Today in crypto: Grayscale said macro pressure and clearer US regulations are setting the stage for crypto’s next bull market in 2026, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley said Bitcoin can protect Iranians from currency collapse, and BlackRock’s first tokenized money market fund has distributed $100 million in cumulative dividends since launching.
Store of value demand, regulatory clarity to drive 2026 bull market: Grayscale
Demand for alternative stores of value and clearer regulations are driving what could become crypto’s next bull market, according to Grayscale.
Speaking on CNBC’s “Crypto World,” Grayscale’s head of research Zach Pandl said Monday that the strongest driver remains macroeconomic pressure. Increasing government debt, persistent fiscal deficits and concerns over fiat currency debasement are pushing investors to look beyond traditional assets.
“There’s a lot of things happening in crypto ... but the biggest asset in the market, Bitcoin, is driven because of demand for alternative stores of value because of debt and deficits and the risk of fiat currency debasement,” he said.
Pandl added that these macro imbalances are unlikely to fade in the near term, meaning the portfolio shifts should continue into 2026.
Iranian protests over currency collapse show why Bitcoin's needed
Protests erupted across Iran’s capital of Tehran on Monday as the rial hit record lows against the US dollar, a currency collapse that locals blame on the central bank’s poor fiscal policies as they watch the value of their life savings evaporate.
While there’s no single solution to the economic hardship that Iranians are facing, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley suggested that Bitcoin (BTC) is a way for people around the world to protect themselves from plunging currency values.
“Economic mismanagement — The story of the past, present, and future. Bitcoin is a new way for the people to protect themselves,” Horsley said in a post to X Monday.
Economic mismanagement —
— Hunter Horsley (@HHorsley) December 29, 2025
The story of the past, present, and future.
Bitcoin is a new way for the people to protect themselves. https://t.co/C8nWz4DPFN
The rial has lost over 40% purchasing power since the two-week war with Israel in June and is now at a record low of about 1.4 million to the US dollar, the Financial Times noted. Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer for the Bitcoin-focused Human Rights Foundation pointed out that: “The official rate in the early 1980s was **70 per dollar**.”
The Central Bank of Iran’s governor, Mohammad Reza Farzin, has resigned amid the protests, adding further uncertainty to the country’s future.
BlackRock’s BUIDL hits $100 million in payouts, showing tokenized finance at scale
BlackRock’s first tokenized money market fund has paid out $100 million in cumulative dividends since its launch, highlighting the growing real-world use of tokenized securities amid rising institutional adoption.
The milestone for the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) was announced Monday by Securitize, which serves as the fund’s issuer and tokenization partner, overseeing onchain issuance and investor onboarding.
Launched in March 2024, BUIDL was initially issued on the Ethereum blockchain. The fund invests in short-term, US dollar–denominated assets, including US Treasury bills, repurchase agreements and cash equivalents, offering institutional investors a blockchain-based vehicle to earn yield while maintaining liquidity.
Investors purchase BUIDL tokens pegged to the US dollar and receive dividend distributions directly onchain, reflecting income generated from the underlying assets.
Since its debut on Ethereum, BUIDL has expanded to six additional blockchains, including Solana, Aptos, Avalanche and Optimism.
The $100 million milestone is notable because it represents lifetime payouts derived from actual Treasury yields distributed to holders of onchain fund tokens. It demonstrates that tokenized securities can operate at scale while mirroring the core functions of traditional financial products.
The development also underscores the operational efficiencies enabled by blockchain technology, including faster settlement, transparent ownership records and programmable distributions, features that are increasingly drawing interest from large asset managers and institutional investors exploring tokenized real-world assets.
BUIDL, in particular, has seen strong adoption, with the value of the tokenized fund surpassing $2 billion earlier this year.
