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Hey, it’s Marc & the 51 team.

While Blackrock took a quiet $100M stake in Canton, BitGo IPO’d at $2B and Tether launched its US stablecoin USAT, the biggest shift in crypto this week came from Capitol Hill:

“Advancing this bill brings us closer to a U.S. regulatory framework that protects consumers while allowing American innovation and businesses to thrive.”

— John Boozman, U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Chairman

* The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced the first-ever crypto market structure bill, voting to give the CFTC authority over digital asset spot markets, but a full Senate vote is still pending. [RELEASE]

* On Jan 28, SEC released a statement saying stocks and other securities don’t avoid U.S. securities laws just because they’re issued or wrapped as tokens. It also drew a clear line between issuer-issued tokens and third-party “synthetic” versions, signaling tighter scrutiny of tokenized markets. [RELEASE]

* The SEC and CFTC formally launched “Project Crypto,” committing to work together on clear regulations. [RELEASE]

Meanwhile, Standard Chartered has issued a warning: stablecoins represent a "real threat" to bank deposits.

Our highlights this week:

* BitGo’s $2.1B custody IPO

* Fidelity announced the launch of the FIDD Stablecoin

* Tether launches “USAT” stablecoin

* BlackRock’s $100M Canton position

* Coinbase rolls out prediction market

* SEC taxonomy for tokenized securities

Let’s jump in 👇

Top Boardroom Reads

* 2026 Trends Shaping Investment Products (BlackRock)

* Charting Crypto Q1 2026 (Coinbase, Glassnode)

* BIG IDEAS 2026 (Ark Invest)

* Navigating Crypto in 2026 (Pantera)

* Market Know-How 1Q 2026 (Goldman Sachs)

* Onchain finance: Future and institutional adoption. (Dfns, BCG)

* PwC Global Crypto Regulation Report 2026 (PwC)

* Digital Wallets in Enterprise Payments (Circle)

* The Rise of CMLNs: Crypto Crime Report 2026 (Chainalysis)

* Stocks Becoming Policy, Bitcoin Becoming Money (Jack Mallers)

Top Signals This Week

BitGo $2.1B public IPO

On Jan 22, BitGo Holdings (NYSE: BTGO) successfully priced its initial public offering of 11.8M Class A shares at $18.00 per share, beating the marketed range of $15-$17 according to reports and closed its first day of trading at $18.68 per share, just above its IPO price. The offering raised approximately $212.8M , with only 6.7% of the IPO’s shares being sold by existing stockholders. Goldman Sachs and Citigroup as lead underwriters.

Why it matters: BitGo’s IPO serves as the definitive litmus test for institutional crypto appetite in 2026, marking the first time a federally chartered digital asset bank has hit the public markets to bridge the gap between "wild west" volatility and fiduciary-grade stability. Also proving that the market is ready to value the "boring" but essential plumbing infrastructure of institutional custody.

Read our full analysis below:

Fidelity Investments announced the launch of the FIDD Stablecoin

On January 28, 2026, Fidelity Investments formally announced the launch of its native stablecoin, the Fidelity Digital Dollar (FIDD), marking the entry of the first major U.S. asset manager into the regulated issuance space. [RELEASE] [See analysis]

* Rails: Issuance is vertically integrated through Fidelity’s National Trust Bank.

* Scope: Targets active settlement infrastructure and institutional on-chain cash.

* Goal: Replacing regulatory arbitrage (shadow banking) with federally compliant liquidity under the GENIUS Act.

Why it matters: Unlike crypto-native issuers, Fidelity already sits inside millions of retail accounts, retirement plans, and institutional portfolios, letting it move money on-chain without relying on banks or third parties. That means faster settlement, new yield products, and tighter integration between traditional investing and digital assets, all while keeping economics in-house. Plus, it brings its $6.8T powerhouse to vertically integrate reserves and custody under the federal GENIUS Act.

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