TradFi-Crypto Ties This Week Highlight DeFi Yield, CBDCs, and Real Assets

FIFA Moves NFT Platform to Avalanche

FIFA partnered with Avalanche to build a custom Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible blockchain.

FIFA Collect NFTs will migrate from Algorand and Polygon, with support for those networks ending after migration.

FIFA Collect CEO Francesco Abbate said the new infrastructure would support future growth, while Avalanche's Avalanche9000 upgrade was designed to reduce development costs. AVAX rose about 10% on May 22.

U.S. Banks Discuss Joint Stablecoin

JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo were reportedly in preliminary discussions about a joint stablecoin.

The project could involve The Clearing House and Early Warning Services, which operates Zelle.

Its future depended partly on U.S. legislation, including the GENIUS Act, which was being debated by lawmakers at the time.

Kraken Plans 50+ Tokenized Stocks and ETFs

Kraken planned to launch xStocks, offering more than 50 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs to non-U.S. customers.

Assets including Apple, Tesla and Nvidia shares would be represented by tokens issued on Solana and backed by real securities.

The structure was intended to provide 24/7 access for eligible users in markets including Europe and Latin America.

Centrifuge Brings $400M Treasury Fund to Solana

Centrifuge expanded to Solana with Anemoy's $400 million deJTRSY tokenized U.S. Treasury fund.

The token could be used through protocols including Raydium, Kamino and Lulo, allowing users to access short-term Treasury yield through DeFi.

Centrifuge's expansion used its deRWA token framework for integrating real-world assets across decentralized applications.

R3 Partners With Solana Foundation

R3 also partnered with the Solana Foundation to bring institutional tokenized assets onto a public blockchain.

R3 manages more than $10 billion in assets and works with financial institutions including HSBC and Bank of America.

The partnership targeted a tokenized asset market projected by Boston Consulting Group to reach $18.9 trillion by 2033.

SG Forge Plans Dollar Stablecoin

Société Générale subsidiary SG Forge prepared to launch a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin on public blockchains including Ethereum and Solana.

The company targeted institutional users in a stablecoin market worth about $250 billion.

SG Forge already operated EURCV and held an EU electronic-money license. At the time, euro-denominated stablecoins collectively had a market cap of roughly €300 million.

Franklin Adds DeFi Yield to Payroll

Hybrid payroll company Franklin launched Payroll Treasury Yield, allowing businesses to generate DeFi returns on idle payroll funds.

Through Summer.fi, companies could place stablecoins into audited smart-contract lending pools.

CEO Megan Knab argued that public blockchain infrastructure could eventually reshape corporate payments, although the model still carried smart-contract and decentralized-lending risks.

Colombia Plans CBDC Pilot on Cosmos

Colombia prepared a central-bank digital currency pilot using Cosmos technology and the IBC Eureka protocol.

The permissioned system would allow the central bank and participating banks to determine trusted validators.

The CBDC would remain a central-bank liability and retain the legal status of cash while testing programmable and cross-border settlement.

Ledn Focuses Entirely on Bitcoin Loans

Digital-asset lender Ledn shifted toward a full-custody Bitcoin lending model and discontinued Ethereum support.

Bitcoin represented more than 99% of client activity.

Ledn, which reported a $9.9 billion loan book, said it would avoid rehypothecating client assets while allowing customers to borrow against BTC instead of selling it.

Fold Launches Bitcoin Gift Card

Nasdaq-listed Fold introduced a Bitcoin gift card offering amounts between $25 and $500.

Developed with Totus, the product targeted the roughly $300 billion gift-card market. Fold held more than 1,485 BTC in its corporate treasury.