Are we getting that rate cut after all

I used to think solo trips were hella weird. Like, why would anyone want to wander ’round some unfamiliar place, lost, with no one to share the experience with? Lowkey depressing.

But then I had a point in my life where I needed an escape. And the idea of being alone somewhere new started to feel… kinda good? After enough overthinking, I was like, screw it, let’s go.

And it turned out to be amazing. All the stuff that seemed weird before wasn’t a problem at all. Instead, I found out how nice it is to travel without compromise: do what I want, when I want, meet new people if I feel like it, or just chill if I don’t.

A lot of people go through this same pattern: first they reject something, then they think about it, hesitate, finally try it… and realize they actually like it.

I went through this pattern with solo trips – and TradFi’s going through this journey with crypto.

Some banks and exchanges are still in the rejection stage, but plenty of others are past the hesitation part and have started testing the waters.

And we’ve got some spicy new updates on the latter group 😏

1/ Nasdaq 🤝 Gemini

Nasdaq – the US stock exchange giant – has partnered with Gemini, the crypto exchange run by the Winklevoss twins.

(This is from a Reuters report, which itself is based on “people familiar with the matter” – aka could just be Brian from HR who had a dream about it. But we ball.)

As we’ve recently covered, Gemini’s going public this Friday – and Nasdaq has apparently agreed to invest $50M in the IPO.

And that’s not all.

The partnership also means Nasdaq’s clients will get access to Gemini’s custody and staking services.

That’s huge, because it gives crypto exposure to the biggest possible pool of capital on Wall Street. Even a tiny allocation from those funds could mean billions flowing into the crypto market.

On top of that, Gemini’s institutional clients will be able to use Nasdaq’s Calypso platform to manage and track their crypto collateral.

👉 Right now, if a bank or hedge fund buys crypto through Gemini, they can’t easily manage it with the same systems they use for stocks or bonds – that happens in a separate platform. Which isn’t convenient, so a lot of firms choose to avoid it altogether.

👉 With Calypso, however, those crypto positions show up in the same dashboard they already use for traditional assets. Big deal for adoption!

2/ BBVA 🤝 Ripple

BBVA recently launched a service in Spain that lets retail customers buy and store Bitcoin and Ether directly through their bank.

And to power the service, they chose none other than Ripple Custody – Ripple’s system built for institutions.

Which is big not only for Ripple, but for the crypto industry in general.

BBVA is one of Spain’s largest banks. By giving customers the option to hold crypto inside their bank app, they’re showing that custody is becoming a must-have service for modern banks – the same way online banking or mobile apps became unavoidable.

Kinda funny how this works, right?

Once you stop resisting and give it a shot, the weird parts fade and the perks become obvious.

Banks and exchanges are basically packing their bags for their trip now… and chances are, once they go, they won’t want to come back 😏