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This edition of the newsletter analyses Particle Network as the leader in chain abstraction technology, offering a complete product stack that simplifies web3 user experience by allowing users to navigate multiple blockchains without worrying about gas tokens, manual bridging, or managing different wallets. Their Universal Accounts system generates real revenue through B2B partnerships and their UniversalX dApp, positioning them for significant growth as they expand across trading, games, yield, and NFTs while maintaining self-custody for users.. We'll also share some interesting articles, portfolio updates and market highlights.
a) Databricks and the Future of Data
• Databricks evolved from an academic project focused on Apache Spark for big data processing to a comprehensive data platform valued at $62B that unifies data warehousing, engineering, and AI capabilities.
• Founded by Berkeley researchers and led by CEO Ali Ghodsi since 2016, the company's growth is accelerating due to its strategic "data lakehouse" vision and positioning as an "AI database" while competitors' growth slows.
A Case Study on Riding S Curves: Past, Present, and Future of the Data & AI Company
b) The Great Tokenization Shift: 2025 and the Road Ahead
• Tokenization represents a structural shift in global finance comparable to ETFs --> more transparent, automated, and capital-efficient through 24/7 trading, fractional ownership, and programmable finance capabilities
• Tokenization directly addresses fundamental inefficiencies in trad markets: settlement delays (T+1/T+2 vs. near-instant), excessive intermediation (multiple middlemen vs. direct ownership), and fragmented/limited access (restricted hours/participants vs. 24/7 global markets)
Keyrock, in collaboration with Centrifuge, has released a comprehensive report exploring the current landscape of Real-World Asset Tokenization.
c) How to Invest in Robotics in 2025
• Investors can access the robotics sector through publicly traded companies (Tesla, Nvidia, UBTech), investment DAOs like XMAQUINA, robotics-focused ETFs, closed-end funds like ARK Venture Fund, or accredited investor platforms offering pre-IPO shares.
• The humanoid robotics industry is poised for exponential growth driven by labor shortages, increasing automation demand, and AI advancements, with experts predicting it will create immediate economic impact across multiple industries.
Investing in robotics is no longer limited to venture capital. As the industry evolves, investors have new ways to get involved-through public stocks, DAOs, ETFs, and private markets.
a) MyShell
• The 2024 ROSS Index by Runa Capital reveals MyShell (ranked #11) as one of the hottest open source startups, with its OpenVoice repository gaining 29,700 new GitHub stars in 2024, bringing its total to 30,300 stars.
• Founded in the US in 2023 with $16.8 million in funding, MyShell is part of the AI-driven trend that dominates more than half of the top 20 commercial open source startups on this year's index.
A new report showcases the 20 top-trending open source startups around the world, more than half of which are closely aligned with AI.
b) Infrared x Pendle
• Pendle has launched markets for iBGT and iBERA on Berachain, enabling users to trade yield through their yield tokenization system that splits assets into Principal Tokens (PT) and Yield Tokens (YT).
• This integration with Infrared's ecosystem allows traders to buy or sell exposure to iBGT or iBERA yield directly, lock in fixed yield rates, and make trades based on their APR predictions, marking the beginning of a partnership that promises deeper integrations and new strategies as more Infrared assets become available.
https://infrared.finance/blog/ibgt-and-ibera-live-on-pendle#ibgt-and-ibera-live-on-pendle
c) Dojima
• Ephemeral rollups are revolutionizing blockchain technology by enabling cost-efficient, high-speed transactions that solve the persistent problems of high fees and slow processing times across the ecosystem.
• This groundbreaking technology promises to unlock new possibilities for DeFi, gaming, and enterprise solutions, potentially transforming the entire blockchain landscape with its innovative approach to scalability.
Particle Network has quietly built the infra for users to easily navigate chains as they become the pioneer of chain abstraction tech. We have seen their partnerships with various projects and ecosystems in the space as they seek to build not just an interoperability but a killer dApp as well.
Furthermore, some are still comparing Particle to messaging protocols or bridge solutions, and I think the team has demonstrated that they have bigger plans in mind:
First to ship production-ready chain abstraction
UniversalX already generating real revenue (~$2M)
Multi-chain ecosystem supporting 14+ EVM chains + Solana
Universal Accounts: The Future of Web3 UX
The team has built a powerful stack that fundamentally changes how users interact with chains. For simplicity:
Users don't need to worry about gas tokens on different chain
No more manual bridging between chains
A single and unified balance across the entire ecosystem
Users also have the benefit of signing into wallets with their emails/ other social logins which solves the common problem of the hassle of dealing with private keys and storing seed phrases in a secure manner. The team is clearly executing from first principles → ship infrastructure that makes the multi-chain experience feel like using a CEX (social logins, no private keys) → however users remain fully on-chain with self-custodial wallets for security → users avoid the hassle of bridging assets across multiple chains + manage different types of wallets for each chain → onboard millions of users due to ease of use
Particle Network - The Chain Abstraction Layer?
Comparing Particle against their competitors, Particle offers a complete product stack, while others only provide messaging without solving UX problems.
Particle generate revenue more effectively since it is building a full fledged ecosystem, not just offering technology --> they have proper revenue generating sources through B2B partnerships with projects or through their UniversalX dApp
Has better user experience than its competitors this is backed by its killer app UniversalX which creates stickier infrastructure
Abstracting away chain complexity completely, which has the potential to onboard many dApps in the space
This has plenty of use cases as can be seen in the examples below:
Gaming: Players can buy in-game assets across chains without needing to know the underlying chain
NFTs: Users can buy NFTs with any token from any chain
DeFi: Protocols can access liquidity from multiple chains for better rates and capital efficiency
It's still early in the chain abstraction narrative, but with 1.2M+ unique trades on UniversalX since V2 launch, there's clear demand for this UX improvement. If simplifying the web3 experience matters (and it definitely does), Particle is poised for significant growth as more users onboard.
Reasons why we think Particle can sustain its growth post TGE:
Every transaction through Universal Accounts consumes their token (acting as a gas token) for cross-chain settlement. → this creates a direct value accrual tied to user adoption --> direct value accrual as chain abstraction adoption grows
UniversalX has already generated >$2M in revenue as a completely fresh product, validating the chain abstraction thesis
Lastly, Particle's plan to aggressively expand Universal Accounts across multiple verticals (trading, games, yield, NFTs) will drive perpetual token consumption as adoption scales
The team is also backed by @yzilabs (prev Binance Labs), greatly increasing its chance of a pure CEX listing - especially with a proven PMF and revenue generating dApp
Since they have also chosen the path of a Binance Wallet IDO, this signals alignment with @BNBChain where Particle Network establishes partnerships with other protocols within the ecosystem and helps with trading volume on-chain. Success of Particle will depend on 3 key factors: project legitimacy with proper tokenomics, a strong team solving a problem with revenue generation, and strong community building with effective marketing to generate genuine retail interest.
Conclusion
We think that the market should view Particle Network as the definitive leader in chain abstraction due to its revenue that they are generating and the partnerships they have secured. Universal Accounts and the supporting Particle Chain represent a fundamental shift in web3 UX, abstracting away complexity for users while maintaining self-custody. Particle also has the potential to become the essential infrastructure layer that makes web3 feel as seamless as Web2.
*Disclosure: Signum Capital holds positions in the aforementioned company. The information provided on this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional nor investment advice.
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