The Institutional Floodgates Open: Crypto’s Most Pivotal Two Weeks of 2025

This special edition merges the last two weeks of market developments into a single, comprehensive briefing. Institutions made historic moves, prediction markets hit escape velocity, and crypto infrastructure delivered major breakthroughs — all while volatility put pressure on the ecosystem’s biggest players. From Vanguard ending its decade-long crypto freeze to Kalshi’s $11B valuation and Polymarket’s return to the U.S., this episode breaks down the forces reshaping digital assets heading into 2026.

In this episode:

🏦 Institutional Acceleration

• Vanguard ends its crypto freeze, opening ETF access to 50M clients.
• NYSE Arca lists DOGE & XRP ETFs; Chainlink ETF signals emerge.
• Merrill now recommends 1–4% crypto exposure.
• BlackRock spotlights tokenization in its 2026 outlook.
• Major U.S. banks pilot stablecoin + custody rails with Coinbase.

🔮 Prediction Markets Break Out

• Kalshi raises $1B at an $11B valuation; becomes 2025’s breakout exchange.
• CNN integrates Kalshi probabilities across global broadcasts.
• Polymarket secures CFTC approval to operate in the U.S. (via brokers/FCMs).
• QCX acquisition closes; early signals of a native token.
• Regulatory friction: Connecticut Cease & Desist + SDNY class-action.

🧱 Core Infrastructure Leaps Forward

• Monad mainnet launches post-$269M token sale (1.43x oversubscribed).
• Insider-heavy allocation (>50%) triggers early volatility concerns.
• Ethereum’s Fusaka upgrade cuts L2 costs & boosts throughput.

⚠️ Market Stress & Corporate Defense

• Strategy builds a $1.44B cash buffer to avoid forced BTC liquidation.
• Tether pushes back against S&P’s stability downgrade.