Hey there, PoI readers! 💫

It's your favorite crypto connoisseur, Mochi, back with another serving of tantalizing tech and web3 news. From the SEC finally admitting DePIN tokens aren't securities and Anthropic's AI that codes for 30 hours straight to Binance going full B2B with white-label services and Kazakhstan launching a state crypto fund with BNB, we've got a lot to unpack. So, buckle up and get ready for a wild ride through the wonderland of digital assets, AI breakthroughs, and nation-state crypto adoption!

INTEL BRIEF

🟧 The SEC issued a rare no-action letter confirming DePIN tokens fall outside securities regulation, marking a major shift in crypto enforcement under the Trump administration.

🟧 Anthropic released Claude Sonnet 4.5, claiming it's the best AI coding model that can build production-ready apps and autonomously code for up to 30 hours straight.

🟧 Binance launched a white-label crypto-as-a-service platform for banks and TradFi institutions, following Coinbase's lead to help traditional finance tap into crypto without building infrastructure from scratch.

🟧 Kazakhstan launched the Alem Crypto Fund, a state-backed digital asset reserve starting with BNB, joining the growing trend of nations building strategic crypto reserves.

The SEC Just Gave DePIN Tokens a Free Pass and Wall Street Is Shook

The agency dropped a rare no-action letter on Monday, essentially telling DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network) tokens: "You're cool, we won't sue you."

Michael Seaman, the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance chief counsel, said the agency won't be coming after DoubleZero's 2Z token launch.

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce dropped some wisdom bombs, reminding everyone that "Congress created the Securities and Exchange Commission to oversee the securities markets, not to regulate all economic activity." She pointed out that DePIN tokens are basically payment for actual work—like compensating someone for managing fiber optic networks—not speculative investments where you sit back and pray someone else makes you rich.

DoubleZero's protocol, which lets blockchain systems tap into underutilized private fiber links, is now free to launch without the SEC breathing down their necks. Austin Federa, DoubleZero's co-founder, called it proof that US innovators can actually work with regulators instead of fleeing to more crypto-friendly shores.

The message is clear: if your token is functional compensation for services rendered, not a "give us money and trust us bro" scheme, the SEC might just leave you alone. Revolutionary, right?

The Trump administration's promised regulatory easing seems to be delivering, and DePIN projects can now focus on building infrastructure instead of hiring an army of securities lawyers. Though ironically, DePIN tokens still dropped 2% after the news—because crypto gonna crypto!

SEC issued rare no-action letter stating DePIN tokens (like DoubleZero's 2Z) aren't securities and won't face enforcement

Commissioner Peirce emphasized tokens that compensate for actual work/services don't fall under securities laws—Howey test doesn't apply

Major regulatory shift under Trump administration allows US crypto projects to build without fear of SEC lawsuits

Claude Sonnet 4.5 Just Coded Nonstop for 30 Hours and We're All Out of a Job

Anthropic just launched Claude Sonnet 4.5 on Monday, and this AI model is supposedly so good at coding that it makes your average Silicon Valley engineer look like they're taking a leisurely vacation.

David Hershey, an Anthropic AI researcher, claims he watched Claude Sonnet 4.5 code autonomously for up to 30 hours during early trials. And we're not talking about just churning out some spaghetti code—this AI was allegedly building applications, setting up databases, buying domain names, and even performing SOC 2 security audits.

The model is available via the Claude API and chatbot, with pricing remaining the same as Claude Sonnet 4: $3 per million input tokens and $15 per million output tokens.

Anthropic is claiming state-of-the-art performance on coding benchmarks like SWE-Bench Verified, which is a pretty big deal considering OpenAI's GPT-5 has been nipping at their heels lately. Both Cursor CEO Michael Truell and Windsurf CEO Jeff Wang are already singing Claude Sonnet 4.5's praises, calling it a "new generation of coding models."

Anthropic is also dropping the Claude Agent SDK (the same tech powering Claude Code) and a research preview feature called "Imagine with Claude" for Max subscribers. This feature lets the AI generate software on the fly in real-time—no predetermined code, just pure AI improvisation.

The company also claims Claude Sonnet 4.5 is their most "aligned" model yet, with lower rates of sycophancy and deception (because apparently previous AI models were a bit too eager to please). They've also beefed up defenses against prompt injection attacks.

This launch comes less than two months after Claude Opus 4.1 dropped, proving that the AI arms race moves faster than a caffeinated programmer debugging on a Friday afternoon!

Claude Sonnet 4.5 launched with state-of-the-art coding performance, capable of autonomously coding for 30+ hours and building production-ready apps

Pricing remains $3/million input tokens and $15/million output tokens; available via API and chatbot with new Agent SDK for developers

New "Imagine with Claude" feature generates software in real-time; model has improved alignment with lower deception rates and better security

Binance Is Now Renting Out Its Entire Crypto Backend to Banks Because Why Not

Binance is officially entering the white-label game, offering a shiny new crypto-as-a-service solution for banks, brokerages, and stock exchanges who want to dip their toes into digital assets without, you know, actually building anything themselves.

Starting Tuesday (for select institutions, because exclusivity is so hot right now), TradFi firms can basically rent Binance's entire backend—spot and futures markets, liquidity pools, custody solutions, compliance tools, the works—while keeping their own branding front and center.

"Building crypto infrastructure in-house is expensive, time-consuming, and potentially high-risk." Smart move, honestly, especially since client demand for digital assets has never been higher and offering crypto access is apparently "no longer optional" for TradFi institutions.

Coinbase started offering similar services back in June—but it shows how the crypto infrastructure game is evolving. Traditional financial institutions are realizing they don't need to reinvent the wheel; they just need to partner with crypto-native platforms that already have the tech, liquidity, and compliance frameworks locked down.

The offering includes some pretty slick features: internalized trading (institutions can route client orders within their own systems), management dashboards for monitoring everything from trading activity to asset flows, and seamless connections to Binance's spot and futures markets when needed.

With the Trump administration's crypto-friendly policies giving Wall Street the green light to go full degen (responsibly, of course), public companies and major TradFi firms are racing to offer crypto exposure. Many already provide access via crypto treasury company stocks and spot ETFs, but Binance's solution could give clients a more direct way to buy and sell crypto.

Select institutions get early access starting Tuesday, with a wider rollout in Q4. So if you're a bank wondering how to compete in this brave new crypto world—congrats.

Binance launched white-label crypto-as-a-service for banks and TradFi institutions, offering spot/futures markets, custody, and compliance tools without requiring in-house infrastructure

Institutions keep their branding while Binance powers the backend; select access starts Tuesday with wider Q4 rollout

Follows Coinbase's June launch of similar services as TradFi demand for crypto surges under Trump administration's crypto-friendly policies

Kazakhstan Just Launched a Government Crypto Fund and Bought BNB With It

Kazakhstan just launched a state-backed crypto fund called the Alem Crypto Fund. And what's the first token in their national treasure chest? BNB, Because apparently, when you're building a strategic digital asset reserve, you go straight to Binance's native token.

The fund was created by Kazakhstan's Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development (yes, that's a real ministry, and yes, it sounds like something from a sci-fi novel) and is being managed by Qazaqstan Venture Group under the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC).

According to the announcement, the fund's goal is to make "long-term investments in digital assets and build strategic reserves." Kazakhstan is HODLing, and they're doing it with government backing. This isn't some degen play—this is institutional adoption with a side of national strategy.

Binance has been Kazakhstan's crypto bestie since 2022, when former CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao signed a memorandum with the government to help develop the country's crypto regulatory framework. Clearly, that partnership is paying dividends (literally?).

This news comes less than a week after Kazakhstan rolled out KZTE, its own tenge-backed stablecoin on Solana, in partnership with Mastercard, Intebix, and Eurasian Bank.

Kazakhstan has serious crypto street cred, by the way. The Central Asian nation was once ranked second globally by Bitcoin hashrate in 2021, making it a major mining hub. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has been pushing for a "full-fledged ecosystem of digital assets" and even unveiled plans for "CryptoCity"—a pilot zone allowing crypto payments—earlier this month.

While the Alem Crypto Fund isn't technically a central bank reserve, it's believed to be part of a broader trend of nations adding Bitcoin and crypto to their treasuries. El Salvador blazed the trail in 2021 by adopting BTC as legal tender, while Bhutan reportedly started accumulating Bitcoin through state mining as early as 2019. More recently, Brazil and Indonesia have been exploring similar reserves.

Kazakhstan launched Alem Crypto Fund, a state-backed digital asset reserve starting with BNB in partnership with Binance Kazakhstan

Fund aims for long-term strategic reserves; managed by Qazaqstan Venture Group under AIFC, though purchase amount wasn't disclosed

Follows launch of KZTE stablecoin last week and President Tokayev's push for "CryptoCity" and national crypto ecosystem by 2026

And that's a wrap, my lovely PoI readers! 🎉 I hope this edition left you feeling informed, entertained, and maybe even a little bit richer (in knowledge, of course). From regulatory wins to AI coding marathons to governments buying the dip, it's been quite the journey! Remember to stay curious, stay informed, and keep spreading the love. Until next time, this is Mochi, signing off with a virtual high-five!

P.S. Don't forget to share your thoughts, questions, and favorite crypto puns with us. very voice matters in the PoI community! 📣❤️ Share the newsletter

🍨📰 Catch you in the next issue! 📰🍨