💥The TradFi x DeFi Merge is Here (and It’s Not Waiting for the U.S.)

📆 Week of June 30, 2025

🛰️Hey Nebulites,

This week in crypto, we witnessed the blurring of boundaries between traditional finance and decentralized innovation — and regulators scrambling to keep up. From tokenized stocks going live on Solana to the EU’s first MiCA-compliant dollar, the race to reshape financial infrastructure is accelerating.

On the flip side? The U.S. is… well, still stuck trying to define what a crypto transaction even is. But at least Senator Lummis is throwing a lifeline.

📬 This Week’s Lineup:

🏦 Chapter 1: Tokenized Stocks Hit Kraken, Bybit & Solana
📜 Chapter 2: Malaysia Proposes Lighter Listing Rules for Crypto Assets
💵 Chapter 3: MiCA-Compliant USDG Stablecoin Goes Live in the EU
🏛️ Chapter 4: Senator Lummis Drops a Pro-Crypto Tax Reform Bill

🎁 CHECK OUT OUR REFERRAL PROGRAM (Details at the end👇)

🧠 Chapter 1: Real Stocks, Blockchain Style — Tokenized Equities Hit Solana, Kraken & Bybit

Traditional finance just took another leap into the crypto realm: more than 60 tokenized stocks — including Apple, Tesla, Nvidia, and Coinbase — are now live for 24/7 trading on Kraken, Bybit, and across Solana’s DeFi ecosystem.

Brought to life by Backed Finance via its new product, xStocks, this marks a major milestone in the convergence of TradFi and DeFi.

Here’s what just went live:

• ✅ 60+ blue-chip stocks tokenized on-chain

• 🚀 Available on Kraken, Bybit, and Solana DeFi protocols like Raydium, Kamino, and Jupiter

• 🔁 Near-instant settlement with 1:1 backing by real-world shares

• 🕐 Tradeable 24/7, no time zone or weekend constraints

• 💸 Kraken promises no commissions

The move brings Wall Street to the blockchain — and it’s not just about access. With Solana integrations already rolling out via Phantom Wallet, users can soon:

• Provide liquidity using tokenized stocks on Raydium

• Trade them via Jupiter

• Stake or lend via Kamino

Bybit claims full MiFID II compliance in the EU, and dividends support is on the roadmap.

🧠Nebular Take

Tokenized stocks have been teased for years — but until now, few real, scalable examples existed outside of synthetic assets or walled-garden platforms.

Now we have:

• 💥 Real stocks

• 🌐 On real blockchains

• 🏦 With real liquidity

• 🔗 And DeFi composability

Solana is leading the way here — a big step for its broader push to become more than an NFT hub.

With $8.5B+ locked in Solana DeFi, integrating legacy stocks into permissionless ecosystems may finally give tokenized assets the shot of legitimacy they need to go mainstream.

🇲🇾 Chapter 2: Malaysia Wants to Speed Up Crypto Listings — But Not Your Meme Bags Just Yet

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) is looking to shake up crypto regulation — by loosening the rules. Yes, you read that right. A regulator… becoming less restrictive.

The big idea?

Under this proposed framework, assets wouldn’t need the SC’s blessing every time. Instead, exchanges would be held accountable for what they list — a shift aimed at increasing agility and competitiveness in Malaysia’s crypto markets.

What would qualify?

Only digital assets that:

• 🔍 Passed a public security audit

• ⌛ Have been traded for at least a year on a FATF-compliant platform

And while this could accelerate listings, SC is not ready to go full degen just yet.

Not so fast, memecoins

The SC is still iffy on high-risk assets like:

• 🥷 Privacy coins (e.g., Monero), over concerns of illicit financing

• 🐶 Memecoins, due to “volatility linked to internet culture” (aka: Doge-fueled degeneracy)

• 🧪 Nascent utility tokens with low demand or unproven use cases

Instead of an outright ban, the SC is seeking industry feedback to better shape this policy.

New rules on custody & compliance

Alongside its listing revamp, Malaysia’s regulator wants to tighten client asset protections, requiring:

• 🧾 Segregated user funds

• 📍 Appointing a senior local officer to manage crypto wallets

• 🛡️ Exchanges must register as custodians (or use SC-approved custodians)

• 📉 Plans for loss mitigation and repayment in case of insolvency

🧠Nebular Take:

This is the “grow up or get out” moment for Malaysia’s crypto sector.

On one hand, it’s a refreshing, pro-innovation stance: removing red tape to speed up token listings. On the other, it’s not a free-for-all. Projects still need security audits, real liquidity, and clean compliance records.

Malaysia might just become a surprise regulatory dark horse in Southeast Asia if this approach balances agility with accountability.

Let’s just hope they don’t lump every memecoin in the same bucket as PepeCoin...

💶 Chapter 3: Kraken-Backed Global Dollar Stablecoin Goes Live in EU — MiCA-Approved and Ready to Rumble

Another stablecoin enters the ring — but this one brought receipts.

Paxos, the issuer behind PayPal’s stablecoin, has just launched USDG (Global Dollar) in the European Union, and unlike most “let’s-hope-they-don’t-notice” token launches, this one comes MiCA-compliant out of the box.

What’s USDG?

USDG is a fully-backed, MiCA-regulated stablecoin issued by Paxos’ Finnish entity and:

• 🔄 Redeemable 1:1 for dollars

• 🏦 Holds a chunk of reserves in European banks

• 📋 Subject to audits + reserve rules set by the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA)

Think of it as a legally house-trained stablecoin, now tradable on:

• Kraken

• Gate.io

• Coinmetro

• SwissBorg

• Zodia Custody
  …and a dozen more platforms

Institutional fan club: 🪩

This isn’t just a rogue crypto side project. USDG is backed by some of TradFi’s biggest names:

• 🔒 Anchorage Digital

• 🏦 Mastercard (yes, that Mastercard)

• 🪙 Robinhood

• 💸 Worldpay

• 🌌 Galaxy Digital

It’s all part of the broader Global Dollar Network (GDN) — a stablecoin infrastructure initiative aiming to make USDG the cornerstone of cross-border digital finance.

Stablecoin demand? It’s surging

Let’s look at the numbers:

• 🌐 Global stablecoin market: $254B (up from $239B in June)

• 📈 Year-over-year stablecoin usage: +3x

• 💰 Yield-bearing stablecoins: $11B (from just $1.5B in early 2024)

Stablecoins aren’t just growing — they’re evolving into an entirely new layer of global payments.

🧠Nebular Take:

USDG isn’t just another stablecoin. It’s a blueprint for how crypto-native infrastructure can plug directly into global finance — and stay compliant while doing it.

As the MiCA era kicks off in Europe, USDG might become the regulatory golden child. That gives Kraken, Robinhood, and Paxos a serious first-mover advantage.

And if Mastercard’s onboard? The TradFi–DeFi marriage is no longer a theory. It’s a registry filing away from becoming official.

🏛️ Chapter 4: A Tax Break for Degens? Senator Lummis Fires a Pro-Crypto Shot

After getting ghosted by the latest budget bill, Senator Cynthia Lummis isn’t waiting around. Instead, she’s gone full solo mode, dropping a standalone crypto tax bill — and it might just be the most degen-friendly proposal we’ve seen from Capitol Hill.

What’s in it?

Her new bill includes several chef’s kiss tax reforms tailored for crypto users:

• 🧾 De minimis exemption for crypto transactions under $300, up to $5,000/year
  → Translation: Buy coffee with ETH without triggering the IRS.

• ⛏️ Mining and staking rewards?
  → You’d only be taxed when you sell, not when you earn. About time.

• 🤝 Crypto lending agreements and charitable donations
  → Also exempt under the bill.

Lummis called it “common-sense legislation” that cuts through red tape and reflects how people actually use crypto in the real world. In other words: No more tax acrobatics for sending stablecoins to your mom or staking SOL.

Why this matters

The U.S. crypto tax framework is… well, a mess:

• 💸 Double taxation still exists in many use cases

• ❓ DeFi is a legal gray zone

• 🧾 Reporting requirements are murky at best

Many hoped the latest 2025 budget bill would fix that. It didn’t. So Lummis is going solo, giving the industry a new shot at clarity and relief.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are still haggling over crypto provisions to include in the broader spending bill. If Lummis’s proposal doesn’t make it into that version, this standalone draft may be crypto’s last real shot at legislative progress before November.

🧠Nebular Take:

Is the U.S. finally waking up? Lummis’s bill might be small in numbers but big in signal. It shows that:

• Crypto tax reform isn’t dead

• U.S. lawmakers are listening (a little)

• And there’s political will to stop taxing every $8.99 sandwich paid for in ETH

But let’s not pop champagne just yet — the bill faces a long road. Still, if passed, it would mark a turning point for how the U.S. treats digital assets — and bring some long overdue sanity to your tax software.

🤡Memes of the week:

✅ Wrap-Up

If this week had a headline, it would be:
"TradFi wakes up, DeFi levels up, and the U.S. taxman might take a nap (finally)."

While Europe and Asia sprint ahead with regulatory clarity and product rollouts, the U.S. continues to juggle congressional red tape and outdated tax logic. But behind the noise, something big is unfolding: blockchain infrastructure is quietly eating the financial world.

This isn’t just about coins anymore. It’s about liquidity, compliance, utility, and access — across borders, asset classes, and platforms.

We’re watching the financial world get rebuilt in real-time. And the builders? They’re not wearing suits.

– Daniel
Founder, Nebular

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.