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Yellen warns, Wall Street goes crypto, DeFi proves itself - Fri 16 Apr 2026

Your daily window into global signals & Nordic moves reshaping markets – in 5 minutes

Author

Morten Myrstad
April 17, 2026

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Welcome to Kaupr Today

Good morning and welcome to Kaupr Today!

A former Fed chair warning about hyperinflation, record equity highs, and Wall Street quietly moving deeper into crypto — plus a MiCA milestone with Nordic roots and a DeFi platform that proved its case during a geopolitical shock.

🔷 Markets, debt and the risk of hyperinflation
🔷 Wall Street, crypto trading and tokenization
🔷 DeFi and self-custody move centre stage
🔷 Treasury companies — breakeven or bust?
🔷 Europe, MiCA and payments
🔷 Nordic events and evergreen reads

Have a good read!

Morten

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Markets, debt and the risk of hyperinflation

Asia stocks dip but head for sharp weekly gains on Iran peace hopes and tech boost

Asian equities pulled back Friday as investors locked in profits, but remained on track for strong weekly gains driven by US-Iran peace hopes and AI-fuelled tech momentum. Japan's Nikkei rose 3.5% for the week after hitting a record high Thursday, South Korea's KOSPI was up 6%, and TSMC reported a 58% jump in quarterly profit on surging AI chip demand. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both closed at record highs for a second consecutive session.

Why it matters: The macro backdrop — easing geopolitical risk, record equity highs, and AI-driven earnings growth — sets the tone for risk appetite across all asset classes, including crypto, heading into the weekend.

IMF warns global debt is a structural problem — and AI may be the only fix

The IMF projects global public debt will hit 99% of world GDP by 2028, with the US alone heading toward 142% by 2031. The fund was blunt: this isn't cyclical but the result of permanently higher spending and lower revenues. AI was flagged as both a potential lifeline — boosting productivity and tax collection — and a threat to the income and payroll tax bases that welfare states depend on.

Why it matters: Stretched sovereign balance sheets increase the appeal of scarce, non-sovereign assets — and raise hard questions about the long-term sustainability of Nordic welfare models in an AI-disrupted economy.

Former Fed chair Yellen warns Trump risks pushing dollar toward hyperinflation

Former Federal Reserve chair and Treasury secretary Janet Yellen has warned that Donald Trump's pressure on the Fed to cut rates to reduce debt servicing costs risks pushing the US dollar toward hyperinflation. Speaking at a conference in Hong Kong, she questioned how often a president of a developed country openly pushes for rates set to lower debt costs. Bitcoin has climbed 20% since its recent lows as Wall Street institutions quietly increase crypto exposure amid the dollar uncertainty.

Why it matters: Yellen's warning from a former Fed chair and Treasury secretary adds institutional weight to the dollar debasement narrative that has historically driven Bitcoin demand — and lands at a moment when Nordic and Baltic investors are already reassessing USD exposure.

Wall Street, crypto trading and tokenization

Charles Schwab launches spot Bitcoin and Ethereum trading

Charles Schwab has begun a phased rollout of Schwab Crypto, giving its 39 million clients direct spot trading in Bitcoin and Ethereum for the first time — embedded alongside stocks and bonds in a single account. The platform charges 0.75% per trade and uses Paxos for custody and settlement. Schwab manages $12 trillion in client assets, making this one of the largest traditional finance on-ramps into crypto yet.

Why it matters: When a $12 trillion brokerage normalises spot crypto trading for mainstream retail investors, it shifts the baseline — and increases pressure on European platforms to offer equivalent access under MiCA.

"Tokenization will do to ETFs what ETFs did to mutual funds"

Franklin Templeton has partnered with Ondo Finance to tokenize a set of its ETFs, letting investors use their holdings as collateral or in lending protocols rather than just holding them passively. Sandy Kaul, the firm's head of innovation, believes every security inside an ETF is likely to be tokenized within two to three years.

Why it matters: Tokenization of traditional investment products is moving from theory to execution at one of the world's largest asset managers — directly relevant for Nordic institutional and retail investors as the product landscape shifts.

DeFi and self-custody move centre stage

HYPE up 108% — here's what's driving the surge

When the US and Israel bombed Iran on a Saturday in February, investors wanting to trade had one practical option: Hyperliquid. Oil futures volume surged from $339 million to $7.3 billion in the days that followed — and the platform's built-in buyback mechanism, which burns 97% of revenue in HYPE tokens, has kept the price climbing since.

Why it matters: Hyperliquid's 24/7 availability during a major geopolitical event exposed a real gap between traditional and on-chain markets — one that's not going away.

eToro acquires ZenGo and takes control of the self-custody layer

eToro is paying around $70 million for Israeli crypto wallet ZenGo — a keyless MPC wallet with 2 million users that has never been hacked. The deal gives eToro's 40 million users a path into on-chain finance including token swaps, staking and dApp access. ZenGo stays initially separate from eToro's regulated core, letting the company expand into chain-based territory without disrupting its existing MiCA compliance.

Why it matters: The acquisition positions eToro to compete on infrastructure, not just trading — relevant for Nordic and Baltic users as MiCA reshapes the European market from July 2026.

Treasury companies - brake even or bust?

Strategy back near breakeven as Saylor buys another $1 billion in Bitcoin

Strategy bought 13,927 BTC for $1 billion last week at an average of $71,902 per coin, bringing its total to 780,897 BTC. The purchase was funded entirely through preferred stock sales with no common share dilution. When Bitcoin briefly hit $75,600 on April 14, the entire treasury was back in profit on paper for the first time since January.

Why it matters: Paired with the Bitmine story above, it illustrates both sides of the leveraged corporate crypto bet — a model increasingly shaping institutional crypto demand globally.

Ethereum treasury firm Bitmine reports $3.8 billion Q1 loss

Bitmine Immersion Technologies — the self-styled "Ethereum version of Strategy" — posted a $3.8 billion Q1 loss, almost entirely from unrealized mark-to-market losses on its 4.87 million ETH holdings. The position remains in profit on a cost basis, and the company kept buying through the dip. Staking now generates nearly all of its $11 million in quarterly revenue.

Why it matters: As leveraged corporate crypto treasury strategies spread, the accounting volatility they generate will increasingly shape how institutional crypto exposure is regulated in Europe.

Europe, MiCA and payments

From Danish fintech idea to European payments network

Banking Circle — born inside Saxo Bank in Copenhagen — has received a MiCA CASP licence, making it the only operator in Luxembourg to hold a banking licence, an EMT licence and a CASP licence under one roof. Processing over €1 trillion annually for 700+ institutions including Stripe and Alibaba, it operates as the invisible regulated backbone that fintechs build on.

Why it matters: A Nordic-rooted company quietly becoming a cornerstone of European regulated crypto infrastructure is exactly the kind of story that matters to this audience.

Nordic events and evergreen reads

Kaupr TV Live returns Friday 24 April at 12:00 CET

Kaupr TV Live is back on Friday 24 April at 12:00–13:00 CET, kicking off a sprint of three live shows before the summer.

Baltic Crypto Adoption Hub

Baltic Crypto Adoption Week 2026 (7–9 April) has wrapped, and all content is now available in an evergreen hub on Kaupr.
Hub: Baltic Crypto Adoption, Kaupr

Nordic Crypto Adoption Week Hub

Nordic Crypto Adoption Week 2026 (23–26 March) has wrapped, and all content is now available in an evergreen hub on Kaupr.
Hub: Nordic Crypto Adoption — Kaupr

Nordic voices on diversity in crypto

On 6 March, Kaupr brought together guests from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland for a Diversity in Crypto event.
Hub: Diversity in Crypto — Kaupr

Share Kaupr Today

Thank you for reading Kaupr Today. If you find this briefing useful, please share it with a colleague or friend who should be following Nordic and European digital‑finance news more closely. Wishing you a great Friday — and welcome back on Monday morning for the next edition of Kaupr Today.

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Best regards
Morten Myrstad
Founder & Editor