Stablecoin Transaction Volume Exceeded ACH Volume as of Feb 2026

According to NY-based analytics firm Artemis (which offers a "Bloomberg-style" terminal for crypto), stablecoin volume exceeded US Automated Clearing House volume for the first time in Feb 2026 (stablecoins: $7.2 trillion versus ACH network volume of $6.8 trillion).

Automated Clearing Houses are a backbone of the payments industry. The first automated clearing house was BACS (Bankers' Automated Clearing System) which started processing payments in April 1968. It operated from the start on a net settlement basis (to minimise the number of individual exchanges).

However, stablecoins don't use the ACH network and instead trade on crypto exchanges (centralised exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, Binance), decentralised exchanges (Uniswap, Curve, Maverick) which settle on-chain using the native settlement mechanism of the relevant blockchain and brokers/OTC desks.

Despite the threat of stablecoins, ACHs still have an effective monopoly over salary payments.

BitGo Eyes up IPO

BitGo, based in Palo Alto and founded in 2013, is targeting a valuation of $1.96 billion for its upcoming IPO on the NYSE. 

GS and Citi are lead underwriters. 

BitGo bills itself as "The Digital Asset Infrastructure Company" with a reputed $104bn of assets on the platform. They provide a number of services, including digital wallets and prime services (the latter services promise best execution with low capital commitment).

There is investor appetite for IPOs however a crypto selloff last October has risen the bar for crypto firms.

ICE Invests $2bn in Polymarkets

ICE, which owns the NYSE, has invested $2bn in prediction markets firm, Polymarkets, valuing the company at $8bn.  Polymarkets works on USDC deposits (USDC = "the world's largest digital dollar") on the Polygon blockchain network. ICE will become a distributor of Polymarkets data to institutional investors globally.

BitPanda Not Listing in London, Frankfurt or NY Maybe

BitPanda, the crypto exchange, has ruled out a London listing.

Winklevoss Twins File IPO for Gemini under ticker GEMI

Gemini has filed for an IPO on Nasdaq under GEMI. It made a $282m loss in H1 2025. However it follows a trend of crypto funds going to public markets to raise capital. Trading fees are its biggest revenue driver and there are 14.6 million verified users, according to the company, with $12bn assets under custody as of June 30.

Circle's Blockbuster IPO on the NYSE, Bravo Ex Macromedia CTO

Circle Internet Group, specializing in digital currencies and blockchains, went public on June 5, 2025. It debuted under ticker symbol CRCL. The IPO was priced at $31 a share, with shares surging over 100% on the first day, hitting a market cap of nearly $60bn albeit brief.  Circle was launched in 2013.

This success is significant for the crypto and fintech space.

CEO Jeremy Allaire has previously argued governments and policy makers need to "create more degrees of freedom for innovation to happen".

Allaire was co-founder of Allaire Corporation in 1995 which had an IPO in January 1999, and is hence no stranger to the public markets. 

Allaire Corporation was acquired by Macromedia in 2001 after which JA became CTO of Macromedia. He left in 2003 to join General Catalyst as a technologist and executive-in-residence.