First Digital USD

Byron Gilliam

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<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
“Inflation in the United States is made in Washington and nowhere else.”



— Milton Friedman
</blockquote>



When Fed Chair Paul Volcker raised short-term interest rates to as high as 22%, angry construction workers sent him two-by-fours in the mail in protest.



They had no other use for them, they explained, because his rate hikes were stopping them from building houses for people.



It was a fair point. The recessions Volcker induced with rate hikes are credited with ending inflation in the US — but they probably shouldn’t be because raising interest rates can only slow inflation in the near term.



In the medium term, higher interest rates might even do the opposite: The Fed fights inflation by reducing demand, but that can ultimately be counterproductive.



Putting home builders out of work, for example, reduces the supply of houses and fewer houses means higher house prices.



“Today’s demand is tomorrow’s supply,” John Cochrane writes in explaining why rate hikes can be counterproductive to durably reducing inflation. “The economy needs investment and housing.”



In the long term, higher interest rates are probably no help at all.



Inflation is ultimately a case of too much money chasing too few goods and higher rates don’t change that.



Why then did it work for Volcker? Cochrane argues it’s because “tight money in the early 1980s was quickly followed by tax, spending and regulatory reform.”



Those reforms reassured consumers and investors that the government would not have to resort to printing money to pay off its debts.



Volcker might get credit for that, too, however: It was the threat of repeated Fed-induced recessions that forced the White House and Congress to demonstrate they were committed to lowering the deficit over the long term. In Cochrane’s view, this is the only way to durably lower inflation: “The US has to persuade people that over the long haul of several decades it will return to its tradition of running small primary surpluses that gradually repay debts.” The Fed can’t help with that — but thanks to the legend of Volcker, everyone thinks it can.



Economist and ex-Fed board member Henry Wallich recognized this as long ago as 1975, <a href="https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/titles/1097/0102.08_LFeBk.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com">bemoaning</a> the mistaken belief that &#8220;deficits can do no major damage so long as the central bank does its job right.&#8221;



Volcker then supercharged that belief. He raised rates and inflation went down, so it seems like that’s all there is to it: When inflation happens, it’s the Fed’s job to fix it.



His successors have cemented that impression.



After the last FOMC meeting, for example, Chair Powell <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/mediacenter/files/FOMCpresconf20250730.pdf">reassured</a> markets “there should be no doubt that we will do what we need to do to keep inflation under control.”



He has to say that, of course — a big part of how the Fed keeps inflation in check is by using the kind of confident language that keeps inflation expectations in check.



But the confident language also lets Congress and the White House off the hook.



Why do the hard, politically treacherous work of raising taxes, cutting spending and promoting growth if the Fed can simply control inflation with interest rates?



In other words, we have a free rider problem: Congress and the White House don’t feel responsible for inflation, so they do feel free to run giant deficits — always, even when the economy is good.&nbsp;



But what if interest rates were effectively set by the White House?



President Trump has recently been terrifying economists with a campaign to end the Fed’s independence, explicitly calling on the Fed to lower interest rates in order to make the deficit easier to finance.&nbsp;&nbsp;



This is the “fiscal dominance” that economists have long warned would undermine faith in the US dollar and risk runaway inflation.



But this non-economist wonders if it might have an entirely different effect.



Is it too naive to think that if the president politicizes the Fed, politicians will be forced to take responsibility for inflation?&nbsp;



Volcker spooked Congress into fiscal responsibility in the 1980s, and maybe voters, once they realize that inflation is made in Congress, could do so now.



There may not be any other choice, because the Fed is not so scary anymore.



If the Fed were to dramatically raise interest rates, the first-order effect would be higher interest costs on the government’s $37 trillion of debt, which in turn creates inflation by undermining people’s belief that the debt can ever be paid off.



That makes rate hikes unsuitable as a short-term fix for inflation and counterproductive as a longer-term one — and no longer something the Fed can plausibly threaten.



Ideally, recognition of this new reality would focus politicians&#8217; minds on the long-term fixes that only they can implement.



They will be reluctant, of course, because the fixes are politically unpopular and Congress would prefer that the proverbial two-by-fours continue to be mailed to the Fed.



But inflation is wildly unpopular, too, and if voters recognize that politicians are ultimately responsible for it, they might force them into action (or out of office).



To be clear, few economists are rooting for the president to succeed in his campaign to break the Fed, and it&#8217;s not my first choice, either.



But if you break it, you own it — and now is the time for the White House and Congress to own the inflation problem.



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The Breakdown Newsletter

How I stopped worrying and learned to love a politicized Fed

Ben Strack

This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/forward-guidance" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



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I started covering Franklin Templeton half a dozen years ago while on the asset management beat at a B2B finance pub. I wasn’t aware of the term TradFi back then and knew little about crypto.



The $1.6 trillion money manager is still very relevant to my transformed beat. You might remember my July interview with Sandy Kaul, during which she said all Franklin Templeton products are likely to <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/franklin-templeton-products-onchain-exec-says">end up onchain</a>.&nbsp;



She promised there’d be more to come. Sure enough, the financial giant said today it would team up with Binance on digital asset initiatives and solutions.



The companies were vague, noting they’d share more details later this year. But essentially, they are combining Franklin’s tokenization muscle with Binance’s trading infrastructure and investor reach to bring offerings with “competitive yield generation and settlement efficiency.”



Blockworks Research data shows Binance’s prevalence in crypto today — with the definitive edge over competitors in spot volume, for example:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1352" height="741" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-76.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107571" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-76.png?w=1352 1352w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-76.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-76.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-76.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-76.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-76.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-76.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-76.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1352px) 100vw, 1352px" /></figure>



As Franklin Templeton’s Sandy Kaul said in a Wednesday statement: “We see blockchain not as a threat to legacy systems, but as an opportunity to reimagine them.”&nbsp;



And so we’ve seen the company migrate more into the crypto segment in recent years. It was one of the dozen or so issuers that lined up to launch a bitcoin ETF in January 2024. But well before that — in 2021 — Franklin launched a money market fund that used the Stellar blockchain to record transactions. A share of the fund is represented by one BENJI token, which the firm made accessible in digital wallets through an app.&nbsp;



I recall Franklin exec Roger Bayston telling me in mid-2023 how BENJI can essentially <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/stablecoin-with-yield-franklin-templeton">act as a stablecoin</a> while also generating income. That conversion was about a year before BlackRock launched a similar yield fund (aka BUIDL), which spurred tokenized treasury momentum.&nbsp;



BUIDL quickly surpassed Franklin’s product in assets under management, with the totals now standing at ~$2.2 billion and ~$740 million, respectively.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Speaking of BlackRock, today’s news kind of reminded me of the world’s largest asset manager <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/industry-watchers-execs-weigh-significance-of-blackrock-coinbase-deal">teaming up with Coinbase</a> in 2022.&nbsp;



The bottom line is this trend of TradFi and DeFi worlds coming together is in no way slowing. That means I’ll have to be cautious about not reusing headlines — whether one from <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/tradfi-bid-nasdaq-fidelity">earlier this week</a> or months back. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="blob:https://cms.blockworks.co/42acb2e6-66f9-465c-8d35-6a2474c1a465" width="624" height="183">



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1586" height="344" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-77.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107572" style="width:643px;height:auto" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-77.png?w=1586 1586w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-77.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-77.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-77.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-77.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-77.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-77.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-77.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-77.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1586px) 100vw, 1586px" /></figure>



Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson has said she thinks we’ll see more financial market infrastructure transformation in the next five years than we’ve seen in the last 50.&nbsp;



Translation: It’s a rad time to be a crypto/finance journalist and reader.



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Binance

Fund giant-crypto exchange collab another bid to ‘reimagine’ finance

Jack Kubinec

VanEck plans to file for a Hyperliquid spot staking ETF in the US and an exchange-traded product in Europe, two employees at the firm told Blockworks.



HYPE would become the youngest token to earn an ETF filing from the crypto-friendly investment management firm, which currently offers bitcoin and ether ETFs among other crypto funds.&nbsp;



Hyperliquid has been a major focus for VanEck’s liquid fund this year, VanEck senior digital assets investment analyst Matt Maximo said.



The firm is considering allocating a percentage of the investment products’ net profits to HYPE buybacks, digital assets products director Kyle Dacruz added. Hyperliquid currently performs HYPE buybacks <a href="https://app.blockworksresearch.com/flashnotes/hype-still-cheap">equal</a> to nearly all of the platform’s revenue.



The pair declined to comment on when VanEck’s HYPE ETF filing may go live. A spokesperson for the firm did not immediately return a request for comment.



Hyperliquid is a layer-1 blockchain that underpins a popular perpetual futures exchange. The chain grew quickly after launching in 2023.&nbsp;



It has led all blockchains in network revenue for four consecutive weeks, according to Blockworks research data.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="948" height="549" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-75.png" alt="" class="wp-image-107563" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-75.png?w=948 948w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-75.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-75.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-75.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-75.png?w=451 451w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-75.png?w=378 378w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-75.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 948px) 100vw, 948px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Source: Blockworks Research</figcaption></figure>



VanEck finds Hyperliquid to be an attractive ETF candidate because it has “plenty of demand” but does not currently trade on major US crypto exchanges like Coinbase, Dacruz said. A HYPE staking ETF would give US investors better access to the token — and perhaps nudge exchanges to list the token, he added.



The firm’s Hyperliquid products would depend on regulatory approval, although 21Shares successfully <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/08/29/3141292/0/en/21Shares-Launches-First-ETP-Tracking-Hyperliquid-the-Market-Leader-in-Decentralized-Perpetuals.html">launched</a> a European Hyperliquid ETP in August.&nbsp;



In the US, approvals may take a little more time. The SEC has a slew of crypto ETF applications to work through, including ones for larger tokens like XRP and SOL.



VanEck has also applied to list ETFs for AVAX, SOL, JitoSOL, and BNB.



The move comes amid a sweepstakes to issue USDH, a ticker <a href="https://discord.com/channels/1029781241702129716/1030197017655394447/1414930967843438663">reserved</a> for a Hyperliquid-aligned stablecoin. One of the contestants is Agora, a stablecoin startup co-founded by Nick van Eck, son of VanEck CEO Jan van Eck. The senior van Eck <a href="https://x.com/JanvanEck3/status/1965193995182899702">posted</a> on X defending Agora’s proposal to issue USDH, and VanEck <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-stablecoin-startup-agora-raises-120000399.html">reportedly</a> helps manage Agora’s reserves.



The CEO also added that the firm is “bullish Hyperliquid.”



Dacruz said VanEck’s decision to file for Hyperliquid ETPs is“completely separate” from Agora’s USDH bid and stressed that the products are not contingent on Agora being USDH’s issuer. He also noted Agora and VanEck are separate entities. 



If VanEck gets its HYPE ETF filing in first, it would continue a trend for the firm, which was also <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/eight-firms-listing-solana-etfs">first to file</a> for both Solana and <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/vaneck-files-for-first-ethereum-etf-in-us-2021-05-07">Ethereum</a> ETFs.



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VanEck plans to file for Hyperliquid staking ETF, European ETP

Kate Irwin

This is a segment from The Drop newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/the-drop" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



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A new financial app trend is emerging: Just add posting.



Last night, Robinhood <a href="https://x.com/RobinhoodApp/status/1965589746937446623">unveiled</a> “Robinhood Social,” an upcoming new tab within the Robinhood app that will let Robinhood users see and create posts about stocks and crypto tied to real trades and follow others’ accounts. There’s a “For You” page and a “Following” page, too.&nbsp;



Sounds a lot like Crypto Twitter, if you ask me.&nbsp;



But Robinhood’s also deploying these social media features to help show traders new assets to buy — which could ultimately keep users on the app longer and make Robinhood more money. Traders may also copy others’ trades, as TechCrunch has <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/09/robinhood-embraces-copy-trading-after-warning-competitors-about-regulatory-risks/#:~:text=Roughly%20nine%20months%20after%20suggesting,feature%2C%20all%20the%20more%20notable.">pointed out</a>, which is a tune-change from Robinhood’s prior concerns about the practice.



“Most people today use social media before trading, especially our active traders, yet social media is overrun with clickbait, marketing bots, fake profiles and doctored screenshots,” Robinhood VP of product Abhishek Fatehpuria <a href="https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1mrGmBVPjgBJy">said</a> during the company’s “Enter The Mainframe” event on Tuesday.&nbsp;



Robinhood thinks it’ll be able to establish itself as a trusted SocialFi platform because users are tied to Robinhood trading accounts.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Introducing Robinhood Social. Coming next year. Show off your recent gains, discuss strategies, follow your favorite traders, and make market moves in real-time.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RobinhoodPresents?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RobinhoodPresents</a> <a href="https://t.co/cLhiCw7bpH">https://t.co/cLhiCw7bpH</a> <a href="https://t.co/LYaLgkcuuM">pic.twitter.com/LYaLgkcuuM</a>&mdash; Robinhood (@RobinhoodApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/RobinhoodApp/status/1965589746937446623?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



But Robinhood isn’t the only consumer finance app pushing heavily into SocialFi features — Coinbase continues to add lots of social media features into the beta version of its wallet overhaul, too. Yesterday Base <a href="https://x.com/baseapp/status/1965532254433857959">said</a> users will be able to create posts from the Base app’s homepage and buy each other’s posts, much like what Zora also offers. Zora’s being integrated into Base (and Zora posting via the Base app now <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/zora-app-accounts-debate">accounts for a notable portion</a> of Zora’s overall activity).



Upstart players have also been trying to forge a name for themselves in the SocialFi space.&nbsp;



<a href="https://fomo.family/">FOMO</a> lets users track others’ trading activity by tying accounts to Twitter handles and letting them buy and sell tokens all on one mobile app. And Pump has made livestreaming a big part of its site — and recently added “Pump Chat” to its mobile app.



This year, we’ve even seen Kraken release a Venmo-like app hilariously dubbed <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kraken.pay.app&amp;hl=en_CA">Krak</a>, which displays a list of your friends on the app and lets you send them crypto (they compare sending money on Krak to sending a DM).



A trend is clearly emerging: US crypto exchanges see social features as a key part of crypto’s future growth.&nbsp;



But will this latest SocialFi push amount to little more than a limited-time experiment — like the since-forgotten CoinbaseNFT?&nbsp;



I think this latest social push is going to stick around for a while, though it could run out of steam if traders get tired of juggling multiple apps.&nbsp;



Robinhood and Coinbase may be angling to swipe some of Twitter’s market share in the finance sector and retain users by becoming more like the “everything apps” WeChat and Naver have already become.



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Coinbase

From Base to Robinhood: Why trading apps are going social

Blockworks

US Securities and Exchange Commission chair Paul Atkins said during a keynote address on Wednesday that “most crypto tokens are not securities,” signaling a major policy shift for the agency. Speaking at the OECD Roundtable, Atkins <a href="https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/atkins-keynote-address-inaugural-oecd-roundtable-global-financial-markets-091025">reiterated</a> the SEC’s Project Crypto initiative — first launched in July — and sharpened its focus by pledging that most tokens will fall outside securities law and that entrepreneurs will be able to raise capital on-chain without &#8220;endless legal uncertainty.&#8221;



He argued that for too long, the SEC relied on ad hoc enforcement actions that drove innovation offshore, and pledged instead to offer predictable regulatory guidance for digital assets.



The statement seemingly breaks with years of SEC practice since the 2017 DAO Report, which applied the Howey test to many token sales, leading to enforcement actions against exchanges and issuers. Under Atkins, the agency will distinguish more clearly between securities and non-securities, giving entrepreneurs firmer ground when structuring tokenized projects. He also endorsed a “super-app” platform model that would allow trading, lending, and staking under a single regulatory framework, aligning the SEC more closely with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regime.



Atkins’ comments follow the President’s Working Group report on digital asset markets, which urged agencies to accelerate rulemaking to keep the US competitive.



This is a developing story.



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This article was generated with the assistance of AI and reviewed by editor&nbsp;<a href="mailto:jeffrey@blockworks.co" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jeffrey Albus</a>&nbsp;before publication.



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regulation

SEC chair Atkins says most tokens not securities in regulatory shift

Macauley Peterson

Polymarket crystallizes what the past couple days of X speculation and tea-leaf reading only hinted at: Native Markets, in collaboration with Stripe-owned stablecoins infra provider Bridge, is now the clear favorite to win the USDH ticker on <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/hyperliquid">Hyperliquid</a>.



As of 12:30 p.m. ET, Polymarket betters gave Native around 65% odds, with <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/paxos">Paxos</a> a distant second, and <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/ethena">Ethena</a>, <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/frax">Frax</a>, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/stablecoin-adoption-timeline-tradfi-van-eck">Agora</a>, and <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/makerdao">Sky</a> all but written off.



That lines up with early validator signaling. Infinite Field and CMI Trading have both <a href="https://x.com/ArthuronHL/status/1965516060603601171">publicly committed</a> to voting for Native, citing its Hyperliquid-alignment and execution speed. Voting is now open, and final vote tallies are expected Sunday.



Paxos is still in the running. After an initial pitch centered on regulatory pedigree, the issuer revised its proposal Wednesday, pledging a larger share of reserve yield to Hyperliquid’s Assistance Fund and deferring any issuer take until the product scales.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1912" height="880" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-73.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107524" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-73.png?w=1912 1912w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-73.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-73.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-73.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-73.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-73.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-73.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-73.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-73.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1912px) 100vw, 1912px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Source: <a href="https://polymarket.com/event/who-will-win-the-usdh-ticker-159">Polymarket</a></figcaption></figure>



The shift made their offer more competitive, and gives them a plausible path to upset if validator sentiment swings. 



But for now, the debate’s center of gravity has shifted firmly toward Native.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What validators heard in the roundtable</h2>



Much of that momentum was shaped in real time during yesterday’s multi-hour <a href="https://x.com/i/spaces/1YpKkkbbavmKj">community roundtable</a>. Three themes consistently rose to the surface.



Being “Hyperliquid-first” isn’t just a slogan. Validators pressed each bidder on how exactly they’d issue USDH. Native made clear it would mint directly on <a href="https://blockworks.com/analytics/hyperliquid/hyperliquid-financials-12748/hyperliquid-network-rev">HyperEVM</a> and anchor issuance to Hypercore from day one, with no wrapping or cross-chain friction.



Frax, initially planning to mirror frxUSD, reversed course and committed to native issuance after community feedback. Paxos emphasized it would also mint directly on-chain, with full fiat and brokerage rails attached. The message bubbling up from community feedback: USDH must behave like a system-native asset, not a bridged approximation. That alone seems to be enough to derail Sky’s bid, since its core protocol is on <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/ethereum">Ethereum</a> mainnet.



Second, transparency and enforceability mattered more than raw numbers. Nearly all bidders promised a high percentage of reserve yield routed back to Hyperliquid — whether through buybacks or contributions to the Assistance Fund — but validators wanted more than vague percentages.&nbsp;



Native said its split would be contractually hard-coded. Frax leaned on its track record of on-chain streaming and dashboard visibility. Paxos <a href="https://paxoslabs.com/blog/usdh-v2">offered</a> monthly transparency reports and a rising allocation toward the Assistance Fund, now beginning at 50% and scaling toward 90–95%. For a validator set tasked with securing the economic base of the platform, the pitches that pointed to auditability rather than just “trust us,” are preferable.



Hyperliquid’s surging protocol revenue underscores why the USDH race has attracted so much attention. As seen in Blockworks Research data, Hyperliquid is now generating over $20 million in weekly revenue, with recent peaks pushing above $25 million. That translates to a projected run rate nearing $1 billion annually, making the platform one of crypto’s most lucrative venues.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="889" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-74.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107525" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-74.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-74.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-74.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-74.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-74.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-74.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-74.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-74.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-74.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Source: <a href="https://app.blockworksresearch.com/analytics/hyperliquid?dashboard=268">Blockworks Research</a></figcaption></figure>



According to Blockworks researcher 0xCarlos, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/hyperliquids-usdh-battle-datco">the battle over who gets to issue USDH</a> is ultimately a bet on who can align best with this engine of yield.



“Migrating $5 billion in USDC deposits to USDH could represent an additional $200 million in revenue for Hyperliquid annually,” he noted — roughly an incremental 20% boost. The proposals diverge sharply in how that revenue would flow back into the ecosystem, but Hyperliquid itself looks to be the real winner, regardless.



Finally, the regulatory debate took center stage. Paxos and Bastion both leaned heavily into their NYDFS trust charters, painting them as essential for long-term compliance. Paxos framed many rivals as still “planning to get licensed,” implying a real risk of future shutdowns.



But that framing ran headlong into a different validator concern — sovereignty. Native’s argument was that relying on a single institutional issuer, even one as credentialed as Paxos, simply replaces one dependency (<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/usdc">USDC</a>/<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/circle">Circle</a>) with another. Its own architecture, they argued, is issuer-agnostic by design, with contractual off-ramps and modular custody. In other words, any concerns over a risk of Stripe’s influence is contained.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Questions on the process</h2>



In such a strong field, the apparent ease of Native’s ascent was bound to raise eyebrows. Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi <a href="https://x.com/hosseeb/status/1965520465172328717">posted</a> on X that multiple bidders believed the race had been fixed from the start. Native’s initial proposal dropped almost immediately after the RFP was announced, he noted, suggesting advance notice. And while Ethena briefly surged on Polymarket following its detailed entry, odds collapsed just hours later — according to Qureshi, after validators dismissed its chances behind closed doors.



These allegations sparked heated replies. Some questioned Dragonfly’s close association with rival bidders like Ethena and Agora. Others argued that in a system where validators are free to stake based on whatever criteria they choose, early alignment is a feature not a bug.



The structure of the vote itself reinforces that. Delegators are not passive observers. Between September 11, when validator preferences are published, and the final vote on September 14, HYPE holders can re-delegate. If a validator appears unresponsive to its stake base, it can lose part of its power base. In that sense, the system is functioning as designed: a high-stakes political game.



What this episode made clear is that rapid governance timelines leave little tolerance for missteps in optics. With just a four-day window between proposal deadlines and the start of voting, teams already close to the Hyperliquid core had a significant leg up. Native’s deep familiarity with the validator set — and integration into HyperEVM infrastructure — meant its pitch was not just better prepared, but already partially vetted.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What could dent Native’s lead</h2>



Native’s offer appears to map cleanly onto the priorities of Hyperliquid’s validator set. The team is known for its ability to ship inside HL for months, and many trust that continuity matters more than a brand name.



But the race isn’t over.



Paxos, after its revised proposal, is increasingly competitive. It offers not only regulatory clarity but global distribution: Integrations with <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/paypal">PayPal</a>, <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/venmo">Venmo</a>, and top brokerages are on deck. For validators focused on growing USDH volume beyond HL’s internal ecosystem, that might be the more scalable long-term play.



Ethena’s <a href="https://mirror.xyz/0xF99d0E4E3435cc9C9868D1C6274DfaB3e2721341/vG9tVz8p6Da6vX8CiZ30A0CYM3wIiWlIBX6Zlj0qhQ8">proposal</a> also made waves. While not currently a frontrunner, it introduced several novel elements: a USDtb/BUIDL backing structure, ecosystem-wide basis trade infrastructure, and a plan to finance USDC migration with direct incentives. And it made clear that Ethena would natively mint on HyperEVM and even help launch Hyperliquid’s equities markets. If validator sentiment begins to prioritize aggressive external growth over internal alignment, Ethena could re-enter contention.



The one lingering concern is the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/visa-bridge-card-stablecoin-adoption-latin-america">Bridge</a> tie-up. Some in the community have raised the alarm about relying on a Stripe subsidiary to manage mint and redemption infrastructure, especially as it now <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/tempo-stripe-paradigm-planned-l1">plans to launch its own blockchain</a>.



Native insists that their architecture is designed to be issuer-agnostic, and that swap-in/out functionality can be upgraded over time. Whether that satisfies sovereignty-minded delegates remains to be seen.



All eyes now turn to validator declarations expected Thursday. By then final proposal tweaks will be locked, and the governance machine will start to move toward a decision. It’s worth remembering: This vote is only about the ticker. Quote assets are likely to become permissionless under upcoming governance changes. But in a platform where monetary base, trading flows, and incentive design are so tightly coupled, the USDH decision will be about much more than branding.



At stake is the stablecoin standard that will define not only what many users trade on Hyperliquid, but who benefits from those flows. Native’s pitch is clear and long-standing, and so far the market is buying it. But there’s still time for one of the established players to make the case that long-term scale matters more than early integration and good vibes.



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blockchain

Native Markets leads USDH race as validators signal early support

Donovan Choy

This is a segment from the Lightspeed newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



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Tens of thousands of tokens are launched on Solana daily.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="937" height="497" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-72.png" alt="" class="wp-image-107513" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-72.png?w=937 937w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-72.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-72.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-72.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-72.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-72.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-72.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 937px) 100vw, 937px" /></figure>



Every single one of those tokens needs a way to facilitate price discovery, and the standard way today is the bonding curve, popularized by Pump.



The problems of bonding curves are well known. Though Solana doesn’t have a public mempool, transactions are observable in flight via RPC queues and bundle relays. This creates a race environment wherein sniper bots can frontrun trades by pre-positioning ahead of organic demand, or sandwich the trades by bidding higher priority fees.



Launching a token is easy in theory, but tricky in practice. Of late, Solana teams are coming up with a slew of token launch solutions to address these challenges.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Metaplex</h2>



Metaplex is a team popularly known for providing the key token infrastructure on Solana. In July, the team diversified from this core product offering and launched the “Genesis” ICO launch platform.



To date, three projects have executed their token generation event with Genesis: DeFiTuna, Collector’s Crypt and Portals. Later today marks its fourth TGE launch with <a href="https://x.com/exotic_markets_/status/1962547894181081439">Exotic Markets</a>, a relatively new DeFi options protocol that went live on July 30.



Exotic is launching its token with Metaplex’s new “<a href="https://x.com/metaplex/status/1965097829049008601">Uniform Price Auctions</a>” feature, meant to facilitate organic price discovery while deterring frontrunning and sniping.



The auctions work as such: Users place bids for how many tokens they’d like to buy and at what price. All bidders eventually pay at the same clearing price, defined as the lowest bidding price that fully sells the supply.



Because bids are evaluated only at the end of the auction, there is no benefit for a sniper to jump ahead with a higher priority fee — a sniper that submits a high last-minute bid shoots themselves in the foot.



“Everyone gets the same price. There’s no frontrunning, no sniping, cabals and bundling. We’re solving for the trust and transparency issues surrounding token launches by bringing everything onchain so there’s no inside group with an edge and the community gets a chance to participate at the earliest stages,” Metaplex co-founder Stephen Hess told me.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Heaven</h2>



Another player tackling fairer token launches is the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/heaven-memecoin-launchpad-buys-back-everything">Heaven memecoin launchpad</a>.&nbsp;



Heaven pairs its launchpad with a proprietary AMM DEX, listing tokens exclusively from the first second of trading.&nbsp;



This vertical integration avoids the standard memecoin bonding curve and lets the team enforce anti-MEV protections during price discovery. At launch, the DEX says it applies a linearly decaying, six-second “sniper tax” to deter bots and last-second snipes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Ellipsis&#8217; Gavel</h2>



Like Heaven, Ellipsis’ <a href="https://www.ellipsislabs.xyz/blog-posts/introducing-gavel">Gavel</a> follows a similar vertical integrated design by tying together the product of token distribution and a sandwich-resistant AMM. When tokens end their public sale, funds raised are migrated to Ellipsis’ AMM at the same opening price as the sale’s close to deter any post-sale sniping or arbitrage opportunities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Meteora</h2>



Meteora lets teams launch tokens on pools using “<a href="https://docs.meteora.ag/">anti-sniper</a>” features like decaying fees (Fee Scheduler), size-based surcharges (Rate Limiter), and gated early-access deposits.



These features work together to penalize early bot bursts and outsized purchases, thereby reducing extractable alpha for snipers. It slows down the first blocks of price discovery and lets organic demand get in their buys before public pools open.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Orca</h2>



Finally, there is <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/orca-solana-token-launchpad?utm_source=chatgpt.com">Orca’s Wavebreak</a> memecoin launchpad. Wavebreak retains a bonding curve model but adds several safeguards. It employs an “anti-bot” system that includes an onchain CAPTCHA system to slow bots in the curve phase.&nbsp;



While this design seems to improve fair access in the bonding phase for non-bot participants, it does not explicitly exclude automated bots and snipers.



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How Solana is cutting MEV snipers out of token launches

Boccaccio

This is a segment from the 0xResearch newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/0xresearch" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



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The past three days on the timeline have been strictly focused on the bid for USDH, a ticker on Hyperliquid.



As background, the USDH ticker, currently reserved, is set to be released through an onchain validator vote with the goal of launching a Hyperliquid-first and compliant USD stablecoin. Validators will vote on which team may purchase and deploy the ticker, using the same onchain mechanism as delisting votes. Teams interested must submit proposals in the USDH Discord forum, including their address, and the approved team will still need to participate in the spot deploy gas auction.



In the longer term, spot quote assets will become permissionless, starting with testnet, with staking and slashing requirements to be announced. The USDH ticker does not carry special privileges and will exist alongside multiple stablecoins within the Hyperliquid ecosystem. Voting for the ticker is based on stake, with proposals due by Sept. 10 at 10:00 UTC, validator intent to be declared by Sept. 11 at 10:00 UTC, and the final vote to occur on Sept. 14 between 10:00-11:00 UTC.&nbsp;



As of today, nine validators have announced who they intend to vote for, with six voting for Native Markets, two for Paxos and one for Ethena. The remaining 10 validators, who hold approximately 58% of stake, are unassigned (86.76M HYPE). Native Markets is currently in the lead with 30.8% of voting share, while Ethena and Paxos combine for 11.6%.&nbsp;



In terms of benefits for Hyperliquid and HYPE, there are a few things to consider. Firstly, it is interesting to see that incumbents from large teams (Ethena, Paxos etc.) are battling out to gain dominance within Hyperliquid by giving up a large percentage of their revenue.&nbsp;



Context regarding the three most relevant proposals:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Paxos: Milestone-based. Starts at 20% AF when &lt;$1 billion, rising to 70% at >$5 billion, capped at 70%.</li>



<li>Ethena: 95% passthrough to AF/HYPE, KPI could drop to 90% with 5% to an Ethena entity.</li>



<li>Native Markets: 50% of reserve yield streamed to AF, remaining 50% for growth across HIP-3, builder codes and DeFi frontends.</li>
</ul>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="900" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-71.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107507" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-71.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-71.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-71.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-71.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-71.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-71.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-71.png?w=464 464w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-71.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-71.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



For Ethena, the lowest contribution to the Assistance Fund would still be more than $40 million per year, even in the conservative KPI scenario. At full scale, its contribution rises to nearly $250 million, making it the strongest provider of direct economic value among the three. For Paxos, the lowest level of contribution is around $9 million per year at small scale, while its highest contribution tops out at roughly $183 million once it reaches the largest market share bracket. Native Markets, with a fixed 50% allocation, is currently the leader based on declared intent. Its range runs from about $23 million per year at the low end to around $130 million at full capture.



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0xResearch Newsletter

USDH and the search for another AF

Cracked Labs launches BattleCodes: Turning crypto events into a sport

Binance and Franklin Templeton announced a strategic collaboration to develop new digital asset products that combine blockchain technology with traditional finance.



The initiative focuses on evaluating tokenization use cases by combining Binance’s global trading infrastructure with Franklin Templeton’s experience in regulated fund management. Franklin Templeton manages $1.6 trillion in assets and has developed tokenized money market funds through its Benji Investments Technology Platform. Binance remains the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume.



Executives from both firms said the collaboration is intended to increase efficiency in capital markets by lowering settlement costs and improving collateral management.



“We see blockchain not as a threat to legacy systems, but as an opportunity to reimagine them. By working with Binance, we can harness tokenization to bring institutional-grade solutions like our Benji Technology Platform to a wider set of investors and help bridge the worlds of traditional and decentralized finance,” said Sandy Kaul, head of innovation at Franklin Templeton.&nbsp;



Roger Bayston, who oversees digital assets, added it could “take tokenization from concept to practice for clients to achieve efficiencies in settlement, collateral management, and portfolio construction at scale.”



Binance’s Catherine Chen said the exchange’s goal “furthers our commitment to bridge crypto with traditional capital markets and open up greater possibilities.”



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



This article was generated with the assistance of AI and reviewed by editor&nbsp;<a href="mailto:jeffrey@blockworks.co">Jeffrey Albus</a>&nbsp;before publication.



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Binance and Franklin Templeton partner on tokenization

This is a segment from The Breakdown newsletter. To read more editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/brand/the-breakdown">subscribe</a>



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<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
&nbsp;&#8220;Nobody goes to the store to buy a Swiss Army knife. It’s something you get for Christmas.”



— Jensen Huang
</blockquote>



Great businesses start as scalpels, not Swiss Army knives.



By choosing one thing to do, companies are more likely to get great at that one thing — and customers are more likely to know that’s the thing they do.



Here, for example, is Yahoo’s homepage, circa 1999: <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="blob:https://cms.blockworks.co/0f9c6e90-a5b4-4f0d-aa85-6c8ee5d5aeeb" width="624" height="271">



There’s a lot going on there — search, auctions, news, email, instant messaging — and Yahoo wasn’t particularly good at any of it.



Here’s Google’s homepage, circa 1999:



<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="624" height="219" src="blob:https://cms.blockworks.co/2162e9ff-dbf4-4579-8dfb-a35589f0f55c">



It’s easy to see why that proved to be the winner: the single-purpose website made it clear to users what Google does, and that helped Google get very good at doing it.



The fact that lowercase “google” has since become a verb and Yahoo doesn’t do anything more important than host my fantasy baseball league is evidence that being great at one thing generally beats being average at many things.



Will that apply to blockchains, too?



Bitcoin is a single-purpose chain — all it does is send bitcoin — and its simplicity might be the main reason it&#8217;s been such a success.



But Ethereum and Solana are also general-purpose chains and they, too, have had some success.&nbsp;



And neither approach seems to be encroaching on the other: Bitcoin has so far failed at DeFi and Ethereum has so far failed to become money.



So maybe both approaches can peacefully co-exist?



It might be too early to answer, because general-purpose chains will soon have a new, single-minded competitor.



Last week, Stripe and Paradigm formally announced the development of a stablecoin-focused blockchain, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/tempo-stripe-paradigm-planned-l1">Tempo</a>, that feels like an instant favorite to win the emerging crypto payments business.



Tempo will be purpose-built for stablecoins, offering predictable fees (paid not in a native token, but stables), near-instant finality, “opt-in” privacy and compliance functionality, “lanes” exclusively for payments, and high throughput — all things that general-purpose chains struggle with.



Matt Huang, who leads the development of Tempo, <a href="https://x.com/matthuang/status/1964123449045242041">suggests</a> that being more narrowly focused will allow the chain to develop faster:&nbsp; “We feel urgency to build for the demand that’s coming and want fewer dependencies, including on the rate of Ethereum L1 progress.”



Calling out Ethereum like that might suggest that Tempo will have ambitions beyond payments.



Perhaps tellingly, Huang says that, while Tempo will start with a permissioned validator set, the chain will be “permissionless” from day 1 and will “decentralize further from there.”



A fully decentralized and permissionless blockchain that excels at payments sounds a lot like what you’d want a general-purpose blockchain to be.



Could Tempo pose a threat to Ethereum and Solana not just in payments, but in everything?



The Google example suggests it’s possible: they beat Yahoo at search, then expanded horizontally into email, cloud computing, smartphones, self-driving cars — becoming even more of a Swiss Army knife than Yahoo was in 1999.



There are several such examples: Microsoft was just BASIC, Amazon was just books, Apple was just PCs, Southwest Airlines was just Texas.



But there are counter-examples, too.



To name just one, single-purpose calculators used to be better for doing quick math than general-purpose computers, but who owns one now?



You’re more likely to have a Swiss Army knife in a drawer somewhere than a Texas Instruments calculator.&nbsp;



So, if general-purpose computers could make calculators unnecessary, maybe general-purpose blockchains can eventually make payments blockchains unnecessary, too.



Max Resnick is confident they will: “Decentralized blockchains,” he <a href="https://x.com/MaxResnick1/status/1964072214568784069">predicts</a>,&nbsp; “will be superior to centralized ones in every way” — including speed, scale, reliability, and even regulatory compliance.



If so, Tempo may have fired the starting gun in a race to make general-purpose chains super fast before a super fast, single-purpose chain can be decentralized.



This might be a race with no finish line: it might be impossible to be both decentralized and optimized for payments.



Mert Mumtaz, for example, <a href="https://x.com/tbpn/status/1964079154795860310">thinks</a> Tempo won’t even be a blockchain, let alone a general-purpose one: “How can you possibly have something that’s a payments-only chain?”



For Mumtaz, blockchains are decentralized by definition — and a decentralized blockchain is by definition general-purpose.



Tempo says they will progress toward decentralization.&nbsp;



But Mumtaz thinks that will inevitably flood the chain with frivolous things like Fartcoin, clogging things up and degrading the chain’s performance in payments.



There are only two ways to be a payments chain, he says.



One is to make the chain “not Turing complete,” like Bitcoin, “where you can’t do anything other than send money” — and the other is to “permission the chain.”



If so, Ethereum and Solana can rest easy that they’re not going to become Yahoo to Tempo’s Google.



But what if Tempo gets all the users without decentralizing?



If Tempo really is faster, cheaper, and where all the stablecoins will end up, users might go there not just for payments, but for everything — without regard to whether it meets Mumtaz’s definition of a blockchain.



So this might turn into more of a test than a race. Is decentralization the kind of thing people are willing to pay for?



Or the kind of thing you only get for Christmas?



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<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Empire</a>: Crypto news and analysis to start your day.</li>



<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/forward-guidance">Forward Guidance</a>: The intersection of crypto, macro and policy.</li>



<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/thedrop">The Drop</a>: Apps, games, memes and more.</li>



<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Lightspeed</a>: All things Solana.</li>



<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/supply-shock">Supply Shock</a>: Bitcoin, bitcoin, bitcoin.</li>
</ul>

Should blockchains be single-purpose?

This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/forward-guidance" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



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A crypto company plots a US public listing (yes, again). And one wading deeper into the space is likely to benefit from an “index effect” that boosts visibility and demand.&nbsp;



This is a follow-up of sorts to the crypto public listing update I wrote last week. That was after American Bitcoin shares hit the Nasdaq and Gemini took another <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2055592/000110465925085963/tm255912-15_s1a.htm">step</a> toward its IPO.&nbsp;



I also <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/crypto-stock-digest-sep-2025">compared Coinbase and Robinhood</a>, noting the latter company was potentially set to join the S&amp;P 500. We found out Friday that HOOD will indeed become part of that index on Sept. 22 — joining COIN, which was added in May. The former stock saw a boost on the news.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1562" height="880" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-70.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107484" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-70.png?w=1562 1562w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-70.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-70.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-70.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-70.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-70.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-70.png?w=463 463w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-70.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-70.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1562px) 100vw, 1562px" /></figure>



Robinhood’s crypto transaction revenue was $160 million in Q2 — making up ~30% of the company’s $539 million in overall transaction revenue. That $160 million figure was down ~37% from Q1 crypto revenue, but marked a 98% year-over-year increase.



Robinhood has doubled down on crypto this year, launching stock tokens in Europe and crypto staking to eligible US customers. It also closed its acquisition of Bitstamp and even <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/robinhood-l2-staking-us">shared plans for a layer-2 blockchain</a>.



So investors with capital in an S&amp;P 500 fund will soon be exposed to both COIN and HOOD automatically. But those still looking to choose between them may consider what Blockworks Research analyst Marc Arjoon called the “beta vs. balance” trade-off.&nbsp;



“Coinbase offers superior upside convexity to crypto cycles but with materially higher earnings volatility,” he wrote in an Aug. 29 report. “Robinhood’s improving, more repeatable EBITDA supports a higher quality multiple.”



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="938" height="516" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-09-at-4.35.21 PM.png" alt="" class="wp-image-107490" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-09-at-4.35.21 PM.png?w=938 938w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-09-at-4.35.21 PM.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-09-at-4.35.21 PM.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-09-at-4.35.21 PM.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-09-at-4.35.21 PM.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-09-at-4.35.21 PM.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-09-at-4.35.21 PM.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 938px) 100vw, 938px" /></figure>



Despite speculation that Michael Saylor’s Strategy could also be added to the S&amp;P 500, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin was left out of the index for now. Strategy’s market cap of $93 billion is ~4x above the S&amp;P 500 minimum of $22.7 billion, making it one of the biggest companies not in the index.



The omission says less about Strategy’s business and more about the index committee’s evolving comfort level with bitcoin-centric corporate models, Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer argued in a Monday research note. The company, after all, logged a profitable second quarter — the last criteria it required for S&amp;P 500 inclusion.



“But the index is not a purely rules-based club,” Palmer added. “The committee explicitly reserves judgment to maintain sector balance and index representativeness such that a company can ‘check all the boxes’ and still find itself waiting for a slot.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Thinking about the S&amp;P right now… <a href="https://t.co/Y5nPc9XT4l">pic.twitter.com/Y5nPc9XT4l</a>&mdash; Michael Saylor (@saylor) <a href="https://twitter.com/saylor/status/1964219505694892123?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Finally, it’s worth mentioning that CoinShares yesterday revealed a plan to go public in the US later this year via a deal with a SPAC called Vine Hill Capital Investment Corp. It’s currently listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm.



It’s part of CoinShares’ broader strategy to expand in the US after <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/coinshares-buys-valkyrie-fund-business">buying Valkyrie’s fund business</a> last year. The largest crypto ETP issuer in Europe has seen its assets under management triple to about $10 billion over the past two years.



This comes a couple months after we saw competing asset manager <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/grayscale-exposure-signals-etfs">Grayscale appear to take a step</a> toward going public. All’s to say, the year of crypto-public markets intersection rages on.



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Equities

Inside the S&P 500’s HOOD inclusion, MSTR rebuff

This is a segment from The Drop newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/the-drop" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



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After receiving bids from Arbitrum, Polygon, zkSync, and Optimism, gaming-focused Ronin has <a href="https://x.com/Ronin_Network/status/1965220031320793442">announced</a> it’s going to use Optimism’s tech to transform itself from an Ethereum sidechain into a full Ethereum L2.



“This was a highly contested battle between L2 providers,” Ronin cofounder Jeffrey “Jihoz” Zirlin <a href="https://x.com/Jihoz_Axie/status/1965223718491230286">said</a>. “This move opens up Ronin&#8217;s upgrade to Proof of distribution which will create more rewards for the builders.”



Ronin will join the likes of Base, Unichain, Worldchain and Kraken’s Ink, who also use Optimism’s codebase for their respective L2s.



Arbitrum had <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/arbitrum-offer-ronin-750k-arb">placed</a> the first offer, a move that ultimately <a href="https://x.com/pixiekate13/status/1958696275777659067">did not appear</a> to land in its favor.&nbsp;



And in case you missed Optimism’s final bid, it <a href="https://x.com/agoshoUY/status/1963178614830076225">offered</a> 5 million OP tokens, contingent on hitting certain revenue metrics with 500,000 OP upfront — plus support from Eigen Labs, Conduit and Boundless. Ronin <a href="https://x.com/Ronin_Network/status/1965220461366968665">said</a> this translates to an addition of about $5 million to $7 million to its treasury via OP, ZKC and Eigen tokens.&nbsp;



In a post about the news, Optimism cofounder Mark Tyneway <a href="https://x.com/tyneslol/status/1965234801885217064">said</a>: “Don’t get caught up in the recent alt L1 narratives, it’s still incredibly attractive to launch an OP Stack based L2.”



Bidding chains ultimately expected to gain net revenue from Ronin joining them — and so were willing to offer some financial and resource perks upfront (though some of the offers were contingent on Ronin hitting certain targets).



As Arbitrum Gaming Ventures’ David Bolger <a href="https://x.com/CocoraEth/status/1958811195042832648">argued</a> in part of his response to my tweet about their first bid: “Ronin is a billion dollar ecosystem with a massive opportunity ahead.”



Last year, the Optimism Collective saw over $24.6 million in fee split revenue, Blockworks Research <a href="https://blockworks.com/analytics/superchain">data</a> shows.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="1052" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-69.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107477" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-69.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-69.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-69.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-69.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-69.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-69.png?w=391 391w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-69.png?w=397 397w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-69.png?w=333 333w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-69.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



In Q1 and Q2 this year, 73% of Optimism Collective’s fee split revenue has come from Base.&nbsp;



Unichain, Ink, and Worldchain make up a much, much smaller percentage of that pie — and currently resemble small blips on the fee revenue chart.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="849" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-68.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107476" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-68.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-68.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-68.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-68.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-68.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-68.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-68.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-68.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-68.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



We don’t yet know how much Optimism will stand to make from Ronin, but the gaming chain is far smaller than Base (Ronin has about $54M in TVL while Base has over $4.7B in TVL, per DeFi Llama).&nbsp;



Ronin could certainly benefit from a closer proximity to Base’s ecosystem, though. And while crypto gaming currently feels quiet right now, Optimism does stand to benefit from having the team behind one of the most successful blockchain games of all time among its ranks.&nbsp;



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<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Lightspeed</a>: All things Solana.</li>



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Gaming

Optimism scores $5M+ Ronin deal for L2 tech

This is a segment from the Lightspeed newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



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In his work on the pre-800 AD Classic Maya economy, the historian Philip Curtin recounts a striking finding: Archaeologists measured the ratio of cutting length to weight in obsidian blades and discovered that the ratio varied inversely with distance from obsidian sources.&nbsp;



The economist Deirdre McCloskey <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08913819908443534">cites</a> this as evidence that the human impulse toward exchange and profit-seeking gain has always existed.



“If Mayans lived in a gainless, profitless, nonmarket economy, it would not matter to them how expensive obsidian was. But…the ratio varied inversely with the distance from the sources of the obsidian. By taking more care with more costly obsidian, the blade makers were earning better profits, as they did by taking less care with less costly obsidian.”



Formal markets add property rights and legal enforcement. But they channel innate human behaviors that were already there, contrary to the popular belief that capitalism “causes” consumerism.



Modern Japan (and parts of Asia) offers a vivid illustration of what that economic logic looks like in the extremes.



The average Tokyo street is chock-full of cute and colorful Gachapon capsule machines. People flock to them for the prospect of a rare collectible.&nbsp;



Yet a meaningful share of buyers in these markets aren’t pure collectors: Many chase quick flips.&nbsp;



Take Asia’s latest <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/labubus-succeeded-nfts-failed">Labubu</a> phenomenon, for instance. Resale prices of the wildly popular Pop Mart series <a href="https://www2.yicaiglobal.com/news/pop-mart-slumps-after-chinese-toymaker-boosts-labubu-supply-causing-resale-prices-to-plungehttps://www2.yicaiglobal.com/news/pop-mart-slumps-after-chinese-toymaker-boosts-labubu-supply-causing-resale-prices-to-plunge">reportedly</a> halved when the company announced a supply increase.&nbsp;



There’s also evidence that at least <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanverdon/2025/08/13/labubus-remain-king-of-the-collectibles-stockx-reports/">40%</a> of consumers buy such toys for “appreciation potential.”



But if profit-seeking is the dominant motive to make and sell these things, then it’s not surprising that the door to hyperfinancialization inevitably swings wide open.



Predictably, crypto entrepreneurs are the first ones kicking the door down.



In the last few months, Gachapon-like platforms have seen growing product-market fit. Total money spent on platforms like Courtyard, Collector Crypt, Phygitals and Emporium grew from $10.4 million in January to $61.1 million in August, according to <a href="https://mementoresearch.com/the-state-of-pokemon-rwa-tcg">Memento Research</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="900" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-66.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107455" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-66.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-66.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-66.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-66.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-66.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-66.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-66.png?w=464 464w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-66.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-66.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



Last month clocked a monthly high of about ~$114 million of trading volumes.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="900" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-67.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107456" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-67.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-67.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-67.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-67.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-67.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-67.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-67.png?w=464 464w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-67.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-67.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



These platforms have a similar business model:



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>Platforms keep a secure vault inventory of professionally-graded collectible cards (typically Pokemon/baseball).</li>



<li>The cards are tokenized as a NFT.</li>



<li>They are sold as randomized Gachapon items to users with paying stablecoins.</li>



<li>After a reveal, you can sell them back to the platform at a predefined buyback rate based on the insured market value of the card, sell it on a secondary marketplace or redeem the physical card from the vault for a fee.</li>
</ol>



There are exceptions. The Phygitals platform on Solana, for instance, does not necessarily have rare cards on hand, and relies on “dropshipping” procurement if the user decides to claim the card. Otherwise, users are offered refunds.



“That&#8217;s a drawback because they don&#8217;t really own the card,” Memento Research’s analyst zkayape told me. “On the other hand, Collector Crypt rare cards are quite well-stocked (759 epic cards at the moment) due to strong procurement on their end from Web2 rails and connections. They’ve been in the scene for quite some time.”



Gachapon spending also resembles a similar whale-like economy structure across all four platforms.



Memento’s research shows that on Polygon’s Courtyard platform, 90.5% of total spend came from just 5.9% of users. On Solana’s Collector Crypt, 93% of all Gachapon revenues came from 17.5% of users — about 50% of users spent above the “whale” threshold of $1000.



Revenues are conclusively driven by Gachapon spending, rather than secondary marketplace trading.



As far as I can tell, these platforms do not use a verifiable RNG, so users are still trusting that platforms are assigning cards at the stated tier probabilities.



Do users care?



The average consumer of real-world Gachapon or blind boxes certainly doesn’t. I don’t know any blind-box collectors complaining of the non-transparency involved with these products.&nbsp;



Financial speculators, however, are a different breed of consumers. These are the guys who live in “expected value” probability math, seeking to optimize every basis point for an edge.



The platforms are designed to buy back cards at a fair market value from users (to keep users gambling), so there’s at least a cap on the financial downside.



Even so, a trust gap remains. Verifiable randomness and zero-knowledge proofs could make Gachapon draws auditable, not just promised.



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Gachapon on the blockchain is already a hundred-million dollar market

Nasdaq will invest $50 million in Gemini’s initial public offering, aligning the two firms ahead of the crypto exchange’s planned debut under the ticker GEMI, according to reports from Reuters and Bloomberg.



Founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Gemini aims to raise up to $317 million in its listing at a target valuation of $2.2 billion, with Goldman Sachs and Citigroup acting as lead underwriters. The IPO would make Gemini the third publicly traded US crypto exchange, following Coinbase, which earlier this year joined the S&amp;P 500, and Bullish.



The deal is <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/winklevoss-founded-crypto-exchange-gemini-taps-nasdaq-strategic-investor-sources-2025-09-09/">structured</a> as a private placement that extends beyond financing. Nasdaq’s clients will gain access to Gemini’s custody and staking services, while Gemini’s institutional users will be able to use collateral management features from Nasdaq’s Calypso system, a risk management platform widely adopted across asset classes.



Gemini’s IPO plans arrive during a rebound in equity capital markets, with recent offerings such as Circle and Bullish drawing strong institutional demand. Gemini reported a $282.5 million loss in the first half of 2025 despite revenue of $68.6 million, underscoring challenges in scaling profitably.



Beyond the US, Gemini is expanding its European presence with new staking services for ether and solana under the EU’s MiCA framework and regulated derivatives under MiFID II, signaling a push to build compliance-driven growth abroad.



This is a developing story.



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This article was generated with the assistance of AI and reviewed by editor&nbsp;<a href="mailto:jeffrey@blockworks.co" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jeffrey Albus</a>&nbsp;before publication.



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Gemini

Nasdaq lines up $50M investment in Gemini IPO

Carlos

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Crypto markets have had a positive start to the week, with clear outperformers but for very different reasons. The chart below shows the week-over-week performance of various assets as of Sept. 8. We observe that WLD (+84%), PUMP (+39%), ENA (+25%), HYPE (+18%), and SOL (+9%) have shown remarkable relative strength against BTC (+3%) and ETH (flat).



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="900" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-64.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107449" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-64.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-64.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-64.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-64.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-64.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-64.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-64.png?w=464 464w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-64.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-64.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



Let&#8217;s start discussing HYPE and PUMP, whose outperformance has been primarily fundamentals- or value-driven. Regarding Hyperliquid, major stablecoin issuers including Paxos, Frax, Sky and Agora are outbidding each other ahead of a Sept. 14 validator governance vote that will determine who gets to have Hyperliquid&#8217;s native &#8220;USDH&#8221; ticker, with proposals offering aggressive revenue-sharing agreements (up to 100%).



The USDH debate has centered around institution- vs. native-team issuance and ecosystem alignment. For instance, Native Markets, led by Max Fiege,<a href="https://nativemarkets.substack.com/p/expanded-proposal-native-markets"> proposed</a> that 50% of the reserve yield be immutably contributed to the Assistance Fund, while the other 50% be dedicated to USDH growth through partnerships with builder-code interfaces, HIP-3 markets and HyperEVM apps. Paxos, on the other hand,<a href="https://x.com/Paxos/status/1964422295176564937"> proposed</a> allocating 95% of interest from reserves backing USDH to buy back HYPE and redistributing it to applications and validators proportional to their USDH balances across their platforms.



While Native Markets would be GENIUS-compliant via Bridge, Paxos has highlighted its already proven global regulatory coverage and reach (not only GENIUS, but also MiCA and MAS-compliant), with existing payment corridor integrations across the Middle East, Latam, Africa and Asia. While it&#8217;s still unclear who will come out on top, it&#8217;s evident that Hyperliquid wins regardless. Migrating $5 billion in USDC deposits to USDH could represent an additional $200 million in revenue for Hyperliquid annually, representing ~20% of its ~$1 billion revenue run rate. At the same time, the battle to win the USDH ticker showcases the conviction and value these issuers see in Hyperliquid&#8217;s exchange and the HyperEVM ecosystem, with HYPE hitting an all-time high of $52.67 today.



While Hyperliquid has been the center of attention, PUMP has actually been the best-performing asset of the two in the past week, up 39% (vs. 18% for HYPE). Pump has decisively reclaimed its launchpad market share, now above 85%, running at an annualized revenue rate of $540 million and using 100% of its revenues to buy back the token. Moreover, it remains surprisingly attractively priced, with a circulating P/S of three and FDV/Sales of&nbsp; nine.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="900" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-65.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107450" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-65.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-65.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-65.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-65.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-65.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-65.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-65.png?w=464 464w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-65.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-65.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



The other side of HYPE and PUMP&#8217;s fundamentals-driven price increases are SOL, ENA, and WLD’s DATCO-driven flows. Yesterday, Forward Industries (NASDAQ: FORD), Galaxy-Multicoin’s SOL DATCO, announced<a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250907677362/en/Forward-Industries-Inc.-Announces-%241.65-Billion-Private-Placement-in-Cash-and-Stablecoin-Commitments-Led-by-Galaxy-Digital-Jump-Crypto-and-Multicoin-Capital-to-Initiate-Solana-Treasury-Strategy"> $1.65 billion</a> in cash and stablecoin commitments, confirming <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/samani-expected-chairman-solana-treasury">Kyle Samani as chairman</a>. With this announcement, the big question regarding whether DATCO purchases would translate to buying SOL with cash on the secondary market vs. simply purchasing locked SOL at a discount has been answered. Combined with Solana ETFs under the &#8217;33 Act likely being approved in October, SOL is poised for outperformance into year-end as the third crypto asset with a structural funnel to TradFi flows after BTC and ETH.



On its part, StablecoinX<a href="https://x.com/ethena_labs/status/1964063567772340432"> announced</a> on Friday an additional $530 million capital raise to buy ENA on the open market. The planned deployment schedule for ENA purchases will be dynamic based on price: $5 million per day if ENA is above $0.70, and $10 million per day if ENA is below $0.70 or if it&#8217;s down more than 5% in a 24-hour period. Importantly, the Ethena Foundation has the right to veto any sales of ENA by StablecoinX at its sole discretion.



Finally, Eightco Holdings (NASDAQ: OCTO) <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/eightco-holdings-inc-octo-announces-250-million-private-placement-with-an-additional-20-million-strategic-investment-from-bitmine-bmnr-to-initiate-worlds-first-worldcoin-wld-treasury-strategy-302549012.html">announced</a> on Monday a $250 million raise to implement the first Worldcoin-focused DATCO strategy, with Dan Ives appointed as chairman. Notably, Tom Lee’s Bitmine (BMNR) had purchased 13.7 million shares of OCTO at $1.46, which rose ~3,000% to $45 on Monday, meaning that the $20 million investment is now worth more than $600 million. On its part, WLD rose as much as 85% on Monday, hitting a high of $1.92.



The contrast between value- vs. momentum-driven price action is interesting to think about, especially in the context of investment horizons and sustainability of flows. The buying pressure from DATCOs has been telegraphed to the market, leading to frontrunning by traders and investors. The main uncertainty for these vehicles is whether they will trade at a premium to NAV, in which case they will be able to sell equity to buy more of the underlying token, à la BMNR. On the other hand, Hyperliquid and Pump&#8217;s flows are more reliant on these apps expanding their leading position in each of their respective verticals and increasing their revenue (and thus buybacks) growth rate. That is, of course, not to say assets like SOL and ENA are devoid of fundamentals, since they have clearly found product-market fit and are quality tokens. Still, the majority of their inflows in the past few weeks have come from DATCOs&#8217; expectations as opposed to fundamental catalysts.



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