Weekly Roundup 08/28/26 (BankChain alliance, Goat grazing hedges, SHRINCS, is maximalism over?) (EP.736)

The formation of the Bank Chain Alliance by 39 State Banking Associations marks a significant move towards tokenized deposits and stablecoins, though experts like Matt Walsh and Nick Carter express differing views on their viability. Walsh contends that tokenized deposits should not be fungible due to inherent credit risks, while Carter argues that such risks are primarily a concern during crises and doubts that tokenized deposits will achieve the necessary scale for remittances.

In the funding landscape, Kalshi has filed a Form D for a $200 million extension to its previous $1 billion raise. Other notable fundraising activities include City Protocol raising $11 million, Ouro securing $3 million, Entropy raising $14 million, and Fassit attracting $68 million from various investors. Additionally, Real-Aire Capital has been acquired by RockawayX and will be rebranded as the RockawayX Liquid Opportunities Fund.

Western Grazers is proactively hedging against potential regulatory changes that could impact goat herder wages, with a hedge that could yield up to $500,000 if California modifies wage rules by the end of September. Meanwhile, Calci is diversifying its offerings to avoid being pigeonholed as a sports betting platform, and Bitwise has introduced automated token portfolios that rebalance automatically within investors' wallets.

Blockstream has proposed a quantum-resistant signature scheme for Bitcoin, known as shrinks, based on the NIST algorithm Sphinx Plus. However, researchers have raised concerns that the size of this scheme may be too large for practical Bitcoin transactions. Predictions indicate that Bitcoin may eventually adopt hash-based signatures for post-quantum security, as hashes are generally trusted within the Bitcoin community.

The SEC's proposal to enhance crypto custody rules for investment advisors has been met with optimism, while the designation of digital assets under Iranian sanctions by Besant suggests a shift in regulatory perspectives. There is growing skepticism regarding the future of Bitcoin maximalism, with critics asserting that maximalists have only been correct about Bitcoin's performance, failing to validate their broader beliefs.

Despite stablecoins settling $15 trillion this year, Bitcoin has struggled to leverage significant opportunities in the crypto space, attributed to a lack of innovation and a narrow focus on its monetary use case. The fee market for Bitcoin is projected to take decades to gain traction, and maximalism is increasingly viewed as an obstacle to the necessary evolution within the Bitcoin ecosystem.