Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, Schwab found 45% of ETF investors plan to buy a crypto ETF, Google is integrating prediction market data from Kalshi and Polymarket into its search results and Coinbase pushed back on the Treasury amid bank pressure over stablecoin interest.

Nearly half of ETF investers plan to buy crypto ETFs

Nearly half of exchange-traded fund (ETF) investors are planning to buy a crypto ETF, matching those who said they’d buy a bond ETF, according to a Schwab Asset Management survey released on Thursday.

Schwab found that 52% of the 2,000 individual ETF investors it surveyed were planning to invest in a US equities ETF, while 45% said they were interested in crypto ETFs, tied in second place with those interested in ETFs for US bonds. 

“This was also shocking to see crypto tied with bonds for second place in where people plan to invest,” said Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. “Majorly punching above weight given crypto is 1% of total ETF aum [assets under management] while bonds are 17%.”

Around 57% of Millennial respondents indicated they planned to invest in crypto through ETFs, compared to 41% of Gen X respondents and 15% of baby boomers.

Balchunas said the “whole survey was super-optimistic” for ETFs in general, with “basically everyone planning to increase usage,” especially the younger generations.

Google Finance adds prediction markets data in new AI-powered update

Google is incorporating prediction market data from Kalshi and Polymarket into its search results as part of its AI-powered upgrade, enabling users to view real-time probabilities for future market events directly within the platform.

According to a Thursday announcement, the prediction market data will be available in the next couple of weeks, letting users view market odds and track how forecasts have shifted over time by typing a question directly into Google’s search bar.

The feature is part of an AI-powered revamp of Google Finance — a free web service by Google that provides real-time financial market data. The upgrade also introduces Deep Search, driven by its Gemini models, along with new live earnings features.

Polymarket, founded in 2020, is a decentralized prediction platform on the Polygon blockchain where users trade on real-world events, while Kalshi, founded in 2018, is a US CFTC-regulated exchange offering event contracts within the traditional financial system.

Both platforms allow users to wager on a wide range of events — from sports and political outcomes to more unconventional questions like “Trump declassifies UFO files before 2027?” or “Will Zohran Mamdani freeze NYC rent next year?”

Banks push US Treasury for blanket stablecoin yield ban, Coinbase pushes back

The US Department of the Treasury is facing conflicting feedback from crypto companies and traditional banking groups over how to implement the GENIUS Act, the law that regulates stablecoin payments in the US.

In a letter on Tuesday, Coinbase urged the Treasury to limit a ban on stablecoin interest payments exclusively to stablecoin issuers, while allowing it for non-issuers, such as crypto exchanges. Coinbase said its proposal aligns with Congress’s intent when passing the legislation.

At the same time, several banking groups, led by the Bank Policy Institute (BPI), have pressed the Treasury to extend the prohibition to non-issuers, advocating for a blanket ban on stablecoin interest payments.

The recommendations were submitted in response to the Treasury’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM), marking the second round of public comments on the implementation of the GENIUS Act, which concluded on Tuesday.

In a joint announcement on Wednesday, BPI and several banking groups said they urged the Treasury to extend the ban on stablecoin interest payments to digital asset service providers, including exchanges and affiliates.

“Implement the GENIUS Act’s prohibition on the payment of interest or yield on payment stablecoins […] whether paid directly by an issuer or indirectly by an issuer’s affiliates or partners,” BPI said in a separate statement on Tuesday.

The same group previously opposed the same issue in August, arguing that stablecoin interest payments may potentially trigger $6.6 trillion in deposit outflows from the traditional banking system.