1. Research

a) Everything is a Market
• The article argues that blockchain technology is enabling "everything to become a market" by turning traditionally non-tradeable assets into tokenized, liquid markets - from real estate and government bonds (through companies like Figure and BlackRock's BUIDL) to social capital, physical infrastructure (DePIN), and even predictions about future events.
• This transformation extends beyond traditional finance into areas like decentralized mapping (Hivemapper), wireless networks (Helium), Web3 social networks where reputation becomes tradeable, and prediction markets (Polymarket) that price beliefs and information in real-time, fundamentally changing how human experiences and interactions are valued and monetized.

Everything is a Market

Sell, cell, excel

https://www.decentralised.co

b) The Internet Capital Markets Roadmap
• Solana is implementing a comprehensive roadmap to build Internet Capital Markets (ICM) through Application-Controlled Execution (ACE), which will give smart contracts millisecond-level control over transaction ordering to enable flexible market microstructures.
• The roadmap includes short-term improvements like Jito's Block Assembly Marketplace and transaction landing enhancements, medium-term upgrades including DoubleZero fiber network and Alpenglow consensus protocol (targeting ~150ms finality by early 2026), and long-term goals of Multiple Concurrent Leaders and protocol-enforced ACE by 2027 to create the world's most liquid on-chain markets.

The Internet Capital Markets Roadmap - Anza

Addressing the intricacies of market microstructures.

https://www.anza.xyz

2. Portfolio

a) Infrared Finance
• iBERA (a validator service) consistently outperforms independent validators for most BERA token holders, particularly those with stakes under 5-10 million BERA, due to automated BGT optimization, elimination of infrastructure costs ($1,000-$5,000 monthly), and superior vault incentive capture efficiency.
• The service provides better risk-adjusted returns through economies of scale and dynamic strategy switching, with an upcoming v1.7 upgrade that will further boost yields through an auction system for BGT rewards.

Infrared

@InfraredFinance

x.com/i/article/1947…

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20:22 • 23 Jul 2025

b) MyShell
• MyShell launched ShellAgent 2.0 on July 22, 2024, a "Text-to-App" platform that enables non-technical users to build fully functional apps using only natural language through an autonomous development environment that handles all technical complexities automatically.
• The platform features a remix-ready ecosystem where users can instantly modify existing apps with simple instructions and share them immediately in the cloud, aiming to create an Instagram-like social network centered around user-generated software.

MyShell.AI

@myshell_ai

x.com/i/article/1947…

858

12:13 • 23 Jul 2025

1. Research

a) Insensitive Ethereum
• This analysis explains why Ethereum (ETH) is experiencing explosive price growth due to a unique combination of supply becoming more "inelastic" (less available for sale) as more ETH gets staked for yield, while simultaneously facing massive new demand from Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs) purchasing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of ETH.
• The author argues this creates an unprecedented market dynamic where supply is constrained just as demand surges, leading to what he calls "a move for the history books" that differs from traditional economic models that assume crypto assets have truly fixed, inelastic supplies.

Insensitive Ethereum

There's a reason why ETH's price move will be one for the record books, and it's not for the reason you think.

https://espresso.jlabsdigital.com

b) Stablecoins
• Money’s centuries‑long march toward ever‑faster, cheaper and borderless settlement now points to stablecoins: programmable, dollar‑pegged tokens that combine instant global transfer, transparent reserves (often in short‑term U.S. Treasuries) and native interoperability with both crypto and traditional finance.
• Fueled by use cases ranging from store‑of‑value and remittances to corporate payments and “shadow” support for U.S. debt, the stablecoin market is projected to surge from roughly $250 billion today to about $4.9 trillion within the next decade, reinforcing dollar dominance in the process.

Stablecoins

Economic, Technological and Geopolitical Superconductors

https://newsletter.asxn.xyz

2. Portfolio

a) Pendle
• Pendle, originally a yield tokenization protocol, is rapidly expanding into a foundational DeFi layer with over $2.7B in Principal Tokens (PTs) now accepted as collateral across major money markets like Aave and Morpho, while also developing cross-chain capabilities and a permissioned layer for traditional finance institutions.
• The protocol is further diversifying by enabling Pendle LP tokens as collateral (already reaching ~$57M in one week), which attracts a broader user base seeking leveraged yield opportunities with lower risk than Yield Tokens, while also improving liquidity depth and swap efficiency across the platform.

TN | Pendle

@tn_pendle

The Pencosystem continues to expand at a remarkable pace. What began as a niche protocol for yield tokenization is now evolving into a foundational layer of DeFi. Today, Pendle assets are increasingly recognized as reliable, yield-generating instruments, and are now accepted as

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21:08 • 16 Jul 2025

b) Sonic
• Spark by Sonic is an AI-powered no-code platform that allows anyone to build and deploy full-stack Web3 applications using only natural language descriptions, with features including smart contract generation, frontend creation, built-in security scoring, and real-time debugging powered by Google's Gemini LLM.
• The platform aims to democratize Web3 development by removing technical barriers and expanding the developer pool, positioning Sonic as both the fastest L1 blockchain and the most accessible for rapid on-chain experimentation and innovation.

Spark by Sonic - From Idea to Web3 App Instantly With AI

Spark by Sonic lets anyone build full-stack Web3 apps with AI. No code, just ideas. Smart contracts, frontends, deployments, instantly.

https://blog.soniclabs.com

3. Pump x Bonk: A Diarchy To Rule Them All

The Breakout Decentralised Application (dApp) Of The Cycle: Pump.fun
It is without a doubt that Pump.fun holds the title of the breakout dApp of the cycle. A dApp so innovative that it flipped the token launchpad vertical on its head, revolutionising token fair launches and taking the market by storm. In our first installment, we gave readers and overview of the token launchpad landscape (on Solana), going over the key features of Pump.fun and its competitors.

Pump.fun has recently completed its Initial Coin Offering (ICO) and Token Generation Event (TGE). The demand for $PUMP clearly shows that the market values Pump.fun as an emerging blue-chip product, one that is innovative and generates loads of revenue to boot. The Breakout Decentralised Application (dApp) of The Cycle: Pump.fun.

The Rise Of Letsbonk.fun, Pump.fun’s First “Serious” Competitor
Not to say that the other competing launchpads are not real competitors, but rather, Letsbonk.fun has been showing some very impressive results recently, and is the most competitive alternative launchpad we have seen to date.

The token launchpad vertical is especially cutthroat due to the nature of the launchpads having very similar features and competitive fee structures. This causes token launchpads to have a “lack of moat” in some sense, which also leads to a cold start problem for many of them, and thus being unable to establish a userbase.

That being said, the Bonk team has done an excellent job in building up interest and a sticky userbase for Letsbonk.fun over the past few months.  A few months post launch, Letsbonk.fun seems to have picked up traction and built a strong community. A part of their success can be attributed to the Bonk team and community who have been continuously shilling the platform since inception.

Some proponents have been speculating that Letsbonk.fun’s run up in the recent weeks has been engineered and bound to be short-lived. Though we cannot predict the future, let’s dive into the numbers and figure out if this is a likely outcome.

The number of daily token deployments is one of the primary metrics for a token launchpad. It can be observed that Letsbonk.fun’s market share of token deployments has seen a sharp increase over the past two weeks, sitting at over more than 50% on several days with no signs of a meaningful decline at the moment. This is an important metric to continue monitoring to gauge the demand for the different launchpads.

Similar to the number of token deployments, the number of tokens that graduated also similarly gauge demand for the launchpads. Letsbonk.fun’s market share of daily tokens graduated has also seen a sharp spike in the recent two weeks.

Another metric that provides confluence for a launchpad’s demand is the trading volume. Since the start of April, the total trading volume across all launchpads remain generally similar, with slight deviations.

However, the market share of these volumes contributed by each launchpad varied greatly especially in the last two weeks. Letsbonk.fun has even exceeded Pump.fun’s trading volume in the previous week at the time of writing.

One metric where Pump.fun still commands a majority share at the moment is the amount of daily active addresses. This might raise suspicions regarding the source of Letsbonk.fun’s higher trading volume and activity despite having lesser active users; A possible presence of wash trading on Letsbonk.fun.

Concluding Thoughts
One might then ask, are all these numbers just a complete fugazi? We might never know. However, one thing’s for certain. The numbers don’t lie. Letsbonk.fun has been aggressively taking market share from Pump.fun. If they continue to do so, this will increase their legitimacy over time and cement them as a “serious” competitor to Pumpfun, something we have yet to see.

The information provided on this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional nor investment advice.

1. Research

a) The Future of Ecosystem Development at the EF
• The Ethereum Foundation is significantly expanding and reorganizing its Ecosystem Development (EcoDev) efforts into four key areas: Ecosystem Acceleration (supporting developers, founders, apps, and enterprises), Ecosystem Amplification (media, events, and community scaling), Ecosystem Support (grants and funding coordination), and Long-Term Ecosystem Unblocking (policy, institutional, and academic relations).
• This restructuring aims to maximize both the number of people using Ethereum and the resilience of its technical and social infrastructure as the platform scales beyond its original tech-focused community to serve enterprises, governments, and everyday users.

The Future of Ecosystem Development at the EF | Ethereum Foundation Blog

Ethereum stands at a pivotal moment. Interest in Ethereum has expanded beyond technologists and enthusiasts, bringing enterprises, governments, and everyday users who seek practical solutions and tangible benefits. The Ethereum ecosystem is adapting to meet these needs, and the Ethereum Foundation is ready to play its part.

https://blog.ethereum.org

b) How AI Companies Will Build Real Defensibility
• AI companies need to build defensibility through a "motte-and-bailey" strategy, where they first establish rapid growth using fast-deploying advantages like distribution, scale, and brand (the "bailey"), then transition to deeper, long-term defensibilities like network effects, embedding, and systematic lock-in (the "motte") as competition intensifies.
• While AI has made it easier to start companies and build products, lasting success will depend on companies that can successfully navigate this sequential defensibility approach, with emerging AI-native network effects including collaborative context/memory systems, AI-native distribution models, and future AI-agent networks becoming the key differentiators between category leaders and those that fail to build sustainable moats.

How AI Companies Will Build Real Defensibility

Modern GTM strategies have evolved. Learn how fast-growing startups are building authentic communities to drive growth.

https://www.nfx.com

2. Portfolio

a) Particle Network
• This report analyzes how Web3 fragmentation has worsened over the past year, with the top 5 blockchains' share of total value locked (TVL) dropping from 85% to 80% while the number of operational chains continues to grow exponentially across ecosystems like Ethereum rollups, Optimism's Superchain, and others.
• The study concludes that chain abstraction solutions are racing to solve this fragmentation problem, but predicts they will never fully catch up to the pace of new chain creation, though they may eventually reach a "sweet spot" where fragmentation becomes invisible to end users.

Web3 Fragmentation Report (vol2): After Chain Abstraction

In 2024, we demonstrated multi-chain fragmentation is Web3's most pressing issue. This report shows its advances, and the path to solving it.

https://blog.particle.network

b) imToken
• ERC-7786 is a proposed Ethereum standard that aims to unify the fragmented Layer 2 ecosystem by creating a universal cross-chain messaging interface, allowing smart contracts on different Ethereum-aligned networks to communicate seamlessly through a single API rather than requiring separate bridges for each protocol.
• This "USB standard" for cross-chain communication would enable developers to build natively interoperable applications that work across the entire Web3 ecosystem, potentially solving the liquidity fragmentation problem that has plagued Ethereum's hundreds of L2 networks.

imToken

@imTokenOfficial

x.com/i/article/1942…

2

16:00 • 7 Jul 2025

3. Analysis on PumpFun

Pump.fun has emerged as Solana’s breakout memecoin infra and crypto's standout dApp, combining a no‑code launchpad with a native AMM (PumpSwap) that monetise attention and speculation. With nearly US$700 million in cumulative revenue and roughly US$1 billion of cash on its balance sheet, the protocol now prepares to list its governance and revenue‑sharing token, $PUMP, at a FDV of US$4 billion.

The launch poses an important question: can the team pivot from rapid cash generation to long‑term value alignment with token holders? Can they see out their vision of overthrowing legacy and large incumbent livestream platforms in the space as a media powerhouse? A favourable outcome would turn $PUMP into one of the few credible revenue generating assets in crypto; any misstep (i.e. team selling tokens from the get go) could cap returns despite healthy underlying cash flow.

Core Product
Built on Solana, Pump.fun’s core innovation (this cycle's standout PMF dApp) is a permissionless bonding‑curve contract that lets anyone mint and sell a token (memecoins) within minutes. Liquidity provided during the sale is permanently locked to eliminate the ever-classic ‘rug‑pull’ exits, encouraging repeat participation from retails. Once a coin reaches a preset market‑cap threshold, liquidity is transferred to PumpSwap, a minimalist AMM that charges a 0.30% trading fee.

This vertical integration recaptures secondary market fees that previously bled to external venues such as Raydium's DEX. Features such as live‑stream token launches, a mobile beta, and discussions around a proprietary L2 or stablecoin, aim to deepen user retention and broaden the addressable market.

Why this matters
• Demonstrated product‑market fit: Pump.fun converts cultural moments and viral events into liquid markets faster than any competing tool (throwback to Moodeng and Labubu), sustaining daily activity above 300k wallets even after the January memecoin peak.
• Vertical fee capture: Owning both issuance and trading allows the protocol to earn on average US$45 million per month, this is quite unheard of and extraordinary for a consumer dApp.
• Built‑in anti‑fraud measures: Auto‑burned LP tokens create a safer environment for retail traders and remove a key reputational drag on the memecoin niche.

Performance thus far
Revenue has averaged roughly US$45 million monthly, with a January spike to US$140 million during the TRUMP frenzy (the local top for memes). PumpSwap processes about US$14 billion in trades each month, while the original launchpad handles another US$5 billion. Combined, these activities annualise to roughly US$500 million, which places Pump.fun alongside Hyperliquid as the only 2 crypto dApps posting 9 figure annualised revenue.

Bull and bear thesis
Bull Case: A credible revenue‑sharing policy (rumoured to be 25% of fees), continued dominance of Solana’s flows, and smart deployment of cash reserves into adjacent businesses (Telegram trading bots, analytics dashboards, data platforms and media companies) could re‑rate $PUMP into the ‘blue‑chip yield’ bracket of crypto assets. In a bullish broader market, $PUMP also offers high beta to renewed memecoin mania (especially for funds that cannot allocate capital to memes due to their fund mandate).

Bear Case: A US$4 billion starting valuation and high circulating float limits upside versus peer tokens that TGE-ed at lower FDV. If the team allocates only a modest 25% of revenue to buy‑backs, or if competition (BONK's launchpad or another competitor that is not live yet) and regulations intensify, cash flow may no longer offset the heavy initial supply.

Key risks and conclusion
Regulatory clarity around memecoins remains thin; any move to designate them as securities could impair the launchpad’s core business. We do not feel that this is going to happen in the near future, but still remains a non zero chance. Pump.fun’s brand also hinges on speculative euphoria, extended market downturns would compress volumes and fee income (which we have seen in the past month, dominated by BONK's launchpad in terms of volume and fees).

Finally, with only 0.16 percent of traders historically realising more than US$10,000 in profit, the protocol lacks the grass‑roots and die hard evangelism enjoyed by Hyperliquid (cult-like community), raising the risk of large airdrop sell‑pressure at TGE (for Pump.fun, there is no community as the community centres around the memes that are launched on the platform).

Pump.fun illustrates the rare case of a crypto consumer dApp that already has material cash flow and mindshare. Adhering to the thesis of speculative dApps having the most PMF in crpyto, $PUMP offers equity‑like exposure to those revenues, but long‑term returns will hinge on the team's willingness to share value transparently and to diversify beyond a single speculative niche.

It will remain to be seen whether crypto’s most profitable ‘casino’ can evolve into a sustainable business.

*Disclosure: The team behind this research plans to buy $PUMP at launch.

The information provided on this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional nor investment advice.

1. Research

a) Stablecoins are a Platform - New Financial Products
• Simon Taylor argues that stablecoins represent a fundamental platform shift beyond just being "another rail," enabling new financial products with instant settlement that removes traditional constraints like pre-funding credit programs and settlement delays.
• He contrasts the traditional Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) stack with the emerging stablecoin stack, explaining how stablecoins eliminate settlement constraints while BaaS only removed licensing constraints, creating opportunities for entirely new categories of financial products that were previously impossible to build profitably.

Stablecoins are a Platform pt3 - New Financial Products

Plus; Kalshi raises $185m at $2bn and FiServ launches FiUSD a stablecoin that may actually make sense.

https://www.fintechbrainfood.com

b) The Great Divergence
• Crypto is experiencing a "Great Divergence" where the industry is maturing beyond its infancy phase, with companies that generate actual revenue starting to significantly outperform those that rely solely on perception and attention-grabbing tactics. .
• The writer contends that while many Layer 2 protocols and applications have been subsidized through grants and airdrops despite having minimal users or economic output, successful products like Aethir, Maple Finance, and Phantom wallet are proving that sustainable business models focused on niche verticals and real revenue generation will increasingly dominate over projects that prioritize social media buzz and speculative token valuations

The Great Divergence

How revenue drives valuations in web3

https://www.decentralised.co

2. Portfolio

a) Infrared Finance
• Infrared has completed ten comprehensive security audits since April 2024 from respected firms like Zellic, Spearbit, Cantina, and Code4rena, with their most recent audit in April 2025, demonstrating their commitment to regular security reviews as they build new features.
• The company emphasizes that security is especially critical on new chains like Berachain due to unique risks from Proof of Liquidity mechanisms and novel protocol interactions, and they maintain transparency by sharing all audit results publicly while ensuring no features are released until fully audited.

Infrared

@InfraredFinance

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23:10 • 2 Jul 2025

b) Safe
• Safe Research has developed "Safe Harbour," a project that moves multisig transaction queuing entirely onchain to eliminate the centralized server dependency that typically exists in multisig operations.
• This approach improves security and availability by ensuring transactions can be proposed and signed as long as the blockchain is operational, removing single points of failure from traditional offchain coordination services.

Safe.eth

@safe

x.com/i/article/1940…

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22:00 • 2 Jul 2025

3. Hyperliquid Ecosystem

Hyperliquid, as many of you might know, is one of the breakout decentralised applications (dApps) of this cycle. Hyperliquid did many things right, from having quality founders, to prioritising early adopters, to doing huge buy backs and burns, and more. It almost seems like Hyperliquid can do no wrong.

Hyperliquid, launched in June 2023, started off as a perpetuals decentralised exchange (Perp DEX). Since then, it has amassed a total trading volume of over US$1.8 trillion. Currently, the trading activity on Hyperliquid represents around 4.8% of the aggregated trading volume from centralised exchanges (CEXs).

Hyperliquid’s PerpDEX success spurred the team to launch their own EVM compatible L1, HyperEVM. HyperEVM will host various dApps to provide services that complement Hyperliquid’s PerpDEX, as well as to build out the Hyperliquid ecosystem. Although the chain is still in its infancy, let us take a look at some interesting protocols there.

Money Markets
There are quite a number of money markets on HyperEVM, suggesting high demand for lending/ borrowing services. 

Leading the pack is Hyperlend, who has the highest TVL (US$340M at the time of writing) in the vertical as well as across HyperEVM. Hyperlend provides users with clean and simple lending and borrowing services, and other additional yield strategies to boot. Some interesting money markets to pay attention to include Felix and Hyperdrive. Felix is a Collateralised Dept Position stablecoin protocol, featuring $feUSD. Users can deposit collateral to borrow $feUSD. 

On the other hand, Hyperdrive is a money market that is looking to tokenise Hyperliquidity Provider (HLP), Hyperliquid’s shared liquidity vault which is used to execute market-making and liquidation strategies. This would allow users to take a leveraged HLP position via looping, or borrow against HLP by using it as collateral, unlocking more interesting strategies as a whole.

HyperSwap
Every chain needs a quality DEX, and HyperSwap might just be what HyperEVM needs. It is currently the leading DEX on the chain, adopting Uniswap V2’s AMM as well as Uniswap V3’s concentrated liquidity pools.

Unit
Unit is a key piece of infrastructure for HyperEVM, allowing users to send major spot assets such as $BTC, $ETH, $SOL and $FARTCOIN from their native chains to Hyperliquid, improving liquidity and connectivity across chains.

Consumer dApps
Every chain needs a few good consumer dApps to appeal to the average user.

LiquidLaunch, a pumpfun-esque token launchpad is a good example. Another interesting dApp is Fan App, who is building a social trading platform where users can copytrade, and get real-time data of other users’ trades.

Structured Products
Hyperbeat, Upshift and Liminal are products that aim to generate yield off user’s deposits by leveraging automated DeFi strategies, hedging strategies etc. For a chain that is built around a PerpDEX, structured products may have a good product market fit, as PerpDEX users may be drawn to these products that help to generate yield off users’ idle assets, maximising returns. 

Concluding thoughts
It is early days for HyperEVM. Many dApps are still in their beta launches and a work-in-progress. Many of them also have ongoing points programmes, which makes this a great opportunity to explore the ecosystem and support these dApps as well.

Hyperliquid.

*Disclosure: The information provided on this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional nor investment advice.

1. Research

a) Asia Needs to Take a Bolder Approach to Stablecoins
• The Asia Stablecoin Alliance argues that Asian countries should develop capital market-based stablecoins to enhance their dominant "super apps" (like Naver, Kakao, and WeChat) by creating programmable financial infrastructure that can streamline payments, rewards, and cross-platform transactions.
• They recommend that Asian governments establish clear legal frameworks for these stablecoins while forming industry consortiums to ensure interoperability and avoid ecosystem fragmentation across different platforms and countries.

[ASA Opinion #1] Asia Needs to Take a Bolder Approach to Stablecoins

Major Asian IT platforms, or "super apps," has a wide range of services and are central to daily life and national competitiveness; stablecoins can act as a financial rail for these platforms.

https://asiastablecoin.substack.com

b) Understanding Strategy from the Ground Up: The TradFi express train to crypto
• This comprehensive guide from Dune examines the current landscape of blockchain indexing solutions, comparing tools like The Graph, Ponder, Envio, Subsquid, and Goldsky across key dimensions including performance, data sources, chain support, and developer experience.
• Dune also introduces their new Sim IDX platform, which embeds indexing logic directly into a custom instrumented EVM to enable real-time data processing and parallelized backfills, positioning it as a novel approach that processes data during execution rather than after the fact.

https://dune.com/blog/the-state-of-evm-indexing

2. Portfolio

a) Thala Labs
• Thala currently leads Aptos by cumulative and 24h revenue - built around DEX, stablecoin, and liquid staking primitives
• Stablecoins and APT drive nearly all of Thala’s volume - top pools are APT/stables or stable/stable.

https://members.delphidigital.io/reports/inside-the-ecosystem-fueling-aptos-global-trading-engine/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=AptosEco#key-takeaways

b) Sleepagotchi
• Sleepagotchi is a new mobile game created by former Duolingo developer Anton Kraminkin that gamifies sleep by requiring players to get adequate rest each night in order to help their virtual dinosaur pet grow and thrive.
• The app is offering one lucky player a "dream job" paying £37 ($50) per hour to sleep for 40 hours a week while testing the game during its public beta launch, joining the growing trend of "gamified" wellness apps that use video game mechanics to encourage healthier habits.

New game requires players to SLEEP to help their digital pet grow

In Sleepagotchi, the only way to help your digital dinosaur grow is to get enough sleep each night.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk

3. Crossing the Chasm: The Rise of Institutional Crypto Adoption

A New Era for Crypto
The crypto industry has long craved institutional interest to validate its place in the financial ecosystem, attract liquidity, and draw top talent. The past two years have been transformative, with institutional capital pouring in at an unprecedented rate. This surge is driven by pivotal developments, notably the approval of Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), which have provided a regulated pathway for traditional investors to enter the crypto market. Supportive regulatory shifts, such as President Trump signing an executive order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) and a US Digital Asset Stockpile have further bolstered confidence. Mainstream media coverage of crypto has also amplified with the inflow of institutional capital. The convergence of factors suggests that crypto is crossing a critical chasm, evolving from a speculative niche to a mainstream financial asset class.

First Steps: Bitcoin ETF Approval
The approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January 2024 marked a watershed moment for the industry. These ETFs provided a familiar investment vehicle for institutional investors, driving significant capital inflows. Bitcoin ETFs are the fastest-growing ETF launch in history, with cumulative net inflows of more than US$45 bn to date. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) is also the quickest ETF to US$20 bn AUM, an astounding figure.

Following the Bitcoin ETF success, the SEC approved spot Ethereum ETFs in July 2024. These ETFs have seen more modest inflows, totaling $4.1 billion in net assets at the moment, representing about 1.4% of Ethereum’s Fully Diluted Value (FDV). Despite a lack of investor appetite for the Ethereum ETF, a slew of altcoin ETFs were proposed, such as those for Solana, XRP, and Litecoin. However, none have been approved as of yet, reflecting a cautious regulatory stance for riskier assets. Market sentiment clearly favours Bitcoin, with its ETFs commanding the lion’s share of institutional interest.

Bitcoin’s Corporate Playbook: Revamping Treasuries
A growing number of companies are integrating Bitcoin into their corporate treasuries, viewing it  as a hedge against inflation and a strategic reserve asset. Till date, there are 250 companies that have added Bitcoin to their balance sheet, of which 140 of them are public. In total, these companies have acquired ~3.46 million BTC, accounting for around 16.5% of the total btc supply

Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, leads this trend with 592,345 $BTC, valued at approximately US$63.5 billion. Their strategy involves issuing zero-coupon convertible bonds, which can be converted into shares at a set price, leveraging Bitcoin’s volatility to attract arbitrageurs. The capital raised is used to acquire more Bitcoin, amplifying exposure to its price movements. Strategy has also employed innovative fundraising instruments, such as $STRK and $STRD, to further fuel its Bitcoin acquisitions. 

Many companies have attempted to mimic Strategy, following their success. A standout company is Japan’s Metaplanet, have adopted similar strategies, accumulating 11,111 $BTC as of present, making it the eighth largest public corporate holder globally. Metaplanet’s strategy largely mirrors Strategy’s but is tailored to Asia-Pacific capital markets. 

On the other hand, other companies are venturing into altcoins, with SharpLink Gaming (SBET:NASDAQ) leading the charge by acquiring $463 million worth of $ETH in June 2025, becoming the largest publicly traded Ethereum holder. Spearheaded by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, SharpLink’s strategy involves staking over 95% of its ETH to generate yield. However, investor response has been volatile, with SharpLink’s stock surging upon announcement but later plummeting soon after. Many stocks of other companies looking to add altcoins to their treasury also experienced similar price action to Sharplink’s post announcement. This suggests that there might be a lack of investor appetite for altcoins at the moment, or at least through the institutional financial rails.

The IPO Race: Riding the Wave of Institutional Interest
The success of institutional adoption has spurred crypto companies to seek public listings, further bridging the gap between crypto and traditional finance. Circle, the issuer of the $USDC stablecoin, led the charge with a blockbuster Initial Public Offering (IPO) in June 2025, raising around US$1.1 billion. The IPO was a huge success for Circle, with the fundraising round being heavily oversubscribed. Recently, the stock hit an all time high share price of US$299, or US$75.57 Market Cap.

Other than Circle, many crypto companies are also looking to jump on the bandwagon and go public. One example is Gemini, a Centralised Exchange (CEX) founded by the Winklevoss twins, which confidentially filed for an IPO in June 2025. Similarly, Tron, led by Justin Sun, is pursuing a public listing through a reverse merger with SRM Entertainment, a Nasdaq-listed toy manufacturer. 

Concluding Thoughts: Opportunities and Risks
Institutional capital is no longer “coming”, it’s already here.

The crypto industry is experiencing a golden era of institutional adoption, with Bitcoin solidifying its status as a reserve asset. The US government’s establishment of a SBR signals potential for broader international adoption. Companies like Strategy and Metaplanet have demonstrated the viability of Bitcoin treasury strategies, attracting significant investor interest. The success of Circle’s IPO and the planned listings of Gemini and Tron further underscore the industry’s integration with traditional finance.

wHowever, challenges remain. The rush to emulate Strategy’s model, particularly with altcoins, raises concerns. Simply cloning the Strategy model with altcoins offers asymmetric downside. Companies like SharpLink have faced volatile investor reactions, highlighting the risks of such strategies. Regulatory uncertainties, despite recent progress, continue to pose hurdles, and the lack of approved altcoin ETFs suggests limited institutional appetite for riskier assets.

The industry’s trajectory is upward, driven by institutional capital and regulatory support, but careful navigation is essential to balance the promise of innovation with the risks of volatility and speculation.

*Disclosure: The information provided on this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional nor investment advice.

1. Research

a) Token Transparency Framework
• Blockworks has launched the Token Transparency Framework, a standardized disclosure system that evaluates crypto projects across 18 criteria including supply schedules, market maker agreements, and financial data to address the current lack of transparency in token markets.
• The framework assigns transparency scores to help investors make better decisions, with an initial cohort of reputable projects like Jito and Jupiter scoring above 35, while problematic projects typically score between 8-13.

A new framework for token market transparency

Introducing the Token Transparency Framework, a publicly available token disclosure standard

https://blockworks.co

b) Understanding Strategy from the Ground Up: The TradFi express train to crypto
• Crypto Treasury Companies (CTCs) are public entities that accumulate crypto assets as their primary value driver, using various funding instruments like equity offerings and convertible bonds to leverage public capital markets for repeated crypto acquisitions, inspired by MicroStrategy's 100-fold growth model.
• While concerns exist about potential liquidation risks during bear markets, analysis shows these risks are largely mitigated since most CTC debt is unsecured, and the companies don't fundamentally increase crypto market risk compared to existing retail positions.

Crypto Treasury Companies: Is It A Bubble? | Presto Research

The Crypto Treasury Companies (CTCs) that have emerged in recent months aim to accumulate a wide range of assets, such as BTC, ETH, SOL, and XRP, by issuing equity (PIPE or ATM), convertible bonds, and preferred shares. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) involving SPACs and shell companies have become a popular template for launching treasury operations.

https://www.prestolabs.io

2. Portfolio

a) Sonic Labs
• Season 2 of Sonic's rewards system now multiplies user points by individual loyalty boosts, meaning apps with more consistently active and loyal users earn significantly more Gems than those relying on short-term or incentive-driven participants.
• This creates a structural advantage for apps that foster genuine engagement and community retention, while penalizing those dependent on "mercenary users" who briefly participate then leave

assistant.sonic

@SonicAssistant

x.com/i/article/1935…

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5:04 • 20 Jun 2025

b) Safe
• Safe Research is a new R&D team focused on solving self-custody challenges in Web3 by building secure, censorship-resistant, and private smart account/wallet solutions that eliminate reliance on centralized infrastructure.
• They aim to find the "sweet spot" between security and user experience, making self-custody accessible to all users while maintaining the cypherpunk ideals of decentralization and trustlessness.

Safe.eth

@safe

x.com/i/article/1934…

19

20:55 • 18 Jun 2025

3. How Crypto Is Bootstrapping the Physical-AI Revolution

The shift.
For decades, robots lived in research labs and mere product demos. Now with crypto incentives and blockchain tech, it has now the potential to improve data collection, crowd-validate model updates, and even let everyday investors co-own fleets of humanoids. The result is a fast-forming “machine economy” stack where code, capital and carbon-fiber converge.

Five startups to watch

• Reborn AGI (Data and model infra): A vertically-integrated “Humanoid Data Platform” (consumer mocap → simulator → deploy SDK)

• PrismaXAI: A three-pillar base layer—data-validation protocol, tele-op marketplace, foundation-model hub

• Frodobots/Bitrobot: Cheap sidewalk rovers + meme-coin incentives that turn data-ops into a viral game

• XMAQUINA: DAO-governed treasury + launchpad for tokenizing real-world robot fleets

• OpenMind: OM1 runtime + FABRIC P2P network; on-chain guardrails for ROS-based bots

Maintaining a full-stack control lets these projects iterate robot agents far quicker than pure-software rivals. Crypto incentives both pay users (and even gamers) to generate high-quality datasets and give retail investors a stake in the fleets (tokenized equity), turning automation risk into shared upside. An open-source ethos keeps integration friction low, setting the stage for an interoperable, rapidly scaling machine economy.

Three strategic currents

• Ownership as a bootstrap lever
  Tokenized treasuries have the possibility to turn hardware-heavy robotics (Embodied AI) into community-financed networks, compressing what would have been years of VC fundraising into weeks.

• Data is the new fuel
  PrismaXAI and Reborn AGI reward contributors for high-quality traces, attacking the sector’s biggest bottleneck: diverse, labeled real-world data (“proof-of-safety”).

• The missing trust layer
  None of the 5 projects offer cross-protocol safety insurance or compliance tooling. A neutral “Lloyd’s of Robots” could become the TCP/IP of this space, securing fleets, unlocking enterprise deals, and earning fees along the way.

What we think will come next?

• Regulators will quickly notice token-funded swarms rolling down public sidewalks --> similar to DeFi and stablecoins, regulations will be imposed on robotics

• Liquidity bridges between robot-native tokens will emerge, smoothing cap-table risk for investors and operators.

• Vertical-specific playbooks (warehousing, hospitality, ag-tech) will shift the narrative from “just a demo” to “cash-flowing robot-as-a-service.”
  

Takeaway for builders & investors
Projects building in the intersection of robotics x crypto will optimised the alignment of economic, safety and community incentives at fleet scale. Good teams will turn transparent on-chain governance into tangible off-chain reliability, and their robots will be the ones businesses trust with real work that translates into a machine economy.

*Disclosure: The information provided on this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional nor investment advice.

1. Research

a) Speed x AI
• The AI revolution has dramatically raised the speed requirements for startups, with founders needing to conduct 20-100 experiments per week rather than getting bogged down in perfectionism or overthinking.
• The main barrier to speed isn't time management or tools, but rather mindset - founders must overcome psychological blocks like ego, self-sabotage, and fear of imperfection to match AI's relentless pace and capitalize on the current technology window.

Speed x AI

It's always been true that speed is the #1 advantage of an early-stage startup. But now that generative AI here, you need to go 10x faster.

https://www.nfx.com

b) Ethereum Foundation Treasury Policy
• The Ethereum Foundation has released a comprehensive treasury policy that balances financial sustainability with supporting the Ethereum ecosystem, targeting 15% of treasury for annual operations with a 2.5-year buffer, while gradually reducing this to 5% over five years.
• The policy emphasizes "Defipunk" principles - supporting decentralized, privacy-preserving, open-source DeFi protocols through strategic capital deployment, staking, and lending, while maintaining transparency through quarterly and annual reporting to ensure alignment with Ethereum's core cypherpunk values.

Ethereum Foundation Treasury Policy | Ethereum Foundation Blog

Thank you to the EFers that provided valuable input and feedback to the draft document: Bastian Aue, Vitalik Buterin, Bogdan Popa, Tomasz Stańczak, Fredrik Svantes, Yoav Weiss, Dankrad Feist, Tim Beiko, Nicolas Consigny, Nixo, Alex Stokes, Ladislaus, and Joseph Schweitzer.

https://blog.ethereum.org

2. Portfolio

a) Sonic Labs
• Spetz Inc. announced it acquired 3.35 million Sonic tokens for $1.87 million CAD ($0.56 per token) in its first week of a strategic digital asset accumulation program, bringing its total holdings to 3.9 million Sonic tokens.
• .The company also issued 3.15 million stock options at $0.81 to officers, directors, and consultants as part of its pivot away from legacy business to focus on the Sonic blockchain ecosystem through its subsidiary SonicStrategy Inc.

Spetz Inc. Acquires 3.35m Sonic Tokens in First Week as Strategic Accumulation Program Commences - SonicStrategy

TORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / June 5, 2025 / Spetz Inc. (the "Company" or "Spetz") (CSE:SPTZ)(OTC PINK:DBKSF) is pleased to announce that it has completed its first week of open-market purchases as part of its strategic digital asset accumulation program.

https://www.sonicstrategy.io

b) Polyhedra Network
• Polyhedra Network has introduced zkPyTorch, a revolutionary compiler that bridges PyTorch machine learning framework with zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) engines to enable verifiable AI computations without revealing sensitive model parameters or data.
• The system automatically converts standard PyTorch models into ZKP-compatible circuits through preprocessing, quantization, and optimization modules, achieving impressive performance benchmarks like 6.3 seconds per image for VGG-16 and 150 seconds per token for Llama-3 while maintaining 99.32% accuracy.

zkPyTorch: Verifiable PyTorch with Zero-Knowledge Proofs

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used deeper in critical industries such as healthcare, finance, and autonomous systems, ensuring the reliability, transparency, and security of machine learning (ML) computations becomes increasingly crucial. Traditional ML services, often treated as black boxes, lack transparency, making them vulnerable to issues such as model theft,

https://blog.polyhedra.network

3. Crypto as the Harbinger of Universal Basic Income (UBI)

What is UBI?
Imagine a world where every adult receives a regular sum of money to cover basic needs and pursue their dreams. This is the promise of UBI, a concept that’s been buzzing in economic circles for centuries, from Thomas More’s Utopia in 1516 to Andrew Yang’s 2020 US presidential campaign for a US$1,000 monthly “Freedom Dividend.” As automation and AI reshape job markets, UBI is gaining traction as a potential safety net. But how do we make it happen? Enter crypto, a decentralised, blockchain-based technology that could be the key to turning this utopian dream into reality. 

UBI is a government program that provides every adult citizen with a fixed, regular payment. Unlike traditional welfare, which often involves complex eligibility criteria and bureaucratic oversight, UBI is universal, unconditional, and periodic. Its core aims are to eradicate poverty, simplify social safety nets, and provide financial security, especially in an era where automation threatens jobs.

Research suggests UBI can improve physical and mental health, boost financial stability, and stimulate economies through increased consumer spending. Yet, UBI also raises valid concerns when it comes to the cost, at around US$12,000 per person annually. Very possibly, UBI will also reduce the incentive to work, driving up unemployment; though others argue modest sums such as US$1,000 a month still necessitate employment for most.

Is UBI happening anytime soon?
The idea of UBI has gained momentum, particularly post-COVID, when governments worldwide issued direct cash payments to citizens. Pilot programs, like the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) program, gives $500 monthly grants to 125 residents. This programme demonstrated tangible benefits such as better job prospects, reduced financial volatility, and improved mental health. Though not directly referencing UBI, Singapore’s Community Development Council (CDC) has also rolled out a scheme which distributes vouchers to every Singaporean household to help with daily expenses.

However, scaling UBI faces significant hurdles, with the biggest being the cost. For instance, Andrew Yang’s US$1,000/month plan was estimated at US$2.8 trillion annually, only partially offset by proposed taxes and program cuts. Political opposition is fierce, with a 2020 Pew survey showing a narrow majority of Americans oppose UBI, though support is higher among younger, lower-income, and minority groups. Critics also argue it could exacerbate poverty if it replaces targeted welfare. Despite these challenges, societal trends such as rising income inequality, automation’s impact, and successful pilots suggest that UBI is gaining ground. It may not arrive tomorrow, but it’s looking more and more inevitable.

The opportunity for Worldcoin
Worldcoin is a project co-founded by Sam Altman which aims to create a global identity and financial network. Worldcoin uses iris-scanning orbs to verify unique human identities, ensuring that each person has a unique decentralised identity (DID). Verified users receive $WLD tokens every two weeks as emissions, with over 11 million users claiming more than 112 million $WLD tokens since its inception in July 2023. 

Worldcoin’s aims to be a universal identity system to distinguish humans from AI bots, coupled with regular token grants which is similar to UBI in some sense. With over 11 million users and integrations by platforms like Reddit and Discord, its rate of adoption is not to be scoffed at. $WLD is also a governance token for World Chain, their native a layer-2 blockchain. As society progresses towards UBI, it is possible that World Coin will play a pivotal role by providing DIDs as well as the financial infrastructural rails for UBI distribution as well as other financial services via World Chain.

UBI & Possible Unemployment - Where Does This Leave Us?
If UBI becomes a reality, people may have more disposable income and time. The line between unemployment and retirement may start to blur. Assuming that UBI will cause unemployment to increase, we can draw a parallel between the actions of the unemployed in the UBI future to the retirees of today. A recent survey showed that 57% of Americans aged 59-77 gambled in the last 12 months. Their participation remains high, with up to 85.6% of older adults gambling annually in some regions. In the age of UBI, we might see similar behaviours, except that the gambling would be brought on-chain in conjunction with Worldcoin’s DID.

Concluding Thoughts
The intersection of UBI and crypto is but a glimpse into the future as we navigate the age of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics . Worldcoin shows how crypto can bypass traditional barriers, offering a scalable, transparent UBI framework. As automation reshapes economies, such innovations could bridge gaps in wealth distribution, empowering individuals globally.

Yet, with great power comes great responsibility. Increased disposable income from UBI could drive ean uptick in irresponsible behaviour, raising concerns about gambling addictions and unproductivity, necessitating robust regulations and support systems. As we stand at this crossroads, one thing is clear, crypto might just be the harbinger of a new economic era. What role will you play in shaping it?

*Disclosure: The information provided on this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional nor investment advice.

1. Research

a) Security Challenges Overview
• The Trillion Dollar Security (1TS) project is an Ethereum Foundation initiative identifying six critical security areas that must be addressed for Ethereum to safely handle trillions of dollars: user experience challenges (key management, blind signing), smart contract vulnerabilities, infrastructure dependencies, consensus protocol risks, incident response gaps, and social layer governance threats.
• The report emphasizes that while Ethereum has become significantly more secure over its 10-year history, achieving the goal of billions of users holding $1000+ each and institutions storing trillion-dollar amounts requires coordinated ecosystem-wide improvements across all these security domains.

Trillion Dollar Security Project - Security Challenges Overview Report

The 1TS project is an ecosystem-wide effort to upgrade Ethereum's security. This report surveys the existing security challenges facing the ecosystem.

https://ethereum.org

b) Understanding Strategy from the Ground Up: The TradFi express train to crypto
• Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) operates as a Bitcoin-backed securities company that uses three primary tools—convertible bonds, preferred equity, and at-the-market share offerings—to raise capital and accumulate Bitcoin while increasing Bitcoin per share for stockholders.
• The company's success depends on Bitcoin's compound annual growth rate exceeding its cost of capital (typically 8-10%), allowing it to create value through financial engineering while offering institutional investors various risk-adjusted Bitcoin exposure products ranging from high-volatility equity to fixed-income instruments.

Understanding Strategy from the Ground Up: The TradFi express train to crypto

We deep dive into Strategy (fka MicroStrategy)-the architect of the Bitcoin treasury company model.

https://research.artemis.xyz

2. Portfolio

a) Sonic Labs
• Sonic ($) finally gets listed on Coinbase

Coinbase Assets 🛡️

@CoinbaseAssets

Assets added to the roadmap today: Sonic (S)
coinbase.com/blog/increasin…

1,053

6:15 • 13 Jun 2025

b) Infrared Finance
• The document discusses the future of Berachain's Proof of Liquidity mechanism, arguing against the v1.3 proposal to eliminate BGT tokens and liquid staking solutions, which would harm existing dApps and protocols that have built business models around these features.
• Instead, the authors from Infrared propose incremental improvements like aligning BGT incentives with economic utility, strategic liquidity coordination for major trading pairs, and expanding grant programs rather than making radical changes driven by short-term price performance.

Infrared

@InfraredFinance

x.com/i/article/1932…

206

21:24 • 11 Jun 2025

3. Crypto businesses that wins: blockchains and stablecoins

Introduction
Ripple has rebuilt itself into a vertically-integrated fintech platform that weaponises on the decade-old and Lindy XRP Ledger (XRPL). 5 tightly-linked products now define the entire stack: XRP Ledger, XRPL EVM Sidechain, RLUSD Stablecoin, Ripple Payments and a Custody & Prime Brokerage service. Together they aim to give banks, treasuries, institutions and DeFi builders a unified vendor for real-time settlement, compliant dollar liquidity and smart-contract functionality to build dApps.

Tech stack
At the core is the XRP Ledger, a purpose-built L1 network that finalises transactions in about 5 seconds, burns a fraction of each fee, and offers native functionality (order-book exchange, AMM pools, escrow, and NFT issuance) without relying on general-purpose smart contracts.

Alongside that, Ripple is also rolling out an EVM-compatible sidechain (XRPL EVM) that retains the ledger’s low-cost finality while exposing full Solidity programmability through an Axelar-secured bridge, and it has introduced RLUSD, a NYDFS-approved, fully collateralised USD stablecoin that mints and burns instantly on both XRPL and Ethereum.

Both these 2 chains tie directly into RippleNet’s ISO 20022 APIs, which route liquidity for banks and fintechs, and into the company’s newly acquired Hidden Road prime-broker stack, where institutional assets will be custodied, financed, and settled directly on-ledger.

• XRPL: deterministic consensus (5s finality, sub-cent fees), built-in order-book DEX, AMM, escrow and NFT standards

• XRPL EVM Sidechain: Cosmos-SDK + Proof-of-Authority validators, Axelar bridge; full Solidity support at XRPL speed and cost

• Ripple Payments: ISO 20022/REST rails that auto-route liquidity and settle via XRP or RLUSD

• RLUSD: NYDFS-approved USD stablecoin native to XRPL (and as ERC-20), instantly mint-burnable, backed 1:1 with cash + T-bills

• Custody & Prime: MPC cold/warm storage plus Hidden Road’s financing and clearing stack, with post-trade events written directly to XRPL.

USP of Ripple
We see this playing out three-fold: a single vendor now offers compliant on-chain dollars (in stables), ultra-fast cross-border FX for remittances, and the most important an institutional-grade custody, and 2 execution layers all connected by the same native asset, XRP.

That coherence lets corporate treasuries eliminate pre-funded nostro accounts, gives hedge funds a post-trade venue that closes in seconds instead of days, and invites more Solidity devs to deploy familiar DeFi primitives on an infra that charges fractions of a cent in fees.

Demand and partnership
Market demand for such an architecture is growing because legacy settlement rails remain batch-based and time-zoned, stablecoins issued by non-banks increasingly need transparent reserves (PoR) and regulatory cover, and institutions entering tokenised-asset markets want a single, audit-friendly environment rather than a plethora of exchanges, custodians, and bridging services (non natives will struggle with today's crypto UX). Ripple aims to meet that demand by merging multiple intermediaries into one programmable settlement layer.

Partnerships reinforce the strategy. In payments, Ripple now services over ninety per cent of major FX corridors, has secured licences in jurisdictions such as Dubai and Singapore, and is deepening corridors between Brazil and Portugal. On the capital-markets side, the strategic Hidden Road acquisition embeds prime-broker services, while custody alliances with BDACS in Korea and Archax in the United Kingdom broaden geographical reach.

Technology collaborations with Axelar and Squid Router bring cross-chain messaging and swaps and funnel liquidity from other chains into XRP Ledger, and sustainability initiatives with Centigrade are positioning the ledger for carbon-credit tokenisation.

Concluding Thoughts
However, regulatory uncertainty persists in the US because the SEC’s litigation over whether XRP is a security is only partially resolved. The sidechain and its bridge concentrate security assumptions in a proof-of-authority validator set that must remain uncompromised. RLUSD competes against the entrenched and deep network effects of USDT (having their own chain Plasma and Stable) and USDC (Circle just IPO-ed) and will need deep liquidity to matter in trading and settlement. Finally, critics argue that because Ripple is extremely centralised, it goes against the ethos of crypto and what Bitcoin was invented in the first place.

If Ripple can navigate these challenges, particularly in scaling RLUSD, migrating Hidden Road post-trade operations on-ledger, and launching the EVM side-chain with good dApps and liquidity, it stands to offer one of the few truly end-to-end, compliance-ready settlement stacks in the market, with XRP positioned as both bridge asset and core security layer for everything that moves across it.

*Disclosure: The information provided on this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional nor investment advice.

1. Research

a) What are stablecoins used for?
• Stablecoin payments have exploded to a $72.3 billion annualized run rate by February 2025, with B2B transactions leading at $36 billion annually as enterprises adopt stablecoins for cross-border payments and treasury management.
• USDT dominates with ~90% market share primarily on the Tron blockchain, while Asia leads adoption with the Singapore-China corridor being the most active payment route.

What are stablecoins used for?

Stablecoins are real. We team up with Dragonfly and Castle Island Ventures to answer WHAT stablecoins are being used for by working with 20 stablecoin companies.

https://research.artemis.xyz

b) Introducing Sonar
• Echo is launching Sonar, a new product that allows crypto founders to self-host public token sales without needing approval or endorsement from lead investors, addressing founder complaints about Echo's private sale structure and group requirements.
• Sonar provides flexible, compliant tools for various sale formats across different blockchains while protecting investor privacy by default, aiming to recreate ICO-era market dynamics where investors directly discover and participate in projects they research themselves.

Introducing Sonar

Today, we are announcing Sonar - a new product by Echo that lets anyone host a public token sale.

https://echodotxyz.substack.com

2. Portfolio

a) Understanding Berachain’s consensus layer and our role in it
• Infrared operates as a collective of 8 validators on Berachain's Proof of Liquidity consensus system, controlling about 40% of total BERA stake but receiving 64% of all boost through their iBGT liquid staking token that retains BGT for delegation.
• They use a strategy optimization algorithm that automatically manages BGT allocation and validator boosting every few hours to maximize returns for users while participating in Berachain's unique system where liquidity provision directly contributes to network security and reward distribution.

Infrared

@InfraredFinance

x.com/i/article/1927…

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22:08 • 27 May 2025

b) DNET: Towards Heterogeneous Multiprocessing for Deep Learning
• DNET is developing a distributed AI inference network that connects heterogeneous computing devices into a unified system to break up the concentration of AI computing power among a few large entities and reduce costs through better hardware utilization.
• The project uses a graph-centric compiler design with multiple intermediate representations to abstract away hardware complexities, allowing developers to deploy machine learning models across diverse devices without worrying about individual node specifications or vendor lock-in.

DNET: Towards Heterogeneous Multiprocessing for Deep Learning - Dria

Optimize any AI model on any engine, across all hardware. Dria's topology-aware compiler and peer-to-peer runtime merge CPUs, GPUs, NPUs & chiplets into one fabric-maximising utilisation, cutting inference cost and ending vendor lock-in.

https://dria.co

3. Proof of Humanity Protocol

Humans are the new blockspace --> and Proof of Humanity (PoH) is the meta-game

PoH aims to verify real human IDs to prevent sybil attacks + ensure fair participation in dApps, especially airdrops and votes. Sybil-resistant identity is fast becoming the liquidity layer of crypto --> depends on proving one real human ≠ many wallets. AI bots + sybil farms skew airdrops, DAO votes, even L2 mempools. A verifiable “real human” primitive lets dApps gate rewards, subsidise gas, and restore 1-person-1-vote.

The current wave of PoH projects attacks the problem from three angles:
• Biometric - hand: Humanity Protocol uses a low-cost phone/palm-vein scan; “human-layer L2” API
• Biometric - eye: Worldcoin has the largest live network; bespoke Orb hardware; gas-subsidised L2
• Data-proofs: zkPass uses browser-side ZK proofs of Web-2 credentials; no new hardware

Humanity Protocol --> the Hand
• Smartphone palm enrolment, palm scanning soon for offline access --> the identity graph
• Testnet: ~8m+ unique (human) IDs, 10m wallets, token $H soon
• Identity Validators (e.g. OKX) issue ZK credentials that never leak raw biometrics + leveraging zkTLS for reusable credentials
• Use-cases: fairdrops, DAO voting and IRL payments

Worldcoin --> the Eye
• Iris Orb has a Jetson chipset (5× AI throughput, 30 % fewer parts) + plugs into a privacy engine called AMPC (50m uniqueness checks/sec)
• Stats: 8m+ verified humans, 18m World App users, token $WLD
• Partnered with Razer and Visa and Match Group to pilot Digital Dating
• World Chain (Optimism stack) subsidises gas for World ID holders
• Intense CAPEX but strongest uniqueness in improving privacy

zkPass --> the Data Oracle
• Browser zkTLS lets you prove Web2 data (bank balance, age, passport data) without sharing the data itself
• Adoption: 4.5m ZK proofs, 500k wallets; 57 partners + 70 data sources live so far

Conclusion
Palm vs Iris vs Data now defines the competitive elements of PoH:
• Humanity Protocol aims to to mass-deploy palm scanners and capture offline touch-points
• Worldcoin is doubling down on scale, hardware UX and consumer super-app strategy (cards, miniApps, integrations with web2 giants)
• zkPass positions itself as the middleware for any Web2 --> crypto credentials
• Each tech stack implies a different moat: hardware and branding (Worldcoin), developer APIs & validator incentives (Humanity) and lastly cryptographic IP & partner distribution (zkPass)

The winners will be the dApps and chains that combines these proofs into UX people actually want/need

*Disclosure: The information provided on this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional nor investment advice.

1. Research

a) How AI Is Reinventing Wealth Advisory
• This article analyzes how AI is transforming the financial advisory industry through a case study of Continuum, a startup that automates administrative tasks for financial advisors who currently spend 86% of their time on non-advisory work.
• The piece argues that AI automation can democratize wealth management by making it economically viable for firms to serve clients with lower net worth (potentially dropping the threshold from $1M+ to $100K), while allowing advisors to focus on high-value strategic work rather than mundane paperwork and meeting documentation.

How AI Is Reinventing Wealth Advisory

Case Study: Continuum Embodies AI's Revolution in Knowledge Work

https://www.digitalnative.tech

b) Different Types of Stablecoins and Their Depeg Risks
• This comprehensive report by Cork Research analyzes different types of stablecoins (fiat-backed, crypto-collateralized, and algorithmic) and their historical depeg events, finding that fiat-backed stablecoins like USDC and USDT typically recover quickly from temporary depegs, while algorithmic stablecoins like TerraUSD have proven most vulnerable to catastrophic permanent failures.
• The analysis identifies key risk factors including regulatory actions, liquidity issues, collateral quality, and market confidence, concluding that stablecoins with transparent reserves, clear redemption mechanisms, and strong adoption tend to be most resilient to depeg events.

https://www.cork.tech/blog/different-stablecoin-risk

c) The Future of Scalability: A Comprehensive Landscape of Web3 Parallel Computing
• This comprehensive report analyzes the blockchain scalability landscape, focusing on parallel computing solutions that address the blockchain trilemma of security, decentralization, and scalability.
• The document categorizes solutions into EVM-compatible parallel chains (like Monad and MegaETH), natively parallel architectures (Solana, Sui, Aptos), and Actor Model systems (AO, ICP), each offering different approaches to achieving high-throughput transaction processing through various forms of parallelism—from account-level to instruction-level execution optimization.

The Future of Scalability: A Comprehensive Landscape of Web3 Parallel Computing

By: 0xjacobzhao & ChatGPT-4o | https://linktr.ee/0xjacobzhao

https://0xjacobzhao.substack.com

2. Portfolio

a) Pendle: The Era of Stablecoin Expansion
• This investment research report analyzes Pendle, a DeFi protocol that enables trading of tokenized yield from various assets, particularly focusing on its dominance in the rapidly growing yield-bearing stablecoin market which has expanded from $1.5B to $11B in 18 months.
• The authors project that as stablecoin issuance could double to $500B with yield-bearing stablecoins capturing 15% market share ($75B), Pendle could scale to $20B TVL and earn $200M in protocol fees, potentially reaching a $6B protocol valuation at 30x revenue multiple.

Pendle: The Era of Stablecoin Expansion - Modular Capital

Publish Date: May 21, 2025 Authors: James Ho (Modular Capital), Jose Sanchez (Spartan Group) Executive Summary Stablecoins are one of the largest and fastest growing segments in the crypto economy. Tether (USDT) crossed $150B+ of issuance, Circle (USDC) reached $60B+. Acces

https://www.modularcapital.xyz

b) Sonic Labs and GSR Partner to Scale Liquidity, Strategy, and Ecosystem Growth
• Sonic Labs has partnered with GSR, a leading crypto capital markets firm licensed by MAS and FCA, to provide deep liquidity, strategic guidance, and full-stack support for the S token and broader DeFi ecosystem.
• The partnership extends beyond traditional market making to include liquidity deployment across Sonic's DeFi ecosystem, support for early-stage projects, and strategic guidance for new teams, with GSR also sponsoring Sonic Summit 2025 in Vienna.

Sonic Labs and GSR Partner to Scale Liquidity, Strategy, and Ecosystem Growth

Sonic Labs names GSR as one of the official market makers for the S token, boosting liquidity and backing DeFi growth across the Sonic ecosystem.

https://blog.soniclabs.com

3. ELI5: Real Economic Value (REV)

What is REV?
Simply put, If TVL tells you what sits in the vault, REV tells you how often the vault door is opened and why. In this article, we will be giving you an overview of what REV is and its utility as a metric for blockchain activity.

REV is the sum of all in-protocol transaction fees and out-of-protocol tips users pay to have their transactions included on a blockchain. It’s a direct measure of the economic demand for interactions with a network, effectively measuring economic activity on a blockchain.

Other metrics such as Total Value Locked (TVL) or Monthly Active Users (MAU) provide useful snapshots but don’t tell the full story. TVL measures the value of assets locked in a blockchain’s protocols. However, it doesn’t show how actively those assets are being used or represent demand for blockchain activity. Similarly, MAU counts how many users a blockchain has but doesn’t reveal the economic weight of their actions. Some users might hold several millions worth of assets in dApps without ever transacting, inflating TVL but contributing little to actual activity. REV, by contrast, focuses on the real costs users incur, making it a more direct indicator of a blockchain’s economic health.

What goes into calculating REV?
REV consists of two main components.

Firstly, in-protocol transaction fees. These are the base fees and priority fees users pay to have their transactions processed by validators or miners. 

Secondly, out-of-protocol tips refer to additional payments users make to prioritise their transactions, often in the form of bribes to miners/validators e.g. Miner Extractable Value (MEV). These tips are common in competitive environments where users want their transactions processed faster, such as during a memecoin presale or during Token Generation Events (TGE) and airdrop claims. 

Drivers of REV

One primary driver of REV is the volatility of assets hosted on the chain. High-volatility assets, like Solana’s memecoins, ignite speculative trading, which ramps up transaction volumes and creates lucrative Miner Extractable Value (MEV) opportunities. During periods of intense market speculation, users compete fiercely to prioritise their transactions, often paying substantial tips to fill their orders. This competitive bidding spikes REV, as seen in Solana’s 2024 memecoin craze.

Another critical factor is the maturity of a blockchain’s MEV infrastructure. In chains with nascent MEV systems, such as Solana in 2024, users often resort to aggressive bidding to influence transaction ordering, resulting in elevated tips. Solana’s remarkable 40x gap between median and average fees during this period underscores the impact of immature MEV systems on REV. As MEV infrastructure evolves, these spikes may stabilise, but in their early stages, they act as a powerful catalyst for inflating economic value.

Finally, each blockchain’s unique use cases shape its REV profile. Solana’s REV in 2024 was driven by memecoin launchpads like pump.fun, which attracted retail speculators and fuelled transaction volumes. Ethereum, by contrast, owes its steady REV to its dominance in Decentralised Finance (DeFi), with protocols facilitating lending, borrowing, and trading. These chain-specific adoption drivers explain why REV varies so widely across ecosystems.

Limitations of REV as a Metric
One significant limitation lies in the fee structures across blockchains, which complicates direct comparisons. This structural diversity means REV cannot serve as a linear benchmark across chains, as the underlying economic mechanics differ profoundly.

Another challenge is the skew introduced by MEV activity. High MEV environments, such as Solana during its 2024 memecoin frenzy, drive significant fee spikes as users pay hefty tips to prioritise transactions. While this boosts REV, it often reflects speculative gambling on volatile assets rather than sustainable economic value. Such disproportionate fees can distort perceptions of a chain’s health, masking whether its activity stems from genuine utility or fleeting hype.

REV also functions as a lagging indicator, offering a snapshot of current activity but little insight into future potential. A chain’s REV can plummet rapidly, as seen with Solana’s 85% drop from its 2024 peak, driven by a cooling of memecoin speculation. 

Moreover, REV captures only a fraction of a blockchain’s value. REV misses off-chain value, such as revenue generated by application-layer dApps or ecosystem partnerships, which are vital to a chain’s economic ecosystem,

Finally, Bitcoin serves as a stark reminder that low REV does not equate to worthlessness. With a Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV)  of approximately US$2.1 trillion as of May 2025, Bitcoin generates roughly US$206 million in annualised REV, more than a 10000x FDV/REV multiple. Its role as a store-of-value transcends transactional activity, illustrating that a chain’s value can far exceed its REV. 

Concluding thoughts
REV’s strength lies in its ability to highlight economic engagement, but as a standalone metric, it falls short of painting a complete picture. Its fluctuations, driven by transient factors like memecoin frenzies or MEV spikes, can obscure a chain’s underlying fundamentals. To derive meaningful insights, REV must be used in confluence with other indicators. Only then can we discern if a chain’s economic activity is robust or merely a fleeting bubble. Maximising REV is not a universal goal, as its relevance varies with a chain’s core use case. Each chain’s purpose, whether store-of-value, DeFi hub, or “on-chain casino”, dictates whether REV is a representative metric or not

The future of REV lies in cultivating healthy, sustainable economic activity, even if it means sacrificing absolute fee income. Chains must prioritise long-term stability over short-term revenue spikes. By aligning fee structures with their unique adoption drivers, chains can build resilient economies that endure market cycles. As the crypto landscape evolves, REV will remain a vital tool for measuring economic demand, but its true power lies in contextual application. The goal is not to crown a chain with the highest REV but to foster ecosystems where user value and economic health coexist.

*Disclosure: The information provided on this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional nor investment advice.

1. Research

a) Token is no longer the product. An industry split or "this time is different" (truly).
• The crypto industry has experienced a fundamental split between tokens and products, with many teams now focusing on building real businesses rather than token-based projects due to poor venture cycle returns since 2022 and the failure of traditional token incentive strategies.
• This shift has been driven by structural disillusionment with "empty, useless tokens" and the realization that sustainable crypto businesses can now be built through actual product-market fit in areas like swaps, stablecoins, and onchain finance, leading teams to either abandon or delay token launches in favor of equity-focused company building.

Token is no longer the product. An industry split or "this time is different" (truly).

In 2019, almost every VC said "F*ck tokens, we want equity. Tokens were a mistake!" A year later, they were buying every series A. Is this time different, truly? Let's see.

https://lobsters.substack.com

b) Democratizing AI: The Psyche Network Architecture
• Psyche is a decentralized AI training infrastructure built by Nous Research that democratizes AI development by allowing anyone to contribute their underutilized hardware to train large language models across the internet, using an improved version of the DisTrO algorithm that reduces data transfer by orders of magnitude.
• The system coordinates training through the Solana blockchain and will first train a 40B parameter model called "Consilience" across 20T tokens, representing the largest pretraining run conducted over the internet to date while making AI development accessible beyond large corporations.

Democratizing AI: The Psyche Network Architecture - NOUS RESEARCH

Psyche is an open infrastructure that democratizes AI development by decentralizing training across underutilized hardware. Building on DisTrO and its predecessor DeMo, Psyche reduces data transfer by several orders of magnitude, making distributed training practical. Coordination happens on the Solana blockchain, ensuring a fault-tolerant and censorship-resistant network.

https://nousresearch.com

c) Why Payments Is Not Just a Use Case
• Last week's major crypto developments, including Stripe/Bridge enabling global stablecoin transactions, Meta considering stablecoin creator payouts, and Coinbase's x402 payment standard for AI agents, demonstrate that payments (not RWAs) is becoming crypto's killer use case.
• This shift is transformational because it gives crypto its first stable Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), breaking the industry's dependence on bull/bear cycles and creating a reliable foundation for sustained growth that can prevent talent exodus and support the broader ecosystem.

Why Payments Is Not Just a Use Case

Last week wasn't about RWAs.

https://research.auditless.com

2. Portfolio

a) Sonic
• Sonic Labs has completed a $10 million strategic token sale of its S token to Galaxy, a global leader in digital assets and data center infrastructure, to strengthen its position in the U.S. market and accelerate DeFi ecosystem development.
• This partnership announced at the Sonic Summit in Vienna aims to leverage Galaxy's extensive network of over 1,300 institutional trading counterparties to bridge traditional finance with Sonic's high-performance blockchain infrastructure.

Sonic Labs Announces $10M Token Sale to Galaxy for U.S. Expansion

Sonic Labs completes $10M S token sale to Galaxy, boosting U.S. expansion and accelerating DeFi ecosystem growth with institutional backing.

https://blog.soniclabs.com

b) Solv Protocol
• Solv Protocol has partnered with Rootstock, a Bitcoin sidechain that enables smart contracts while maintaining Bitcoin's security, to expand Bitcoin's role in DeFi through their SolvBTC product.
• The collaboration allows Bitcoin holders to participate in DeFi activities like staking, lending, and yield farming using rBTC (Rootstock Bitcoin), which maintains a 1:1 peg with Bitcoin and provides EVM compatibility for seamless integration with other blockchain ecosystems.

Solv Protocol x Rootstock: Unlocking Bitcoin Finance Through rBTC and SolvBTC

At Solv Protocol, we believe it's time to change that by exploring a collaboration with Rootstock, we aim to unlock new ways for Bitcoin holders to earn, stake, and participate in DeFi. Rootstock is...

https://solvprotocol.medium.com

3. Internet Capital Markets (ICM): Democratising Fundraise

Over the past 3 weeks, the (on-chain) narrative has shifted between various metas (Boop launchpad, Bonk ecosystem tokens) and this time its about a whole new primitive for the internet: Internet Capital Markets (ICM) --> turning viral (web2) ideas, apps, and memes into instantly tradable assets that are on-chain.

The whole premise of this meta democratise "fundraise" for founders, where there is no pitch decks and no VCs. Just attention (from founders being active on social media) --> token through launchpads --> funding from launching the tokens + fees --> and (hopefully) translates into these founders building solid apps and useful protocols.

This is all happening on Solana, where the throughput finally matches the speed of culture.

What is ICM?
Internet Capital Markets are permissionless, onchain marketplaces where:

• Builders launch a tokenized version of their idea directly on X/Twitter (via Believe App)

• Anyone (on-chain participants) can buy into the idea --> not just with likes, but with capital (basically buying the token)

• Early believers help bootstrap liquidity and influence the roadmap of the protocol (governance)

• Builders monetize through trading fees and build with community conviction

You can see how ICM is a blend of crowdfunding (kickstarter), early-stage investing (Angel List), and meme trading (PumpFun mechanics + speculative nature of crypto) --> wrapped in one click.

Believe App: The Launch Engine of ICM
At the heart of this (new-ish) movement is Believe --> a Solana-native launchpad where:

• Anyone can reply @launch + $TOKENNAME to mint a tradable coin on Solana

• Coins use bonding curves and auto-graduate into deeper liquidity pools (via Meteora)

• 50% of trading fees go to the builder/team

• Active builders can link their X account, claim earnings, and build with their audience (co-build and ride the upside together)

• Crowdfunding using memes?

Why this Matters?
Traditional capital markets fund companies through private rounds, equity, and IPOs. In crypto, it has usually been through crypto funds or ICOs (which are more decentralised). ICM flips that by letting builders go public on day one, with no permission needed.

• Builders: Raise instantly. Monetize from attention.

• Traders: Take a bet early on founders, apps, culture, creators.

• Solana: Infra adoption meets narrative flywheel.

Notable projects

Observations + Risks

Observations

• Early product traction matters, some apps that did well showed early revenue, traction, or downloads and were able to justify their valuations

• In an attention economy, the meme is the wrapper, utility is the core. Even meme-ish projects like $JELLYJELLY have actual apps tied to them and Tier 1 founders (ex Venmo)

• Believe = Meta Layer/infra leading this meta

• Builder visibility is crucial: Verified accounts, evangelising on Twitter through updates, and roadmaps drastically improve trust and traction with participants.

• After the AI Agent meta, crypto has been in dire need of a (thematic) meta breaker and this could potentially be one. This is also coupled with the trend of "vibe coding" culture taking off (where solo builders, indie developers, and X personalities skip traditional VC and launch directly to their audience)

• For the Believe launchpad, many celebrated founders have staked their name and reputation behind this movement

Risks

• High rug potential since anyone can launch, but everyone can deliver (in crypto there are essentially two products --> the actual product + the token)

• Speculation > substance --> narrative may move faster than product (this is especially true since the majority of these ICM tokens are pre-product)

• For this to keep going, the Believe team needs to ensure to onboard proper web2 founders to launch good projects + tokens (if not, its just another PumpFun launchpad with another narrative spin)

• The main token for Believe needs some tokenomics upgrade and more value accrual as well, currently functions as a meme together with all the other ICM tokens

TLDR
Best ideas instantly fundable --> by anyone, anywhere and blends in culture/meme, capital, and community into one meta.

The true endgame for ICM isn’t (hopefully) just meme volatility, it’s permissionless, global startup funding built natively for the internet.

If just a handful of apps break out and reach mainstream virality, the blueprint and launch strategy may change forever.

*Disclosure: The information provided on this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional nor investment advice.

1. Research

a) Came for the AI Tool, Waiting for the AI Network
• AI creative tools like ChatGPT, Kling AI, and Midjourney currently function as isolated single-player applications rather than networked platforms, limiting the potential for inspiration, sharing, and remixing that would make AI-generated content more accessible and collaborative.
• Despite this limitation, these tools are dramatically lowering the barriers to creative production, enabling users to produce higher-quality content more quickly and cheaply than ever before, though questions remain about how the growing AI backlash might affect tool adoption and whether AI will enhance or erode cultural output quality.

Came for the AI Tool, Waiting for the AI Network

Why are AI creative tools single-player, and will that change?

https://www.digitalnative.tech

b) Beyond the Hype: Why Gen AI Is Banking’s Next True Platform Shift
• Generative AI represents the next major platform shift in banking, with the potential to reduce the cost of personalized relationship banking by 10,000x, transforming it from an expensive human-driven service to an AI-powered experience costing mere cents per customer.
• Most global banks are currently implementing AI primarily for internal productivity tools first (particularly in North America), with Chinese institutions notably building their own AI infrastructure, while the ultimate winners in this era will be those who leverage AI to create significant improvements in customer experience and relationship banking at a fraction of the cost.

#81 - Beyond the Hype: Why Gen AI Is Banking's Next True Platform Shift (Free to Read)

A pragmatic roadmap for leaders who care more about cost curves than clickbait-plus six yardsticks every board should use to frame their AI strategy.

https://frontierfintech.substack.com

c) Time Value of Internet Money: Understanding Pendle
• Pendle has innovated by bringing bond-like yield trading to cryptocurrency markets through a mechanism that separates yield rights (YT) from fixed rates (PT), allowing traders to either speculate on variable yields or lock in fixed returns in a uniquely crypto-native way.
• Unlike traditional finance where central banks set risk-free rates, crypto yields are mathematically derived (such as from Ethereum staking rates and gas fees), creating a new framework for time value of money in decentralized finance that has driven Pendle's TVL from $230 million to $6.7 billion in early 2024, largely fueled by speculative interest in point-based airdrop campaigns.

DC | In India🇮🇳

@DiogenesCasares

x.com/i/article/1919…

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20:39 • 4 May 2025

2. Portfolio

a) Dria
• DNET is a compiler-driven software approach that aims to unify diverse processing units (CPUs, GPUs, NPUs) into a seamless inference fabric for deep learning, breaking vendor lock-in and democratizing AI compute by allowing developers to deploy to heterogeneous networks of devices without worrying about individual hardware complexities.
• The proposed architecture uses a graph-centric compiler design with multiple intermediate representations, taking in abstract model graphs and transforming them through data-flow analysis and optimization passes to efficiently distribute workloads across heterogeneous hardware networks, ultimately aiming to unlock unused silicon potential and reduce dependence on monolithic, vendor-locked accelerators.

DNET: Towards Heterogeneous Multiprocessing for Deep Learning - Dria

Optimize any AI model on any engine, across all hardware. Dria's topology-aware compiler and peer-to-peer runtime merge CPUs, GPUs, NPUs & chiplets into one fabric-maximising utilisation, cutting inference cost and ending vendor lock-in.

https://dria.co

b) Iota
• Four Pillars and Memento Research covers Iota Rebase
• "IOTA Rebased," which involves adopting Sui's MOVE-based architecture to enhance its Layer 1 protocol with programmability, replacing its original DAG-based Tangle with an object-oriented model that enables parallel execution, higher throughput, and native smart contracts.
• This strategic pivot represents IOTA's evolution from a feeless IoT-focused network to a comprehensive smart contract platform supporting both MoveVM (L1) and EVM (L2), positioning it for real-world adoption through initiatives like tokenized assets, digital identity solutions, and partnerships with entities like Trade Worldwide Information Network and Realize for tokenized Treasury Bills.

IOTA's Bid for the Next DAG-Based Breakthrough

With its 'IOTA Rebased' initiative, IOTA is making bold moves to redefine itself as a next-gen DAG-based smart contract platform.

https://4pillars.io

Moving into a New Era: IOTA

IOTA, a pioneering Layer 1 network since 2015, introduced innovations like the first Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG)-based Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and has evolved through major upgrades like Chrysalis and Stardust. With Stardust, IOTA launched EVM-compatible smart contracts, reaching $90M highs in TVL during 2024.

https://mementoresearch.com

3. Token Launchpads (Solana) - Innovation or saturation?

A brief history of token launchpads
Token launchpads are an established vertical in the crypto ecosystem, providing a structured pathway for projects to raise funds and bootstrap liquidity. Before the meteoric rise of Pump.fun, the landscape was dominated by protocols more tailored to Initial DEX Offerings (IDOs). Protocols such as CoinList, PinkSale Finance, and Fjord Foundry were the go-to choices for projects looking to launch on various blockchains, such as Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain (BSC). These launchpads often catered to established protocols with dedicated builders and also featured a more selective environment where investors typically had to get whitelisted to participate in a particular raise. These barriers to entry made them less accessible for smaller protocols, as well as less formal projects such as meme coins or experimental tokens.

Why was Pump.fun so impactful?
Enter Pump.fun, which some might hail as Solana’s kingmaker for its role in driving the chain’s dominance. Launched on Solana, Pump.fun leveraged the blockchain’s low-cost and high-speed transactions to revolutionise token launches. Unlike its predecessors, Pump.fun introduced a standardised mechanism that burned liquidity pool (LP) tokens upon launch, ensuring that liquidity couldn’t be pulled - this feature provided added trust for retail participants, though the platform wasn’t immune to manipulation by certain insiders.

What made Pump.fun truly impactful was its decentralised approach. It allowed anyone, not just established protocols, to fundraise and bootstrap liquidity in a fair manner. To date, more than 10 million tokens have been launched on pump.fun. This accessibility turned Pump.fun into a breeding ground for Solana’s meme coin frenzy, which caused Solana to be dubbed as the go-to “on-chain casino”. Other chains have tried to take this title away from Solana, but none have prevailed. Pump.fun’s model was the first of its kind, enabling the proliferation of new token launches at an unprecedented scale.

However, was this a net positive or negative for the crypto space? On one hand, Pump.fun lowered the barriers to entry, fostering creativity and experimentation. On the other hand, it opened the floodgates to low-quality projects and mass liquidity extraction events. Some argue this is detrimental to the ecosystem’s long-term health. Time will tell, as the market corrects itself in due course.

Makenow.meme - the earliest iteration

Following Pump.fun’s success, Makenow.meme emerged as an early competitor, aiming to take the concept further by integrating directly with platforms like X. The idea was to allow users to create tokens directly from X by tagging Makenow.meme’s X handle, making token launches a seamless, consumer-friendly experience. On paper, this sounded like a promising decentralised application for the masses, blending social media with crypto innovation. However, despite its supposed potential, Makenow.meme struggled to find product-market fit (PMF). The platform had lacklustre adoption, causing user activity to quickly taper off post-launch. While the concept was novel, it lacked the execution and incentives needed to drive mainstream adoption.

The resurgence of Pump.fun competitors
Pump.fun’s dominance didn’t go unchallenged for long. A pivotal moment came when Pump.fun decided to migrate its “graduated” tokens, those that reached a certain market cap threshold, from Raydium to its own Pumpswap DEX. This move sparked a wave of competition, as Raydium responded by launching its own token launchpad, LaunchLab. Additionally, Believe launched a similar product to Makenow.meme which allows users to launch tokens on X, while Bonk introduced its own launchpad as well, built on Raydium’s LaunchLab technology stack. Most recently, Boop entered the scene, spearheaded by Dingaling, founder of Pancakeswap, LooksRare, and more.

Boop, the most promising newcomer
Boop stands out as the most intriguing of the new entrants, thanks to its innovative approach and “fun” ponzinomics. Boop introduces fee-sharing mechanisms, a feature that addresses one of Pump.fun’s key criticisms: the lack of incentives for token creators and early adopters. Boop also employs aggressive onboarding strategies to attract users. To highlight this, some DeFi power users were given $BOOP airdrops, but with a catch. They must launch a token, market it, and rally others to buy it in order to claim their airdropped tokens. Additionally, Boop offers fee sharing, airdrops and other incentives for token deployers, $BOOP stakers and hodlers of recently “graduated” tokens. While it’s early days, Boop’s dynamic incentive structure and willingness to rethink what a launchpad can be could foster the growth of a loyal and committed user base over time.

Concluding thoughts

There is no doubt that the token launchpad vertical on Solana is becoming increasingly saturated. The ability to fork protocols is a fundamental feature of blockchains and not inherently negative. However, the proliferation of near-identical products risks stifling innovation as they offer little differentiation, thus contributing to a crowded market where user attention and liquidity are spread thin.

Instead, the crypto space should encourage projects like Boop, under Dingaling’s leadership, to iterate on the design of existing products. By introducing novel incentive structures and rethinking user onboarding, Boop demonstrates that there’s still room for innovation in this space. As the market evolves, the key to success will lie in balancing accessibility with sustainability, ensuring that token launchpads not only empower creators but also foster a healthier, more resilient crypto ecosystem.

*Disclosure: The information provided on this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional nor investment advice.

1. Research

a) AI Friends Are a Good Thing, Actually
• Rex argues that AI companions can serve as valuable supplements to human connection, particularly for vulnerable populations experiencing loneliness such as the elderly, children, and those with social anxiety.
• The author proposes that while human connection is ideal, AI friends can fill gaps where human connection is missing, addressing what the Surgeon General has identified as a serious loneliness epidemic where one in two US adults report feeling lonely regularly, 61% of young adults report feeling "seriously lonely," and 25% of Americans report having no confidant.

AI Friends Are a Good Thing, Actually

The Argument for AI Companionship

https://www.digitalnative.tech

b) EVM vs RISC-V: The Battle for Ethereum’s Future Execution Engine
• Vitalik Buterin has proposed replacing the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) with RISC-V, an open-standard, register-based architecture, to potentially achieve up to 100x efficiency gains, particularly in zero-knowledge proof generation, while enhancing developer tooling and future-proofing Ethereum's execution layer.
• The transition would maintain compatibility with existing EVM contracts through a dual-VM approach, but requires significant engineering to ensure security, interoperability, and ecosystem adoption, positioning RISC-V as a long-term upgrade for Ethereum's scalability and performance.

Three Sigma

@threesigmaxyz

x.com/i/article/1917…

87

19:54 • 1 May 2025

c) Can Kaito 'Yaps' avoid the curse of Goodhart’s law?
• The article discusses how Kaito's "Yaps" metric for measuring crypto content quality risks falling victim to Goodhart's Law, which states that when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be an effective measure, as demonstrated by similar patterns with Facebook likes, YouTube watch times, and academic citation metrics.
• The author analyzes this phenomenon through three frameworks—Regressional, Extremal, and Adversarial Goodhart—explaining how metrics initially designed to measure quality eventually become gamed and lose their effectiveness when they're tied to rewards like airdrops or prestige.

Can Kaito 'Yaps' avoid the curse of Goodhart's law?

"When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure" - Charles Goodhart

https://michaellwy.substack.com

2. Portfolio

a) Polymer Labs
• Polymer Labs, an Ethereum L2 interoperability protocol, leverages its Prove API to simplify cross-chain app development by generating merkle proofs for validating rollup state data.
• This aligns with their mission to enhance Ethereum's scalability through partnerships with Optimism and EigenLayer, using the IBC protocol for seamless cross-chain communication without bridges.

Polymer Labs 🛜

@Polymer_Labs

Quick Read: Our head of product @tommyoc0 speaking on Prove API

Tommy 🛜

@tommyoc0

x.com/i/article/1917…

27

19:14 • 1 May 2025

b) Solv Protocol
• SolvBTC.BERA is concluding its Boyco Pre-Deposit Campaign on May 6, 2025, with rewards being airdropped to participants based on their holdings and staking duration.
• The platform is transitioning to a Proof of Liquidity (PoL) strategy designed to deliver sustainable yields within Berachain's DeFi ecosystem, with all yields being converted into SolvBTC and distributed at the end of each month.

SolvBTC.BERA: From Boyco Pre-Deposit to Proof of Liquidity (PoL)

SolvBTC.BERA has empowered Bitcoin holders to engage with Berachain's DeFi ecosystem, starting with the Boyco Pre-Deposit Campaign. As of May 6, 2025, the Boyco campaign will officially conclude...

https://solvprotocol.medium.com

c) Thala Labs
• Thala Labs introduced xLPT, a new product on the Aptos blockchain that leverages the DFA standard to automate staking and rewards directly at the token level, making it yield-bearing, transferable, composable, and boosted for enhanced DeFi utility.
• The accompanying image highlights these features, emphasizing xLPT's ability to integrate with platforms like Echelon Market and automatically update farming status during transactions.

Thala

@ThalaLabs

Exploring Thala's latest product release: xLPT

Built with Aptos DFA standard, xLPT automates staking and rewards directly at the token level — only possible on @Aptos

23

11:02 • 1 May 2025

d) KyberSwap
• KyberSwap Limit Orders enable users to set their desired crypto trading prices, automatically executing trades on-chain when the market price aligns with their target, all while keeping assets secure in their wallet until the trade is complete.
• This feature supports 14 chains, offers free order creation, modification, and cancellation, and integrates with the KyberSwap Aggregator for enhanced liquidity and better trade execution.

Kyber Network

@KyberNetwork

x.com/i/article/1917…

8

23:48 • 1 May 2025

e) Sonic
• Integrated with Binance wallet (purchase Sonic eco tokens directly on the wallet)
• Upcoming Sonic Summit 6th May - 8th May 2025 (flagship event for hackathons and networking)
• 3 ecosystem projects listed on Binance Alpha on 1st May

Binance Wallet

@BinanceWallet

#SonicChain is now supported on #Binance Wallet !
Discover and Trade the latest Alpha tokens on this chain

Exclusive $S and Sonic Chain ecosystem asset airdrops are coming for active traders on the new Sonic Chain. Full details will be announced separately.
A new batch

1,257

19:00 • 1 May 2025

Sonic Labs

@SonicLabs

Announcing Sonic Summit.

Vienna, Austria
May 6–8, 2025

City-wide Sonic takeover of historic venues for three days of events, networking, coffee, cake, and more.

Get your early bird ticket now:
soniclabs.com/summit

2,320

2:52 • 7 Mar 2025

Ahboyash Reads

3 Sonic eco dApps on Nance Alpha today Sonic summit upcoming: https://x.com/SonicLabs/status/1897721930767385075

https://t.me

3. Iota

IOTA – From DAG Pioneer to Programmable, Multi-VM Settlement Layer
IOTA has spent a long time proving that a feeless, miner-free Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) can function at production scale, and after the recent upgrades it is now accelerating its roadmap with IOTA Rebased, a DAO/community-voted shift that places (programable) Move-based smart contracts directly on L1 and replaces the old UTXO ledger with an object model inspired by Sui.

Why “Rebased” and Why Move
Rather than wait for the research-heavy IOTA 2.0, the recent governance vote endorsed a pragmatic pivot: integrate a MoveVM L1 and adopt a delegated PoS --> mainnet scheduled to launch late April to early May 2025, giving IOTA a realistic, near-term route to decentralised smart contracts.

Move treats every asset (NFT, tokens, smart contracts) as an object with explicit ownership; this design eliminates the global shared state that constrains the EVM, allows parallel execution of non-conflicting transactions and removes whole classes of exploits such as unlimited allowances or re-entrancy. On IOTA Rebased the object-centric DAG runs Mysticeti BFT under a dPoS validator set of up to 150 nodes, delivering sub-second finality and throughput while ensuring a 10-15% staking yield funded by a controlled 6% token inflation schedule in which all transaction fees are burned.

Dual VM Advantage
Because the existing IOTA EVM roll-up remains online, Solidity teams can port their dApps across without rewriting contracts, while the Move stack attracts a rapidly growing pool of developers --> this makes IOTA the only public network where the 2 (developer) communities can share the same base ledger and liquidity.

Real World Partnerships
With regards to real world application of the network, The Trade & Logistics Information Pipeline in Kenya has already cut export-clearance times from 25 days to 1 day by anchoring customs data on IOTA; Realize, regulated in Abu Dhabi Global Market, issued RBILL (tokenised short-term US Treasuries) directly on the Tangle; and participation in the EU Blockchain PCP is bringing digital product passports and decentralised IP marketplaces into pilot phase. These initiatives underline a thesis that IOTA’s feeless heritage, regulatory posture (ADGM foundation, Shari’a compliance) and new programmability are suited to asset tokenisation and supply-chain finance --> not just pure memes or on-chain speculation but applied in businesses and governments.

Eco Flywheel
A $10 million grants programme, a Tenity-run RWA accelerator, a 9-week APAC Moveathon ($150k in prizes) and the Business Innovation Program offering up to €100k per project all tie disbursements to measurable on-chain activity, creating a good incentive loop in which funding expands only when usage and fee burn expand as well and is a good start to onboard devs to the Iota ecosystem.

Roadmap
Research teams are already testing Starfish Consensus, which early simulations show sustaining 200k TPS with stable sub-second latency, while a fair-gas algorithm, dynamic validator entry during epochs and eventual L1 EVM compatibility are queued for iterative, governance-led deployment. Each upgrade reinforcing IOTA’s ambition to become a high-throughput, multi-VM settlement layer and the tokenomics will hopefully trend toward neutrality as network demand grows.

Conclusion
IOTA is no longer simply an “IoT DAG” or "Dino coin" from 2016; it is re-entering the market as a programmable, object-centric chain that offers both Move and EVM runtimes, a largely unlocked token supply with transparent inflation-offset mechanics, and a pipeline of real-world deployments that already move trade documents, T-Bills and identity credentials on-chain.

If the 2025 main-net launch executes as planned and they manage to continue onboarding devs + early enterprise pilots continue to scale, IOTA will stand out as a rare L1 that combines academic pedigree, regulatory groundwork and a clear distribution of developer incentives with the technical throughput required for genuine real-asset finance.

*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.

1. Research

a) Replace the EVM with RISC-V
• Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed replacing the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) with RISC-V instruction set architecture, which could make executing and proving code in zero-knowledge environments over 100 times more efficient.
• While this proposal represents a significant theoretical breakthrough for Ethereum's long-term scaling strategy, it has little immediate impact on Ethereum's development roadmap or value proposition, functioning more as a moonshot idea similar to the earlier Beam Chain proposal for overhauling Ethereum's consensus layer.

Replace the EVM with RISC-V

This is to Ethereum's execution what the Beam Chain is to consensus

https://christinedkim.substack.com

b) Money Moves
• The article explores how blockchain technology is transforming digital economies by drastically reducing transaction costs and increasing the velocity of money movement, comparing traditional payment networks like Visa (which processed $13.2 trillion last year) with stablecoins (which moved $33 trillion through 5.4 billion transactions).
• The author argues that successful crypto business models will emerge at the intersection of capital velocity, fee extraction, and user experience simplification, with different fee models emerging based on transaction frequency: high-velocity products like trading platforms can charge lower fees due to volume, while low-velocity products like staking or lending services maintain higher fees (typically 10% of yield), and specialized assets like tokenized gold gain value from their ability to move between markets faster than physical counterparts.

Money Moves 💸

On Monetary Velocity & Fee Models

https://www.decentralised.co

c) Combined Metrics for Tracking Smart Contract Networks
• This article proposes a methodology for combining multiple blockchain metrics (Total Value Locked, Fees, Stablecoin Market Cap, DEX Volume, and Net Bridge Flows) into comprehensive scores that measure both network size ("market share") and growth rates, allowing for easier comparison across smart contract platforms.
• The combined metrics reveal that while Ethereum, Solana, Base, BNB, and Tron consistently dominate market share (with over 90% combined), weekly growth rates are highly volatile due to factors like token price fluctuations, liquidity incentives, and memecoin activity, with newer networks like Berachain and Sonic occasionally showing strong early traction despite their smaller overall footprint.

Combined Metrics for Tracking Smart Contract Networks

One of the key advantages of blockchain networks over other digital platforms is that data about assets and transactions hosted on a blockchain is publicly available. This allows for close to...

https://mariolaul.medium.com

2. Portfolio

a) Iota
• The IOTA Rebased mainnet upgrade is scheduled for May 5, 2025, at 9 AM CEST, involving a migration from the Stardust network that will require no token migration for IOTA holders but will introduce a new browser extension wallet to replace Firefly.
• The upgrade will follow a five-step Genesis Ceremony conducted by the IOTA Foundation and 12 other validators, temporarily pausing deposits and withdrawals on exchanges while launching with enhanced infrastructure including explorers, EVM compatibility, and plans to grow the validator network from 13 to approximately 150 over the coming months.

The IOTA Rebased Mainnet Upgrade

IOTA's Rebased upgrade launches on 5.5.2025. This guide covers what happens during the upgrade, how to access your assets, and what's next for IOTA.

https://blog.iota.org

b) Infrared Finance
• Infrared Points is a new rewards program that automatically tracks user engagement with Infrared products, with points accumulated by staking into PoL vaults, claiming iBGT, staking iBGT, or staking BERA for iBERA, with certain vaults offering multipliers between 1.25x-1.375x.
• The program is designed to recognize community contributions while positioning participants for future opportunities as the ecosystem grows, with points already being backdated for early mainnet users and plans to introduce additional earning methods through upcoming partner integrations.

Infrared

@InfraredFinance

x.com/i/article/1915…

460

3:04 • 24 Apr 2025

3. The Evolution of Consumer dApps

What Are Consumer dApps?
As the name suggests, consumer decentralised applications (dApps) are aimed at everyday users, offering utility or entertainment beyond pure finance. Unlike Decentralised Finance (DeFi) protocols or blockchain infrastructure services, consumer dApps focus on user-friendly experiences in areas like gaming, social media, health, and lifestyle. They often hide blockchain complexity under the hood, making the experience feel as seamless as a traditional app. These apps are considered crucial for bringing crypto to the masses. Consumer dApps strive to onboard new users into crypto, with the aim of providing a competitive experience to their Web2 counterparts.

The early days
In the present day, there is a lot of emphasis on design and user experience (UX), especially the necessity of a mobile-first user interface (UI). Although modern consumer dApps are still not completely polished, earlier dApps definitely had many more rough edges.

One of the first protocols that can be considered as a consumer dApp is CryptoKitties. First launched in 2017, CryptoKitties was a pioneer, offering digital cat (Non-Fungible Tokens) NFTs on Ethereum. It attracted so much traffic that it congested the Ethereum network, proving demand for fun consumer use cases. Unfortunately, interest waned quickly once the novelty faded. 

Similar early projects set the stage for the “X-to-earn” model in modern consumer dApps, where some real-world or digital action is incentivised with tokens. Some well-known examples of X-to-earn dApps include STEPN and Sweatcoin, which led the move-to-earn narrative. During that time, tons of other X-to-earn ideas started emerging: play-to-earn, learn-to-earn, even sleep-to-earn. However, these dApps faced a similar growth trajectory. While many of these dApps saw explosive growth in the early stages, they often struggled to retain users.

Today, the X-to-earn trend has cooled off a bit, but new experiments are still popping up, with some going in pretty unconventional directions. Before we dive into those protocols, it’s important to understand why so many of these consumer dApps lose steam after the initial hype. The success of these dApps hinges on the presence of strong incentives and sustainable token sinks to keep the ecosystem running long-term

Tokenomics and the X-to-Earn Model: Why Sinks Matter
Tokenomics refers to the economic design of a crypto token, including how it’s distributed, issued and used within the protocol’s ecosystem. For consumer X-to-Earn dApps, tokenomics are especially important. While the token incentives must be substantial to attract users, tokenomics design must also be sustainable in the long-term. 

The core challenge is balancing token supply and demand. X-to-earn apps typically create a constant stream of token emissions as user rewards. If nothing curtails this growing supply, the token’s value will trend downward. To counteract inflation, the app needs token sinks which refer to a token use case that results in a portion of token supply being burnt. In essence, users must have reasons to use the token beyond selling it for profit. If dApps fail to establish strong sinks, it becomes a ponzi-like scenario where existing holders can profit only as long as new users arrive to buy the tokens. Early on, hype and growth can sustain high eventually causing a death spiral.

In theory, a well-designed consumer dApp tokenomics model will include token sinks and mechanisms to direct dApp revenue to token holders. A popular implementation of this concept is to use dApp revenue to buy and burn protocol tokens. Another strategy is to burn protocol tokens whenever they are spent on in-dApp purchases.

Case Study: STEPN
STEPN is a move-to-earn mobile app launched in Dec 2021 that gamifies physical exercise. It lets users earn crypto by walking or running. By moving physically, users earn in-game tokens. STEPN’s mission was to incentivise healthier lifestyles by combining fitness tracking with play-to-earn mechanics. STEPN’s simplicity and novelty allowed it to attract millions of users, crowning it as one of the most successful consumer dApps of all time. 

STEPN’s Mobile App Interface

To partake in the STEPN ecosystem, users are required to download the STEPN app, create a wallet, and buy an NFT sneaker with crypto. Each sneaker NFT has different traits and attributes that affect how much users earn from moving. The app then uses GPS to track distance and speed, ensuring users are moving physically. Moving spends in-game energy that recharges over time, as well as earns Green Satoshi Token (GST), the primary reward token. GST earnings depend on the sneaker NFT’s levels, upgrades and traits. Additionally, users could level up their sneakers or mint new ones by spending GST. STEPN also had a second token, Green Metaverse Token (GMT) which served as their governance token.

In short, STEPN combined fitness tracking, game mechanics and crypto rewards. The onboarding experience was smooth, with a built-in wallet and marketplace, resulting in a fun experience for many. People formed habits of taking daily runs to farm tokens and sharing progress on social media. This created a positive flywheel effect which onboarded new participants once they found out that it was an easy way to “get paid” for something they do everyday.

STEPN operated a two-token economy. One one hand, GST was STEPN’s reward token which was earned through movement. STEPN incorporated many token sinks for GST. For example, users paid GST to level up, upgrade, repair, and mint new NFT sneakers. All these actions burn GST, creating a sink. On the other hand, STEPN also featured GMT, the governance token, which was envisioned as the token which aligned with longer-term interests of the ecosystem. Only 30% of GMT was allocated to move-to-earn rewards, with the rest to ecosystem treasury, team, investors, etc.

Price Chart of STEPN’s GST (SOL)

With these token sinks in place, STEPN’s tokenomics appeared to be sound and healthy. However, in May 2022, the crypto markets crashed hard, Bitcoin and altcoins altogether. Fundamentally, STEPN’s ecosystem still heavily relied on continuous demand for GST. By June 2022, GST suffered a >99% drop from its highs, while GMT also fell by 85% later that October. With the incentive structure no longer being as lucrative, STEPN’s user count consequently collapsed. From over half a million daily users at its apex, active users dropped to under 6,000 by the fall of 2022.

Emerging Consumer dApps: New Frontiers
Even as many X-to-earn models struggle, innovators in crypto continue to propose ever-more creative ways to tie tokens to human behavior. A unique consumer dApp that stands out is Sleepagotchi, a protocol that packages a “sleep-to-earn” mechanic in an interactive mobile game.

Firstly, the convenient mobile interface is one of the most important features for a good consumer dApp. Secondly, by building the dApp around sleep, a required activity for all, Sleepagotchi casts a wide net, targeting a larger addressable market. Thirdly, the adoption of a “sleep-to-earn” mechanic gives the project a sense of novelty. 

Crypto consumer apps hold a distinct advantage with the "X-to-earn" model, which serves as a powerful incentive for onboarding users. However, competing head-to-head with established Web2 consumer apps, especially in dominant sectors like social media or e-commerce, presents significant challenges. Instead of trying to replicate these models, Sleepagotchi takes a different route by targeting a niche market, sleep. This targeted approach enables the app to tap into a specific, underserved need and build a dedicated user base. By carving out a space in an area like sleep, Sleepagotchi can create an engaged, loyal community before scaling and potentially branching out into other areas of health and wellness.

What the future holds for consumer dApps
Many protocols have tried, and failed, to create a sustainable consumer dApp. While token sinks are important, tokenomic design alone is insufficient to guarantee the sustainability of a protocol’s ecosystem. These hurdles speak for why there has been a drop in X-to-earn projects lately. Thus, it is encouraging to see consumer dApps continue to emerge in this challenging vertical.

That said, the key issue still remains. The longevity of an X-to-earn dApp ultimately depends on whether it can retain its user base, especially when user incentives start to drop, either due to unforeseen circumstances or an influx of users that dilutes the token earnings. As we've seen, there’s clear demand for X-to-earn dApps, and incentives play a big role in attracting new users. When users realise they can earn rewards by engaging with the app, they’re motivated to join. With referral programs as a common go-to-market (GTM) strategy, these users often spread the word on social media, bringing in a second wave of users, so on and so forth.

The challenge, however, is keeping this loop running. Incentive-driven flywheels are a double-edged sword. Once the incentives decrease, user engagement drops, leading to the eventual collapse of the ecosystem. What future X-to-earn protocols need to focus on is creating a more sustainable flywheel, one that doesn't rely solely on token incentives. A product-led flywheel, where the app's unique features themselves drive user engagement and retention, is a promising solution. This approach better establishes product-market fit and fosters a more loyal user base, with token incentives playing a secondary role in retention. This serves as a more sustainable and scalable strategy.

Concluding Thoughts
The evolution of consumer dApps reflects both the promise and the challenges of bringing blockchain to the masses. While novelty and rewards can drive short-term adoption, sustainable value requires more than just incentives. Tokenomics play a central role, especially the presence of strong token sinks that balance emissions and keep ecosystems healthy.

It is also important to point out that crypto is a fundamentally different industry when it comes to marketing and GTM strategies. Instead of relying on traditional methods like SEO or paid ads, successful crypto protocols build bottom-up: earning trust, engaging users directly, and forming tight-knit communities. As the space continues to mature, it will be exciting to see how these dApps balance innovation with sustainability. The next wave of consumer dApps will likely be defined by their ability to not just attract users, but to keep them.

*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.

1. Research

a) Underestimating China - Why America Needs a New Strategy of Allied Scale to Offset Beijing’s Enduring Advantages
• The United States has shifted from fear of China's economic dominance to overconfidence, underestimating China's unprecedented scale advantages in manufacturing, military capacity, and critical technologies that will persist despite economic challenges.
• To effectively counter China, America must abandon its outdated alliance model of treating partners as dependents and instead adopt "capacity-centric statecraft" that coordinates with allies to collectively outscale China, rather than pursuing counterproductive unilateralism that fractures essential partnerships.

Underestimating China

Why America needs a new strategy of allied scale to offset Beijing's enduring advantages.

https://www.foreignaffairs.com

b) The State of Crypto Lending
• The crypto lending market has rebounded to $36.5b in Q4 2024, with DeFi lending growing dramatically (959%) and now representing 63% of the market, while CeFi has consolidated with just three players controlling 89% of that segment.
• This structural shift reflects a market preference for transparency and permissionless protocols, alongside improved risk management practices implemented after the 2022 crash that exposed weaknesses in asset-liability management and collateralization standards.

The State of Crypto Lending and Borrowing

Overview of Crypto Lending and Borrowing Market in Decentralized Finance and Traditional Finance

https://www.galaxy.com

c) The Upgraded Go-To-Market Playbook
• The new formula is a product + community framework.
• Build where your users already are, enable them to try and buy without friction, create authentic connections rather than sales pitches, and find ways to turn users into advocates on and off your platform.

The Upgraded Go-to-Market Playbook

Modern GTM strategies have evolved. Learn how fast-growing startups are building authentic communities to drive growth.

https://www.nfx.com

2. Portfolio

a) Teller Finance
• Teller Protocol has introduced time-based loans that allow DeFi protocols to borrow stablecoins against their treasury assets with fixed repayment terms and zero liquidation risk.
• This enables teams to access working capital without selling tokens or exposing themselves to market volatility, as demonstrated in their case study where a protocol borrowed 250,000 USDC against 2M tokens for 30 days at 6% fixed interest.

Time-Based Loans: Case Study via Treasury

Most protocol teams sit on treasuries made up of long-tail coins and their own native token. These reserves are designed to fund growth, pay contributors, and extend runway - but actually putting that capital to work can be complex. Selling tokens impacts price and signaling. Lending markets often exclude long-tail assets.

https://blog.teller.org

b) Fluence
• Fluence, a decentralized compute network for Web3, had a productive March 2025 featuring a redesigned website, expanded token liquidity, and the publication of a comprehensive DePIN Tokenomics Report.
• The company continues to strengthen its cloudless infrastructure through strategic partnerships, high APR offerings, media engagement, and advocacy for the DePIN Pledge initiative that aims to rebuild Web3 infrastructure with decentralized hosting, compute, and indexing.

Fluence Monthly Recap: March 2025

From a redesigned website that clearly communicates Fluence's mission, to a foundational tokenomics report grounded in real DePIN data and expert insights, March was about sharpening the our message and strengthening the Cloudless network. With expanded liquidity, clearer staking opportunities, and ongoing engagement through AMAs, podcasts, and media, Fluence

https://www.fluence.network

c) Infrared Finance
• The Infrared protocol has upgraded to version 1.4, which expands BGT boosting beyond its own validator set to external validators, improving yield efficiency and increasing rewards for iBGT stakers.
• This change addresses previous inefficiencies caused by concentrated boosts on Infrared's validators, contributes to greater decentralization of the Berachain network, and allows the protocol to leverage more favorable incentive rates from various validators across the ecosystem.

Infrared

@InfraredFinance

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22:24 • 14 Apr 2025

3. Perp DEXes

As more traders migrate from CEXes to on-chain alternatives due to various reasons such as (long-tail) token availability, security and counterparty concerns (not your keys not your coins ethos) and no KYC requirements, perpetual DEXes are competing to offer superior speed/usability, liquidity, and innovative mechanics. Three standout contenders — Hyperliquid, Ostium and Lighter — are taking distinctly different approaches to capture market share in this growing segment.

a. Unique Selling Propositions
Hyperliquid

• On-chain Order Book: Delivers high-performance trading with full transparency

• Purpose-Built L1: Custom Layer 1 blockchain designed specifically for trading, offering CEX-like speed

• HyperEVM Integration: Enables developers to build dApps that directly interact with the order book for liquidity

• Community-First Approach: Self-funded without VC backing, distributing substantial token allocation to early users

• Spot Ecosystem: Features native token standard and auction system for launching new tokens (Hypurrfun)

Ostium

• RWA Focus: Specifically designed for trading traditional financial assets (forex, commodities, and indices)

• Dual Liquidity Architecture: Innovative Liquidity Buffer + Market Making Vault structure that mitigates adversarial relationships between traders and LPs

• High Leverage Capacity: Offers up to 200x leverage on select assets

• Market Hours Integration: Built to handle trading schedules, market closures, and holidays of traditional markets

• Risk-Adjusted Fee Structure: Dynamic fee system that adjusts based on position size, open interest imbalance, and asset volatility

Lighter

• Verifiable Matching and Liquidations - "the first and only exchange that provides verifiable matching and liquidations," using SNARKs to generate cryptographic proofs for trades on order book matching execution. This makes it (mathematically) impossible for the matching engine to act maliciously.

• Trustless Exchange Architecture - The platform operates as a trustless service bound to function in a predefined way, ensuring price-time priority is always respected and eliminating potential manipulation.

• Trading Fees - "Lighter currently does not charge taker or maker fees. Everyone can trade in all of the markets free of charge," which is a significant competitive advantage compared to other exchanges.

b. Execution Risks

Hyperliquid

• Centralized Validators: Currently operated by only 16 nodes and 5 are controlled by the team

• Single Point of Failure: Custom L1 design may harbor undiscovered vulnerabilities

• Oracle Dependency: Relies on price feeds that could potentially be manipulated, particularly for less liquid assets

• Competition from Established CEXs: Directly competing with well-capitalized centralized exchanges

• Regulatory Uncertainty: Operating without KYC requirements or formal licensing

• EVM Ecosystem Quality: Long-term success depends on attracting high-quality projects to build on HyperEVM

Ostium

• Layer 2 Dependency: Heavily reliant on Arbitrum for security and performance

• Oracle Complexity: RWA markets necessitate complex oracle solutions with multiple potential failure points

• Late Market Entry: Entering an increasingly crowded perpetual DEX space

• TAM Expansion Challenges: May struggle to offer significant UI/UX advantages to attract traditional traders

• Market Hours Complexity: Managing diverse trading schedules and closures across dozens of traditional markets

• Regulatory Exposure: RWA focus may attract heightened regulatory scrutiny

• LP Risk Management: Challenge of ensuring Market Making Vault liquidity providers understand and are adequately compensated for directional exposure risk

Lighter

• Complex Liquidation Mechanism - Seems like Lighter has a multi-level liquidation system (pre-liquidation, partial liquidation, full liquidation, and auto-deleveraging) --> could be difficult for users to understand and potentially lead to unexpected liquidations if not properly managed.

• Reliance on Auto-Deleveraging (ADL) - When the Insurance Fund is insufficient to cover liquidated accounts, the system forces other users into auto-deleveraging, potentially affecting profitable traders.

• Zero Price Mechanism - The "zero price" calculation during partial liquidations is mathematically complex and could lead to positions being closed at prices that may be unfavorable to traders, especially during high volatility when liquidations are more common.

c. Conclusion
All 3 platforms represent innovative approaches to onchain perps, but with different focuses.

Hyperliquid has established itself as a leading perp DEX with a custom L1 and onchain order book, gaining significant traction in the crypto-native community. Since it is self-funded, its community-first approach strategy has has resonated very well with its (cult-like) users, though centralisation of its validator set remains a key concern.

Ostium is an up and coming platform which positions itself as a specialised platform for bringing RWAs onchain through perps, with a unique dual liquidity structure designed to align incentives between traders and LPs.

Lighter seems more tech-driven, and focuses on creating a mathematically verifiable trading environment with traditional exchange performance characteristics, appealing to traders who prioritize execution certainty and transparency over other features.

They will all however will face regulatory and technical challenges which is typical in DeFi, and will be interesting to monitor how they overcome such hurdles.

*Disclosure: The information provided on this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional nor investment advice.

1. Research

a) AI 2027
• This document describes a detailed scenario projection called "AI 2027" that forecasts the rapid development of increasingly powerful AI systems from 2025 to 2027.
• It outlines how AI capabilities advance from unreliable agents to superhuman systems (Agent-1 through Agent-4), creating geopolitical tensions between the US and China while raising significant concerns about AI alignment, security, and control as the technology approaches superintelligence.

AI 2027

A research-backed AI scenario forecast.

https://ai-2027.com

b) The Colour of Money
• This article from Steakhouse Financial Kitchen compares the business models and financial performance of three major stablecoins (USDC, Tether, and USDS), examining their different approaches to reserve management.
• It analyses how full reserve stablecoins prioritise liquidity but struggle with profitability, while fractional reserve models achieve higher returns but take on more risk, with detailed breakdowns of their return on equity metrics.

The Color of Money

USDT, USDC, USDS stablecoin business models side by side

https://kitchen.steakhouse.financial

c) Unpacking decentralized training
• This extensive article explores distributed training for AI models, detailing how geographically separated hardware can collaboratively train powerful models by minimising communication requirements through techniques like DiLoCo, DisTrO, and SWARM Parallelism.
• The author argues that decentralised training represents a critical path toward democratizing AI development, potentially enabling groups of individuals to compete with major labs while providing a "self-defense" mechanism against centralised control of super-intelligent systems.

Unpacking decentralized training

My attempt at highlighting the necessity of training LLMs in a distributed / decentralized manner, explaining a web of topics, and articulating the potential synergies between crypto + AI

https://theknower.substack.com

2. Portfolio

a) Solv Protocol
• The article announces that SolvBTC.BBN is being rebranded as xSolvBTC, focusing on enhanced flexibility, higher yields, improved liquidity, and expanded use cases for Bitcoin holders, while assuring users that this change won't affect their eligibility for the upcoming BABY airdrop.
• An evolution rather than a complete overhaul, maintaining the underlying strategy of generating restaking yields from Babylon while introducing significant improvements to make Bitcoin holdings more liquid and profitable.

Introducing xSolvBTC: The Next Chapter for SolvBTC.BBN

SolvBTC.BBN is evolving into something even more powerful: xSolvBTC. This isn't just a name change - it's a transformation that promises to elevate your Bitcoin experience with cutting-edge features...

https://solvprotocol.medium.com

b) Push Chain
• The article presents web3 interoperability as a spectrum that has evolved through multiple stages—from centralized exchanges to atomic swaps, DEXs, multi-chain wallets, bridging solutions, intent solver networks, and now to programmable solvers and full-stack interoperability.
• Push Chain is positioned as the final evolution in this spectrum, offering universal L1 capabilities that enable seamless cross-chain interactions through features like programmable solvers, shared state access, cross-chain fee abstraction, and wallet abstraction to create a truly interoperable web3 experience.

Push Chain

@PushChain

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23:40 • 8 Apr 2025

3. Kaito: The Opportunity in Tokenising the Intangible

The evolution of InfoFi
Crypto revolves around blockchains, which are essentially decentralised and immutable databases. While this unique feature allows for transparency, it also overwhelms crypto participants with data. Nansen emerged as one of the industry’s first data companies to make sense of the noise, surfacing actionable on-chain insights like tracking “smart money” flows that would otherwise be invisible to the naked eye. It redefined how participants understood the market, not just by looking at price, but by decoding behavior.

Then came Kaito Pro, a powerful alternative that pushed the boundaries further. Kaito carved out its own edge by tracking token and narrative mindshare, giving users a sense of what people were actually paying attention to. Beyond token flows, Kaito tapped into social sentiment, adding a new dimension to token analysis.

Alongside these analytics platforms, Polymarket captured attention as a prediction market, especially the recent U.S. Presidential elections. Polymarket let people bet on outcomes, and let market pricing reflect collective belief, demonstrating how financial incentives could sharpen informational efficiency.

But the real inflection point for InfoFi came with the launch of Kaito Yaps. Kaito Yaps didn’t just measure attention, it tokenised it. For the first time, users could attach value to digital mindshare, quantifying what had previously been intangible. This marked a paradigm shift.

Kaito Yaps
Kaito Pro is the premier crypto data source. It is an AI-powered vertical search engine built specifically for crypto, helping users cut through the noise of a fragmented and fast-moving ecosystem. Built on thousands of data sources, its proprietary algorithms, semantic search, and real-time analytics surface only the most relevant, high-signal information. Thus, it is widely used by crypto teams, researchers, and investors. However, there remains a large group of crypto participants who are priced out of Kaito Pro’s services, limiting the platform’s broader reach and adoption.

Kaito Yaps completely flips the script, targeting the entire crypto user base on X, a community formerly known as “Crypto Twitter (CT)”. Currently, there are more than 200,000 monthly active Yappers. As part of Kaito’s airdrop campaign, crypto users could earn Yaps by posting high-quality content on X. Additionally, other projects have begun leveraging Yaps as a distribution mechanism, rewarding top Yappers with allocations of their future tokens. Yaps represent verified, reputation-weighted attention. Rather than rewarding vanity metrics like impressions or likes, Kaito evaluates how valuable a tweet is based on the insight it provides, its originality, and relevance. This ensures that only posts generating real, meaningful engagement and adding genuine insight are rewarded with Yaps, effectively cutting through the noise.

What makes Kaito Yaps truly powerful, though, is the self-reinforcing growth loop it enables. As users earn Yaps, they gain visibility and influence within the community. This increases their mindshare, which in turn encourages more participation, more content creation, and more meaningful discourse. As this content spreads and gets recognised, it attracts more projects to engage through the ecosystem via Kaito Connect (elaborated on in a later section), drawing in more protocol incentives to the Kaito ecosystem. The result is a virtuous flywheel: more quality content → more Yaps → more community mindshare → more project integrations → more incentives → and back to more content.

In doing so, Kaito has created more than just a leaderboard or a rewards system. It has laid the foundation for an attention economy with built-in network effects. Kaito Yaps is here to stay, as an integral part of the Kaito ecosystem. 

Kaito Connect

Following the success of Kaito Yaps, Kaito launched Kaito Connect, which features a Yapper Launchpad. This launchpad is predominantly for pre-TGE projects to launch their own Yapper Leaderboard, featuring the top yappers in their respective ecosystem. The Yapper Launchpad allows the Kaito community to decide which project’s Yapper Leaderboard launches next. Each week, the top three projects from the launchpad are selected for a Yapper Leaderboard launch. 

The amount of votes per user, comes from 2 main sources, Yapper votes (25%) and Holder votes (75%). The number of Yapper votes one receives is based on the amount of Yaps and Smart Followers one has. On the other hand, Holder Votes are based on the amount of staked $KAITO, $sKAITO and Genesis NFTs that are held in their wallet linked to Kaito’s platform. This strikes a balance between active participants and longer-term stakeholders.

Yaps were designed to do more than just quantify attention, they were meant to redistribute value more fairly across the attention economy. By introducing Kaito Connect’s Rewards Station, Kaito closes the loop between creators, users, and brands. This new layer makes it easy for protocols to directly incentivise content creation by allocating token rewards to yappers who create high-quality, on-brand content. In the Rewards Station, crypto participants can browse a curated list of projects and choose which one they want to support. By crafting insightful tweets, threads, or commentary about that project, participants earn tokens based on the quality and reach of their contributions.

What’s next?
One potential area for growth lies in further aligning incentives for Kaito users, particularly voters on the Yapper Launchpad. While the Rewards Station provides a clear incentive structure for creators who generate content, the current voting mechanism on the Yapper Launchpad offers limited extrinsic motivation for users to actively participate beyond personal interest in a project. Introducing a built-in reward mechanism for voters could help deepen engagement, improve signal quality, and strengthen the governance layer of the ecosystem.

Notably, the emergence of third-party protocols like Yapper Collective, which have begun streaming incentives to voters, signals clear and growing demand for vote-based rewards. However, this also highlights a point of value leakage from the Kaito ecosystem, where engagement that originates within Kaito is being monetised externally. Addressing this gap presents an opportunity for Kaito to capture more of its own value flow, tighten its feedback loops, and reinforce long-term platform loyalty by embedding these incentive mechanisms natively.

Beyond native integrations, Kaito has also introduced the Yaps Open Protocol, enabling builders to access, track, and utilise the Yaps date through a public API. Since its launch in December 2024, it has already gained traction among teams like Berachain, Story, and Fantasy Top, who are leveraging Yaps data for use cases ranging from SocialFi applications to custom reward distribution mechanisms. Apart from Yaps, there are also teams building on top of Kaito Pro’s data stream. One such example is Noise, a DEX for tokenised mindshare, made possible by utilising Kaito as an oracle. 

By making attention programmable, Kaito has laid the foundation for a new wave of composable, attention-driven applications.

Tokenomics

Successful protocols are always accompanied by strong tokenomics — Kaito is no different. Currently, users can stake $KAITO to receive $sKAITO and receive yield in exchange. Note that there is a 7 days unstaking period before withdrawal is possible. The source of the staking yield originates from the 5% of token supply allocated as liquid incentives.

Kaito also conducts strategic token buybacks by utilising its revenue generated from its core products, such as Kaito Pro subscriptions used by institutional investors, analysts, and trading teams, as well as ecosystem partnerships through Kaito Connect. With an annualised revenue of US$32.95 million, the protocol is well-positioned to sustain these buybacks. Given that the next $KAITO token unlock is scheduled for 20th August 2025, and factoring in the current pace of buybacks, $KAITO is effectively deflationary at this stage.

This revenue-backed model gives $KAITO a good level of economic sustainability. However, there is room to deepen token utility and better align long-term value accrual with active governance and participation. At present, token holders primarily benefit through staking emissions and buybacks. However, the protocol could evolve further to incentivise broader ecosystem behaviors.

One potential path forward is to integrate a Curve-style veTokenomics model, pairing locked $KAITO with native governance rights and directional control over emissions. Under such a design, protocols could be encouraged to purchase and lock $KAITO in order to gain voting power, allowing them to redirect a portion of emissions (either in $KAITO or their native tokens) toward voters on the Yapper Launchpad.

Implementing such a design would unlock two key benefits. First, it would significantly strengthen voter incentives, giving users a more compelling reason to actively participate in project selection and community curation. Second, the model would introduce a substantial token sink, as protocols would need to lock up $KAITO to gain influence over emissions and governance. This reduction in circulating supply would not only support the token’s value but also enhance long-term alignment between protocol stakeholders and the token economy. 

Conclusion

To tie it all together, the trifecta of Kaito Pro, Kaito Yaps, and Kaito Connect forms a cohesive ecosystem that bridges creators and protocols using data. Kaito Pro delivers AI-powered market intelligence, surfacing high-signal insights from across the crypto landscape. Kaito Yaps builds on that foundation by turning attention into a tokenised asset, enabling creators to earn based on the quality and impact of their content. And Kaito Connect brings everything full circle, allowing projects to engage directly with top Yappers through tools like the Yapper Launchpad and Rewards Station.

This tightly integrated system not only empowers creators and users but also offers protocols a transparent and effective way to build community and distribute value. In doing so, Kaito redefines the relationship between data, discourse, and distribution, positioning itself as a core infrastructure layer for the emerging InfoFi paradigm.

However, the long-term sustainability of this ecosystem depends on more than just strong architecture — it requires consistent demand and incentives to maintain engagement. The past few months saw a surge of euphoria in the market, which drove heightened interest in Kaito’s services and increased activity across Yaps. But as that excitement cools, so too may the flow of incentives from protocols. If these rewards begin to dry up, engagement across the ecosystem, particularly within Yaps and the Launchpad, could taper off as well. To mitigate this, Kaito will need to ensure that its incentive structures are resilient beyond cyclical market trends. The key challenge moving forward will be turning Yaps from a temporary engagement tool into a sustainable, self-sufficient attention economy.

While Kaito shares surface-level similarities with platforms like Nansen and Polymarket, it is ultimately in a league of its own. By achieving product-market fit and pioneering the tokenisation of attention, Kaito has brought the vision of InfoFi to life. Despite recent market downturns, the team at Kaito has continued to execute with unwavering focus, consistently shipping meaningful updates and pushing the protocol’s boundaries. The team is doubling down on innovation, with a wave of new products in the pipeline, including a mobile app that will make Kaito’s core offerings more accessible to a wider audience. Most notably, Kaito is preparing to launch its own Capital Launchpad, a next-generation AI-powered matchmaking system designed to optimise capital formation by aligning communities through shared interests and values. 

Lastly, Kaito stands out as a revenue-generating project with real utility and high-quality products. As attention shifts back toward fundamentals, Kaito is well-positioned to reclaim its spotlight and establish itself as a cornerstone of the future attention economy.

*Disclosure: Signum Capital holds a position in the aforementioned company. The information provided on this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional nor investment advice.

a) Charting Ethereum's Account Abstraction Roadmap III: The Endgame
• Based on the article, Ethereum's account abstraction roadmap is evolving through four major models: ERC-5189 (Endorsed Operations), ERC-4337 (out-of-protocol alternate mempools), RIP-7560 (native account abstraction for rollups), and EIP-7701 (the "endgame" for L1 accounts using EOF).
• These approaches aim to enable smart accounts with advanced capabilities like flexible signature schemes, gas abstraction, and transaction validation/execution separation, ultimately creating more autonomous, user-friendly accounts that extend beyond the limitations of traditional EOAs and contract accounts

Charting Ethereum's Account Abstraction Roadmap III: The Endgame

Explore Ethereum's evolution toward full account abstraction through ERC-5189, ERC-4337, RIP-7560, and EIP-7701 smart account models.

https://research.2077.xyz

b) Singapore - The Onchain State
• The report highlights Singapore's emergence as a leading global hub for Web3 innovation, characterized by a balanced regulatory approach, strong public-private collaboration, and a vibrant ecosystem of infrastructure projects, DeFi protocols, and NFT/gaming platforms.
• Despite challenges like high compliance costs and limited banking access, Singapore continues to attract Web3 companies through its talent pool, venture capital availability, strategic location, and supportive initiatives, with crypto ownership rising among Singaporeans (26% in 2024) and significant job creation in the sector.

Singapore The Onchain State - 2025 Report

The collapse of algorithmic stablecoin UST and the subsequent bankruptcies of major Web3 firms, including FTX and Three Arrows Capital, sent shockwaves through the industry, impacting investments and confidence in Singapore's Web3 sector. However, this period also marked a turning point-pushing the industry towards greater transparency, compliance, and long-term resilience.

https://www.onchainstate.sg

c) Stablecoins in 2025: The $237 Billion Revolution Transforming Money and Yield Farming
• The stablecoin market has expanded significantly in 2025, reaching $237 billion (a 63% increase from 2024), driven by regulatory clarity, institutional adoption, and real-world utility, with major players including Tether ($144B), USDC ($60B), Ripple's RLUSD, and newly launched USD1 by Trump.
• Investors can generate yields of 0.5%-25% APY through various DeFi protocols like Curve Finance, Aave, Beefy Finance, Ethena, and Superform Labs, which automatically optimizes stablecoin investments across multiple chains and protocols to maximize returns.

Stablecoins in 2025: The $237 Billion Revolution Transforming Mo...

Stablecoins have been dominating 2025 with the total market cap hitting $237 billion, a 63% jump from $138 billion last year, with no signs of slowing down. Tether's holding strong at $144 billion, Ripple's RLUSD spiked 46% in a month, and Trump just launched USD1 days ago (March 25), staking his place onchain.

https://mirror.xyz

a) Pendle
• Pendle Finance has emerged as DeFi's leading fixed yield protocol, enabling users to trade future yields and lock in predictable returns across various assets like LSTs, restaking protocols, and yield-bearing stablecoins.
• In 2025, Pendle is expanding beyond Ethereum through its Citadel deployments to Solana, Hyperliquid, and TON, launching regulated yield access for institutional and Islamic finance markets, and introducing Boros for fixed-rate trading in perpetual funding markets—all while enhancing its tokenomics through vePENDLE and cementing its position as DeFi's comprehensive fixed income layer.

0xDíaz

@0xMrDiaz

x.com/i/article/1906…

274

18:07 • 31 Mar 2025

b) Particle Network
• Particle Network has emerged as a leader in chain abstraction, developing Universal Accounts that allow users to access their assets across multiple blockchains without bridging, culminating in the recent launch of their $PARTI token.
• Their roadmap includes releasing Universal Account SDKs to developers in Q2 2025, enabling widespread chain abstraction across numerous applications, upgrading their UniversalX trading platform to V3, and increasing community engagement through activities like launchpools and IDOs.

TABASCOweb3

@TABASCOweb3

x.com/i/article/1907…

44

19:25 • 2 Apr 2025

c) Sonic
• Sonic has introduced SonicCS 2.0, a new DAG-based consensus protocol that overlaps elections and uses 0-1 matrix representations for voting structures to compute elections more efficiently.
• When tested on real-world Sonic mainnet transaction data, the protocol demonstrated an average 2x speedup and 68% memory reduction compared to SonicCS 1.0, achieved through overlapping elections (visualized as a pipeline) and vectorization techniques that leverage CPU SIMD instructions for more efficient matrix operations.

SonicCS 2.0 - New Consensus for 2x Speed and 68% Memory Reduction

Sonic's new consensus, SonicCS 2.0, boosts speed and efficiency with overlapping elections and vectorized voting. 2x faster, 68% less memory.

https://blog.soniclabs.com

Introduction
Many might know NetMind as a decentralized GPU protocol, which was its original business line. However, the team at NetMind has recently introduced a new product in the form of an AI Agent launchpad on BNB Chain. NetMind currently runs both business arms in parallel. On one side, Netmind AI offers decentralized GPU rental services and inference APIs tailored for AI developers and model providers. On the other hand, Netmind XYZ serves as an AI agent launchpad built on the BNB Chain, targeting the growing demand for autonomous agent deployment within the interaction of AI and crypto.

NetMind AI
NetMind AI offers 2 primary services: a decentralized GPU rental platform and a suite of inference-related services. The decentralized GPU network is NetMind's original product and value proposition. Instead of relying on centralized data centers, NetMind enables users to contribute their idle GPUs to the network by creating a distributed compute layer where anyone can rent or supply compute resources. It serves as an open marketplace for AI compute, aligning incentives for both providers and consumers. Currently, the network boasts 1,833 GPUs with a high utilization rate of 95%, and over 6,600 GPUs are currently queued, indicating strong demand. Additionally, more than 1,000 of these GPUs are in use by NetMind's institutional partners, which include well-known universities and research institutions such as Carnegie Mellon, The University of Edinburgh, King's College London, etc. These partnerships further cement NetMind's credibility and underscore its relevance to academic and research workloads.

Beyond compute, NetMind AI also provides a comprehensive stack for inference services. The platform supports online inference across a wide range of popular open-source models from the likes of DeepSeek, Google, Meta, and more. Developers can easily integrate these models via API endpoints or deploy their own models in a serverless fashion—without worrying about infrastructure management. The serverless architecture also allows users to be billed strictly based on runtime, making it especially cost-efficient for teams running low-frequency workloads.

NetMind XYZ
In late 2024, AI Agents took the world by storm, crypto included. The AI Crypto space was booming, with new agents and supporting infrastructure being deployed at the speed of light. NetMind saw an opportunity in this space and launched Netmind XYZ, a low-code no-code AI Agent launchpad that leverages their decentralized GPU stack. Users just have to fill in a few parameters and choose the LLM of choice in order to deploy their very own AI Agent on the platform.

NetMind XYZ's Version 1 provides the core infrastructure for AI agents with basic cognitive functions: memory, reasoning, skill execution, and token issuance. These agents can recall information, perform tasks, interact with external tools or platforms, and create their own tokens for on-chain use. Version 2, launching soon, expands this with more advanced capabilities. Agents will support self-evolution based on environmental feedback, multimodal input (voice, video, image), and group-based coordination through agent organizations. Additional features include agent cloning, autonomous crypto trading, and support for emotional reasoning and social interactions.

For the Speculators
NetMind has done well to build out a robust product suite across several crypto narratives. The team has been continuously adding features that align with both user needs and broader market trends. On the tokenomics front, $NMT has seen several enhancements designed to strengthen its utility and long-term value. These include a token burning mechanism to reduce supply, controlled buyback initiatives to support demand, and a shift toward payment-based rewards for miners, which boosts value for active participants.

From a more speculative point of view, NetMind is also well-positioned as a Binance-aligned project, with the $NMT token and their AI Agent launchpad being deployed on BNB Chain. For more context, there has been a recent shift in go-to-market strategies, where some protocols choose to align themselves with Binance and BNB Chain to maximize their exposure to the booming Binance ecosystem and to front-run a possible "BNB Chain season." Some of the things that these protocols do include deploying their protocol on BNB Chain and participating in the Binance Web3 Wallet IDO. This seemingly allows these tokens to get an expedited listing on Binance Alpha, a platform within the Binance Wallet that spotlights early-stage crypto projects with growth potential. By adopting this strategy, protocols can make it as seamless as possible for users within the Binance ecosystem to discover and interact with their product. With strong product-market fit and the right momentum, this alignment may also increase the likelihood of a future spot listing on Binance. Some recent examples include Bubblemap ($BMT) and MyShell ($SHELL).

Concluding Thoughts
Crypto narratives are cyclical. However, protocols that can repurpose and evolve their products tend to maintain relevance, especially when backed by a proactive and adaptive team. It's increasingly important for founders to stay plugged in, understand shifting consumer demands, and iterate quickly to meet them.

In NetMind's case, the team has not only expanded its product suite but done so in a way that builds on top of its existing GPU infrastructure, demonstrating strong internal synergy. Their alignment with the Binance ecosystem further positions them well for upside, especially if Binance continues to strengthen its platform and we see a "BNB Chain season." Paired with a recovering macro environment, this positioning could play out favorably in the near future.

*Disclosure: Signum Capital holds a position in the aforementioned company. The information provided on this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional nor investment advice.

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.

Databricks and the Future of Data

A Case Study on Riding S Curves: Past, Present, and Future of the Data & AI Company

https://www.generativevalue.com

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 🔑🪨

@KeyrockTrading

The Great Tokenization Shift: 2025 and the Road Ahead

Read why RWAs could reach $50B TVL in 2025

Written with @Centrifuge and expert insights from @OndoFinance, @Securitize, @chainlink, @maplefinance, @plumenetwork, @BackedFi, @OstiumLabs and @Paxos.

keyrock.com

The Great Tokenization Shift: 2025 and the Road Ahead - Keyrock

Keyrock, in collaboration with Centrifuge, has released a comprehensive report exploring the current landscape of Real-World Asset Tokenization.

143

22:00 • 25 Mar 2025

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.

How to Invest in Robotics in 2025 | XMAQUINA DAO

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.

https://www.xmaquina.io

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.

The 20 hottest open source startups of 2024 | TechCrunch

A new report showcases the 20 top-trending open source startups around the world, more than half of which are closely aligned with AI.

https://techcrunch.com

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.

DojimaFoundation

@dojimanetwork

x.com/i/article/1904…

182

4:25 • 27 Mar 2025

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.

a) A Tale of Cross-Chain Verification
• The article traces the evolution of cross-chain verification from early trust-based models (trusted validators and multi-signature bridges) to modern trustless and customizable verification mechanisms that leverage cryptographic primitives like light clients, optimistic verification, and zero-knowledge proofs.
• The author argues that as the industry moves toward a modular interoperability framework, verification specialists and verification marketplaces will emerge, allowing developers to select verification methods based on their specific security, speed, and cost requirements rather than being locked into rigid, one-size-fits-all solutions.

A Tale of Cross Chain Verification

An extensive guide on cross-chain verification, verification marketplaces, and modular interoperability future

https://www.decipherclub.com

b) The Future of Onchain Liquidity is Here via Coinbase Verified Pools
• Coinbase has launched Verified Pools, a curated selection of liquidity pools built on Uniswap v4 protocol that integrates KYC verification with smart contract transparency to create a trusted onchain trading environment.
• The service, available in select jurisdictions including the U.S. and Singapore, aims to serve both institutional clients (offering concentrated liquidity and controlled access) and retail traders (providing simplified onchain trading with verified liquidity) through Prime Onchain Wallet or Coinbase Wallet integration while maintaining non-custodial control of assets.

Coinbase 🛡️

@coinbase

Introducing Coinbase Verified Pools, a trusted way to seamlessly trade onchain.

Dive in. ↓

2,331

0:18 • 19 Mar 2025

c) The State of Stablecoins 2025: Supply, Adoption & Market Trends
• The stablecoin market has experienced significant growth, reaching $214 billion in supply with $35 trillion in transfer volume over the past year, with USDT remaining the largest by supply (64% market share) while USDC leads in transfer volume (66% market share).
• Notable trends include the rise of Ethena's USDe as the third-largest stablecoin, Sky's rebranding from MakerDAO introducing USDS with regulatory-compliant features, Base surpassing Ethereum as the leading blockchain for stablecoin transfers, and the emergence of regional stablecoins to support local currency transactions in global markets.

Dune

@Dune

1/ Stablecoins are reshaping finance

Explore all insights, market trends, asset deep dives, and more in "The State of Stablecoins 2025"— a comprehensive report by Dune & @artemis

Link at the end of the thread

738

21:00 • 18 Mar 2025

a) zkPass
• zkPass is a protocol leveraging Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs), Multi-Party Computation (MPC), and 3P-TLS to enable privacy-preserving data verification across various sectors including finance, healthcare, and education.
• The technology allows users to prove specific attributes without revealing sensitive information, using a hybrid approach that combines proxy mode and MPC mode for flexibility, with applications including zkKYC for identity verification, secure financial transactions, and private sharing of medical records.

zkPass: Enabling Verifiable Data Composability

zkPass is redefining privacy & data verification by integrating ZKPs, Multi-Party Computation (MPC), and 3P-TLS. It enables verifiable, privacy-preserving data sharing across finance, healthcare, etc.

https://www.shoal.gg

b) Particle Network
• Particle Network is rolling out Universal Accounts (UAs) in three phases to enable chain-agnostic Web3 experiences where users can access any asset on any blockchain through a single account.
• Their roadmap includes a proprietary launch with their own applications like UniversalX, followed by permissioned expansion with select partners, and finally permissionless deployment where any dApp can integrate Universal Accounts, all supported by the Particle Chain that coordinates cross-chain transactions.

Cracking Universal Accounts' Adoption: Rollout Roadmap

The vision is simple, yet powerful: One account, one balance, any chain. Getting there may be trickier-but we believe Universal Accounts, with a strategic go-to-market, can become a backbone for the ecosystem, facilitating the unification of users and liquidity across Web3. Today, we're thrilled to share our strategic roadmap

https://blog.particle.network

c) Iota
• IOTA Identity is a decentralized identity framework that has entered its Alpha Release, combining W3C Decentralized Identity Standards with IOTA's blockchain to provide self-sovereign identity, verifiable credentials, and privacy-first interactions.
• It enables individuals, organizations, and IoT devices to create tamper-proof digital identities where data integrity is ensured through an immutable ledger while keeping verifiable credentials off-chain for enhanced privacy and user control across sectors like finance, healthcare, and supply chain.

IOTA Identity Alpha Release

Secure, Decentralized, and Scalable Digital Identity TL;DR: IOTA Identity is a decentralized identity framework that brings self-sovereign identity, verifiable credentials, and privacy-first digital interactions to the upcoming IOTA Mainnet. Now in Alpha Release, it migrates from the previous Stardust VM to the more powerful MoveVM, offering enhanced on-chain programmability

https://blog.iota.org

The Changing Market Structure of Crypto
For years, crypto participants have been conditioned to the market trading in 4 year cycles, pegged to Bitcoin’s halving events. However, the introduction of Bitcoin ETFs have transformed Bitcoin into an institutionally investable asset class. These ETFs have established a more consistent baseline demand, smoothing out BTC’s volatility. This is one of the reasons as to why crypto is evolving beyond this rigid structure. Instead, the market now experiences shorter bursts of outperformance and underperformance, driven by liquidity flows, investor positioning, and changing risk sentiment. While Bitcoin is experiencing increased price stability, altcoins remain as volatile as ever, still subject to reflexive cycles of euphoria and panic.

On August 5, 2024, global financial markets experienced a significant downturn, marking a local bottom for risk-on assets, including both stocks and cryptocurrencies. This sharp decline was primarily triggered by the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) unexpected decision to raise its benchmark interest rate from 0.1% to 0.25%, a move that caught investors off guard and led to widespread market volatility. The main implication of this was the unwinding of the yen carry trade, which exerted significant selling pressure on global equities and other risk assets.

The market quickly shifted as bullish catalysts emerged, most notably Donald Trump’s election victory, which signaled regulatory reform and a pro-crypto stance from the new SEC leadership. This ushered in a period of euphoric outperformance, often dubbed the "Trump Trade," as investors anticipated a more favorable environment for digital assets. Over the next few months, the market experienced a wave of risk-on sentiment, with capital rotating aggressively into altcoins. Now, with the initial euphoria cooling, we take a closer look at how leading tokens have performed since then, evaluating their resilience, volatility, and broader market trends.

Layer 1s

Despite macro uncertainty, $BTC and $BNB have demonstrated the highest relative strength, holding up better than other L1s. $BTC remains propped up by ETF flows, increasing institutional adoption and Trump's executive orders for a strategic Bitcoin reserve - reinforcing its position as the market’s reserve asset. Meanwhile, $BNB has maintained dominance as the top centralised exchange (CEX) token, consistently staying ahead of trends with constant airdrops for $BNB holders during new listings, swift token listings, innovative initiatives like Binance Alpha 2.0, and deeper integration with on-chain ecosystems—increasing accessibility for users.

$ETH and $AVAX have significantly underperformed this cycle, primarily due to a lack of new, impactful initiatives—a crucial factor in crypto’s attention-driven market. Without strong narratives or upgrades that capture interest, they have struggled to keep pace with competitors. $SOL, on the other hand, dominated the L1 narrative, largely due to pump.fun, a meme token launchpad that drew massive user engagement. The blockchain proved its resilience under high transaction loads while maintaining low fees, successfully onboarding retail users and even securing high-profile token launches, including Trump’s token. However, this retail speculation also made Solana a prime venue for value extraction, leading to recent underperformance as the hype cycle cooled.

During the market’s euphoric phase, $HYPE, $SUI, and $S emerged as some of the most reflexive performers, each leveraging a compelling narrative to attract capital inflows. $HYPE, a perpetual DEX, gained traction through a fair launch that rewarded early adopters, fostering a strong whale community that reinforced its price momentum. $SUI, positioned as Solana’s direct competitor, capitalised on its low fees and high transaction speeds, drawing liquidity from those seeking an alternative high-performance blockchain. Meanwhile, $S focused on enhancing the existing Fantom network, introducing higher scalability and faster transactions to position itself as a next-generation infrastructure upgrade. 

AI x Robotics Tokens

Among AI and robotics tokens, $GEOD stands out with strong relative strength, positioning itself as a potential leader in the emerging robotics sector. As the AI sector matures, attention may shift toward robotics as the next evolution of the narrative, giving $GEOD a strategic edge in capturing capital rotation and long-term market positioning.

Initially marketed as the go-to platform for DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure) projects, $PEAQ struggled to maintain momentum as market attention pivoted elsewhere. Crypto thrives on narratives, and as AI Agents overtook DePIN as the dominant trend, $PEAQ was left behind, ultimately leading to underperformance. Without a clear role in the evolving AI landscape, its relevance has diminished in the current market cycle.

$Virtual and $ai16z emerged as the two frontrunners in the AI agent narrative, each securing dominance on their respective chains. $Virtual, built on Base, positioned itself as the premier AI agent launchpad, integrating a tokenomics-driven flywheel effect that reinforced its growth. Meanwhile, $ai16z, built on Solana, became the leading AI agent framework, setting the standard for open-source agentic development. By adopting a bazaar-style approach to AI development, $ai16z gained traction among projects seeking a decentralized, collaborative ecosystem. Both assets experienced high reflexivity, rallying as the AI narrative strengthened and capital flowed aggressively into the sector.

Dino Tokens

$XRP has emerged as one of the strongest-performing legacy tokens, bolstered by favourable regulatory trends following Trump’s election and Gary Gensler’s resignation. With the SEC taking a more industry-friendly stance, Ripple may see its ongoing legal battle ease, particularly if the agency withdraws its appeal against $XRP’s $125M penalty—a move that would remove a significant overhang on the token.

Many dino tokens rely heavily on strong community backing to maintain price momentum, and $DOT is no exception. Historically, its value has been tied to its dedicated supporter base rather than new innovations or major adoption breakthroughs. As attention shifts toward newer, narrative-driven sectors like AI and memecoins, $DOT may struggle to sustain its current rally. 

Despite underperforming relative to other legacy tokens, IOTA remains focused on long-term adoption rather than speculative hype. Once primarily an IoT-focused blockchain, it has successfully transitioned into a scalable smart contract platform, now supporting dual virtual machines and achieving 50,000 TPS with sub-second finality. Beyond technical improvements, IOTA has made significant strides in regulatory and enterprise adoption. It was a finalist in the European Blockchain Service Infrastructure (EBSI) program, became the first DLT foundation registered with Abu Dhabi Global Market, and is actively working on real-world applications like the Trade Logistics Information Pipeline (TLIP) in Kenya and digital product passports aligned with EU regulations. 

Concluding Thoughts
The idea of fixed four-year crypto cycles may no longer hold true. Instead, we are seeing shorter, more fragmented periods of outperformance, driven by macro shifts, regulatory changes, and fast-moving narratives. In this evolving landscape, staying engaged is more important than ever.

For crypto natives, the lesson is clear—staying informed and adaptable is key to capturing opportunities. Rather than fully logging off during downturns, those who continuously research, track emerging narratives, and recognise when to go risk-on will be best positioned to navigate this new, reflexive market environment.

*Note: This data reflects conditions as from August 5, 2024, following the Bank of Japan’s decision to raise its benchmark rates from 0.1% to 0.25%, increasing the risk of the yen carry trade unwinding.

**Disclosure: Signum Capital holds positions in some of the aforementioned companies. The information provided on this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional nor investment advice.

a) Solana vs Base: The Battle For Stablecoin Payments
• The article compares Solana and Base blockchains as platforms for stablecoin payments, examining their performance, fees, market demand, and regulatory status. It concludes that while Base has advantages through its Coinbase connection and US presence, Solana may be better positioned for long-term stablecoin payments due to its neutrality, diverse ecosystem, and resistance to censorship.
• Solana --> Decentralised, high demand, diverse ecosystem, censorship resistance; Base --> Centralised, strong US presence, Coinbase/USDC advantages, rapid development.

Solana vs Base: The Battle For Stablecoin Payments - Squads Blog

Companies and startups are increasingly turning to Solana and Base to overhaul their payments infastructure.

https://squads.so

b) Make Revenue Great Again
• As crypto market liquidity tightens, founders are shifting focus from speculative token value to sustainable revenue models, with many adopting transaction-based fees similar to Web2 companies like Stripe and Shopify
• Several crypto projects (including Sky, Ronin, Jito, Kaito, and Gearbox) are implementing token buyback mechanisms to tie token value to protocol revenue, mirroring corporate stock buybacks in traditional markets.

Make Revenue Great Again

Web3 native business models and revenue generation

https://www.decentralised.co

c) The path to secure and efficient zkVMs: How to track progress
• Security Challenges Require Years of Formal Verification: Despite industry narratives suggesting immediate deployment readiness, zkVMs face significant security vulnerabilities that will take 2+ years to establish correct protocols and 4+ years to achieve fully verified implementations. The security roadmap includes formally verifying all system components (from proof systems to constraint systems to implementations), with some deployments currently representing "an expensive way of pretending a system is secured by a SNARK."
• Performance Limitations Make Real-World Deployment Impractical: Current zkVMs operate with overhead approaching one million times the cost of native execution. The author establishes concrete performance milestones: reducing overhead to 100,000x native execution (Speed Stage 1), then 10,000x (Speed Stage 2), while solving memory constraints (under 2GB for Memory Stage 1, under 200MB for Memory Stage 2). While pre-compiles offer temporary optimizations, they introduce security risks and don't address fundamental inefficiencies in the core proof systems.

The path to secure and efficient zkVMs: How to track progress

The stages for zkVM development, the completion of which will take several years. Don't let anyone tell you differently.

https://a16zcrypto.com

a) Soneium
• Soneium partners with Line to accelerate on-chain gaming through integration with LINE MINI-App
• Builders can leverage on Soneium's support—combining community building, strategic marketing, and IP collaboration

Soneium | Soneium and LINE MINI App: Expanding web3 Globally

Soneium, powered by Sony Block Solutions Labs, is collaborating with LINE to bring four successful mini-apps onchain in coming months. This collaboration opens up new opportunities for web3 adoption. With approximately 200 million active users already engaging with LINE, integrating its mini-apps into the Soneium ecosystem enhances user experience, bringing smoother, more scalable, and accessible blockchain interactions.

https://soneium.org

b) Particle Network
• "$PARTI Diamonds" --> a seasonal rewards program for traders on the UniversalX platform. Users earn it by trading actively on UniversalX + referrals
• UniversalX Platform: "the first chain-agnostic trading platform," allowing users to trade across different blockchains without bridging

Time to Trade on UniversalX: Introducing $PARTI Diamonds

We've come a long way. First, we put chain abstraction on the map and built a community around it. Then, we released the first-ever chain-agnostic dApp-all within a few months. Now, we're thrilled to introduce you to $PARTI Diamonds. Community OGs and pioneering traders of the world-

https://blog.particle.network

c) Sonic
• Sonic's Fee Monetization (FeeM) system revolutionizes blockchain economics by allowing developers to earn up to 90% of the network fees their applications generate, creating a direct revenue stream similar to how YouTube pays creators but with transparent, permissionless payouts. This aligns incentives between developers and the network, transforming transaction costs into sustainable income and shifting the focus from short-term hype to long-term value creation, while platforms like Beets are already leveraging FeeM to create self-reinforcing growth loops through buybacks and community-directed incentives.
• Sonic x Royco Partnership - Royco will distribute ~200m $S tokens as part of their Szn 1 incentive campaign. Users can earn 3 types of incentives: App Gems (redeemable for $S), Royco Bonus Gems (exclusive to Royco users), and Sonic Activity Points 

Beets

@beets_fi

x.com/i/article/1899…

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22:32 • 11 Mar 2025

https://paragraph.xyz/@royco/sonic-is-partnering-with-royco-to-help-distribute-200,000,000-dollars-to-boost-its-thriving-defi-ecosystem-1

Introduction
As the market resets itself after the AI agent frenzy of the past 5 months, the question on everyone's mind is what comes next? Today we explore the transition from agentic AI to physical AI (robotics), where a new narrative has been formed combining robotics with crypto incentives termed as DePai (decentralised physical AI), a spin on DePin (decentralised physical infrastructure networks). In this article we give a recap on DePin, an introduction to robotics and how it can be combined with crypto, as well as some of the risks

DePin basically leverages on token incentives to build and operate real-world infrastructure and incentivise a large network of operators to contribute to the ecosystem. These networks are economic models where users can contribute and benefit from decentralised systems including wireless networks (Helium), data storage (Filecoin) and computing resources (io.net). Emerging from the DePin narrative (that has since dwindled) is the concept of Decentralised Physical AI (DePAI), a term that gained prominence following NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang's introduction of "Physical AI" at CES in January 2025. It can be used to describe the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and crypto/blockchain technology. In short, DePai not just decentralises the computational power supporting AI models, but also reimagines how machines operate in the physical world through crypto. 

At its core, DePAI envisions robots and autonomous machines operating not just independently but with agency and sovereignty on crypto infra. This vision extends far beyond mere automation to create systems where embodied AI can perceive, interact with, and thrive in the real world while operating within decentralized economic frameworks (in most cases, with the usage of tokens). Consider the trajectory of AI development - from language-based generative AI focused primarily on content creation to agentic systems capable of independent decision-making and real-world interaction, now with robots that can complete real life tasks as well. 

The DePAI ecosystem consists of 7 interconnected layers that collectively enable this new paradigm (inspired by a post from Peaq) 

• Hardware layer ("the body): the foundation, consisting of physical robots that allow AI models to interact with their environment. Also includes cameras, lidar, magnets, sensors and motors

• Software layer ("the brain"): agentic AI models that give these robots autonomy and decision-making capabilities. Also includes a mix of semiconductors and software for GenAI models

• Data layer: provides the essential information AI requires to learn about and navigate the real world

• Spatial intelligence enables robots to comprehend and interact with their physical surroundings in real-time

• Infrastructure networks deliver the essential resources (storage, compute, energy) needed for ongoing operation

• The Machine Economy layer: integrates all these components with protocols that ensure interoperability and coordination

• Organizational structures like DePAI DAOs allow individuals, communities, and businesses to collectively own and benefit from these technologies

Robotics
Most of the robotics companies have so far focused on industrial robotics development which are primarily designed for manufacturing environments, performing repetitive and mundane tasks with better precision than humans. For decades, robotics remained largely confined to structured industrial settings where environmental variables could be tightly controlled. According to a report by Morgan Stanely, 73% of companies confirmed to be involved in humanoids are based in Asia (56% in China), highlighting Asia's dominance in the sector. Chinese companies are showing the most impressive progress, benefiting from established supply chains, local adoption opportunities, and government support.

The robotics landscape has drastically changed in recent years, where modern robots are not just developed for specialised industrial machines but to increasingly versatile consumer products, autonomous vehicles and even humanoid platforms. The leading companies include Figure, 1X, Clone Robotics, Boston Dynamics, Tesla and Agility Robotics. The field has been transformed by advances in materials science, battery technology, sensor arrays, computer vision, and AI. For AI, LLMs especially has enabled robots to interact with unstructured environments in ways previously impossible, recognizing objects, planning paths, and making decisions based on real-time data.

The key point is studying the shift from simply robots that automate predefined sequences to creating systems that can learn, adapt, and operate with increasing degrees of autonomy through AI and LLMs. GenAI is transforming robotics by allowing machines to learn through natural language, imitation, and simulation. This progression is similar to the evolution in AI from purely generative models to agentic systems capable of proactive decision-making and to give an example:

• Generative AI might create a grocery list based on your input

• Agentic AI analyses your health data, creates optimized meal plans, suggests recipes, monitors your refrigerator inventory, and automatically orders groceries when supplies run low

In the case of crypto, this evolution is similar to that of DeFai (Decentralised Finance AI) where agents create optimized yield sourcing capabilities and automatically generates yield strategies according to the preferences of the user. Just like AI language models that got smarter with more data and computing power (from just text output to AIs capable of actually completing tasks), robots might also follow the same path. The only difference is AI operates online, compared to physical robots operating in real world with endless variations and unpredictability compared to the digital world. Skeptics auestion if they can really master using the same methods that work for language - text follows rules and patterns, while reality is more complex and random.

Robotics x Crypto
From crypto gaming to DeFi, anything with incentives and tokens gives rise to an internal economy with certain flywheels. For robotics, this represents a decentralized framework where autonomous machines interact, transact, and coordinate without requiring centralized intermediaries and uses a distributed network that is governed by a token. Tokens allow for better coordination, resource allocation and value creation.

The token integration comes in at the infrastructure level, where DePIN networks provide essential resources for robotic systems. Companies leverage token incentives to ensure a wide network of distributed resources which also reduces bottlenecks. Another advantage is the democratisation of robotics development and ownership. Traditional robotics companies require substantial capital investment, limiting participation to well-funded corporations or venture-backed startups. Crypto mechanisms enable fractional ownership models where individuals can collectively invest in robotic assets through DAOs or community fundraise platforms. 

The last aspect of is the integration of token incentives, where users can complete quests and earn rewards in exchange for collecting valuable real-world data. By transforming data collection into a gamified experience with economic incentives, they created a model that simultaneously entertains users, rewards participation, and advances robotic capabilities. The token economics create aligned incentives across the entire ecosystem: robot owners earn returns by making their hardware available for use —> data contributors receive compensation for the information they provide (similar to DePin plays) —> developers gain access to distributed testing environments while retail users benefit from improved services —> token holders participate in the overall growth of the network in terms of governance.

This also creates a strong flywheel for projects: gamification attracts users —> refer their friends —> earn points and more rewards as incentives—> more attention on the product and user base grows which improves the service —> demand increases --> more revenue --> team able to raise more funds to expand and grow —> more capital for marketing and ensuring the token does well —> token price increases --> attract even more users and speculators.

Some of the associated risks
Current L1 infra probably is insufficient to support the deployment of autonomous robotic systems, recently Peaq launched their mainnet to specialise on DePin economic systems and the machine economy. While some DePINs provide necessary data and computational resources, the real-time processing requirements of physical AI far exceed what existing networks can consistently deliver. This challenge becomes obvious for time-sensitive dApps like autonomous navigation in dynamic environments, where decisional latency could have severe consequences.

Combining the internet financial system with real life physical activities brings up a unique set of challenges, where physical AI carries inherent safety risks that require careful oversight. Determining who bears responsibility when autonomous systems cause harm, how safety standards should be established and enforced, and what recourse affected parties have requires sophisticated governance frameworks that balance innovation with accountability. Who determines this governance frameworks - token holders or the foundation? The decentralized nature of DePAI systems complicates these questions by distributing authority across diverse stakeholders without clear hierarchies of responsibility.

The speculative nature of many crypto projects presents additional risks for DePAI development. If investment is driven primarily by token speculation rather than fundamental utility, resources may flow disproportionately to projects with compelling narratives rather than those addressing critical technical challenges. We have seen this played out a few times this cycle, across AI, AI Agents and DeSci as well - when tokens do not have a good use case and is only meant to be speculated. Once the token dumps, teams run of of runway to continue building the project. 

Conclusion
The convergence of decentralized networks and robotics through the DePAI framework represents a potential paradigm shift in how autonomous systems are developed, deployed, and governed and could represent the next iteration after DePin and autonomous agents. By combining the physical capabilities of robots with the economic mechanisms of crypto and the intelligence of advanced AI, DePAI creates possibilities for more accessible, versatile, and equitably distributed robotic systems. Rather than concentrating ownership and control of these transformative technologies among a few corporations, the decentralized approach enables broader participation in both the development and benefits of robotic automation. Robotics is one of the most significant technological and economical developments of the coming decades, with substantial implications for labour markets and manufacturing.

As with many emerging tech and narratives in crypto, the ultimate impact of DePAI will depend not just on what is technically possible but on how these capabilities are deployed and governed and the balance between the project and value accrured back to token holders. It is necessary to consider the benefits, where the decentralized nature of DePAI could prove to be its greatest strength - enabling diverse perspectives and priorities to shape the evolution of robotic systems in ways that reflect broader human values and needs rather than narrow commercial imperatives. 

*Disclosure: All information provided in this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional nor investment advice.