From neobanks scaling crypto adoption to asset managers tokenizing billions and platforms doubling down on self-custody, digital finance is rapidly moving from experimentation to infrastructure. This week’s developments show how institutions like bunq, Legal & General Asset Management, and eToro are embedding digital assets deeper into mainstream finance, even as market volatility and emerging risks, from quantum threats to shifting liquidity trends, continue to reshape the landscape.
bunq Hits €100M in Crypto Trading One Year After Launch
European neobank bunq has crossed €100 million in crypto trading volume, spread across roughly half a million trades since the April 2025 launch of bunq Crypto. The milestone was reached within the first year of the bank’s digital asset offering, as the platform also reported a 41% increase in total signups in 2026. Alongside the anniversary announcement, bunq introduced a Stocks Baskets feature and expanded its AI-driven Safety Shield security tool to cover all payments and stocks, in addition to crypto. For retail users, the update means they can now trade crypto, build themed stock and ETF portfolios, and manage risk controls — all within one banking app. For the broader industry, it signals that embedding crypto into everyday banking continues to drive adoption among users who might not seek out a standalone exchange.
Legal & General Puts £50 Billion of Liquidity Funds On-Chain via Calastone
The UK’s largest asset manager, Legal & General Asset Management, has launched a range of tokenized money market funds using Calastone’s Tokenized Distribution Network. L&G has £1.2 trillion in assets under management, and the liquidity funds being tokenized hold £50 billion. The network handles token creation, order routing, trade aggregation, reconciliation and on-chain settlement, integrating with existing fund administration processes. Tokenized versions of the funds are initially available on Ethereum and EVM-compatible blockchains, with more networks planned. The funds operate in US dollars, euros and pound sterling. Investors can now buy, hold and transfer tokenized units within a permissioned, regulated network. For institutional investors and fund managers, the move demonstrates that large-scale tokenization of traditional money market instruments is operationally viable today, not just a roadmap item.
eToro Agrees to Buy Self-Custody Wallet ZenGo for ~$70 Million
Trading platform eToro has agreed to acquire crypto wallet provider ZenGo in a deal said to be valued at around $70 million. The acquisition pairs eToro’s multi-asset investing network with ZenGo’s non-custodial wallet, which uses multi-party computation to secure user funds without a seed phrase. Founded in 2018, ZenGo is a pioneer in MPC cryptography and provides a market-leading crypto wallet known for its keyless architecture. The transaction strengthens eToro’s ability to support tokenized assets and emerging decentralized trading models such as prediction markets and perpetuals. ZenGo reports more than 2 million users globally. Its wallet will remain separate from eToro’s regulated services, with users interacting directly with third-party protocols. For eToro’s 40 million registered users, the deal opens a path to self-custody without the usual complexity of managing seed phrases.
BitMEX Proposes a “Canary Fund” as an Alternative to Freezing Bitcoin
BitMEX Research has put forward a soft fork proposal that would avoid a blanket freeze of quantum-vulnerable dormant Bitcoin unless a quantum computer is first proven capable of stealing funds. The proposal offers an alternative to BIP-361, a Bitcoin improvement proposal introduced this week that called for freezing dormant, quantum-exposed coins outright. The canary address would hold a bounty that only a quantum attacker could unlock. Any spend from it would trigger a retroactive freeze on vulnerable coins and publicly signal that Bitcoin’s signature scheme had been broken. A 50,000-block delay — roughly 345 days — would follow any canary trigger before a full freeze activates, giving legitimate holders time to migrate. For Bitcoin holders and developers, the debate matters now: roughly 25% of BTC sits in quantum-vulnerable addresses, worth approximately $368 billion at current prices.
CoinGecko: Crypto Market Cap Fell 20% in Q1 2026, CEX Volume Hit Lowest Since 2023
The first quarter of 2026 saw the total crypto market cap decline by 20.4%, shedding $622 billion to end March at $2.4 trillion, says the latest CoinGecko report. The drop was accelerated in mid-January by the nomination of Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve Chair, signaling a potential hawkish shift in US monetary policy. Spot trading volume on the top 10 centralized exchanges fell 39.1% to $2.7 trillion, with March recording just $0.8 trillion — the lowest monthly figure since November 2023. Binance maintained a 37% market share. Meanwhile, Solana held the top spot for decentralized exchange trading with 30.6% dominance for the quarter. One notable bright spot: commodity perpetuals on Hyperliquid surged, with oil trading open interest reaching $2.3 billion — and on April 9, combined daily oil perp volumes briefly surpassed Bitcoin’s daily trading volume on the platform for the first time. For traders and market participants, the data confirms that 2026 opened in a bear cycle, while also showing where activity migrated: commodities, stablecoins, and decentralized infrastructure.
