Katherine Ross

1 week ago | blockworks.co | Katherine Ross

The stablecoin company Circle is a highly anticipated IPO, and we know now that BlackRock's very interested, per a Bloomberg report, and we have an idea behind potential pricing. This one is an interesting hybrid of crypto and TradFi. On Tuesday, I wrote that the stablecoin issuer is really close to the finish line, but I hadn't realized just how close until I caught up with Jay Woods, Chief Global Strategist at Freedom Capital Markets.

1 week ago | blockworks.co | Katherine Ross

Have you heard about Cove? Given that the protocol didn't have a testnet, you might not have, or you might have seen its $3 million pre-seed raise led by Electric Capital, with participation from Accomplice, Daedalus, and Robot Ventures. Cove is launching its mainnet today, the team exclusively told Blockworks. They're also launching coveUSD, which lets folks earn yield on Ethereum. But let's back up: The Cove protocol aims to deliver "risk-adjusted yield" through curated DeFi vaults.

1 week ago | blockworks.co | Katherine Ross

Cantor's Bitcoin financing business is fully operational, the company announced on Tuesday. One of the transactions was with Maple, which said that it closed its first tranche of Bitcoin-backed financing. "This financing facility through Cantor enables Maple to accelerate its growth and expand its reach as a provider of digital asset credit," said Sidney Powell, CEO of Maple Finance. Maple said that the transaction was a "major milestone" for the institutional adoption of crypto.

1 week ago | blockworks.co | Katherine Ross

The crypto boom isn't just boosting interest in the US - it's boosting interest across the world. Gemini's State of Crypto Report found in a survey that Singapore has the highest ownership rate at 28%, a 2% increase from last year. Meanwhile, the UK jumped to 24% from 18%. It's obviously hard to deny the impact of the US opening up, and that was cited as a big reason for folks across the world who are crypto-curious but not ready to commit to owning any (yet).

1 week ago | mail.blockworks.com | Ben Strack |Macauley Peterson |Katherine Ross |Jeffrey Albus

We hope you're enjoying your long weekend. Byron's probably on a beach somewhere sipping a La Croix, catching some rays and pondering macro things. But have no fear — the Forward Guidance crew is here, working hard to bring you some Memorial Day reading material. Don’t worry, Byron will be back tomorrow.