Written by Cointelegraph, Staff Writer. Reviewed by Bryan O'Shea, Staff Editor. Here’s what happened in crypto today
Need to know what happened in crypto today? Here is the latest news on daily trends and events impacting Bitcoin price, blockchain, DeFi, NFTs, Web3 and crypto regulation.
Today in crypto, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) signed off rules to let UK funds keep registers onchain and add a new Direct‑to‑Fund dealing model, aiming to simplify tokenized funds inside the existing regime. Twenty One Capital climbed in after-hours trading after Tether proposed a three-way merger with Strike and Elektron Energy, and Visa added Polygon and Base to its stablecoin settlement pilot that now includes nine blockchains.
UK regulator clears path for tokenized funds within existing rules
The UK's financial regulator has signed off on new rules and guidance for tokenized funds, aiming to make it easier for asset managers to use blockchains within the existing fund regime rather than in separate experimental structures.
In a Thursday policy statement, PS26/7, the FCA said tokenization and distributed ledger technology (DLT) could make fund management more efficient and that it wants to “support innovation in the UK asset management sector,” as part of a digital assets roadmap first outlined in a January 2025 letter to the prime minister.
The changes give firms a clearer path to integrate blockchain into regulated fund operations, as policymakers seek to modernize market infrastructure without altering existing investor protection frameworks, and reflect a broader push to bring tokenized finance into the regulatory perimeter rather than allowing it to develop in parallel systems.
PS26/7 allows firms to run investor records on DLT using the industry “Blueprint” model, confirming that onchain transaction records can serve as the primary books for unit deals without requiring a full off-chain duplicate, provided “appropriate resiliency plans” are in place.
The FCA said the Blueprint has already been used to authorize the first tokenized UK undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS), and that authorized funds can maintain their register on public DLT networks if controls meet its standards, including issuing units across multiple blockchains as long as investors’ rights and charges remain consistent.
FCA guidance for fund tokenization. Source: FCA
Twenty One Capital rises on proposed merger with Strike and Elektron
Shares in the Bitcoin-buying company Twenty One Capital climbed in after-hours trading on Wednesday after its majority shareholder, Tether, proposed a three-way merger with two other crypto companies.
Tether said Wednesday that it intends to vote in favor of a proposed merger between Twenty One Capital and Bitcoin payments company Strike, followed by a proposed merger of the combined company with Bitcoin mining firm Elektron Energy.
Tether added that if the mergers go through, “Strike would be contributing a profitable financial services platform, global distribution and regulatory infrastructure and Elektron would be adding large-scale Bitcoin mining infrastructure, operational depth and proven execution capabilities.”
Shares in Twenty One Capital (XXI) ended trading on Wednesday down 1.7% at $7.83, but jumped to a high of $9.28 after hours before settling at $8.35 for a gain of 6.6% after the bell.
Shares in Twenty One Capital on Wednesday surged after hours. Source: Google Finance
Visa adds Polygon, Base support as stablecoin settlement run rate hits $7 billion
Global payments giant Visa has expanded its stablecoin settlement pilot to include Polygon and four other blockchain networks, signaling continued experimentation with crypto-based payment infrastructure.
The pilot, launched by Visa in 2023, allows partners to settle transactions using stablecoins rather than traditional banking rails. Newly supported networks include Polygon, Base, the Canton Network, Arc and Tempo. They join existing supported chains such as Ethereum, Solana, Stellar and Avalanche.
The expansion comes as the program has reached an annualized settlement run rate of roughly $7 billion, growing about 50% quarter over quarter, according to Visa. Despite that growth, volume remains small compared to the company’s core payments business.
The initiative is designed to evaluate whether stablecoins can offer faster settlement, round-the-clock availability and efficiencies in cross-border payments.
Key stablecoin statistics and average cost savings relative to traditional payments. Source: Bessemer Venture Partners