Polymarket

Polymarket went full main character in 2025: a reported $200M Founders Fund led raise, an ICE backed deal worth up to $2B, and a CFTC approved lane back into the U.S. Regulated breakout winner vibes heading into 2026 (Ice, Reuters, CoinDesk).

Binance

Binance pulled a $2B March raise and basically reminded everyone that scale still prints checks. It ends 2025 with a war chest big enough to keep buying market share, licenses, and infrastructure into 2026 (Reuters).

Kraken

Kraken’s 2025 funding arc totals about $1.3B: a reported $500M in September, then a reported $800M in November including a $200M Citadel Securities strategic. Translation: “most IPO ready exchange” energy for 2026 (Reuters, The Defiant, Markets Media).

Pantera Capital

Pantera kept it aggressive, with a reported $1.25B effort tied to a Solana treasury vehicle concept. More liquid, balance sheet style crypto strategies heading into 2026 (Sherwood).

Ripple

Ripple’s reported $500M round kept the tank full as it leans deeper into regulated finance. 2026 looks like a distribution year where payments rails and partnerships matter more than courtroom headlines (Financial Times).

2025 was about one thing: connecting the world's most ambitious founders and leaders.

We brought together executives from companies like Stripe, Coinbase, and a16z in rooms where the future is architected.

From a private dinner with Silicon Valley Bank in the heart of NYC, to a penthouse party with a surprise F1 driver at Token2049 Singapore, to a sunset soiree at a historic estate in Buenos Aires; Introduction.com creates moments that matter.

This is a glimpse of the access we provide. In 2026, we're going bigger.

The question is, will you be in the room?

While headlines chased price and drama, these moves quietly reset the rules, rebuilt the rails, and showed where crypto and fintech are actually heading next.

Polymarket received CFTC approval to return to the U.S. through a regulated structure, putting prediction markets back onshore with compliance guardrails (CoinDesk).

Vanguard began allowing customers to trade crypto ETFs on its platform, a major reversal from one of the most conservative names in investing (CoinDesk).

Visa expanded its stablecoin settlement program so banks and payment partners can move USDC for real treasury and settlement flows, not just pilots (Visa).

Robinhood agreed to acquire 90% of LedgerX, gaining CFTC regulated exchange and clearing infrastructure to offer compliant derivatives and event style products at scale (Reuters).

UK crypto participation dropped, but the remaining users held more value, signaling a smaller but more committed base as the UK moves toward a full framework in 2026 (Longbridge).

2025 was the year policy stopped narrating crypto and started shipping the operating system. Stablecoins, market structure, and packaged exposure all moved closer to rules institutions can actually run on.

GENIUS Act goes from headline to pipeline

The FDIC opened a formal on ramp for bank affiliated payment stablecoin issuance, turning “allowed” into “reviewable, timeboxed, and appealable.” (FDIC press release) (Federal Register NPRM)

SEC “Project Crypto” puts a clarity agenda on the record

Chair Paul Atkins laid out a roadmap on token taxonomy, disclosures, and compliance paths, shifting the vibe from surprise enforcement to a visible target for issuers and platforms. (SEC remarks)

Staking inside regulated wrappers gets a clean tax lane

IRS Rev. Proc. 2025 31 created a safe harbor that lets certain trust based products stake digital assets without jeopardizing trust status, making yield inside regulated products far less structurally fragile. (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025 31 PDF)

MiCA becomes the default rulebook across the EU

MiCA’s full applicability replaces the country by country patchwork with a single perimeter, making Europe easier to underwrite, partner with, and scale across. (Squire Patton Boggs overview) (BBVA MiCA summary)

Hong Kong moves stablecoins from sandbox to statute

Hong Kong passed a stablecoin licensing regime and put it into effect on August 1, 2025, tightening expectations on reserves, redemption, and issuer controls under HKMA supervision. (Reuters) (HKMA regime page)

The UK locks in a public runway to a full regime by October 2027

The government set the start date and the FCA launched a comprehensive consultation that pulls crypto into normal financial regulation across platforms, intermediaries, market abuse, and more. (Reuters start date) (FCA CP25/40)