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Singapore’s TOKEN2049 opened with a clear message: the next chapter of crypto is being written at the crossroads of institutional infrastructure, real-world asset tokenization, and sensible regulation.

The two-day flagship event at Marina Bay Sands drew over 25,000 attendees, including founders, investors, policymakers, and Web3 developers, all eager to see where the industry is heading.

On Day 1 alone, a series of major announcements were made, from 24/7 tokenized equities and enterprise-level privacy layers to bold predictions about Bitcoin’s next phase, that set the stage for a new era of adoption.

Institutional Rails & Tokenization Take the Stage in TOKEN2049

Alpaca launched its Instant Tokenization Network (ITN), an open, token-agnostic platform that mints and redeems U.S. stocks into tokenized versions 24/7. Supported by Ondo Finance, Dinari, and DRW, with Solana as the settlement layer, ITN aims to capitalize on a projected multi-trillion-dollar wave of tokenization by 2030.

On Bitcoin, Citrea previewed its upcoming mainnet, designed to unlock deep BTC liquidity and increase miner revenue streams.

Meanwhile, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev called tokenization a “freight train,” unveiling tokenized stocks in Europe and hinting at real estate tokenization next, arguing that the U.S. must catch up to European digital-asset frameworks.

Capital Flows, DeFi–TradFi Convergence & Enterprise Privacy

Capital deployment accelerated as Maelstrom (Arthur Hayes) launched Maelstrom Equity, a private equity arm targeting control and minority stakes in crypto and related firms. MEXC Ventures increased its ENA (Ethena) stake to $30M, raising total Ethena ecosystem exposure to $66M (including USDe).

On the product side, Hypersurface introduced HyperEVM, offering fully on-chain covered calls with transparent strikes and upfront stablecoin premiums, bridging a strategy long dominated by OTC desks in TradFi.

Celo reached two milestones: XAUt0 (omnichain Tether Gold) for 150+ countries and Nightfall, EY’s zero-knowledge privacy layer, as Layer 3 for auditable, private B2B payments, opening a wedge into the $180T cross-border market.

Security and access also improved: Digital Shield Pro launched with CC EAL6+ secure element and air-gapped QR signing; KuCoin rebranded to “Trust First. Trade Next” and introduced KuMining for verifiable cloud hashrate.

HYPE's price trends to the upside on the daily chart. Source: HYPEUSD on Tradingview

Real-World Assets, Market Structure & Marquee Moments

GEMtrust DAO introduced GEM DiCom, a gemstone-backed ERC-20 token where each unit is linked to lab-certified assets stored in Swiss vaults. Its goal is to make high-value stones more accessible through gemNFTs and on-chain minting, only backed by fully collateralized treasury holdings.

From a regulatory perspective, Indonesia’s CFX highlighted its “Three-Pillar” model, comprising an exchange, clearing house, and custodian under OJK oversight, which has helped grow the platform to 16.5 million registered investors and provides a model for tokenized RWAs and stablecoin development.

The program’s prominence matched its substance: Donald Trump Jr. and Michael Ho drew large crowds discussing policy and institutional adoption, while Sheeraz Hasan’s AI-infused fame session emphasized crypto’s cultural influence.

Cover image from ChatGPT, HYPEUSD chart from Tradingview

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