What a massive month for fintech launches! This is time it's Backpack. Here are two reasons why this blew our minds:

Backpack is bringing IPOs directly on blockchain with Superstate's tokenization platform.

First, our prior thesis of blockchains and associated consumer facing layers moving to focus on RWAs as the key growth vector is being validated in real time.

Let's recap why:

- Speculative options like memes and NFTs are dead. Whodunnit? Prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi. Why? Because binary outcomes on topics users actually understand, can align with and have an edge on are the no-brainer option to bet on.

- Altcoins are dead. This is a thesis unto itself but examine the fact that over 2 cycles we haven't really been able to top $2 trillion in combined market cap for alts. Is that all the retail/speculative money there is to bid on them? My gut says yes. Few if any retain value through the cycle. Whodunnit? RWAs.

From a retail perspective: why bother to play PvP games with magic internet money when you can play degen games with real world assets that you know, trust, understand and actually want to own long term?

The problem for alts and the solution are RWAs. If you can become a conduit for new issuances you can plug the gap in growth that alts have left. 

Secondly, we didn't expect this to happen at the wallet layer, primarily due to referencing EVM as the template for activity. Solana is a different beast on consumer onboarding and interaction. And secondly, I cared too much about social login wallets that abstract the chain. Perhaps that's the next cycle's overarching narrative.

Wallets entering the mix rather than vertical stacks (think: Robinhood App, tokenization, wallet and blockchain // or Kraken App, xStocks, wallet and INK blockchain) was beyond my vision and it creates a new opportunity.

OK so stick with me as there's an important corollary

What if wallets side-step web 2 style social experiences (a la Base app) and skip to pump.fun style video?

Then you control speculative money, legitimate, fundamentally-backed serious investments AND the distribution channel.

It's a paradigm shift in the making of how people invest.

And Demether is going to be pretty close to the action! 

What a massive month for fintech launches! This is time it's Backpack. Here are two reasons why this blew our minds:

Backpack is bringing IPOs directly on blockchain with Superstate's tokenization platform.

First, our prior thesis of blockchains and associated consumer facing layers moving to focus on RWAs as the key growth vector is being validated in real time.

Let's recap why:

- Speculative options like memes and NFTs are dead. Whodunnit? Prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi. Why? Because binary outcomes on topics users actually understand, can align with and have an edge on are the no-brainer option to bet on.

- Altcoins are dead. This is a thesis unto itself but examine the fact that over 2 cycles we haven't really been able to top $2 trillion in combined market cap for alts. Is that all the retail/speculative money there is to bid on them? My gut says yes. Few if any retain value through the cycle. Whodunnit? RWAs.

From a retail perspective: why bother to play PvP games with magic internet money when you can play degen games with real world assets that you know, trust, understand and actually want to own long term?

The problem for alts and the solution are RWAs. If you can become a conduit for new issuances you can plug the gap in growth that alts have left. 

Secondly, we didn't expect this to happen at the wallet layer, primarily due to referencing EVM as the template for activity. Solana is a different beast on consumer onboarding and interaction. And secondly, I cared too much about social login wallets that abstract the chain. Perhaps that's the next cycle's overarching narrative.

Wallets entering the mix rather than vertical stacks (think: Robinhood App, tokenization, wallet and blockchain // or Kraken App, xStocks, wallet and INK blockchain) was beyond my vision and it creates a new opportunity.

OK so stick with me as there's an important corollary

What if wallets side-step web 2 style social experiences (a la Base app) and skip to pump.fun style video?

Then you control speculative money, legitimate, fundamentally-backed serious investments AND the distribution channel.

It's a paradigm shift in the making of how people invest.

And Demether is going to be pretty close to the action!