Hey crypto addicts,

Compound is making a bigger push into institutional DeFi with the launch of a new USDC lending market offering loan-to-value ratios as high as 87%. The market allows borrowers to use ETH, wstETH, WBTC and cbBTC as collateral while accessing USDC liquidity.

The launch is part of Compound’s $52 million institutional expansion plan, designed to offer greater capital efficiency, clearer risk parameters and dedicated support for larger participants. Early demand has already been strong, with the market reportedly oversubscribed at launch.

The bigger picture is DeFi’s growing attempt to attract serious institutional capital. As lending protocols introduce products designed around professional investors, the gap between traditional credit markets and onchain finance continues to narrow.☕

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RedStone is bringing institutional credit further into DeFi by providing pricing data for FalconX’s $170 million-plus private-credit vault across Monad, Plume and MegaETH. The vault allows investors to provide USDC to finance FalconX’s institutional lending activity while receiving a token representing their senior credit position.

The key development is that holders can now use the tokenized credit position as collateral without redeeming it first. RedStone takes the vault’s NAV from Ethereum and distributes the same valuation across multiple networks, giving lending protocols a consistent way to determine borrowing capacity and monitor positions.

The move highlights an important next step for tokenized real-world assets: making them genuinely usable across DeFi rather than simply putting them onchain. As institutional credit expands into decentralized markets, reliable pricing, liquidity and liquidation infrastructure will become increasingly important for turning tokenized assets into productive collateral.☕

Bitcoin’s next major adoption milestone may have little to do with trading volume. A fintech veteran argues that the real signal will come when traditional banks begin treating Bitcoin as a genuine financial asset — holding it for clients, extending credit for purchases, and most importantly, accepting it as collateral for loans.

That shift would force banks to do more than simply offer a trading interface. They would need to establish risk limits, custody standards, collateral haircuts and liquidation procedures, effectively placing Bitcoin within the same institutional framework used for stocks, bonds and other established assets.

The bigger picture is that Bitcoin is gradually moving from something banks help clients trade into an asset that can support real financial activity. As lending, custody and settlement infrastructure develops, the strongest proof of mainstream adoption may ultimately be sitting on a bank’s balance sheet rather than appearing on a trading screen.☕

Kalshi is pushing deeper into derivatives with plans to launch perpetual futures tied to gold and silver, giving eligible U.S. traders 24/7 exposure to the two major precious metals without needing to own the physical assets. The contracts will be dollar-settled and track spot prices using Pyth Network data.

Unlike traditional futures, the contracts have no fixed expiry date, meaning traders can maintain positions without rolling into new contracts. Funding payments will help keep prices aligned with the underlying metals, while the cash-settled structure removes the need for physical delivery.

The move shows how rapidly Kalshi is evolving beyond prediction markets and into broader financial derivatives. With crypto perpetuals already expanding on the platform, adding gold and silver could further blur the line between traditional commodities trading and the always-on trading model popularized by crypto.☕

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Cointelegraph’s latest crypto roundup highlights several major developments, including Consensys preparing to split MetaMask from its institutional blockchain business, while Hunter Biden’s LAPTOP memecoin plunged more than 95% shortly after launching. Meanwhile, Singaporean national Malone Lam pleaded guilty to a RICO conspiracy

DoubleZero is expanding its data infrastructure by adding real-time Kalshi election market data to its Edge network ahead of the 2026 U.S. midterm elections. The feed includes trade, top-of-book and aggregated order-book data, giving institutional and automated traders faster access to political market signals.

Consensys is splitting its business into two independent companies, separating MetaMask’s consumer-focused wallet and financial platform from its Ethereum protocols and institutional blockchain infrastructure operations. MetaMask will be led by Joe Lubin and expand further into payments, savings, investing and traditional financial

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