Good Morning, Asia. Here's what's making news in the markets: Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk's Crypto Daybook Americas. As Asia begins its trading day, ETH is trading above $2500 as the U.S. Senate passes the GENIUS Act with bipartisan support. While the Senate was busy passing the GENIUS Act, Vivek Raman, founder of Ethereum advocacy firm Etherealize, was even busier, making the rounds on Wall Street to explain why ETH is suddenly at the center of institutional finance. Of course, Ethereum is nothing new. It's almost a decade old. But finally, in its almost 10 years of existence, Wall Street is starting to pay attention, and they really want to talk about it. “It’s an amazing job… running around from bank to bank, buy side to buy side, telling them what Ethereum tokenization means, how L2s work, and why it all flows through ether,” he told CoinDesk during an interview in between meetings from the lobby of Wall Street's Brookfield Place. As founder of Etherealize, Raman leads the firm’s efforts to educate Wall Street on ETH as neutral collateral and to help institutions tokenize assets and build on Ethereum. Raman says that Ethereum’s core value proposition, its role as the settlement and collateral layer behind stablecoins and tokenized assets, is finally resonating with institutional investors. “Every action is powered by ether,” he said. “Eventually, it’s going to be viewed as just as pristine as bitcoin. It'll be the neutral asset for the whole ecosystem.” The turning point, Raman says, was regulatory clarity. “Ethereum’s potential hasn’t been allowed until now,” he said, pointing to the GENIUS Act and broader U.S. policy momentum. “For years we didn’t know if it was a security or a commodity." That’s why, despite the headlines around the ETH ETF, Raman says the real unlock for Ethereum came from regulatory clarity, not a ticker symbol. “The ETH ETF cleared the way by signaling that ether is a commodity, but it still wasn’t explicit,” Raman said. “With clear market structure, the utility of Ethereum gets completely unleashed. Now ETH permeates everything: every tokenized asset transfer, every stablecoin transfer, every Layer 2, they all flow through ETH.” And while Circle’s IPO and the rise of tokenized treasuries have brought new visibility to the sector, Raman says savvy investors will want more than equity exposure to stablecoin brands. Circle may get the IPO, but Ethereum gets the flows,” he said. “ETH is what secures this whole ecosystem, and it’s the only neutral, non-censorable collateral that can route value between all these tokenized assets.” VanEck's Solana ETF Comes Closer to Listing with DTCC Entry VanEck's proposed Solana Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) has been listed on the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) website under the ticker symbol VSOL, a procedural step that typically signals readiness for electronic clearing and settlement. VanEck’s DTCC listing comes amid growing institutional interest in Solana, following the blockbuster success of spot bitcoin and ether ETFs. However, just like with those ETFs, Canada has beaten the U.S. in the race to get listed. Four Canadian issuers, Purpose, Evolve, CI, and 3iQ, launched their Solana ETFs in April, following approval from the Ontario Securities Commission. OKX Continues European Expansion with Regulated Launch in Germany and Poland OKX has officially launched regulated crypto exchanges in Germany and Poland, marking a strategic expansion into two of Europe’s most active digital asset markets. The company now offers spot trading, staking, automated trading bots, and over 60 crypto-Euro pairs to users in both countries, supported by localized platforms with Euro onramps. "Germany and Poland are key growth markets in the EU, and our license allows us to tailor our products and services to meet the specific needs of users in each country, delivering greater value, enhanced security, and more efficient access to customers," Erald Ghoos, CEO of OKX Europe, said in a release. In the release, OKX emphasized its regulatory positioning, highlighting its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) compliance and ongoing transparency efforts, including 31 consecutive months of Proof of Reserves reports. Market Movements: BTC: Bitcoin briefly dipped to $103,396 amid Israel-Iran tensions before rebounding on continued institutional ETF buying, with low exchange reserves amplifying volatility in a tight trading channel between $103,405 and $107,780. ETH: Ethereum traded within a wide range over 24 hours amid Middle East tensions, showing resilience by rebounding from a $2,460 support zone with strong volume, though it continues to face stiff resistance near $2,800. Gold: Gold remains rangebound below $3,400 as traders await Fed guidance, with geopolitical tensions, U.S. deficit concerns, and currency debasement risks supporting its long-term uptrend. Nikkei 225: Asia-Pacific markets slipped Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 0.15%, as escalating Israel-Iran tensions and reports of Donald Trump weighing a military strike on Iran weighed on investor sentiment. S&P 500: Stocks fell Tuesday as the Israel-Iran conflict entered its fifth day, with the S&P 500 closing down 0.84% at 5,982.72. Elsewhere in Crypto: Tron Inc. Deal Gives Justin Sun’s Father Control of Public Firm Via $100M Token Deal (CoinDesk) Is Semler Scientific Flashing a Warning Sign for Bitcoin Treasury Firms? (Decrypt) Can Tether's Dominance Survive the U.S. Stablecoin Bill? (CoinDesk)
