Matt and Nic are back with another week of news and deals. In this episode:

Defending “Free Banking” from the critics – and why stablecoins are unlike free banks
The American Bankers Association doesn’t like new crypto charters
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announces the company’s plan to launch a new US-based stablecoin this year
Strategy announced the plans for the fourth preferred stock offering this week, STRC, or "Stretch."
Anchorage Digital, which does hold an OCC banking charter, is launching a new stablecoin issuance platform. The first stablecoin product will be USDtb in partnership with Ethena Labs
The Senate Banking Committee released their discussion draft for crypto market structure legislation this week, designed to build off the House's passage of the CLARITY Act last week
Citadel Securities has expressed concern around the rise of tokenized securities
Bhutan’s Bitcoin trade
BitGo, a crypto custody provider, and Bullish, a crypto exchange, both announced that they had confidentially filed an S-1

Further reading:

Weekly Roundup 07/25/25 (Tether’s GENIUS options, Defending Free Banks, Saylor’s Stretch) (EP.649)

On The Brink with Castle Island