Wall Street expands regulated crypto access

Wall Street firms expanded regulated access to digital assets this week through prediction markets, spot Bitcoin ETFs, venture funding and bank-facing tokenization services.

Kalshi executed a large institutional block trade in a prediction-market contract tied to a California carbon allowance auction. The transaction was completed with liquidity support from Jump Trading. Kalshi operates under U.S. regulatory oversight. Bernstein analysts wrote that the trade was the first major institutional block trade in prediction markets and noted that institutional investors are exploring event contracts linked to macroeconomic policy, elections and geopolitical developments as hedging tools.

U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded nearly $1 billion in inflows on the day bitcoin rose past $80,000. Data from SoSoValue showed the inflows occurred as broader digital-asset markets strengthened. The inflows followed April net gains of about $1.97 billion into Bitcoin ETFs.

Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm, a16z crypto, closed a $2 billion fund to invest in blockchain infrastructure, Web3 applications and decentralized finance startups. The fund will target early-stage companies building core industry infrastructure, including developer tools, stablecoins and decentralized networks.

The Tennessee Bankers Association selected Stablecore as its preferred digital asset infrastructure provider for roughly 175 member banks. Stablecore’s platform supports tokenized assets, stablecoin functionality, tokenized deposits and compliance integrations for regulated financial institutions, enabling banks to offer crypto-related services without building their own technology stacks.

Bernstein analysts wrote that broader institutional participation in prediction markets could increase volumes over time and contrasted regulated platforms such as Kalshi with decentralized platforms that operate outside traditional financial rails. The analysts noted the Kalshi block trade used a custom contract structure to match institutional liquidity needs.