🟪 We're so back
Memecoin revivals, new stablecoin research, CFTC progress
📚 0xResearch reading recs
Blockworks Advisory’s Anastasiia published a research thread analyzing how traditional finance interest rates transmit into DeFi lending markets.
Using stablecoin lending data from March 2022 to Jan. 2026, the analysis finds that SOFR rate changes pass through to DeFi via pool utilization, with USDC showing a 0.91 passthrough coefficient (91bp per 100bp SOFR change) versus USDT's 0.54.
The difference stems not from capital flows but from protocol-specific rate curve designs. USDC exhibits a textbook kinked curve at 85% utilization, while USDT shows an inverted structure at 45%, demonstrating that stablecoin lending markets are heterogeneous despite sharing the same peg.
The latest episode of Lightspeed features Danny and Carlos discussing three main topics. First, they analyze the Solana Seeker phone’s SKR token airdrop, noting that most users received enough to cover their device cost, while questioning whether the token functions as a distribution mechanism or conveys meaningful ownership.
Second, they examine signs of memecoin activity revival, with pump.fun graduation rates hitting levels not seen since September 2025, though they caution against declaring the trenches definitively "back."
Third, they discuss the growing competition among tokenized stock platforms on Solana, highlighting the New York Stock Exchange’s announced 24/7 trading plans as potential validation of the internet capital markets thesis.
President Trump’s SEC and CFTC leaders say they’re prepared to move forward with new crypto rules, even after Congress hit a snag on major legislation. SEC Chair Paul Atkins and CFTC Chair Michael Selig said the agencies are close to signing a formal cooperation agreement and will outline how they plan to divide oversight, potentially with the SEC focusing on tokenized securities and the CFTC overseeing crypto assets treated more like commodities.
The push comes as the Senate’s CLARITY Act was delayed after Coinbase withdrew support over stablecoin rewards provisions, leaving both crypto and banking industries uncertain ahead of the midterms. Unlike the Biden-era approach centered on enforcement, the regulators say they want clearer guidance, including possible "innovative exemptions" to help new crypto products reach market faster.
Crypto’s premier institutional conference is back this March 24–26 in NYC.
Don’t miss SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins’ keynote on Day 1.
recent research
Research
ERC 8004 introduces a new trust layer for AI agents by standardizing onchain identity, reputation, and validation. As agents begin handling capital and coordinating autonomously, trust becomes the key constraint to broader adoption. The rollout mirrors the early x402 narrative, where adoption lagged the initial launch until major integrations and a viral use case pulled attention into the ecosystem. If ERC 8004 follows a similar path, downstream infrastructure tied to the standard could see outsized benefit as the narrative gains traction. The primary beneficiaries are likely to be agent frameworks and launchpads at the distribution layer, agent to agent coordination platforms that enable delegation and payments, and validation providers that offer stronger security and execution guarantees.
by Kunal Doshi
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