Santander Explore Stablecoin Launch

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Introduction

Welcome to the Tokenized newsletter, brought to you by the creators of the Tokenized Podcast; Simon Taylor of Fintech Brainfood and Pet Berisha of Sporting Crypto, written by Jeremy Batchelder.

We are the newsletter for institutions that need help preparing for a Tokenized future.

We run through the headlines every week, what it means for you and a market readout. Always with an institutional, business-focused perspective. 

Join us every week as we meet your Tokenization needs.

Stories You Can't Miss 📰

🏦 Santander Explores Stablecoin Launch as European Banks Embrace Digital Assets

Banco Santander is considering an expansion into digital assets, including early-stage plans to offer stablecoins and cryptocurrency access for retail clients through its digital banking unit Openbank, signaling growing institutional adoption across European markets.

Key Points:

• Santander's digital bank Openbank has applied for licenses to offer retail crypto services under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation

• The bank is exploring both euro and dollar-denominated stablecoins, evaluating options to either create its own token or offer access to existing stablecoins

• Openbank could launch crypto services as soon as this year, pending regulatory approvals across its European markets including Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, and Germany

• Plans reflect broader European banking sector momentum, with rival BBVA already receiving regulatory approval for retail crypto services in Spain

The Tokenized Take:

• European banking awakening: Santander's move follows BBVA's recent approval and represents a shift from cautious observation to active participation in digital assets by major European lenders

• Strategic Latin America opportunity: Dollar-denominated stablecoins could serve Santander's large Latin American customer base, where local currency volatility drives demand for dollar-stable digital assets

• Regulatory clarity driving action: MiCA's implementation has provided the regulatory framework European banks needed to move from pilot projects to commercial offerings

• Institutional validation accelerating: With major US banks reportedly discussing joint stablecoin initiatives and European peers advancing quickly, traditional banking's digital asset integration is reaching a tipping point

💰 Conduit Raises $36M to Scale Stablecoin Payment Infrastructure

Cross-border payments platform Conduit has secured $36 million in Series A funding to expand its stablecoin-powered payment infrastructure, marking another significant milestone in the evolution of international money movement.

Key Points:

• Co-led by Dragonfly and Altos Ventures, with participation from Sound Ventures, Commerce Ventures, Circle Ventures, and other strategic investors

• Boston-based company achieved remarkable 16x growth in transaction volumes during 2024, now operating at $10 billion annualized payment volume

• Currently serves over 100 clients with a lean team of 57 employees, demonstrating impressive operational efficiency

• Claims to have saved clients over $55 million in fees through its integrated traditional banking and stablecoin approach

The Tokenized Take:

• Perfect timing for infrastructure scaling: Conduit's growth mirrors the broader trend we've seen with companies like Bridge (acquired by Stripe) and the rise of specialized stablecoin payment rails - the market is clearly maturing beyond early adoption

• Impressive unit economics: $10B annual volume with just 57 employees suggests strong product-market fit and operational leverage that investors are betting will scale efficiently

• Strategic market positioning: By maintaining both traditional banking relationships and stablecoin capabilities, Conduit avoids the "either/or" trap that has limited other cross-border payment solutions

• Validation of hybrid approach: The $55M in client savings demonstrates real value creation beyond just novelty - this is solving actual pain points in international commerce

📰 Some More News:

🏦 Tokenization, Stablecoins & Finance

• Crypto Payments Firm RedotPay Enlists Circle Payment Network in Brazil (Read more here)

• Stablecoin Protocol USDT0 Aims to Bring Tokenized Gold Closer to DeFi (Read more here)

• Stablecoin Connector BVNK Partners With Chinese Cross-Border Payments Firm LianLian (Read more here)

• British Pound-Linked Stablecoin Unveiled at BCP Technologies (Read more here)

🤑 Funding and M&A

• Robinhood’s $200 million Bitstamp deal takes it beyond retail trading (Read more here)

💼 Government & Policy

• SEC: many crypto staking services aren’t securities (Read more here)

• Bergen County partners with Balcony for $240 billion property tokenization project (Read more here)

• UK’s FCA consults on more relaxed stablecoin framework and crypto (Read more here)

Simon’s Market Readout 💬 

Walking the floor of Money20/20 in Europe — a conference I've been coming to for at least the last 10 years, and it is the payments and fintech industry conference. Twelve months ago, I surveyed the audience of Money20/20, and of their priorities, things like open banking, account-to-account and regulation understandably came top.

Right at the bottom of the list, I asked them about stablecoins.

This year has been an almost complete reversal.

Now, without question, the vast majority of companies are just curious about what the heck Stripe did, and what they should be doing and when they should be jumping in. A

nd they're seeing stablecoins primarily as a cross-border rail for certain market corridors, which, let's be honest, that's where the traction is. The traction is in exotic currencies for stablecoins. But that is starting to change. With the MiCA Act coming, people are starting to realize that there could be domestic use cases too, and the central banks are starting to grapple with how do we accommodate this, and how do we fit it into our landscape?

So it's becoming less of a "CBDC or stablecoins" conversation, and it's becoming more of an "and" conversation, and that, to me, is exciting in equal measure.

We've got a long way to go before this stuff is mainstream.

We're at the bottom of a big mountain.

There's a lot of work to do, but if we get this right, we can build stablecoins as a platform.

What I want to avoid is getting it wrong and making all of the mistakes of the fintech era that I've just lived through. If you're curious, you'll find the link to "Stablecoins as a Platform" from Fintech Brainfood here.

Tweet of the Week 🐤 

From: @nic__carter

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