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Blockchain Monitor

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Weekly Blockchain Blog – October 27, 2025

BakerHostetler Partners with vLex to Provide Comprehensive, Innovative AI Platform to Enhance Client Services

Jennifer Solari Takes Part in Webinar Panel on Issues in Authentication and Encryption

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<a href="#digitalasset">US Digital Asset Companies Launch Products, Announce Acquisitions</a>

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<a href="#crypto">Reports Provide New Data on 2025 Crypto Market</a>

<a href="#q3">Reports Provide Data on 2025 Q3 Activity on Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana Networks</a>

<a href="#centralbank">US Central Bank Governor Barr Addresses Stablecoins in Speech</a>

<a href="#IOSCO">Report Assesses IOSCO Policy Recommendations for Crypto and Digital Markets</a>

<a href="#FSB">Report Addresses Status of FSB Regulatory Framework for Crypto-Assets</a>

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US Digital Asset Companies Launch Products, Announce Acquisitions

By <a href="https://www.bakerlaw.com/RobertAMusiala">Robert A. Musiala Jr.</a>

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According to recent reports, the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently granted conditional approval of the de novo bank charter application for Erebor Bank. Erebor Bank reportedly intends to focus on servicing companies in the digital assets, artificial intelligence (AI), defense and manufacturing sectors.

In related news, a major U.S. payments company recently announced the launch of a new product that will enable “merchants, creators, and developers to accept crypto payments worldwide.” According to a press release, the new product will allow developers to “integrate via APIs, SDKs, and webhooks to build bespoke on-chain checkout flows for marketplaces, apps, trading terminals, and decentralized exchanges (DEXs).”

And multiple U.S. digital asset companies recently announced strategic acquisitions. First, a major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange announced that it has acquired Echo, “an onchain platform that helps communities invest together and gives founders more options for their cap table.” Second, Ripple, a major U.S. digital asset infrastructure provider, announced that it has acquired GTreasury, “the global leader in treasury management systems,” to provide Ripple with access to “the multi-trillion dollar corporate treasury market.” Finally, FalconX, a digital asset prime brokerage, “announced that it has agreed to acquire 21shares, the provider of the world’s largest suite of cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds and products (ETFs/ETPs).”

For more information, please refer to the following links:

<a href="https://occ.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2025/nr-occ-2025-101.html">OCC Announces Conditional Approval for Chartering Erebor Bank</a>

<a href="https://www.bankingdive.com/news/tech-focused-erebor-bank-gets-conditional-occ-approval/802895/">Tech-focused Erebor Bank gets conditional OCC approval</a>

<a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/moonpay-launches-moonpay-commerce-302586192.html">MoonPay Launches “MoonPay Commerce”</a>

<a href="https://www.coinbase.com/blog/coinbase-acquires-echo-unlocking-the-future-of-onchain-capital-formation">Coinbase acquires Echo: Unlocking the future of onchain capital formation</a>

<a href="https://ripple.com/ripple-press/ripple-breaks-into-corporate-treasury-with-gtreasury-acquisition/">Ripple Breaks into Corporate Treasury with $1B GTreasury Acquisition</a>

<a href="https://www.falconx.io/newsroom/falconx-acquires-leading-etp-provider-21shares-accelerating-the-convergence-of-digital-assets-and-traditional-finance">FalconX Acquires Leading ETP Provider 21shares, Accelerating the Convergence of Digital Assets and Traditional Finance</a>

Reports Provide New Data on 2025 Crypto Market

Two recent reports provide new data on the 2025 crypto market. A report by a16zcrypto addresses institutional adoption, the rise of stablecoins and the convergence of crypto and AI. Among other findings, the report notes that (1) blockchains now process more than 3,400 transactions per second (100x+ growth in the past five years); (2) stablecoins power $46 trillion ($9 trillion adjusted) in annual transactions, rivaling major traditional payment networks; and (3) more than $175 billion currently sits in Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded products. Along with its report, a16zcrypto also published its <a href="https://stateofcrypto.a16zcrypto.com/">State of Crypto dashboard</a>, which provides key metrics on the crypto sector.

A report from TRM Labs addresses 2025 crypto adoption and stablecoin usage. Key findings from the TRM Labs report include:

Between January and July 2025, India, the United States, Pakistan, the Philippines and Brazil ranked highest for crypto adoption globally. 

U.S. crypto activity surged by around 50 percent between January and July 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, cementing its status as the largest crypto market globally in absolute terms measured by transaction volume.

Stablecoins now comprise 30 percent of all on-chain crypto transaction volume, recording their highest annual volume to date in August 2025, reaching more than $4 trillion for the year so far (an 83 percent increase on the same period in 2024).

Between 2024 and 2025, sanctions drove illicit volume growth for non-stablecoin digital assets, while sanctions-related activity in stablecoins fell by 60 percent, indicating a potential shift away from stablecoins for sanctions evasion.

<a href="https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/state-of-crypto-report-2025/">State of Crypto 2025: Stablecoins, institutional adoption, and AI</a>

<a href="https://stateofcrypto.a16zcrypto.com/">a16z State of Crypto</a>

<a href="https://www.trmlabs.com/reports-and-whitepapers/2025-crypto-adoption-and-stablecoin-usage-report">TRM Labs: 2025 Crypto Adoption and Stablecoin Usage Report</a>

<a href="https://kpmg.com/kpmg-us/content/dam/kpmg/pdf/2025/stablecoins-kpmg.pdf">KPMG Stablecoins</a>

Reports Provide Data on 2025 Q3 Activity on Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana Networks

By <a href="https://www.bakerlaw.com/RobertAMusiala">Robert A. Musiala Jr.</a><a href="https://www.bakerlaw.com/VeronicaReynolds"></a>

A major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange recently published its Charting Crypto market report covering the first three quarters of 2025. The report provides data and charts analyzing various areas of the BTC and ETH markets. Examples include data on BTC and ETH perpetual futures funding rates; U.S. spot BTC ETF and spot ETH ETF weekly flows and balances; BTC and ETH price performance; stablecoin supply and volumes; BTC liquid and illiquid supply; BTC monthly spot and derivatives volumes; BTC open interest; BTC derivatives summary statistics; ETH supply profitability states; ETH liquid and illiquid supply; ETH total supply in loss; ETH monthly spot and derivatives volumes; ETH open interest; ETH derivatives statistics; ETH and L2 transactions; ETH and L2 monthly user fees; ETH total value staked; ETH staking annual yield; and ETH total value locked in DeFi.

Additionally, The DeFi Report, a digital assets research company, recently published reports with new data covering 2025 Q3 activity on the Ethereum and Solana networks. Notable findings from the reports include:

Ethereum Stablecoin Supply increased 30 percent, RWAs were up 26 percent and Total Value Locked rose 42 percent.

Ethereum Layer 2 economic activity expanded during Q3, with stablecoin supply on L2s increasing 29 percent.

Ethereum L2 fees were up 30 percent, transactions were up 17 percent and Blobs per Block increased 25 percent during Q3.

Solana stablecoin supply grew 37 percent to $14.6 billion in Q3, and daily transaction volume increased 50 percent.

Solana DEX volumes were up 7.6 percent, but trading platform revenue declined 5 percent, and new trading token issuance dropped 19 percent.

Solana private AMMs saw volumes increase 69 percent over Q2, representing 37 percent of all DEX trading during Q3.

<a href="https://coinbase.bynder.com/m/77aadacc5d08c6e5/original/Charting-Crypto-Q4-Navigating-Uncertainty.pdf">Charting Crypto: Navigating Uncertainty</a>

<a href="https://thedefireport.io/the-sol-report">The SOL Report</a>

<a href="https://thedefireport.io/the-eth-report">The ETH Report</a>

US Central Bank Governor Barr Addresses Stablecoins in Speech

By <a href="https://www.bakerlaw.com/professionals/john-e-robertson/">John E. Robertson</a>

The U.S. central bank recently published a speech by Governor Michael Barr in which Governor Barr discussed the risks and benefits of stablecoins and the recently enacted GENIUS Act. In the speech, Governor Barr noted several aspects of the GENIUS Act that should be addressed by future regulations to mitigate risks related to permitted reserves and regulatory arbitrage among state- and federal-regulated entities. In the speech, Governor Barr also discussed how stablecoins facilitate cross-border payments, reduce the costs of remittances, improve the speed of managing global trade and trade finance, and improve the cash management of multinational firms. The governor analogized stablecoins to historic private monies and discussed how modern regulations could address lessons learned from the past. Additionally, Governor Barr emphasized the need for federal and state regulators to closely coordinate while enacting GENIUS Act-enabling regulations to further the benefits of stablecoins while addressing the possible risks.

For more information, please refer to the following link:

<a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/barr20251016a.htm">Exploring the Possibilities and Risks of New Payment Technologies</a>

Report Assesses IOSCO Policy Recommendations for Crypto and Digital Markets

By <a href="https://www.bakerlaw.com/professionals/jonathan-cardenas/">Jonathan Cardenas</a>

On Oct. 16, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published its final report assessing international progress in the implementation of its recommendations for the regulation and oversight of crypto and digital asset markets. The IOSCO report evaluates the extent to which the regulatory frameworks of 20 jurisdictions have implemented IOSCO’s 2023 Policy Recommendations for Crypto and Digital Asset Markets (2023 Policy Recommendations), with a focus on how these regulatory regimes have addressed issues of investor protection and market integrity, including but not limited to matters related to organizational governance, fraud and market abuse, regulatory cooperation, and custody. According to the report, “significant progress” has been made with respect to the implementation of IOSCO’s 2023 Policy Recommendations. However, the report calls on IOSCO’s participating jurisdictions to take steps to monitor and address new risks that may emerge as crypto-asset business models continue to evolve in order to ensure that their regulatory frameworks remain “fit for purpose.”

<a href="https://www.iosco.org/library/pubdocs/pdf/IOSCOPD801.pdf">IOSCO: Thematic Review Assessing the Implementation of IOSCO Recommendations for Crypto and Digital Asset Markets</a>

Report Addresses Status of FSB Regulatory Framework for Crypto Assets

On Oct. 16, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published a thematic peer review report examining progress in the implementation of its July 2023 Global Regulatory Framework for Crypto-Asset Activities. The FSB report analyzes the extent to which FSB jurisdictions and certain other non-FSB jurisdictions have implemented its regulatory recommendations with respect to crypto-asset markets and global stablecoins. The report states that while some progress has been made with regard to the implementation of the FSB’s recommendations, “significant gaps and inconsistencies” remain that could pose risk to global financial stability as well as to the development of a “resilient” global digital asset ecosystem. The report also notes that even in the limited number of jurisdictions that have finalized their regulatory frameworks, “uneven implementation” of the FSB’s regulatory recommendations enhances the risk of regulatory arbitrage and makes oversight of the cross-border crypto-asset market more difficult. The report concludes with a series of recommendations that collectively call for FSB member jurisdictions to prioritize their work in this area in order to close identified gaps and promote full implementation of the FSB’s crypto regulatory framework.

<a href="https://www.fsb.org/2025/10/thematic-review-on-fsb-global-regulatory-framework-for-crypto-asset-activities/">Thematic Review on FSB Global Regulatory Framework for Crypto-asset Activities</a>

<a href="https://www.fsb.org/2025/10/fsb-finds-significant-gaps-and-inconsistencies-in-implementation-of-crypto-and-stablecoin-recommendations/">FSB finds significant gaps and inconsistencies in implementation of crypto and stablecoin recommendations</a>

<a href="https://www.fsb.org/uploads/P161025-1.pdf">Thematic Review on FSB Global Regulatory Framework for Crypto-asset Activities Peer review report</a>

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