Today in crypto, the CFTC granted Polymarket relief on event contract reporting. DeFi lending is up 72% this year on institutional demand for stablecoins and tokenized assets. Sharplink’s CEO warns yield-chasing crypto firms face the most r…
Today in crypto, the CFTC granted Polymarket relief on event contract reporting. DeFi lending is up 72% this year on institutional demand for stablecoins and tokenized assets. Sharplink’s CEO warns yield-chasing crypto firms face the most risk.
US regulator grants Polymarket relief on event contract reporting rules
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said it will not pursue enforcement against two entities tied to prediction platform Polymarket.
In a Wednesday notice, the CFTC said it had issued a no-action letter “regarding swap data reporting and recordkeeping regulations for event contracts” with QCX LLC and QC Clearing LLC.
“The divisions will not recommend the CFTC initiate an enforcement action against either entity or their participants for failure to comply with certain swap-related recordkeeping requirements and for failure to report to swap data repositories data associated with binary option transactions and variable payout contract transactions […],” said the regulator.
The action essentially allows Polymarket to offer event contracts without reporting the data required under US financial regulations, providing temporary relief from enforcement while not exempting the companies from regulatory compliance.
In a Wednesday X post, Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan said the CFTC’s action had given the company “the green light to go live in the USA.”
“This process has been accomplished in record timing,” said Coplan. “Stay tuned.”
DeFi lending rises 72% on institutional interest, RWA collateral adoption
Decentralized lending protocols are experiencing a major upswing, with total value locked (TVL) rising sharply amid growing demand for stablecoins and tokenized assets, Binance Research reports. These protocols, which use smart contracts to enable peer-to-peer lending and borrowing without banks or intermediaries, have become one of the fastest-growing segments of decentralized finance (DeFi).
According to the latest data, DeFi lending protocols have grown more than 72% year-to-date, surging from $53 billion at the start of 2025 to over $127 billion in TVL as of Wednesday. This marks a significant influx of capital, underscoring the sector’s rapid expansion.
Binance Research attributes this momentum to accelerating institutional adoption of both stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). As traditional financial players increasingly explore blockchain-based settlement and yield opportunities, DeFi lending platforms are becoming key gateways for participation.
Yield-chasing ETH treasury firms are most at risk: Sharplink Gaming CEO
Companies that buy and hold Ether (ETH) and try to squeeze the most yield out of their holdings will be significantly more at risk if the market declines, Sharplink Gaming co-CEO Joseph Chalom said on Monday.
“There will be people just like in traditional finance who wanna get that last 100 basis points of yield, and think that it is riskless,” Chalom told Bankless. He added that there are ways to achieve double-digit yields on ETH, but they come with a host of risks and those “who are far behind are going to take risks that I don’t think are prudent.”
Sharplink Gaming is the second-largest public holder of ETH, with $3.6 billion worth, trailing only behind BitMine Immersion Technologies, which holds $8.03 billion.
Chalom said that the crypto treasury space “could be tainted by people that do imprudent things,” such as how they go about raising capital or differentiating themselves in the yield that they derive from their ETH holdings.
“If you overbuild and there is a downturn, how do you make sure your call structure is in such a way that you build to the highest price of Ethereum?” he said.
He added, however, that he thinks ETH treasury companies are almost infinitely scalable.
