At the beginning of 2026, the cryptocurrency market is undergoing an epic reshuffle: Bitcoin has plunged over $13,000 in 24 hours, breaking through the $76,000 mark, with 420,000 people across the network facing liquidations amounting to $2.56 billion. DeFi protocols are collectively experiencing crashes, and liquidity exhaustion has become a sword hanging over all institutions. Just as the market falls into a panic sell-off, a statement from Terry Duffy, CEO of the world's largest derivatives trading platform, CME, adds a more dramatic twist to this turmoil—CME is actively exploring the issuance of its own digital token, CME Coin, which is not merely a technical trial but a critical juncture for traditional finance (TradFi) in structurally reshaping the cryptocurrency market, launching a precise hunt against crypto-native facilities.
While crypto natives are still adhering to the narrative of decentralization, Wall Street giants have already seen the trend: the efficiency of blockchain is worth embracing, but the discourse power in the financial world must be firmly in their own hands. The emergence of CME Coin is the core chess piece in this power struggle. It is not a cryptocurrency in the sense of the crypto world, but a key step for traditional finance to transform clearing monopoly power into a digital pass.
Non-currency currency: The financial infrastructure essence of CME Coin
Although named 'Coin', CME Coin is fundamentally different from USDT, Bitcoin, and other crypto assets. In the fourth quarter earnings call, Duffy clarified two core messages: firstly, this token will operate on a decentralized network but is completely independent of CME and Google Cloud's 'tokenized cash' project, targeting exclusive layouts for crypto trading scenarios; secondly, relying on CME's identity as a 'Systemically Important Financial Market Utility (SIFMU)', the tokens it issues have access to Federal Reserve accounts, and their security far exceeds that of private stablecoins.
Peeling away the technical outer layer, CME Coin's core positioning is clear and precise, directly addressing the two major pain points of institutional crypto trading, and paving the way for CME's core strategy of 24/7 trading of crypto futures in 2026. On one hand, it is an all-weather settlement tool between institutions, complementing the traditional banking wire transfer system, solving the funding transfer void caused by FedWire's weekend shutdown. In the current context of Bitcoin's weekend crash, this instant settlement capability can directly reduce the risk of institutional liquidation; on the other hand, it is tokenized collateral, transforming the previously locked futures margin into on-chain liquid assets, allowing trapped funds to generate value again, which is the core demand amidst the current liquidity exhaustion in the crypto market.
In short, CME Coin is not a chip for speculation, but the core ammunition for traditional finance to lay out the crypto market. Its value lies not in price fluctuations, but in the digital upgrade of financial infrastructure.
Threefold calculation: The precise timing of entry behind the crash
CME's choice to unveil the CME Coin plan amidst the crash of the crypto market is by no means a whim, but a precise layout based on its 2026 digital strategy, every step hitting the core contradictions of the market and the industry, hiding three clear business logics behind it.
First, to solve the fatal pain point of liquidity exhaustion on weekends. The epic crash of the crypto market this time erupted during the weakest liquidity period on weekends, as institutions could not transfer funds through traditional systems to replenish margin, ultimately leading to a geometric amplification of liquidation scale. This pain point is precisely the core obstacle for CME to plan to fully launch 24/7 trading of crypto futures in 2026. The CME Coin, which operates based on blockchain, can achieve instant fund allocation 24/7, becoming the 'quick-acting heart-saving pill' of the margin system, allowing institutions to have a key tool for risk hedging amidst extreme volatility in the crypto market.
Second, to reclaim the trillion-dollar funding dividend divided by private stablecoins. Currently, the total market value of global stablecoins has reached $302.8 billion, with USDT and USDC forming a dual oligopoly, occupying 86.3% of the market share, with hundreds of billions of dollars in cash trapped in Tether and Circle, not only enjoying hundreds of millions in interest income but also controlling the lifeblood of fund flow in the crypto market. With the short-term yield on US Treasuries maintaining above 3.5% and long-term yields approaching 5% in 2026, the income potential of this trapped capital is immense. The launch of CME Coin is precisely aimed at keeping this fund flow within the balance sheets of traditional finance, allowing Wall Street to regain control over the funding dividends of the crypto market.
Thirdly, to build a compliance moat and delineate new rules for the crypto market. When JPMorgan launches tokenized deposit services based on the Coinbase Base chain in early 2026, achieving second-level settlements between institutions and Coinbase accepts it as collateral, traditional financial giants will reach a consensus: the future competition in crypto is not about seat allocation, but about 'collateral efficiency'. Duffy bluntly stated that he trusts tokens issued by SIFI institutions like JPMorgan more, which in fact raises the 'origination' threshold for collateral—by excluding private stablecoins, creating a high-threshold, high-security 'membership' crypto playground for traditional finance, with the rules set by them.
Hunting stablecoins: A comprehensive power grab from clearing rights to digital throats
For a long time, USDT and USDC have dominated the funding layer of the crypto market thanks to their first-mover advantage and liquidity inertia, but the emergence of CME Coin is thoroughly dismantling their moat from three dimensions. This hunt is precise and deadly.
Firstly, from capital movers to liquidity clearing rights, occupying the core of the financial system. The core function of USDT and USDC is 'fund transfer', while CME handles tens of trillions of dollars in derivative positions. Once CME Coin becomes an officially recognized margin asset, it will directly enter the heart of the global financial system—the foundation of price discovery and stability assurance. More crucially, it has a 'systemic necessity': as long as institutions engage in crypto trading on CME, they must hold CME Coin to meet instant margin requirements. This necessity is unattainable by any native crypto asset. It should be noted that by 2025, CME's average daily trading volume in cryptocurrencies has reached $12 billion, a scale sufficient to support the circulation foundation of CME Coin.
Secondly, collateral equals sovereignty, controlling the digital throat of the crypto market. The core of modern finance is collateral, which determines who can enter the market and how much leverage they can open. Contrary to the decentralization advocated by blockchain, CME Coin uses a digital outer shell to further strengthen its monopoly power as a top intermediary: it is likely a closed-loop game exclusively for institutions, with no open governance, only legally protected clearing rights. During this crash, the Curve Finance stablecoin trading pool experienced significant decoupling, with the USDC/USDT price spread widening to 5%, exposing the clearing shortcomings of private stablecoins under extreme market conditions; however, CME, with its mature clearing system, can make its tokens become 'safe collateral' in the crypto market, thereby controlling the access rights of the entire market.
Thirdly, yield siphoning, directly targeting the core soft spot of private stablecoins. Facing the risk-free yield rate of over 4% on US Treasuries in 2026, institutional funds naturally have a profit-seeking tendency, while private stablecoins like USDT and USDC generally lack interest-generating properties, leading to a depreciation of trapped funds. In contrast, traditional financial tokens like CME Coin and JPM Coin come with interest-generating attributes or transaction fee deduction functions, allowing institutional trapped funds to simultaneously enjoy US Treasury yields. This yield advantage will create a continuous siphoning of funds from private stablecoins, ultimately shaking their market foundation.
The convergence of giants: A digital upgrade for traditional finance, rather than a victory for decentralization
CME's crypto layout has never been a lone effort. JPM Coin from JPMorgan has achieved second-level settlement of funds between institutions, BlackRock has issued the BUIDL fund focusing on crypto asset management, and Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are both increasing their involvement in crypto derivatives business. The path of Wall Street giants is highly consistent: embrace the efficiency of blockchain, but never give up traditional power structures.
This layout has been confirmed by market data: despite the crash in the crypto market, CME's stock price has risen by 6.55% in the past three months, closing at $294.62 on February 4, 2026, with a market value exceeding $106.2 billion; JPMorgan's stock price has also risen against the trend, with a slight increase of 0.97% in the past three months, maintaining a market value of over $860 billion. The optimism in the capital market is essentially a recognition of the crypto layout of traditional financial giants—they are not aiming to disrupt the existing financial system but to integrate the crypto market into their own system, completing the digital upgrade of traditional financial order.
This is far from the victory of decentralized finance that crypto natives expect. When tokens like CME Coin and JPM Coin become the core infrastructure of the crypto market, and traditional financial giants master the three core powers of collateral, clearing, and funds, the narrative of 'decentralization' in the crypto market will ultimately give way to the reality of 'institutionalization'. The future crypto market will no longer be a playground for retail speculation, but a battleground for traditional financial giants, and those private stablecoins and small tokens lacking compliance and real value will eventually be squeezed out of the core circle.
The epic crash of the crypto market has revealed the fragility of native facilities; the emergence of CME Coin has unveiled Wall Street's true ambitions. This crypto revolution led by traditional finance has just begun, and the rules of the game have already been rewritten.
Do you think CME Coin will completely disrupt the stablecoin landscape of USDT and USDC? Will the convergence of traditional financial giants lead the crypto market to a more mature future, or will it become a new monopoly arena? Feel free to share your views in the comments, like, save, and share, and let's track every step of the changes in Wall Street's crypto chess game!
