. Under this model, a bank would simultaneously purchase a crypto-asset from one customer and resell it immediately to another — functioning like a broker, without holding the crypto itself on its books.
In effect, this decision allows banks to facilitate crypto trades for clients while avoiding market-risk exposure and inventory holding.
Why the OCC says it’s permissible
The letter argues that riskless principal crypto trades are the “legal and economic equivalent” of traditional brokerage activities long allowed in banking — such as securities riskless-principal transactions or matched derivatives trades.
The OCC treats such activity as within the “business of banking”, as permitted under federal banking law (12 U.S.C. § 24(Seventh)) and consistent with its technology-neutral supervisory framework.
The risk profile, the agency argues, remains comparable to other bank-permitted intermediations: the bank avoids market-risk by offsetting trades and only retains limited counterparty or settlement-risk, which banks are accustomed to managing.
How this builds on earlier OCC guidance
This letter adds to a series of regulatory clarifications by the OCC in 2025 regarding crypto-asset services by banks:
In Interpretive Letter 1186 (Nov 2025), the OCC allowed national banks to hold crypto-assets as principal — but limited to amounts needed to pay network fees or support platform-testing.
Earlier, in letters such as Interpretive Letter 1184 (May 2025) and Interpretive Letter 1170 (2020), the OCC had already cleared banks to offer custody, execution, and third-party-outsourced crypto services under certain conditions.
Taken together, these moves signal a regulatory trajectory toward integrating crypto-asset services within traditional banking — placing custody, fee-payment, and now brokerage support under federal banking supervision.
What it means — potential benefits and caution points
A/ Potential benefits
Customers may now access crypto-asset services (trade execution, brokerage) through regulated banks instead of unregulated exchanges, which may offer greater legal protections and oversight.
Banks could expand their business lines to include crypto brokerage, which may attract new clients and broaden services.
The framework preserves much of the banking sector’s existing risk-management practices, leveraging banks’ experience with settlement, credit‐risk and compliance controls — now applied to crypto trades.
B/ Constraints and open questions
The letter explicitly limits its conclusions to the “facts presented by recent applicants.” It warns that “different facts and circumstances” could lead to a different regulatory outcome.
Even as riskless principal activity is permitted, banks must still conduct it “in a safe and sound manner” and under ongoing supervisory review.
The permission does not automatically mean all national banks will offer crypto-intermediation — they retain discretion, and many may decide it’s not aligned with their risk appetite, compliance burden, or business model.
Despite the “riskless” label, residual settlement or counterparty risk remains, especially given the volatility and technical complexity of crypto-asset networks.
A significant yet cautious step forward
Interpretive Letter 1188 marks a notable turning point: regulatory endorsement for national banks to act as brokers for crypto-asset trades, without holding inventory — a structural barrier that has long separated traditional banking from on-chain assets. Yet the ruling does not guarantee widespread adoption: banks must still weigh compliance, risk, and client demand. The OCC’s approach remains conditional — rooted in past precedents with securities and derivatives — and leaves room for differing interpretations depending on how future banks structure their crypto offerings.
Superstate enables public companies to raise capital on‑chain via tokenized shares
In a move that could reshape how public companies raise money, fintech firm Superstate has launched a mechanism — its Direct Issuance Programs (DIPs) — allowing any company registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue new shares directly on Ethereum and Solana blockchain networks.
What Superstate Is Doing
Through DIPs, companies can offer newly issued shares directly to investors in exchange for stablecoin payments.
Once the stablecoin proceeds are received, tokenized shares are delivered instantly, and shareholder registries are updated in real time — handled by Superstate’s SEC‑registered transfer‑agent infrastructure.
This process effectively merges traditional securities regulation with blockchain settlement, enabling compliant capital raises that circumvent some of the inefficiencies of conventional issuance methods.
Why It Matters: Potential Benefits
For issuers (companies):
Lower costs: by reducing underwriting and distribution fees typically associated with public offerings.
Broader reach: tokenized shares can be offered to a global investor base, subject to regulatory eligibility, which may enlarge the pool of potential investors.
For investors:
Faster settlement: shares arrive in wallets nearly instantaneously after purchase, eliminating delays common in traditional stock issuance.
Accessibility: retail or institutional investors can potentially access primary issuances directly, rather than relying solely on secondary markets.
For the broader markets:
This could mark the beginning of a structural shift: public equity issuance and capital raising becoming native to blockchain infrastructure, combining the compliance of traditional markets with the speed and programmability of crypto rails.
What’s New — and What Remains to Prove
The regulatory framework enabling public companies to raise capital is not new. What’s novel is that Superstate now allows those companies to carry out the entire process on‑chain. As Superstate’s co‑founder notes, that operational and economic shift is the real innovation.
However:
As of the announcement, actual public company issuances under DIPs are not yet live; Superstate expects the first offerings to launch in 2026.
Practical issues remain: global investor access will still depend on compliance checks (KYC/AML), and the legal equivalence of tokenized shares across jurisdictions — especially for non‑U.S. investors — will need ongoing regulatory clarity.
Market adoption is uncertain: companies must be convinced to replace or complement traditional capital‑raising processes with tokenized alternatives — which may take time given legacy inertia and regulatory hesitation.
How Public Companies Traditionally Raise Capital
Currently, public companies registered with the SEC raise capital through conventional methods that rely on intermediaries and regulatory procedures. Typically, a company works with investment banks or underwriters to structure a public offering, file the necessary SEC registration statements, and market the shares to institutional and retail investors. Once the offering is approved, shares are sold through broker-dealers, and the settlement process usually takes several days to complete, during which the company receives the proceeds and investors receive their shares. Throughout this process, shareholder registries are updated manually or through centralized transfer agents, and companies incur underwriting fees, legal costs, and administrative expenses. While highly regulated and secure, this method can be slow, costly, and less flexible compared to emerging on-chain alternatives.
Superstate’s Direct Issuance Programs represent a bold step toward merging traditional public markets with blockchain-native infrastructure. If successful, they could reduce friction, cut costs, and unlock capital-raising on a truly global scale — but much will depend on execution, regulatory clarity, and real‑world adoption.
WHAT WE ARE READING (OR WATCHING)
The Stablecoin Standard
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.
