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162: Davos just confirmed it
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.51insights.xyz
Hey, it’s Marc.
Davos is usually where the establishment pats itself on the back. This year, they looked over their shoulder.
Suddenly, crypto isn’t a “scam” , but national defense. And the bankers who spent a decade mocking it? They are panic-buying the infrastructure. Jamie Dimon (and others) are realizing that if they don’t upgrade to the “new physics of money”, they won’t just lose market share, they’ll be displaced.
“We can now move infinite data at the speed of the internet at zero cost... the physics of money becomes the physics of the internet”, says, Jeremy Allaire, CEO Circle.
Sergio Ermotti, UBS CEO, declared blockchain “the future of traditional banking”, while UBS is launching Bitcoin and Ethereum trading.
Meanwhile, President Trump reasserted his stance on crypto:
“I’m also working to ensure America remains the crypto capital of the world... China wanted that market too... We have to make it so that China doesn’t get the hold of it.” — Donald Trump, President of USA
Davos just confirmed it: Fighting the future is no longer just bad business. It’s "un-American." Money is being rewired.
Our highlights this week:
* NYSE develops 24/7 tokenized securities trading
* UBS to launch Bitcoin and Ethereum trading
* WEF crypto sentiment is bullish
* Bermuda becomes the first on-chain nation
* FanDuel enters prediction markets
Let’s jump in 👇
Top Boardroom Reads
* How stablecoins can expand financial access to the most underserved and unbanked (WEF)
* Why Polygon chose payments, with Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs (51)
* The Stablecoin toolkit (Wharton)
* Quantum Threat (Citi)
* How stablecoins are transforming cross-border payments (Deutsche Bank)
* Cathie Wood’s 2026 Outlook (Ark Invest)
* Year in Review 2025 (Binance)
* Systemic Risk in DeFi: A Network-Based Fragility Analysis of TVL Dynamics (Study)
* The four-year cycle is dead. What will drive crypto in 2026? (Wintermute)
Top Signals This Week
NYSE announces 24/7 tokenized securities trading
On January 19, 2026, ICE filed with the SEC to launch a fully electronic, 24/7 on-chain tokenised exchange for U.S.-listed equities and ETFs. The platform combines the NYSE’s high-performance Pillar matching engine with blockchain-based settlement to enable atomic delivery-versus-payment. This is the same centralised limit order book (CLOB)1 used by institutional High-Frequency Trading (HFT) firms (like Citadel Securities and Jump Trading). [RELEASE]
Why it matters: Consider a European investor who wants to buy technology stocks. Currently, they might trade on a local exchange that closes at 5:00 PM CET or wait for the US open. In the new regime, they can trade Apple or Nvidia on the NYSE at any hour. This creates a massive competitive moat against regional exchanges like the London Stock Exchange (LSE) or the Tokyo Stock Exchange (JPX) that still operate on limited hours. Why hold a dormant asset when you can hold an active one? The NYSE effectively becomes the “World Stock Exchange”.
Read our full analysis below:
UBS enters Bitcoin & Ethereum
UBS ($6.9T AUM) is launching Bitcoin and Ethereum trading for private clients, with CEO Sergio Ermotti declaring blockchain “the future of traditional banking.” This pivot isn’t random; it immediately follows the January 1st activation of new Basel III standards, which dramatically lowered the capital requirements for banks holding digital assets.
Why it matters: With half the world’s billionaires on its roster, even a conservative 1% allocation from UBS clients creates $60 billion in buying pressure. This signals that the world’s most conservative capital—wealth that survived two world wars—is now comfortable moving on-chain, effectively de-risking the asset class for every other wealth manager on the planet.
🚨 Want more intelligence and understand what this means for your institution? Work with the 51 Intel team to embed continuous, high-signal market intelligence into your organization.
WEF 2026 top crypto narratives
Davos 2026 confirmed what insiders already knew: The financial system is restructuring in real time. Here are the top narratives that we observed:
* Stablecoins are now globally accepted: High optimism regarding utility and adoption; Friction regarding regulatory limits on yield and competition with traditional banks.
* Tokenisation of RWAs: Strong consensus on the inevitability of tokenization for efficiency; Divergence on whether the settlement layer should be private stablecoins (US view) or CBDCs (European view).
* The convergence of AI and crypto: The “Machine Economy” is viewed as a primary driver for future crypto volume.
* Regulation and political will: The political backdrop of 2026 is defined by the “Genius Act,” a bill establishing a US federal framework for digital assets.
* The future of banking and finance: Banks are now acknowledging the threat of the rise of fintechs. Consensus that “hybrid” models, where banks integrate crypto rails for settlement, are the immediate future, rather than a total replacement of banks.
The prevailing sentiment is that the technology (tokenisation and stablecoins) has won the argument on utility.
The remaining battles are political: who controls the rails (sovereign vs. private), who captures the value (banks vs. tech firms), and which nations set the rules (US vs. Europe/China).
👉Subscribe to PRO to receive the full analysis on key statements from Trump, Fink, Dimon, Ermotti, Allaire, Armstrong, Musk and what it means for investors
Bermuda goes on-chain
On January 19, 2026, the Government of Bermuda formally partnered with Circle and Coinbase to transition to a “fully on-chain national economy.” [RELEASE]
* Rails: The government selected Base (an Ethereum Layer-2) as its national settlement layer and USDC as its medium of exchange, rejecting the CBDC model.
* Scope: The migration covers government tax collection, welfare disbursements, and retail merchant systems.
* Goal: To eliminate the “island tax” of correspondent banking and reduce the cost of capital for its $780B insurance market.
Why it matters: Bermuda hosts 75% of global Insurance-Linked Securities (ILS). These are catastrophe bonds, capital set aside to cover hurricanes, earthquakes, or cyber events. The money is locked up for one to three years by design. If a pension fund commits $5M, that capital is inaccessible until maturity. That structure broke in 2023. As interest rates rose, investors lost patience with long lockups. The reinsurance market faced a $60B capital gap almost overnight. Traditional funding simply pulled back. Now, tokenization turns locked, long-dated insurance capital into something flexible: smaller entry sizes, real liquidity, and faster payouts. It brings new capital back into reinsurance without changing the underlying risk.
🚨 We just opened new sponsorship slots for our newsletters & podcast. Want to reach 35k+ digital asset leaders? Contact us here.
Fanduel enters prediction markets
FanDuel, the American gambling company with 12M users, has launched “FanDuel Predicts” nationwide. [RELEASE]
Why it matters: The overlooked catalyst is a new U.S. law taking effect in 2026 that makes traditional sports betting far less tax-efficient, especially for frequent bettors, while prediction markets sit under a different regulatory regime and avoid this penalty.
* The Loophole: Trades on these platforms are classified as Section 12562 contracts.
* The Impact: Losses are fully deductible, and gains receive the favorable 60/40 tax treatment (60% long-term / 40% short-term capital gains).
* The Consequence: We are witnessing a mass migration of “whale” capital from traditional sportsbooks to regulated exchanges to avoid the OBBBA cap.
More below.
🙌 Work with us: We arm financial institutions and digital asset leaders with bespoke research, thought leadership to shape the most important conversations, scale trust, and win business.
News Flash
* Coinbase established independent advisory board on Quantum computing. Link
* HK to issue stablecoin licenses in Q1. Link
* Strategy buys $2.1b BTC, largest buy in 1+ year. Link
* Central Bank of Iran has acquired US dollar stablecoins worth $0.5B. Link
* Trump hopes to sign the crypto bill ‘very soon’. Link
* Ondo launches tokenised stocks on SOL. Link
* BitGo raises $213m in IPO, $2b+ valuation. Link
* US M2 supply hits $22.3T. Link
That’s all for now, folks.
PRO Readers: Read our alpha insights below!
– Marc & Team
💎 Investor Insights (Alpha)
View all episodes
By Marc BaumannThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.51insights.xyz
Hey, it’s Marc.
Davos is usually where the establishment pats itself on the back. This year, they looked over their shoulder.
Suddenly, crypto isn’t a “scam” , but national defense. And the bankers who spent a decade mocking it? They are panic-buying the infrastructure. Jamie Dimon (and others) are realizing that if they don’t upgrade to the “new physics of money”, they won’t just lose market share, they’ll be displaced.
“We can now move infinite data at the speed of the internet at zero cost... the physics of money becomes the physics of the internet”, says, Jeremy Allaire, CEO Circle.
Sergio Ermotti, UBS CEO, declared blockchain “the future of traditional banking”, while UBS is launching Bitcoin and Ethereum trading.
Meanwhile, President Trump reasserted his stance on crypto:
“I’m also working to ensure America remains the crypto capital of the world... China wanted that market too... We have to make it so that China doesn’t get the hold of it.” — Donald Trump, President of USA
Davos just confirmed it: Fighting the future is no longer just bad business. It’s "un-American." Money is being rewired.
Our highlights this week:
* NYSE develops 24/7 tokenized securities trading
* UBS to launch Bitcoin and Ethereum trading
* WEF crypto sentiment is bullish
* Bermuda becomes the first on-chain nation
* FanDuel enters prediction markets
Let’s jump in 👇
Top Boardroom Reads
* How stablecoins can expand financial access to the most underserved and unbanked (WEF)
* Why Polygon chose payments, with Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs (51)
* The Stablecoin toolkit (Wharton)
* Quantum Threat (Citi)
* How stablecoins are transforming cross-border payments (Deutsche Bank)
* Cathie Wood’s 2026 Outlook (Ark Invest)
* Year in Review 2025 (Binance)
* Systemic Risk in DeFi: A Network-Based Fragility Analysis of TVL Dynamics (Study)
* The four-year cycle is dead. What will drive crypto in 2026? (Wintermute)
Top Signals This Week
NYSE announces 24/7 tokenized securities trading
On January 19, 2026, ICE filed with the SEC to launch a fully electronic, 24/7 on-chain tokenised exchange for U.S.-listed equities and ETFs. The platform combines the NYSE’s high-performance Pillar matching engine with blockchain-based settlement to enable atomic delivery-versus-payment. This is the same centralised limit order book (CLOB)1 used by institutional High-Frequency Trading (HFT) firms (like Citadel Securities and Jump Trading). [RELEASE]
Why it matters: Consider a European investor who wants to buy technology stocks. Currently, they might trade on a local exchange that closes at 5:00 PM CET or wait for the US open. In the new regime, they can trade Apple or Nvidia on the NYSE at any hour. This creates a massive competitive moat against regional exchanges like the London Stock Exchange (LSE) or the Tokyo Stock Exchange (JPX) that still operate on limited hours. Why hold a dormant asset when you can hold an active one? The NYSE effectively becomes the “World Stock Exchange”.
Read our full analysis below:
UBS enters Bitcoin & Ethereum
UBS ($6.9T AUM) is launching Bitcoin and Ethereum trading for private clients, with CEO Sergio Ermotti declaring blockchain “the future of traditional banking.” This pivot isn’t random; it immediately follows the January 1st activation of new Basel III standards, which dramatically lowered the capital requirements for banks holding digital assets.
Why it matters: With half the world’s billionaires on its roster, even a conservative 1% allocation from UBS clients creates $60 billion in buying pressure. This signals that the world’s most conservative capital—wealth that survived two world wars—is now comfortable moving on-chain, effectively de-risking the asset class for every other wealth manager on the planet.
🚨 Want more intelligence and understand what this means for your institution? Work with the 51 Intel team to embed continuous, high-signal market intelligence into your organization.
WEF 2026 top crypto narratives
Davos 2026 confirmed what insiders already knew: The financial system is restructuring in real time. Here are the top narratives that we observed:
* Stablecoins are now globally accepted: High optimism regarding utility and adoption; Friction regarding regulatory limits on yield and competition with traditional banks.
* Tokenisation of RWAs: Strong consensus on the inevitability of tokenization for efficiency; Divergence on whether the settlement layer should be private stablecoins (US view) or CBDCs (European view).
* The convergence of AI and crypto: The “Machine Economy” is viewed as a primary driver for future crypto volume.
* Regulation and political will: The political backdrop of 2026 is defined by the “Genius Act,” a bill establishing a US federal framework for digital assets.
* The future of banking and finance: Banks are now acknowledging the threat of the rise of fintechs. Consensus that “hybrid” models, where banks integrate crypto rails for settlement, are the immediate future, rather than a total replacement of banks.
The prevailing sentiment is that the technology (tokenisation and stablecoins) has won the argument on utility.
The remaining battles are political: who controls the rails (sovereign vs. private), who captures the value (banks vs. tech firms), and which nations set the rules (US vs. Europe/China).
👉Subscribe to PRO to receive the full analysis on key statements from Trump, Fink, Dimon, Ermotti, Allaire, Armstrong, Musk and what it means for investors
Bermuda goes on-chain
On January 19, 2026, the Government of Bermuda formally partnered with Circle and Coinbase to transition to a “fully on-chain national economy.” [RELEASE]
* Rails: The government selected Base (an Ethereum Layer-2) as its national settlement layer and USDC as its medium of exchange, rejecting the CBDC model.
* Scope: The migration covers government tax collection, welfare disbursements, and retail merchant systems.
* Goal: To eliminate the “island tax” of correspondent banking and reduce the cost of capital for its $780B insurance market.
Why it matters: Bermuda hosts 75% of global Insurance-Linked Securities (ILS). These are catastrophe bonds, capital set aside to cover hurricanes, earthquakes, or cyber events. The money is locked up for one to three years by design. If a pension fund commits $5M, that capital is inaccessible until maturity. That structure broke in 2023. As interest rates rose, investors lost patience with long lockups. The reinsurance market faced a $60B capital gap almost overnight. Traditional funding simply pulled back. Now, tokenization turns locked, long-dated insurance capital into something flexible: smaller entry sizes, real liquidity, and faster payouts. It brings new capital back into reinsurance without changing the underlying risk.
🚨 We just opened new sponsorship slots for our newsletters & podcast. Want to reach 35k+ digital asset leaders? Contact us here.
Fanduel enters prediction markets
FanDuel, the American gambling company with 12M users, has launched “FanDuel Predicts” nationwide. [RELEASE]
Why it matters: The overlooked catalyst is a new U.S. law taking effect in 2026 that makes traditional sports betting far less tax-efficient, especially for frequent bettors, while prediction markets sit under a different regulatory regime and avoid this penalty.
* The Loophole: Trades on these platforms are classified as Section 12562 contracts.
* The Impact: Losses are fully deductible, and gains receive the favorable 60/40 tax treatment (60% long-term / 40% short-term capital gains).
* The Consequence: We are witnessing a mass migration of “whale” capital from traditional sportsbooks to regulated exchanges to avoid the OBBBA cap.
More below.
🙌 Work with us: We arm financial institutions and digital asset leaders with bespoke research, thought leadership to shape the most important conversations, scale trust, and win business.
News Flash
* Coinbase established independent advisory board on Quantum computing. Link
* HK to issue stablecoin licenses in Q1. Link
* Strategy buys $2.1b BTC, largest buy in 1+ year. Link
* Central Bank of Iran has acquired US dollar stablecoins worth $0.5B. Link
* Trump hopes to sign the crypto bill ‘very soon’. Link
* Ondo launches tokenised stocks on SOL. Link
* BitGo raises $213m in IPO, $2b+ valuation. Link
* US M2 supply hits $22.3T. Link
That’s all for now, folks.
PRO Readers: Read our alpha insights below!
– Marc & Team
💎 Investor Insights (Alpha)