Tokenized finance kept moving further into the mainstream this week as Nasdaq backed new infrastructure for blockchain-based equities, reinforcing the broader shift from pilot programs toward real-world market rails. The bigger takeaway is not the company partnership itself, but what it represents: major financial players are continuing to explore how tokenization can support functions like settlement, shareholder engagement, proxy voting, and other core pieces of capital markets infrastructure. For the Metal Pay audience, that matters because blockchain is increasingly being discussed as financial plumbing rather than a speculative side lane. Even so, broader market sentiment remains cautious, with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index sitting at 15 on March 13 and signaling that confidence is still fragile despite stronger institutional signals.
SEC and CFTC Move Toward a More Coordinated Crypto Framework
U.S. regulators also delivered a notable signal this week as the SEC and CFTC announced a memorandum of understanding aimed at improving coordination between the agencies. The announcement matters because one of the biggest blockers for institutional crypto adoption has been fragmented oversight and uncertainty around who regulates what. On the same week, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said tokenization can improve settlement efficiency, reduce settlement risk, and remove unnecessary intermediaries, while pointing to a possible limited innovation exemption for certain tokenized securities trading. Taken together, the message from Washington is that the conversation is shifting away from whether tokenized markets belong in regulated finance and more toward how to structure them safely.
Bank of England Signals Stablecoin Rules Could Still Change
In the UK, the Bank of England said it is open to revising its proposed rules for systemic sterling stablecoins, showing that the regulatory shape of stablecoin payments is still being negotiated. Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden said the central bank remains willing to consider different approaches if they can still meet financial stability goals, including reconsidering whether its proposed reserve structure is too conservative. The current proposal has faced criticism from industry groups over requirements such as holding 40% of backing assets as non-interest-bearing central bank deposits and imposing holding limits. For banks, fintechs, and infrastructure providers, the takeaway is clear: stablecoins are still moving closer to regulated payments rails, but the exact design of those rails is still up for debate.
Worth Listening To
Stablecoins are moving from theory into real policy and institutional discussion. In this conversation, Senator Cynthia Lummis, Irina Berkon of Metallicus, and Jenn Sanasie of CoinDesk discuss regulation, adoption, and what the future of the digital dollar could look like in the United States. For anyone following digital assets, payments, and financial infrastructure, this is well worth a listen.
Full conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCtch1ufW0A
Bitcoin ETF Flows
Bitcoin ETFs opened the week with $167.1 million in net inflows on Monday, led by BlackRock’s IBIT at $109.3 million and Fidelity’s FBTC at $60.1 million. Tuesday strengthened further with $246.9 million in net inflows, driven by IBIT’s $185.8 million, FBTC’s $33.5 million and Bitwise’s BITB at $16.4 million. Midweek stayed positive, with Wednesday bringing in $115.2 million led almost entirely by IBIT at $115.3 million, while Thursday cooled to $53.8 million as IBIT and FBTC inflows were partly offset by outflows from GBTC and BITB. Overall, spot Bitcoin ETFs posted four straight positive sessions this week, showing institutional demand improved as price action stabilized.
Ethereum ETF Flows
Ethereum ETFs started the week with a $51.3 million net outflow on Monday, with BlackRock’s ETHA losing $55.1 million while Fidelity’s FETH added $16.2 million. Tuesday flipped back into positive territory with $12.6 million in net inflows, led by FETH at $10.7 million and Grayscale’s ETH at $1.9 million. The strongest midweek session came on Thursday at $72.4 million, powered by FETH’s $52.0 million and ETHA’s $18.7 million, after Wednesday had already improved to $57.0 million. Overall, Ethereum ETF flows recovered well after a weak start to the week, with momentum clearly improving across the second half of the period.
Top Movers (Coins Available on Metal Pay - 7 Day Chart)
Ethereum led this week’s move higher at 6.7%, narrowly ahead of Dogecoin at 6.6%, as large-cap crypto names recovered while market sentiment still sat deep in Extreme Fear. Solana, Bitcoin, and Metal Blockchain also held up well, all posting gains between 4.6% and 4.9%, suggesting strength was broad across liquid majors rather than isolated to one pocket of the market. In practical terms, this looked like a relief rebound led by the biggest, most actively traded names, with beta names like DOGE and SOL keeping pace while METAL participated in the broader upside.
