NYSE Partners With Securitize for Tokenized Trading

Tether Taps Big Four Firm for First Audit | Aave DAO Moves Toward V4 Deployment

Marco Manoppo & Karon Pangestu
March 25, 2026

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Good Morning.

Wall Street's tokenization push hit a new milestone as NYSE locked in Securitize to build its 24/7 digital securities platform, while Tether moved to shore up credibility by signing a Big Four firm for its first full audit. Institutional infrastructure is being laid on both sides of the market.

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In Today's Email:

What Matters: NYSE Partners With Securitize for Tokenized Trading 👀
Case Study: Tether Taps Big Four Firm for First Audit 🔎
Governance & Features: Aave DAO Moves Toward V4 Deployment 🚀

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Narratives: TradFi goes onchain (Still)

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WHAT MATTERS

NYSE Partners With Securitize for Tokenized Trading

State of play: The New York Stock Exchange has tapped Securitize to help build its planned 24/7 tokenized securities platform, formalizing a key infrastructure partnership as Wall Street accelerates its push to bring equities onto blockchain rails.

Securitize will enable the creation and management of stocks and ETFs as blockchain-based tokens on NYSE's platform.
NYSE first outlined plans for a 24/7 tokenized securities venue in January, and Securitize locks in a key infrastructure partner.
Securitize has previously worked with major institutions including BlackRock, which launched a tokenized fund through the firm's platform.
Rival exchanges are pursuing similar strategies, with Nasdaq partnering with Kraken to connect tokenized equities with DeFi networks.
The US SEC has begun opening the door to digital securities pilot programs, signaling a more accommodative regulatory stance.

Why it matters: NYSE partnering with Securitize legitimizes tokenization beyond crypto-native circles and sets a template for how legacy exchanges integrate blockchain infrastructure.

Our take: NYSE went from announcing plans in January to locking in a core partner in under three months. That pace signals conviction, not exploration.

For builders and investors: This creates demand for tokenization tooling, custody, and compliance layers that plug into TradFi rails.

CASE STUDY

Tether Taps Big Four Firm for First Audit

Tether announced it has signed a Big Four accounting firm to conduct its first full audit, a long-awaited move that could address years of criticism over the company's lack of financial transparency.

The audit will review Tether's assets, liabilities, and reserves, though the company did not disclose which Big Four firm was selected.
Tether was fined $41M in 2021 for falsely claiming full fiat backing and settled with NYAG over allegedly covering up roughly $850M in losses.
The announcement follows Tether's launch of USDT two months ago, a US-compliant stablecoin that marked the company's return to the American market.
Tether has benefited from a friendlier Trump-era regulatory environment, with ties including Commerce Secretary Lutnick, former CEO of reserve manager Cantor Fitzgerald.
CFO Simon McWilliams stated the firm was selected competitively because Tether already operates at Big Four audit standards.

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INSIGHTS

Bernstein Sees 226% Upside for Strategy

State of play: Bernstein analysts argue that BTC has likely bottomed and maintain a $450 price target on Strategy, representing 226% upside from its $138.20 close, citing the company's resilience through BTC's roughly 50% drawdown from its peak.

Strategy's pivot to perpetual preferred instruments like STRC has decoupled the investment case from short-term BTC price action, with $220M average daily volume making it the most liquid preferred in the market.
The company's balance sheet holds $56B in BTC and cash against $18B in total debt, with cash reserves alone covering annual financing costs for 25 months.
Strategy added 89,599 BTC YtD through the downturn, raising $7.3B via equity while BTC fell 19%, now holding 762,099 BTC or roughly 3.6% of total supply.
Bernstein's BTC bottom thesis rests on $2.2B in ETF inflows over four weeks and 60% of BTC supply inactive for over a year, with a $150K year-end 2026 price forecast.
The base case projects Strategy growing to 1.3M BTC by 2033 at 6.3% of total supply, while the bear case assumes holdings stagnate at 4.6% with an extended post-2027 downturn.

FEATURES & GOVERNANCE UPDATE

Aave DAO Moves Toward V4 Deployment

Aave DAO has unanimously passed its Request for Comment proposal to begin discussions on deploying Aave V4 to Ethereum mainnet, the first formal governance step toward the protocol's biggest architectural overhaul.

V4 introduces a Hub and Spoke model where a unified Liquidity Hub consolidates assets while Spokes maintain separate risk parameters and lending rules.
The upgrade also features deeper GHO stablecoin integration, a revamped liquidation engine, and support for broader market structures.
V4 underwent 345 days of security review including audits, formal verification, and a public contest, backed by a $1.5M security budget.
The move follows governance shakeups, with BGD Labs and Aave Chan Initiative announcing departures after Kulechov's "Aave Will Win" proposal.
Aave Labs will now publish a binding Improvement Proposal after community feedback to finalize parameters before mainnet launch.

Other notable feature updates:

Tangent introduced $USG.
YieldNest launches ynRWAx.
Elixir opened a USDC recovery portal.
Monad activated the MONAD_NINE hard fork.
Yuzu Money will update the redemption mechanism for yzPP.
Tempo launches its mainnet with the Machine Payments Protocol.

QUICK BITES

Circle falls 20% as stablecoin reward limits loom.
Kalshi, Polymarket tighten insider trading controls.
Tether hires Big Four auditor for first full reserves audit.
NYSE taps Securitize to develop 24/7 tokenized securities platform.
Ledger discloses $50M Q4 secondary sale as IPO plans remain open.
Hyperliquid's HIP-3 open interest jumps 25% in one week to $1.74B.
CFTC forms new task force to shape crypto, AI and prediction markets.
Lido revenue dropped 23% as users withdrew funds and yields declined.
Robinhood authorizes $1.5B buyback as shares rise nearly 80% in past year.
S. Korea sees $60B crypto outflows to overseas platforms and private wallets.

NOTEWORTHY READS & MEME

DeFi Warhol’s read on Why the Metaverse Failed.
Zeus’s read on Red Flags in RWAs, Tokenization & Onchain Lending.
Vadym’s read on Yield is falling from Sky… but where is it coming from?

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