Quick Take

• Trump Media and Technology Group Corp., Crypto.com, and Yorkville Acquisition Corp. announced a business combination to form Trump Media Group CRO Strategy, Inc., a new entity that will invest US$6.4 billion to build a CRO treasury.
• Trump Media partnered with Crypto.com to integrate CRO and the Crypto.com digital wallet infrastructure with its platforms. 
• Top DeFi protocols repurchased nearly $40 million worth of tokens last week.
• DBS Bank launched tokenised structured notes on the Ethereum blockchain. 
• MetaMask announced the launch of its native stablecoin, MetaMask USD (mUSD).
• MetaMask introduced a ‘Social login’ feature that allows users to create, back up, and restore wallets using a Google or Apple ID.
• Bitwise filed to offer a Chainlink ETF that allows for in-kind creation and redemption.
• VanEck filed to launch the VanEck JitoSOL ETF, which holds the JitoSOL liquid staking token.
• Ripple partnered with SBI Holdings to introduce the RLUSD stablecoin to the Japanese market by Q1 2026.
• US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced that the Department of Commerce will begin publishing economic statistics, including GDP data, on the blockchain.

Weekly DeFi Index

This week, the market capitalisation and volume indices grew by +0.54% and +7.94%, respectively, while the volatility index declined by -27.04%.

• Decentralised finance (DeFi) lending protocol Aave (AAVE) launched on the Aptos blockchain, marking its first deployment on a non-Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) blockchain.
• Crypto asset manager Bitwise filed to offer a Chainlink exchange-traded fund (ETF) that directly holds LINK tokens. The ETF would allow for in-kind creation and redemption.

Chart of the Week

Similar to traditional corporate share repurchase programmes, token buybacks by protocols aim to reduce circulating supply and support prices during market volatility. Top DeFi protocols repurchased nearly $40 million worth of tokens last week, with Hyperliquid’s buyback accounting for approximately $27.7 million. However, the effectiveness of crypto token buybacks has been inconsistent, and their long-term viability relies on the underlying protocol's fundamentals and revenue generation.

News Highlights

• Trump Media and Technology Group Corp., Crypto.com, and Yorkville Acquisition Corp. announced a business combination to form Trump Media Group CRO Strategy, Inc., a publicly traded digital asset treasury company focused on acquiring and managing CRO, the native token of the Cronos blockchain ecosystem. Trump Media Group CRO Strategy announced $6.4 billion in funds to build America’s Cronos Treasury, and the company is expected to be the world’s largest holder of CRO.
• Trump Media partnered with Crypto.com to integrate CRO and Crypto.com digital wallet infrastructure with its platforms, including Truth Social and Truth+. The partnership aims to make CRO the utility token of choice globally, with Trump Media and Crypto.com working together to expand access to the benefits and opportunities of crypto. 
• DBS Bank expanded its crypto offerings by launching tokenised structured notes on the Ethereum blockchain. These notes are designed to provide accredited and institutional investors with access to crypto-linked investment products in smaller denominations, making them more flexible and tradeable. 
• MetaMask announced the launch of its native stablecoin, MetaMask USD (mUSD), in partnership with Bridge and M0. The stablecoin will be initially launched on Ethereum and Linea with plans to expand to other blockchains in the future.
• MetaMask introduced a ’Social login’ feature that allows users to create, back up, and restore wallets using a Google or Apple ID. This feature eliminates the need for a 12-word seed recovery phrase while preserving the wallet's self-custody model.
• VanEck filed to launch the VanEck JitoSOL ETF which holds only JitoSOL, a liquid staking token that accrues rewards while representing assets locked on Solana.
• Ripple partnered with SBI Holdings to introduce the RLUSD stablecoin to the Japanese market by Q1 2026.
• US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced that the Department of Commerce will begin publishing economic statistics, including GDP data, on the blockchain. This initiative aims to expand blockchain-based data distribution across government agencies and will start with GDP figures before expanding to other federal departments.

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