The Drop #50
Coinbase insights with Brian Armstrong, MARA strategy under pressure, Switzerland risks isolation with stricter crypto rules, AMF tweaks crypto product doctrine, and BPCE rolls out crypto offering.
🟦 Exclusive interview with Brian Armstrong (Coinbase)
⛏️ MARA: Analysis of a strategy under pressure
🇨🇭 Switzerland risks isolating itself with a stricter crypto framework than Europe
🇨🇵 The AMF adjusts its doctrine for crypto financial products
🏦 BPCE rolls out its crypto offering across its banking networks
🟦 Exclusive interview with Brian Armstrong (Coinbase)
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong spoke exclusively with The Big Whale and confirmed the company's strategic acceleration toward the institutional segment. This pivot is illustrated by the major partnership with BlackRock, which took three years to finalize. Coinbase's vision is to become the "everything exchange" and the leader in tokenization. The giant anticipates the complete migration of all asset classes (TradFi) to the blockchain in order to reduce costs and increase liquidity. Coinbase positions itself as the preferred infrastructure partner for major institutions through its crypto-as-a-service offering. Long-term, Brian Armstrong predicts that crypto rails could handle 10 to 15% of global GDP in payments, reaffirming the thesis of Bitcoin as "digital gold" against uncertainty. Read the interview.
⛏️ MARA: Analysis of a strategy under pressure
Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) is undergoing a transformation to become a hybrid player integrating energy, high-performance computing (HPC/AI), and a treasury of over 53,000 BTC. This pivot is marked by strategic operations such as the acquisition of Exaion (an EDF subsidiary) to establish itself in AI in Europe. Despite these ambitions and a heavily discounted market valuation, the market remains skeptical. The main cause is financial fragility: profits are driven by the appreciation of held BTC, masking a deeply negative operational cash flow. This situation, combined with structural dependence on external financing (dilution and convertible bonds) and a lack of strategic clarity—the company appearing to engage on too many fronts simultaneously—explains the persistent pressure on its stock. Read the analysis.
🇨🇭 Switzerland risks isolating itself with a stricter crypto framework than Europe
A draft law from the Federal Council aimed at revising Swiss financial legislation has the local ecosystem fearing a loss of competitiveness. Under the guise of international compliance, the text would impose constraints on Swiss players that exceed European standards, without offering them access to the EU single market in return. This tightening is illustrated by the elimination of the flexibility of the "Financial Intermediary" model for crypto payments and the establishment of regulatory asymmetry that disadvantages the issuance of domestic stablecoins compared to foreign tokens. Swiss players lament having to align with rules similar to MiCA, without benefiting from the European passport. This raises the risk that Switzerland, a pioneer, could become an isolated fortress with prohibitive compliance costs for SMEs, to the benefit of a Europe with a deeper market. Read the investigation.
🇨🇵 The AMF adjusts its doctrine for crypto financial products
The French financial markets authority (AMF) has decided to relax its doctrine on complex financial products, following the entry into force of the European MiCA regulation and the rise of structured products indexed to crypto-assets. This evolution now allows complex debt securities backed by crypto-assets (ETNs, the European equivalent of American crypto ETFs) to be marketed without the dissuasive complexity warning. To benefit from this relaxation, the underlying assets must meet criteria of at least 10 billion euros in capitalization and liquidity (50 million euros in daily volume), without leverage, and with custody of assets entrusted to a MiCA-approved provider. This will notably allow banks and brokers to offer these products more simply to retail investors. Since March 2025, BoursoBank has been distributing the crypto ETNs from CoinShares and BlackRock.
🏦 BPCE rolls out its crypto offering across its banking networks
As The Big Whale revealed last week, the French banking group BPCE (7th largest European bank by AUM) has activated its crypto strategy by deploying the investment offering of its regulated subsidiary, Hexarq, at Banque Populaire and Caisse d'Épargne. The launch began on December 8 in four pilot institutions, with rapid generalization expected. This initiative aims to retain customers in the face of specialized platforms, by capitalizing on the network's image as a trusted third party. Customers have access to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and USDC directly through their personal space (other cryptos will soon be integrated). The offering is structured around a monthly subscription of 2.99 euros. Transaction fees are set at 1.5%, a level that could be perceived as high compared to pure players, but Hexarq ensures the absence of hidden spread. The challenge for the group is now to convert its traditional clientele to digital assets.
SPHERE – The Swiss Financial Arena and The Big Whale are joining forces to shed light on the integration of digital assets in Swiss wealth management.
We invite you to Geneva for an exclusive breakfast, the first meeting of this new series of gatherings, focused on an operational approach:
Entering the Digital Assets market: an institutional roadmap
- Key themes: Selection of asset classes (BTC, ETH, ETP, Swiss/EU regulated products), choice of providers (custody, data, compliance), and construction of an initial portfolio.
- Issues addressed: Swiss and European regulatory obligations.
This event is strictly reserved for professional investors. We will have the pleasure of welcoming you on Thursday, January 29, 2026.