On May 11, 2026, two of the largest TradFi-into-crypto deals of the year landed inside the same news cycle. Circle closed a $222 million token sale for its Arc institutional blockchain at a $3 billion fully diluted valuation. Ripple closed a $200 million debt facility from Neuberger Berman to expand Ripple Prime, its multi-asset prime brokerage. Total capital committed to crypto rails in 24 hours: $422 million.

The investor list reads like a roll call of the firms that spent the last decade telling clients to stay away from crypto. a16z crypto led the Circle round with $75 million. BlackRock, Apollo Funds, ICE (the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange), Standard Chartered Ventures, Janus Henderson, SBI Group, General Catalyst,…