In a remarkable speech yesterday, Chairman Paul Atkins launched Project Crypto — a plan to drag U.S. capital markets onchain. The agenda is sweeping:

• Move trading, clearing, and settlement onchain to keep innovation in the U.S.

• Give clear rules on which tokens are securities, and let tokenized ones trade freely.

• Allow U.S. firms to issue and trade tokenized stocks and bonds under a new framework.

• Let securities and non-securities trade side by side on “super-app” platforms.

• Make space for both DeFi protocols and operator-run onchain systems.

It’s fair to call it the most bullish speech a regulator has ever given on crypto.

Coinbase is already sold on the “super-app” vision. Just hours after the SEC unveiled Project Crypto, the company outlined its own “everything exchange” ambitions following its quarterly earnings release.

First up: integrating decentralized exchanges directly into the Coinbase app. Next, Coinbase plans to roll out tokenized stocks, prediction markets, and early-stage token sales for U.S. users in the coming months, with a global launch to follow.

Today, we’ll also talk about:

• EtherFi is building a DeFi-native bank

• ETHZilla raises $425 million for DeFi-driven ETH treasury strategy

• SEC approves in-kind creations and redemptions

EtherFi: Building a DeFi-Native Bank — Interview with CEO Mike Silagadze

Product expansion: On Tuesday, EtherFi announced a new suite of products during its analyst call, including the integration of perpetuals trading via Hyperliquid and support for tokenized stocks as collateral on Solana.

• Why it matters: The launch marks the next phase in EtherFi’s evolution into a full-stack DeFi-native bank. Best known for its restaking protocol, which helps users earn additional yield on their ETH — with over $10 billion in total value locked (TVL) — EtherFi first expanded its offering in November last year with the launch of its crypto credit card. The card offers 4% cashback and has seen rapid adoption, especially among crypto-native users, with over $20 million spent by just over 4,000 users.

Interview: We sat down with EtherFi founder and CEO Mike Silagadze to discuss what DeFi-native banking really means, how EtherFi plans to grow beyond crypto-native users, and what the banking industry might look like in ten years.

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On what DeFi-native banking actually means:

• “Like a traditional bank, we help users save, invest, and spend their assets — but we do it entirely onchain and without taking custody of those assets. For example, with our "Stake" and "Liquid" products, users can earn yield on crypto assets like ETH and stablecoins. With “Cash”, which includes our payment card, they can spend and borrow against those assets.”

On making EtherFi accessible to non-crypto users:

• “Just a few days ago we rolled out fiat on-ramps via IBAN and ACH. You can now move euros or dollars straight into EtherFi and have them converted into stablecoins automatically. The next step is to integrate the "last mile" of TradFi rails, from credit cards to systems like Plaid in the U.S. and iDEAL in Europe. The goal is to make the complexity of crypto disappear into the background, so that moving money into and out of DeFi becomes as easy as using any fintech app.”

On the company's phased growth strategy:

• “Our growth strategy is layered. Right now, we're focusing on DeFi and crypto natives who already hold assets onchain. These users want to earn yield or spend their funds easily using our card. Next, we’ll target centralized exchange users who are into crypto but find DeFi too complex. That group already offers significant growth potential. Eventually, we’ll reach people who don’t care about crypto at all. They’ll just want a better financial product, and they won’t even realize they’re using DeFi.”

On how EtherFi is turning into a one-stop shop for onchain finance:

• “To us, building a DeFi-native bank means offering users the full range of financial services within one interface. That’s why we’re constantly expanding our product suite and leveraging the composability that DeFi naturally enables. This includes our recent integration with Hyperliquid, which allows users to trade perpetuals directly within the app, as well as our planned integration of tokenized stocks on Solana, which will enable them to be used as collateral.”

On what banking will look like in a decade:

• “In five years, DeFi banking may still be used by a minority. But in ten, it should become the default. Not because of ideology, but because it offers something fundamentally better: higher yields, self-custody, and global accessibility without reliance on intermediaries. And as fiat systems weaken and capital controls become more common — a trend we’re already starting to see — people will look for an escape hatch. That’s the kind of infrastructure we’re building.“

ETHZilla Raises $425M for DeFi-Driven Ethereum Treasury Strategy

Another one: This week, Nasdaq-listed 180 Life Sciences announced plans to rebrand as ETHZilla Corporation and pivot its business toward an Ethereum-focused treasury strategy. The company secured $425 million in private funding from over 60 investors, including Electric Capital, Polychain, and DeFi pioneers such as Robert Leshner (Superstate) and Sreeram Kannan (EigenLayer).

Why it matters: Ethereum treasury companies are quickly emerging as a market force. By July 31st, they had accumulated 1.6 million ETH worth around $6 billion, representing 1.3 percent of total supply and adding steady buying pressure that helped drive a 55% rally in ETH in July.

Ether as a productive asset: Unlike Bitcoin treasury firms like Strategy, which mainly hold BTC as a “digital gold” reserve, ETHZilla and its peers turn ETH into a yield-bearing treasury asset by staking and deploying capital across decentralized finance protocols.

DeFi strategy: Market leaders SharpLink and BitMine currently stake 100% of their ETH holdings. ETHZilla plans to go further, targeting 3–10% yields through a “differentiated onchain yield program” that combines staking, lending, liquidity provisioning, and bespoke private agreements.

• "Our strategy at closing aims to allow investors to access exposure to a strong-yield potential ecosystem at the heart of the stablecoin and tokenized asset markets," said McAndrew Rudisill, incoming chairman of the board of ETHZilla.

DeFi consortium: To support ETHZilla in this endavor, a “DeFi Council” of protocol founders from Lido, EigenLayer, Compound, and others will guide treasury deployment.

Capital structure twist: While most Ethereum treasury companies have relied solely on issuing new shares, ETHZilla plans to add $150 million in debt financing on top of the $425 million it raised through a private share sale to institutional investors (PIPE). This would make it the first ETH treasury company to mix equity and debt funding, increasing buying power but adding leverage risk to a model previously based only on dilution.

A conversation with Michael Howe, Head of Strategy for Europe at Bitwise Asset Management, on the impact of the SEC’s recent decision to allow in-kind creations and redemptions for crypto ETFs in the U.S.