Total crypto-collateralized lending has reached new heights, with decentralized finance (DeFi) now shouldering the bulk of the load and centralized lenders adopting stricter collateral models (1:35). Deepening correlation with the S&P 500, and the growing role of stablecoin reserves in U.S. Treasuries are pulling digital assets closer than ever to mainstream finance, but are they big enough to threaten the system? (3:59)

New guidance from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency now lets national banks hold limited amounts of tokens like ETH, potentially changing how banks run stablecoin and tokenized deposit programs (5:53). And finally, a high-stakes case out of the Netherlands sees victims of scam investment schemes trying to claw back lost funds traced through HTX to Kyrrex-linked wallets (7:39).

More on stories and articles discussed or referenced in this episode:

Alecci, Scilla. "Hunt for Missing Millions Unmasks One Crypto Exchange Hidden Inside Another." International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, 20 November 2025, https://www.icij.org/investigations/coin-laundry/hunt-for-missing-millions-unmasks-one-crypto-exchange-hidden-inside-another/.

Howcroft, Elizabeth. "Crypto's Connections to the Rest of the Financial System." Reuters, 20 November 2025, https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/cryptos-connections-rest-financial-system-2025-11-20/.

Matos, Gino. "US Banks Can Now Hold Crypto – But Why Is It Only for Gas Fees?" CryptoSlate, 20 November 2025, https://cryptoslate.com/us-banks-can-now-hold-crypto-but-only-for-network-fees/.

"OCC Confirms Bank Authority to Hold Certain Crypto-Assets as Principal for Purposes of Paying Crypto-Asset Network Fees." United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 18 November 2025, https://occ.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2025/nr-occ-2025-108.html.

Pokorny, Zack. "The State of Crypto Leverage – Q3 2025." Galaxy Insights, 19 November 2025, https://www.galaxy.com/insights/research/crypto-leverage-q3-2025-defi-cefi-lending-digital-asset-treasury-debt-futures-perpetuals.

Spirkovski, Zoran. "Crypto Lending Hits $73.6B Record as DeFi Captures Two-Thirds of Market." Coinspeaker, 20 November 2025, https://www.coinspeaker.com/crypto-lending-hits-73-6b-record-as-defi-captures-two-thirds-of-market/.

The music in this episode was composed by Liborio Conti, and you can find more of his fantastic work at his YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/liborioconti.