Major U.S. banks are speeding up reviews of digital dollar strategies, including the direct issuance of stablecoins, amid concerns that a fast-growing stablecoin market could deepen crypto firms\' and nonbanks\' encroachment on traditional banking. JPMorgan has explored the possibility but said it has no current plan to issue a stablecoin. More than 12 financial institutions are also considering a joint global stablecoin venture, while a consortium of state bankers\' associations has outlined a bank-owned blockchain platform.

Total value locked (TVL) on Ethereum layer2 networks has fallen back to about $5 billion for the first time since 2023, The Block reported. The figure gives up most of the gains seen in 2024, when networks such as Optimism, Arbitrum and zkSync drew attention after launching. Optimistic rollups including Optimism, Base and Arbitrum still lead TVL with $4.8 billion, or 96 percent of the total.