Blockchain & Web3 Weekly Bytes Edition #84

💸 Sony’s Crypto Bank Bid, BlackRock Stablecoin Fund, US Gov’t $36B in BTC

Oct 18, 2025

Hello Blockchain Enthusiast,

Welcome to Edition #84 of Blockchain & Web3 Weekly Bytes. This week, Sony Bank entered the race for a crypto banking charter, signaling a growing wave of traditional institutions stepping into digital finance. BlackRock outlined a new fund design for stablecoin reserves, while U.S. government bitcoin holdings hit a record $36 billion after a historic seizure.

TLDR – This Week at a Glance:

Sony Bank seeks crypto charter through Connectia Trust to issue stablecoins and offer digital asset custody.
BlackRock readies a GENIUS-compliant stablecoin reserve fund, extending its tokenization push.
U.S. government bitcoin stash rises to $36B after DOJ’s largest-ever crypto forfeiture.
🔦 Tech Spotlight: Trust Assumptions vs. Trustless Models — what decentralization truly relies on.
📊 Chart of the Week: Ethereum, Solana, and Bitcoin dominate developer growth in 2025.
🎓 Affiliate Spotlight: Blockchain Council’s Certified Blockchain Expert program for professionals advancing their blockchain careers.

🧠 Weekly Trivia

Which blockchain recently launched its xGov program to expand community-led governance and decision-making?

A) Avalanche
B) NEAR Protocol
C) Algorand
D) Harmony

*Answer revealed at the end 👇

📰 This Week’s Blockchain and Web3 Highlights

BlackRock Prepares Stablecoin Reserve Fund: BlackRock is rolling out a GENIUS-compliant money market fund designed for stablecoin issuers.

Sony Bank Applies for Crypto Charter: Sony’s Connectia Trust unit has filed for a national banking charter to issue dollar-pegged stablecoins and provide digital asset custody services.

Bernstein Forecasts USDC Supply Boom: Bernstein analysts project USDC’s supply to grow from 76 billion to over 220 billion by 2027, estimating it could capture one-third of the stablecoin market as new U.S. regulations take hold.

Cloudflare Builds Rails for AI-Driven Payments: Cloudflare is collaborating with Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to standardize authentication for AI-based commerce.

JPMorgan Notes Native Traders Drove Dip: JPMorgan analysts attribute the latest crypto market correction to native traders using perpetual futures, not traditional investors through CME or ETF markets.

SEC’s Peirce Pushes Privacy and Tokenization: SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce emphasized financial privacy as a growing need and called tokenization a top focus area during her remarks at the DC Privacy Summit.

U.S. Government Now Holds $36B in Bitcoin: Following a recent DOJ forfeiture of over 127,000 BTC valued at around $14 billion, the U.S. government’s total bitcoin holdings have climbed past $36 billion.

🔦 Tech Spotlight: Trust Assumptions vs. Trustless Models

Blockchains aim to replace blind faith with verifiable truth. Instead of depending on intermediaries to prove what’s real, users can confirm it themselves through transparent code and shared consensus.

Why it matters now

From belief to proof: Traditional systems rely on trusted gatekeepers, while blockchains automate verification through open validation rules.
Open oversight: Every transaction and rule is visible to participants, removing discretionary control or hidden edits.
Network durability: When trust is distributed across nodes, single points of failure are eliminated.

What’s happening across the space

Bitcoin and Ethereum remain the most verifiable public networks, allowing anyone to confirm ownership and transfers.
EigenLayer and Lagrange are advancing verifiable compute and shared security to reduce off-chain dependencies.
MakerDAO and Uniswap continue refining how decentralized systems manage liquidity, governance, and risk without external oversight.

Takeaway: Trustless systems do not remove trust; they move it into transparent mechanisms that anyone can verify. By replacing assumptions with proof, blockchains redefine what it means to trust in a digital economy.

📊 Chart of the Week: Ethereum Tops Developer Growth in 2025

Ethereum leads all ecosystems in new developer activity this year, with more than 16,000 unique contributors joining. Solana and Bitcoin follow closely, each gaining momentum through new tooling and Layer-2 projects.

The data points to stronger on-chain development across major networks and rising confidence in long-term protocol growth.

Source: Cointelegraph

😂 A Little Blockchain Humor Break 🤣

Trustless vs Trusted systems weekly meme.jpg

Source: Bitwise

That wraps Edition #84 of Blockchain & Web3 Weekly Bytes. We covered Sony Bank’s crypto charter push, BlackRock’s stablecoin reserve fund, US government BTC holdings crossing $36B, and more.

✅ Trivia Answer: C) Algorand

Algorand’s xGov program formally went live this year, enabling token holders to propose, review, and vote on governance initiatives — a notable step toward community decision-making and reduced foundation control.

See you next Saturday with fresh insights from Blockchain and Web3 Insights.

Thank you,
Blockchain and Web3 Insights

🌐 blockchainweb3insights.com
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