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July 2025 • Issue 25:07:01

The mainstreaming of cryptocurrencies

The first big hint I had that crypto had legs was when
headlines were made about a Trump Administration move
to allow crypto holdings to serve as a federal mortgage
asset. "After significant studying, and in keeping with
President Trump's vision to make the United States the
crypto capital of the world, Today I ordered the Great
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare their businesses
to count cryptocurrency as an asset for a mortgage," U.S.
Federal Housing Director William Pulte posted to X on
June 25, 2025.

Fannie Mae (the Federal National Mortgage Association)
is a government-sponsored organization that purchases
mortgage loans from lenders, thereby freeing up lenders to
make more mortgage loans. Freddie Mac (the Federal Home
Loan Mortgage Corporation), serves a similar purpose,
packaging the mortgages it purchases into mortgage-
By Patti Murphy backed securities for sale to investors.

t began like a fad, or perhaps a new way to bypass
the prying eyes of government, but now cryptocur-
rency is taking off like a rocket ship. The price of a
I single bitcoin, which in 2010 was about a dime, these Contributed articles inside by:
days well exceeds $100,000. In the interim years, however,
the value has ballooned and deflated numerous times.
Allen Kopelman .....................................................................................16
Recently, I had a conversation with Keith Riddle, general Ken Musante and Elaina Smith ........................................................18
manager at Payfinia Inc., a technology platform created to
help community financial institutions take advantage of Todd Robertson ....................................................................................28
embedded payments and digital wallets, about the trend. Allen Bonde ............................................................................................30

He agreed with me that they won't replace credit and debit
cards, at least not initially. Jacob Spencer........................................................................................32
Roger Alexander ...................................................................................34
Stablecoins were created to address the wild gyrations
witnessed in the crypto market. This is done by pegging Angela Yore ............................................................................................36
the value of a crypto asset to a more stable asset, such as fiat
currencies like the U.S. dollar.

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