Bitcoin's quantum debate heats up while Ripple wins US bank charter, USDC gains in Europe and VanEck adds BTC to new ETF

Four separate stories moved the crypto industry this week, according to Cointelegraph's weekly Crypto Biz roundup. The debate over quantum computing is raising questions about Bitcoin's long-term security. Ripple received final US approval for a national trust bank. Circle's USDC overtook Tether in euro stablecoin trading. And asset manager VanEck launched a new ETF that holds a small slice of Bitcoin.

Key points at a glance

• Stacks founder Muneeb Ali says quantum computing fears are already discouraging institutional Bitcoin investment, with meaningful progress toward quantum resistance needed by 2028.
• Ripple won final approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Ripple National Trust Bank.
• USDC now accounts for 56% of euro-denominated stablecoin trading, up from 10% in January 2024, per a Kaiko report.
• VanEck launched the VanEck Wealth Builder ETF (NYSE: WBMO), targeting a 2% Bitcoin allocation that can range from 1% to 5%.

Quantum fears are already an economic problem, Stacks founder argues

Muneeb Ali, founder of Bitcoin layer-2 project Stacks, said on Cointelegraph's Chain Reaction podcast that doubts about Bitcoin's security could complicate the investment case for institutions, even as US spot Bitcoin ETFs — funds that hold Bitcoin on investors' behalf — have amassed more than $104 billion in net assets according to BitBo data. This is Ali's opinion, not a confirmed measure of lost investment.

Ali's argument, as reported: Bitcoin needs a credible roadmap for becoming quantum-resistant, with meaningful progress required by 2028 and completion targeted around 2030, based on guidance from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology. He cautioned that advances in artificial intelligence could bring that deadline forward. Even after developers agree on a fix, implementing it could take years, and holders would then need time to move their coins to quantum-resistant addresses. Ali also warned that a breakthrough capable of compromising Bitcoin would affect the wider crypto market. Some industry participants dispute the urgency of the threat, the report notes, and no quantum computer capable of breaking Bitcoin currently exists — the concern is about the timeline, not a present attack.

Ripple clears the last regulatory hurdle

Ripple has received final approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a federal banking regulator, to establish Ripple National Trust Bank. This clears the last regulatory hurdle after conditional approval in December 2025. The bank will operate under federal supervision, manage the reserves backing Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin, serve as a collateral trustee and provide digital asset custody. RLUSD itself will continue to be issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company, which is regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse welcomed the approval, saying that "crypto and banks work better together." The report adds context: Circle received similar final approval in July, while Coinbase, Crypto.com and Stripe-owned Bridge remain at the conditional stage. Unlike regular banks, national trust banks generally cannot accept deposits or issue loans, and they do not carry Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation coverage.

USDC overtakes Tether in euro trading

Circle's USDC — a dollar-backed stablecoin, a token designed to hold a steady value against the US dollar — has surpassed Tether's USDt in stablecoin trading against the euro, according to a new report from market data firm Kaiko. USDC now makes up 56% of euro-denominated stablecoin trading, up from just 10% in January 2024.

The shift accelerated after major exchanges restricted USDt trading for European Economic Area customers to comply with the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), a rulebook for crypto businesses in the bloc. Kaiko's report also notes USDC's euro order books are roughly 40% deeper than USDt's, meaning traders can buy and sell larger amounts with less price impact. The picture is one-sided, though: USDt remains the dominant stablecoin globally, with a circulating supply about 2.5 times larger than USDC's. The European Banking Authority has designated USDC the bloc's first "significant e-money token," subjecting it to extra oversight, and Kaiko suggested the US GENIUS Act could produce similar changes depending on how exchanges implement it.

VanEck puts a small Bitcoin slice in a new ETF

VanEck, a $244 billion asset manager, announced on Tuesday an actively managed exchange-traded fund that mixes traditional stocks and bonds with real assets and a small Bitcoin allocation. The VanEck Wealth Builder ETF (NYSE: WBMO) invests in a mix of VanEck and third-party ETFs and targets a 2% Bitcoin allocation, which can range from 1% to 5%. Rather than holding Bitcoin directly, the fund gains exposure through a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded product, and the launch extends VanEck's existing Wealth Builder model portfolios into a single ETF.

David Schassler, VanEck's head of multi-asset solutions, said the traditional 60/40 stock-and-bond portfolio was designed for a different investment environment, and that adding real assets could help investors handle a broader range of economic conditions, with Bitcoin now a small part of that strategy. This is the company's stated rationale, not an assessment of how the fund will perform.

What is confirmed and what is still open

Confirmed by the source: the OCC's final approval for Ripple's trust bank, the Kaiko figures on euro stablecoin trading, the European Banking Authority designation of USDC, and the VanEck fund's launch, ticker and allocation range. Ali's warnings about quantum risk and investor behavior are reported as his claims and opinions. It remains genuinely uncertain when — or whether — quantum computing will threaten Bitcoin, and some industry participants dispute the urgency. The effect of the US GENIUS Act on stablecoin trading is also speculative, flagged only as Kaiko's suggestion.

Why it matters

These stories each touch the same theme: crypto is being pulled deeper into regulated finance. A federally supervised trust bank makes Ripple's stablecoin reserves subject to US oversight. MiCA rules have visibly reshaped which stablecoin Europeans trade. A mainstream asset manager putting even a 2% Bitcoin slice into a diversified ETF shows the asset class entering conventional portfolios. And the quantum debate shows that long-term security questions, not just current technology, are becoming part of the investment conversation.

Sources

• Cointelegraph — Crypto Biz: Bitcoin's quantum threat is becoming an economic problem