Kraken's Tokenized Gold Trades 24/7 While Traditional Markets Sleep

Bitcoin has reached a significant milestone with its 20 millionth coin now mined, representing over 95% of the cryptocurrency's total supply of 21 million coins. **Key Points:** - Only 1 million BTC remains to be mined over the coming decades - The protocol has remained unchanged despite government pressures, market crashes, and economic crises - This demonstrates Bitcoin's programmatic scarcity and resistance to external manipulation The milestone underscores Bitcoin's fixed supply mechanism, which distinguishes it from traditional fiat currencies that can be printed without limit. The remaining coins will be gradually released through mining rewards until approximately 2140. [Read the full analysis](https://blog.kraken.com/news/industry-news/20-million-bitcoins-mined)

**Traditional finance meets crypto infrastructure** xStocksFi, backed by Nasdaq, is enabling direct access to traditional stocks through crypto wallets. Users can now trade shares of companies like Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, and Amazon without traditional brokerages. **Key features:** - One-tap access to stocks from crypto wallets - 1:1 traditional finance liquidity - Lower fees than conventional brokerages - No intermediary brokerage accounts needed The platform represents a shift in how traditional assets can be accessed, merging payment infrastructure (PayFi) with investment tools (InvestFi) on blockchain rails.

**Historic Milestone for Crypto Banking** Kraken Financial has been granted a Federal Reserve master account, marking a significant first for the digital asset industry. This approval gives Kraken direct access to the U.S. payments system, bridging crypto infrastructure with traditional financial rails. **Key Developments This Week:** - First digital asset bank to receive Fed master account access - xStocksFi launched xChange platform for onchain equity trading - U.S. stocks and ETFs now available on Kraken Desktop - xStocksFi surpassed $25B in total transaction volume This development represents a major step in legitimizing crypto banking within the traditional financial system, potentially paving the way for broader institutional adoption and integration. [Read the full announcement](https://blog.kraken.com/news/federal-reserve-master-account)

**Major crypto developments across three leading networks:** - **Bitcoin milestone**: Only 1 million BTC remain to be mined, marking a significant supply event 17 years after Bitcoin's launch. This scarcity milestone raises questions about future price dynamics. - **Polkadot surge**: $DOT experienced a halving event followed by a 40% price increase in a single day, demonstrating strong market response to the tokenomics change. - **Solana upgrade**: The network is preparing for a major performance enhancement that could increase transaction speeds by 80x, potentially addressing scalability concerns. These developments highlight ongoing evolution in crypto infrastructure and tokenomics. Bitcoin's diminishing supply, combined with Polkadot's deflationary mechanism and Solana's technical improvements, represent different approaches to value creation in the crypto ecosystem.

**Tokenized equities are creating new access points to US capital markets for global investors.** Kraken's VP & Global Head of Consumer Products will discuss how tokenization is changing international investing at an upcoming event. **Recent market activity shows growing adoption:** - Ondo Global Markets processed tens of millions in tokenized equity volume - Individual trades included $2M in tokenized Google and Broadcom shares - $1M trade in tokenized silver This development comes as US equities reach record levels, making global access to American capital markets increasingly relevant for international investors.