Bitcoin, Nasdaq and S&P Hit New Highs

Despite those pesky trade wars...

Good Morning & Happy Friday! The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at record highs on Thursday, despite growing trade tensions. The gains came after President Trump announced 50% tariffs on imported copper and products from Brazil, citing trade imbalances and political tensions. Brazil vowed to respond under its reciprocity law, and its ETF (EWZ) fell 1.6%. The U.S. also notified over 20 other countries, including Japan and South Korea, about new tariffs effective August 1.

Despite rising tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty, markets have continued climbing. Analysts say investors have become desensitized to trade disputes, focusing instead on strong market momentum. We’ll see if this holds true in the long-term.

Let’s look at the latest AI & crypto integration and how this will impact your trading experience as well as the continued excitement and rhetoric over stablecoins as more corporations hop on the stable-train. Lastly, check out the BIR portfolio (bitcoin is pumping!!).

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Crypto News You Can’t Miss: A Crypto-AI Collaboration

Your two moderately-favorite companies are coming together to collaborate to give traders a better user experience. Coinbase has partnered with AI search engine Perplexity to provide real-time, trusted crypto market data to users for better trading decisions. In the first phase, Perplexity is integrating Coinbase’s market data into its new browser, Comet, enabling users to analyze price movements. The second phase will see this data used in Perplexity’s conversational AI, allowing traders to track market activity, screen trade ideas, and analyze token-specific moves. This isn’t just a Coinbase trend, but is a larger movement and expectation of crypto wallets ecosystem-wide.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong expressed enthusiasm for deeper integration of crypto and AI, envisioning a future where crypto wallets are embedded in AI tools like large language models. Separately, Coinbase is acquiring Liquifi, a platform that simplifies token ownership management, to help early-stage crypto teams navigate the complex process of launching digital tokens.

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Institutional Embrace: How Traditional Banks Are Shaping the Future of Crypto Adoption

The integration of digital assets into traditional financial services has entered a new phase. As regulatory frameworks mature and institutional demand accelerates, legacy financial institutions are beginning to assume central roles in the crypto ecosystem. The recent announcement that Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon), the oldest bank in the United States, will serve as the primary custodian for Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin marks another clear signal of this evolution. While notable in its own right, this development fits within a broader trend: the increasing institutionalization of crypto and the redefinition of custody, trust, and monetary infrastructure in a digital age.

At the heart of this movement lies a recognition among banks that digital assets, particularly stablecoins, represent not merely a speculative technology, but a critical layer in the infrastructure of future financial markets. Stablecoins, which peg their value to fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar, are uniquely positioned to bridge the volatility of crypto markets with the stability demanded by institutional capital. The emergence of RLUSD, coupled with BNY Mellon’s custodial support, highlights how institutions are beginning to view these instruments not as regulatory risks but as operational tools that enhance efficiency, transparency, and global accessibility.

BNY Mellon’s partnership with Ripple is particularly significant given the bank’s longstanding reputation and conservative posture. This is not a small technology startup seeking speculative upside, but a centuries-old institution managing trillions in assets. Its participation in the stablecoin market is not an isolated event. Since launching its digital assets unit in 2021, BNY Mellon has steadily expanded its footprint in crypto markets, beginning with custodial services for bitcoin and ether. It now joins a growing list of banks, including JPMorgan, Citi, and Société Générale, that have launched tokenization platforms, custody products, and digital payment rails to meet client demand.

The convergence of traditional banking and crypto infrastructure is accelerating at a time when the U.S. regulatory environment appears to be shifting. The rollback of restrictive measures from the prior administration and growing bipartisan momentum in Congress around stablecoin legislation have opened a path forward. This year’s so-called “stablecoin summer” reflects not just enthusiasm from firms like Ripple, but a broader recalibration in Washington. The move toward granting bank charters and master accounts to crypto-native firms like Ripple underscores this shift. A Federal Reserve master account would allow Ripple to hold reserves directly with the central bank, effectively placing RLUSD on par with traditional bank liabilities in terms of access to U.S. payment systems.

These changes reflect a deeper transformation in how the financial system conceptualizes trust. Historically, trust was secured through reputation, regulatory oversight, and balance sheet strength. But in a blockchain-native paradigm, trust is increasingly derived from code, transparency, and cryptographic proof. Banks are adapting not only to a technological shift but to a philosophical one. Custody in the digital asset world is no longer just about physical safekeeping; it involves managing complex smart contracts, securing private keys, and ensuring continuous protocol integration. For BNY Mellon and others, acquiring these capabilities is a strategic imperative.

The institutional pivot toward stablecoins is also being mirrored in the corporate sector. Reports that Amazon and Walmart are exploring their own digital dollars suggest that stablecoins may become the foundation of next-generation payments and loyalty systems. Such moves would challenge the incumbent payment networks, Visa and Mastercard, as businesses explore the benefits of programmability, settlement speed, and reduced fees associated with blockchain-based rails. For traditional banks, aligning with this momentum is both a defensive and an offensive strategy.

Moreover, institutional involvement offers a pathway to improved regulatory clarity and risk mitigation. When global custodians and regulated banks handle the reserves backing stablecoins, the concerns around opaque collateralization, liquidity mismatches, and potential systemic risks diminish. The collapse of TerraUSD in 2022 remains a cautionary tale, but one that has galvanized regulators and institutions to establish standards for transparency and operational resilience.

What is unfolding is a redefinition of roles as crypto firms are seeking licenses and banking relationships, while traditional banks are developing the digital competencies needed to remain relevant. The boundary between “crypto” and “traditional finance” is becoming increasingly porous. Custodianship of digital assets, once the domain of niche startups, is now a competitive arena among the most established names in finance.

As these lines blur, the broader implications become clear. We are witnessing the early stages of a structural convergence, where blockchain-native instruments are incorporated into the balance sheets and workflows of global financial institutions. In doing so, banks are not merely validating crypto; they are helping shape its trajectory. As custody moves from cold wallets in Swiss bunkers to the ledgers of Wall Street institutions, the legitimacy and utility of crypto in global finance will only deepen.

For those tracking this transformation, the launch of Ripple’s RLUSD and its partnership with BNY Mellon is more than just another deal. It is a signal. The custodians of the old world are preparing for the architecture of the new. We at the BIR believe this marks just one of several coming inflection points, where token design, regulatory clarity, and institutional infrastructure intersect to create real, investable momentum.