Big Banks Level Up

Morgan Stanley is working on a plan to add cryptocurrency trading to its E*Trade platform in 2026.

Tether Acquires 70% Stake in Adecoagro

Tether, who just made over $1B in profits last quarter, just announced the successful acquisition of a 70% controlling stake in Adecoagro $AGRO ( ▼ 0.89% ) – a company that produces energy and food throughout South America. This is all part of Tether’s strategy to diversify away from digital finance – especially as competition heats up – and into real-world infrastructure including energy, agriculture, data, and communications.

Crypto Trading Coming To E*Trade Customers

Morgan Stanley is working on a plan to add cryptocurrency trading to its E*Trade platform in 2026, according to Bloomberg. To support this integration, the firm is exploring partnerships with crypto-native companies. Meanwhile, rival Charles Schwab said Thursday that it aims to starting building a crypto trading platform as early as this year. This whole crypto trading thing? Yeah, clearly more than just a fad these days in the halls of the big banks. Stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, and “pet rocks” – right? (You’re next Dimon!!)

Kraken Releases Q1 2025 Financials

While under no requirements to release financials as a private company, Kraken for the second quarter in a row is giving potential IPO investors a glimpse into the company’s financials. The exchange posted revenues of $472 million (+19% YoY) and trading volumes of $209 billion (+29% YoY). Like we recently saw with Robinhood’s Q1 earnings though, revenue and trading volumes were both down QoQ amid market softness. Still, Kraken reported positive adjusted EBITDA of $187.4 million (+17% YoY; +1% QoQ). With the company’s acquisition of NinjaTrader officially closing as of yesterday, an IPO this year is looking likely.

  • Kraken tells how it spotted North Korean hacker in job interview (CoinTelegraph)

  • Cash is 0.04% of Tether’s assets (Protos)

  • Ripple has apparently gone beyond the initial reports of their first $5B offer for Circle (X)

  • Riot Platforms (RIOT) posts net loss in Q1 despite doubling revenue amid AI pivot (The Block)

  • Metaplanet Issues $25 Million In Bonds To Buy More Bitcoin (Bitcoin Magazine)