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JPMorgan, BlackRock, and Franklin Templeton all filed or announced tokenized money market fund products this week — purpose-built for the stablecoin economy and the GENIUS Act reserve layer. Three of the most powerful names in traditional finance moving in the same direction, in the same week. That is today's lead.

Other stories in today's newsletter:

♦️ Hot US inflation data kills Fed rate cut hopes — price in a 37% chance of a hike.
♦️ Circle raises $222M from BlackRock and a16z for a new institutional blockchain.
♦️ Anchorage steps back from the Kraken and Robinhood stablecoin consortium.
♦️ eToro CEO calls crypto all-time highs before year-end — with a cautious twist
♦️ Lunar founder Ken Villum Klausen steps down after eleven years.

Have a great read!

Morte

JPMorgan filed with the SEC to launch JLTXX — its second tokenized money market fund on Ethereum, investing exclusively in US Treasuries and overnight repo agreements. The fund is explicitly designed to meet reserve requirements for stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act, running on JPMorgan's own Kinexys Digital Assets platform.

Why it matters: Wall Street is building tokenized cash infrastructure directly to the spec of incoming stablecoin regulation. The largest banks are racing to own the reserve layer.

Source: JPMorgan filing to launch new tokenized fund as Wall Street tokenization race heats up — The Block

BlackRock filed paperwork for two tokenized money market funds on Ethereum. The first is a digital share class tied to its existing $6.1 billion Select Treasury Based Liquidity Fund. The second — BRSRV — is a new fund aimed at investors who hold cash in stablecoins rather than traditional bank accounts. The tokenized RWA market has now surpassed $30 billion, up $10 billion since January.

Why it matters: BlackRock and JPMorgan filing tokenized Treasury products in the same week is not a coincidence — it is a land grab for the stablecoin reserve layer before the GENIUS Act takes full effect.

Source: BlackRock readies launch of two tokenized money market funds — AdvisorHub / Bloomberg

Payward and Franklin Templeton announced a partnership to build tokenized products spanning equities, yield, and custody. The centrepiece: Kraken will integrate Franklin Templeton's BENJI tokenized money market funds as live collateral and cash management infrastructure for institutional clients.

Why it matters: BENJI inside Kraken means tokenized money market funds are now active collateral infrastructure on a major crypto exchange — not just a regulatory filing.

Source: Franklin Templeton and Kraken's Payward team up to tokenize Wall Street — crypto.news

US April CPI came in at 3.8% year-over-year — above forecast and the highest since May 2023. Markets are now pricing in a 37% chance of a rate hike before year-end. Bitcoin dipped to $79,800 on the news before recovering to $81,200. Kevin Warsh takes over as Fed Chair on May 15, inheriting the most divided FOMC in 30 years.

Why it matters: Higher-for-longer is back. For Nordic investors and fintechs exposed to USD funding costs, this is the number that matters most this week.

Source: Hot inflation data pours cold water on Federal Reserve rate cut hopes — CoinDesk

eToro beat Q1 estimates — adjusted EPS of $0.91 versus $0.73 expected, net contribution up 19% to $258 million. The soft spot: crypto trades fell 32% year-over-year. CEO Yoni Assia told CNBC the weakness is cyclical and expects Bitcoin to climb back near its October all-time high of $126,198 before year-end.

Why it matters: A 32% drop in crypto trades alongside a beat on earnings says two things: diversification is working, and retail is sitting on the sidelines waiting for a signal.

Source: eToro CEO says crypto could climb back near all-time highs later this year — Seeking Alpha

Circle raised $222 million in a token presale for Arc — its new institutional Layer 1 blockchain — valuing the network at $3 billion. a16z led with $75 million; BlackRock, Apollo, and Intercontinental Exchange are among a dozen investors. Arc uses USDC as its native gas token, built for stablecoin capital markets and tokenized assets. Q1 results: revenue up 20% to $694 million, USDC circulation up 28% to $77 billion, on-chain volume up 263% to $21.5 trillion.

Why it matters: Circle is betting that owning the infrastructure layer protects it as banks prepare competing stablecoins under the GENIUS Act. First token presale ever by a publicly listed company — and the investor list is Wall Street's A-team.

Source: Circle raises over $220 million for new blockchain project — Kaupr

Anchorage Digital is pulling back from its leadership role in the Global Dollar (USDG) consortium — members include Robinhood, Kraken, Galaxy, OKX, and Visa. CEO Nathan McCauley cited "increased neutrality" as Anchorage now has 20 firms in its pipeline wanting to issue white-label stablecoins. USDG, with $3 billion in circulation, is not going away.

Why it matters: Anchorage choosing neutrality over allegiance signals the stablecoin market is entering a parallel-issuance phase — multiple regulated dollars competing rather than one consortium token dominating.

Source: Anchorage is stepping back from Robinhood and Kraken-backed stablecoin group — CoinDesk

Ken Villum Klausen, who founded Nordic challenger bank Lunar in 2015, announced on LinkedIn he is stepping down as CEO. Søren Kyhl — former COO at Saxo Bank, 13 years at Danske Bank — takes over in early June. The exit follows a 350 million DKK raise in January, one million retail customers, and a historic first CASP licence under MiCA in October 2025.

Why it matters: Klausen built Lunar into the largest challenger bank in the Nordics, with full crypto trading across Norway, Sweden, and Denmark under MiCA. His exit marks the shift from founder-led growth to institutional-grade scaling.

Source: Lunar founder Ken Villum Klausen steps down as CEO — Kaupr

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Best regards
Morten Myrstad
Founder & Editor