In Uncommonlab Weekly Alpha, we compile and share newly emerging crypto alpha insights each week.

• On September 14, the price of YU, Yala’s stablecoin that is redeemable 1:1 with USDC, suddenly dropped, triggering a depeg.

• A postmortem revealed that the hacker exploited a temporary key during the approved bridge deployment process to set up an unauthorized cross-chain and illegally minted a total of $30M worth of YU.

• The hacker then sold $7.71M worth of YU, stealing funds equivalent to 1,636 ETH. Immediately after the incident, Yala suspended its Convert and Bridge functions, which enabled the recovery of the remaining $22M worth of YU.

• On September 23, the team announced that YU would be fully restored and redeemable 1:1 with USDC again, clarifying that the root cause was mismanagement of the temporary key and not an inherent issue with the protocol itself.

• Subsequently, YU successfully recovered to $1 and completed its 1:1 peg with USDC, with Yala returning to normal operations.

[Comments] The depeg of YU against USDC occurred due to a temporary key exploit at the Bitcoin-based stablecoin protocol Yala. The damage, estimated at $7.71M, was relatively significant. However, since the incident was not caused by a direct vulnerability in the Yala protocol itself, there appears to be no fundamental issue as long as the YU–USDC peg is restored. By the recovery date of September 23, YU had successfully regained its $1 peg, and both liquidity and bridge functionality had returned to normal, resolving most issues. That said, as interest in stablecoin deposits continues to grow, it’s important to remember that risks such as depegs and hacks are always present on-chain, and should be factored into any decision-making.

• On September 17, Aster, a leading BNB-based PerpDEX, conducted the TGE of its native token $ASTER.

• Initially, $ASTER could only be traded within the Aster platform itself, and with withdrawals not supported until October 1 as per the official notice, the token couldn’t be listed on exchanges. As a result, its price failed to break above $0.1 in the early stage.

• However, after Binance founder CZ posted a screenshot of the Aster exchange, Aster began to be perceived as the “Chinese Hyperliquid,” and the $ASTER price quickly climbed to $0.5.

• The rapid price increase led the team to open withdrawals earlier than planned, on September 19 instead of October 1.

• As CZ continued to highlight Aster, the $ASTER token eventually surged to $2, reaching a $20B FDV.

[Comments] Following Hyperliquid’s success, interest in PerpDEXs has grown significantly. While $ASTER launched at only $0.07 on TGE day, CZ’s repeated positive mentions of the exchange helped shape the narrative of “China’s Hyperliquid,” driving the token price up more than 20x within a week to $2. Some speculate that CZ is strategically supporting Aster to counter Hyperliquid’s growing market share in the PerpDEX space. Given his resources and his recent return to Binance, that possibility doesn’t seem far-fetched.

• Sentient is a blockchain-based open-source AI project.

• It has raised a total of $85M from top-tier VCs such as Founders Fund, Pantera, and Framework.

• Its core features include: GRID: a system that combines and coordinates multiple models, AI agents, and data streams to function as a form of distributed intelligence. Sentient Chat: an interface similar to ChatGPT that allows users to interact with AI directly.

• Recently, Sentient was onboarded to Kaito Mindshare, which has increased speculation around the possibility of a token launch.

[Comments] Former Polygon Co-Founder Sandeep Nailwal is also a Co-Founder and core member of Sentient. Under his involvement, the project has successfully raised $85M from leading investors such as Founders Fund, Pantera, and Framework. This is a very large funding amount for the crypto AI sector, suggesting that if Sentient were to launch a token, its valuation could be extremely high. With Sentient now listed on Kaito Mindshare, the chances of a token launch have risen even further. However, since the project currently does not have any direct token farming programs within its products, focusing on Yapping (community engagement/contributions) could potentially lead to greater rewards.

• Tea is a network designed to address the “Nebraska problem” of OSS infrastructure, where the ecosystem has long depended on unpaid volunteers. Tea’s goal is to make open-source software sustainable by rewarding verified maintainers.

• In 2021, Tea raised $7M in a Pre-Seed round at an FDV of $60M. In 2022, it raised $10M in a Seed round at an FDV of $130M.

• However, the upcoming Coinlist token sale is set at an FDV of $50M, even lower than the Pre-Seed valuation, with 100% token unlock at TGE—a condition that has attracted strong interest from participants.

• That said, Tea’s tokenomics allocate 28% of the supply to airdrops, and with the Coinlist sale also fully unlocked, a significant amount of sell pressure is expected. This could make it difficult for the token to hold its price in the early phase.

[Comments] Tea will conduct its token sale on Coinlist. The sale terms are more favorable than the Pre-Seed round, and with 100% unlock at TGE, demand for participation is expected to be very high. Especially in the current bullish crypto market environment, many tokens with similar TGE conditions have performed well, which could further increase demand for Tea’s sale. However, given Tea’s tokenomics, a large amount of airdropped tokens will also unlock at TGE. Unless the token lists on an exchange with enough liquidity to absorb this sell pressure, there’s a real risk of early losses. Moreover, it’s unclear how much time will pass between the Coinlist sale and the eventual exchange listing, which adds another layer of risk participants should carefully consider.

• Following AI, the robotics sector has been drawing increasing attention.

• In September, robotics-related tokens recorded an average gain of 25.6%, and CoinMarketCap even created a dedicated Robotics category.

• Among the top performers, PEAQ has shown strong momentum, while OpenMind is also highly anticipated after raising $20M from VCs including Pantera Capital and Coinbase Ventures.

• Mechanism Capital, founded by Andrew Kang, has been aggressively investing in robotics-related projects, regardless of whether they are Web3 or Web2.

[Comments] Interest is shifting beyond just AI to robotics combined with DePIN. Although projects producing actual robots are rare, many projects—such as PEAQ (infrastructure provider) or OpenMind (data provider)—stand to benefit indirectly from the sector’s growth. Despite being in its early stages, robotics has already seen massive investment and product development in Web2. It’s likely only a matter of time before we see large-scale investment and spotlight in the Web3 robotics sector as well.

1. Spacecoin Airdrop Season 2

• Spacecoin is a Depin platform that aims to build a 5G network using multiple small satellites.

• The project is built on Creditcoin and is currently running Airdrop Season 2 for $CTC holders.

• Participation is available through Penguinbase, a new platform built on Creditcoin. By holding $CTC in an on-chain wallet and completing missions, participants accumulate points, which determine the size of their Spacecoin airdrop allocation.

• The season 2 end date, exact reward ratio, and snapshot date have not yet been confirmed.

[Comments] The reason Spacecoin is attracting attention is that, historically, token airdrops with snapshot support on Upbit have often led to KRW listings. In Spacecoin’s case, since Upbit is supporting the airdrop for $CTC holders, it’s worth keeping an eye on. Moreover, both Creditcoin and Spacecoin were title sponsors at KBW 2024 and 2025, actively working behind the scenes for potential listings on Korean exchanges. Therefore, since public interest is still relatively low, it seems advantageous to participate in Airdrop Season 2 for $CTC holders now—by completing missions to maximize the amount of Spacecoin rewards.

2. The Final Reward Program Before Opensea TGE

• Opensea, the world’s largest NFT marketplace, is preparing to launch its own token, SEA.

• In order to qualify for a future SEA token airdrop, users must earn XP on Opensea through NFT purchases or token swaps.

• Currently, Opensea’s token swap fee is 0.85%, meaning it costs about $0.0085 to earn 1 XP.

• Reaching the highest tier (Tier 12) requires roughly $20,000 in spending, which is a substantial investment—so far, fewer than 10 people have reached Tier 12.

• Moreover, this isn’t a one-time event: the program will continue in seasonal cycles, making many participants uncertain whether it’s worth spending significant money on fees.

• Opensea has clarified that this XP distribution method is the final step before the SEA token TGE.

[Comments] If Opensea launches its token, it will have massive impact—enough to be listed on major exchanges immediately after TGE. Backed by $425M in funding from top VCs like Paradigm and a16z, the token valuation is expected to be very high. The token launch is confirmed, though it’s still unclear how much allocation will go to Opensea users. That said, it seems worthwhile to accumulate XP for the chance of an airdrop. Currently, XP can only be earned through NFT trading or token swaps, and the reward tier is determined by how much fee you’ve paid. There are 12 tiers in total, and the higher the tier, the more you’ve spent on Opensea—meaning the larger your likely reward. Generally, I prefer airdrop opportunities that require real spending, since the barrier to entry is higher and participation is smaller.

3. Aggressive New Coin Listings on Korean Exchanges Upbit and Bithumb

• Recently, Korea’s major exchanges, Upbit and Bithumb, have been aggressively listing new coins.

• On Upbit, which has the largest trading volume, 20 coins were listed for KRW trading in September alone: WLFI, RED, FLOCK, WLD, OPEN, LINEA, HOLO, PUMP, AVNT, ZKC, TOSHI, LA, BARD, SUN, 0G, FLUID, XPL, MIRA, SUPER, and FF.

• Even considering the intensifying competition between Upbit and Bithumb, the frequency of these new coin listings is unprecedented.

• Notably, coins like 0G, MIRA, and FF were traded at 2–4 times the price of overseas exchanges at the time of listing, demonstrating the typical Korean exchange phenomenon: “once listed, the price tends to rise.”

[Comments] As competition between Upbit and Bithumb for exchange market share intensifies, the frequency of new coin listings has increased. As a result, many coins have successfully listed on Korean exchanges simultaneously with their TGE. However, most coins reach their peak price on the listing day and then decline steadily. This happens because the TGE price is higher than on overseas exchanges. When the airdrop claim time coincides with the listing time, depositing tokens to a Korean exchange involves processes and confirmation times that are longer than expected. Since circulating supply is low at that moment, prices can spike sharply. Overseas exchanges usually secure sufficient circulating supply via mechanisms like launchpools before trading starts, so such spikes rarely occur there. In a sense, this is a unique characteristic of Korean exchanges. Recent coins like 0G, MIRA, and FF repeatedly demonstrated this pattern, indirectly confirming that the market is overheating.

4. Earning APY Using Pendle PT

• Pendle is a yield tokenization protocol with YT, PT, and LP concepts.

• YT (Yield Token): A variable yield token. Buying YT grants the holder all yield and points until maturity, but it carries high risk.

• PT (Principal Token): A fixed yield token. At maturity, it can be redeemed 1:1 for the underlying asset. It carries low risk and is popular among those seeking stability.

• LP (Liquidity Provision): By providing liquidity, users can earn additional returns through trading fees and PENDLE incentives.

• Recently, news that Falcon YT buyers made substantial profits has increased demand for YT, which in turn has pushed the PT rates for GAIB and USDai close to 40% APY.

[Comments] Pendle is a DeFi protocol that separates yield-generating assets into principal tokens (PT) and yield tokens (YT) for tradable purposes. Recently, high demand for YT has driven PT APYs to very high levels. For those seeking stable returns, purchasing PT is a sound investment strategy. YT, on the other hand, can generate large profits for some, but it can converge to zero at maturity, meaning poor TGE outcomes could result in losses. As more people purchase YT to chase large gains, YT demand rises, boosting PT rates to near 40% in some cases. Personally, in this environment, I recommend focusing on PT or LP rather than buying potentially overvalued YT.

• This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any asset. Investments in cryptocurrencies and digital assets carry high risks, so please exercise caution and conduct your own research before making any decisions.

• All research comments reflect the views of Uncommon Lab research interns and do not constitute financial or legal advice, nor do they recommend trading any specific asset.

In Uncommonlab Weekly Alpha, we compile and share newly emerging crypto alpha insights each week.

• On September 14, the price of YU, Yala’s stablecoin that is redeemable 1:1 with USDC, suddenly dropped, triggering a depeg.

• A postmortem revealed that the hacker exploited a temporary key during the approved bridge deployment process to set up an unauthorized cross-chain and illegally minted a total of $30M worth of YU.

• The hacker then sold $7.71M worth of YU, stealing funds equivalent to 1,636 ETH. Immediately after the incident, Yala suspended its Convert and Bridge functions, which enabled the recovery of the remaining $22M worth of YU.

• On September 23, the team announced that YU would be fully restored and redeemable 1:1 with USDC again, clarifying that the root cause was mismanagement of the temporary key and not an inherent issue with the protocol itself.

• Subsequently, YU successfully recovered to $1 and completed its 1:1 peg with USDC, with Yala returning to normal operations.

[Comments] The depeg of YU against USDC occurred due to a temporary key exploit at the Bitcoin-based stablecoin protocol Yala. The damage, estimated at $7.71M, was relatively significant. However, since the incident was not caused by a direct vulnerability in the Yala protocol itself, there appears to be no fundamental issue as long as the YU–USDC peg is restored. By the recovery date of September 23, YU had successfully regained its $1 peg, and both liquidity and bridge functionality had returned to normal, resolving most issues. That said, as interest in stablecoin deposits continues to grow, it’s important to remember that risks such as depegs and hacks are always present on-chain, and should be factored into any decision-making.

• On September 17, Aster, a leading BNB-based PerpDEX, conducted the TGE of its native token $ASTER.

• Initially, $ASTER could only be traded within the Aster platform itself, and with withdrawals not supported until October 1 as per the official notice, the token couldn’t be listed on exchanges. As a result, its price failed to break above $0.1 in the early stage.

• However, after Binance founder CZ posted a screenshot of the Aster exchange, Aster began to be perceived as the “Chinese Hyperliquid,” and the $ASTER price quickly climbed to $0.5.

• The rapid price increase led the team to open withdrawals earlier than planned, on September 19 instead of October 1.

• As CZ continued to highlight Aster, the $ASTER token eventually surged to $2, reaching a $20B FDV.

[Comments] Following Hyperliquid’s success, interest in PerpDEXs has grown significantly. While $ASTER launched at only $0.07 on TGE day, CZ’s repeated positive mentions of the exchange helped shape the narrative of “China’s Hyperliquid,” driving the token price up more than 20x within a week to $2. Some speculate that CZ is strategically supporting Aster to counter Hyperliquid’s growing market share in the PerpDEX space. Given his resources and his recent return to Binance, that possibility doesn’t seem far-fetched.

• Sentient is a blockchain-based open-source AI project.

• It has raised a total of $85M from top-tier VCs such as Founders Fund, Pantera, and Framework.

• Its core features include: GRID: a system that combines and coordinates multiple models, AI agents, and data streams to function as a form of distributed intelligence. Sentient Chat: an interface similar to ChatGPT that allows users to interact with AI directly.

• Recently, Sentient was onboarded to Kaito Mindshare, which has increased speculation around the possibility of a token launch.

[Comments] Former Polygon Co-Founder Sandeep Nailwal is also a Co-Founder and core member of Sentient. Under his involvement, the project has successfully raised $85M from leading investors such as Founders Fund, Pantera, and Framework. This is a very large funding amount for the crypto AI sector, suggesting that if Sentient were to launch a token, its valuation could be extremely high. With Sentient now listed on Kaito Mindshare, the chances of a token launch have risen even further. However, since the project currently does not have any direct token farming programs within its products, focusing on Yapping (community engagement/contributions) could potentially lead to greater rewards.

• Tea is a network designed to address the “Nebraska problem” of OSS infrastructure, where the ecosystem has long depended on unpaid volunteers. Tea’s goal is to make open-source software sustainable by rewarding verified maintainers.

• In 2021, Tea raised $7M in a Pre-Seed round at an FDV of $60M. In 2022, it raised $10M in a Seed round at an FDV of $130M.

• However, the upcoming Coinlist token sale is set at an FDV of $50M, even lower than the Pre-Seed valuation, with 100% token unlock at TGE—a condition that has attracted strong interest from participants.

• That said, Tea’s tokenomics allocate 28% of the supply to airdrops, and with the Coinlist sale also fully unlocked, a significant amount of sell pressure is expected. This could make it difficult for the token to hold its price in the early phase.

[Comments] Tea will conduct its token sale on Coinlist. The sale terms are more favorable than the Pre-Seed round, and with 100% unlock at TGE, demand for participation is expected to be very high. Especially in the current bullish crypto market environment, many tokens with similar TGE conditions have performed well, which could further increase demand for Tea’s sale. However, given Tea’s tokenomics, a large amount of airdropped tokens will also unlock at TGE. Unless the token lists on an exchange with enough liquidity to absorb this sell pressure, there’s a real risk of early losses. Moreover, it’s unclear how much time will pass between the Coinlist sale and the eventual exchange listing, which adds another layer of risk participants should carefully consider.

• Following AI, the robotics sector has been drawing increasing attention.

• In September, robotics-related tokens recorded an average gain of 25.6%, and CoinMarketCap even created a dedicated Robotics category.

• Among the top performers, PEAQ has shown strong momentum, while OpenMind is also highly anticipated after raising $20M from VCs including Pantera Capital and Coinbase Ventures.

• Mechanism Capital, founded by Andrew Kang, has been aggressively investing in robotics-related projects, regardless of whether they are Web3 or Web2.

[Comments] Interest is shifting beyond just AI to robotics combined with DePIN. Although projects producing actual robots are rare, many projects—such as PEAQ (infrastructure provider) or OpenMind (data provider)—stand to benefit indirectly from the sector’s growth. Despite being in its early stages, robotics has already seen massive investment and product development in Web2. It’s likely only a matter of time before we see large-scale investment and spotlight in the Web3 robotics sector as well.

1. Spacecoin Airdrop Season 2

• Spacecoin is a Depin platform that aims to build a 5G network using multiple small satellites.

• The project is built on Creditcoin and is currently running Airdrop Season 2 for $CTC holders.

• Participation is available through Penguinbase, a new platform built on Creditcoin. By holding $CTC in an on-chain wallet and completing missions, participants accumulate points, which determine the size of their Spacecoin airdrop allocation.

• The season 2 end date, exact reward ratio, and snapshot date have not yet been confirmed.

[Comments] The reason Spacecoin is attracting attention is that, historically, token airdrops with snapshot support on Upbit have often led to KRW listings. In Spacecoin’s case, since Upbit is supporting the airdrop for $CTC holders, it’s worth keeping an eye on. Moreover, both Creditcoin and Spacecoin were title sponsors at KBW 2024 and 2025, actively working behind the scenes for potential listings on Korean exchanges. Therefore, since public interest is still relatively low, it seems advantageous to participate in Airdrop Season 2 for $CTC holders now—by completing missions to maximize the amount of Spacecoin rewards.

2. The Final Reward Program Before Opensea TGE

• Opensea, the world’s largest NFT marketplace, is preparing to launch its own token, SEA.

• In order to qualify for a future SEA token airdrop, users must earn XP on Opensea through NFT purchases or token swaps.

• Currently, Opensea’s token swap fee is 0.85%, meaning it costs about $0.0085 to earn 1 XP.

• Reaching the highest tier (Tier 12) requires roughly $20,000 in spending, which is a substantial investment—so far, fewer than 10 people have reached Tier 12.

• Moreover, this isn’t a one-time event: the program will continue in seasonal cycles, making many participants uncertain whether it’s worth spending significant money on fees.

• Opensea has clarified that this XP distribution method is the final step before the SEA token TGE.

[Comments] If Opensea launches its token, it will have massive impact—enough to be listed on major exchanges immediately after TGE. Backed by $425M in funding from top VCs like Paradigm and a16z, the token valuation is expected to be very high. The token launch is confirmed, though it’s still unclear how much allocation will go to Opensea users. That said, it seems worthwhile to accumulate XP for the chance of an airdrop. Currently, XP can only be earned through NFT trading or token swaps, and the reward tier is determined by how much fee you’ve paid. There are 12 tiers in total, and the higher the tier, the more you’ve spent on Opensea—meaning the larger your likely reward. Generally, I prefer airdrop opportunities that require real spending, since the barrier to entry is higher and participation is smaller.

3. Aggressive New Coin Listings on Korean Exchanges Upbit and Bithumb

• Recently, Korea’s major exchanges, Upbit and Bithumb, have been aggressively listing new coins.

• On Upbit, which has the largest trading volume, 20 coins were listed for KRW trading in September alone: WLFI, RED, FLOCK, WLD, OPEN, LINEA, HOLO, PUMP, AVNT, ZKC, TOSHI, LA, BARD, SUN, 0G, FLUID, XPL, MIRA, SUPER, and FF.

• Even considering the intensifying competition between Upbit and Bithumb, the frequency of these new coin listings is unprecedented.

• Notably, coins like 0G, MIRA, and FF were traded at 2–4 times the price of overseas exchanges at the time of listing, demonstrating the typical Korean exchange phenomenon: “once listed, the price tends to rise.”

[Comments] As competition between Upbit and Bithumb for exchange market share intensifies, the frequency of new coin listings has increased. As a result, many coins have successfully listed on Korean exchanges simultaneously with their TGE. However, most coins reach their peak price on the listing day and then decline steadily. This happens because the TGE price is higher than on overseas exchanges. When the airdrop claim time coincides with the listing time, depositing tokens to a Korean exchange involves processes and confirmation times that are longer than expected. Since circulating supply is low at that moment, prices can spike sharply. Overseas exchanges usually secure sufficient circulating supply via mechanisms like launchpools before trading starts, so such spikes rarely occur there. In a sense, this is a unique characteristic of Korean exchanges. Recent coins like 0G, MIRA, and FF repeatedly demonstrated this pattern, indirectly confirming that the market is overheating.

4. Earning APY Using Pendle PT

• Pendle is a yield tokenization protocol with YT, PT, and LP concepts.

• YT (Yield Token): A variable yield token. Buying YT grants the holder all yield and points until maturity, but it carries high risk.

• PT (Principal Token): A fixed yield token. At maturity, it can be redeemed 1:1 for the underlying asset. It carries low risk and is popular among those seeking stability.

• LP (Liquidity Provision): By providing liquidity, users can earn additional returns through trading fees and PENDLE incentives.

• Recently, news that Falcon YT buyers made substantial profits has increased demand for YT, which in turn has pushed the PT rates for GAIB and USDai close to 40% APY.

[Comments] Pendle is a DeFi protocol that separates yield-generating assets into principal tokens (PT) and yield tokens (YT) for tradable purposes. Recently, high demand for YT has driven PT APYs to very high levels. For those seeking stable returns, purchasing PT is a sound investment strategy. YT, on the other hand, can generate large profits for some, but it can converge to zero at maturity, meaning poor TGE outcomes could result in losses. As more people purchase YT to chase large gains, YT demand rises, boosting PT rates to near 40% in some cases. Personally, in this environment, I recommend focusing on PT or LP rather than buying potentially overvalued YT.

• This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any asset. Investments in cryptocurrencies and digital assets carry high risks, so please exercise caution and conduct your own research before making any decisions.

• All research comments reflect the views of Uncommon Lab research interns and do not constitute financial or legal advice, nor do they recommend trading any specific asset.