Göztepe S.K. Fan Token

David Canellis

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



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If you’re waiting for the conversation to shift away from Digital Asset Treasury companies, prepare to wait longer. Same goes for those anticipating a cascade of implosions.



“ You probably end up having an evolution of these DATs, where instead of just putting a one-to-one token in it, DATs basically become this vehicle through which capital ends up getting mobilized in the TradFi world and then deployed onchain at scale,” Yano posited on today’s Empire podcast to Ethena Labs CEO Guy Young.



With that in mind, Yano wondered whether the over-leveraged blowups at the end of 2021 and into 2022 has Young scared of a redux.



In the cases where the carry trade is collateralized one-to-one with the target asset — for example, raising $5 billion to deploy $5 billion — the stablecoin founder doesn’t see cause for concern.



<iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NrIfwXyVtWQ?si=-c9z_b39j_eV-uPQ" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>







“I think the risk obviously comes if you start to lever up all of the underlying assets and you&#8217;re, you know, 2x long ETH within the vehicle itself, and then these things start getting liquidated. Obviously that becomes a bit more challenging,” Young said.



“I think the one thing that&#8217;s good is that they&#8217;re all much more transparent vehicles, right? Like, we couldn&#8217;t really see into the balance sheets of all of the entities that blew up last cycle, while here, you actually have disclosure requirements to be showing to the market. So anyone who&#8217;s reading those documents will be well aware of how much leverage there actually is.”



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DATs

Shifts in strategy, increased transparency may help DATs evolve

Blockworks

Nasdaq has asked the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to authorize a rule change that would allow securities listed on the exchange to be traded in either their current electronic form or as blockchain-based tokens.



The filing, submitted September 8, 2025, was first reported by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/nasdaq-makes-push-launch-trading-tokenized-securities-2025-09-08/">Reuters</a> and <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/09/05/nasdaq-seeks-nod-from-u-s-sec-to-tokenize-stocks">CoinDesk</a>.



If approved, the system would let investors choose on a trade-by-trade basis whether to settle positions conventionally or through tokenized versions of the same shares. Nasdaq emphasized that tokenized stocks would carry identical rights to traditional ones, including shareholder voting and liquidation claims.



Clearing would remain anchored in the Depository Trust Co., the backbone of US securities settlement, though trade records would also be stored on distributed ledgers.



Nasdaq’s filing comes as both traditional finance firms and crypto-native exchanges experiment with tokenization. Robinhood introduced stock tokens for European clients earlier this year, while Galaxy Digital created tokenized shares of its own stock. Coinbase has separately sought regulatory relief to handle tokenized equities in the US.



The SEC itself has shown interest: Chair Paul Atkins recently launched “Project Crypto,” describing tokenization as potentially transformative for market structure. At the same time, Commissioner Hester Peirce has warned that tokenized instruments remain securities under law, meaning issuers and venues must continue to meet federal compliance standards.



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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Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/the-breakdown">The Breakdown</a>: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.</li>



<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/0xresearch">0xResearch</a>: Alpha in your inbox. Think like an analyst. </li>



<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>

NASDAQ

Nasdaq weighs SEC filing to allow tokenized securities

Byron Gilliam

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">
&#8220;I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them.&#8221;



— Isaac Asimov
</blockquote>



When ATMs became commonplace in the 1990s, people naturally thought most bank tellers would soon be out of a job.



They weren’t.



The number of tellers per branch did in fact go down, from 23 to 13.



But, as Benjamin Todd <a href="https://benjamintodd.substack.com/p/how-not-to-lose-your-job-to-ai">notes</a>, ATMs made bank tellers more productive (because they were freed up to do higher-value work) and bank branches more profitable.



So banks opened more branches — so many more that the total number of bank tellers actually rose.&nbsp;



That happy result held all the way until 2018, when online banking reduced the need for bank branches, which caused the total number of bank tellers to go down.



“While partial automation increased employment,” Todd concludes, “the more dramatic automation made possible by online banking did indeed reduce it.”



Could AI play out the same way?



A <a href="https://digitaleconomy.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Canaries_BrynjolfssonChandarChen.pdf">paper</a> published by Stanford University last week seemingly confirmed people’s worst job-pocalypse fears — that we’re skipping straight to the endgame of full automation.



The paper documents falling employment among recent college graduates in the most AI-impacted fields, like software engineering, and suggests that this is a “canary in the coal mine” for the job market — an early sign that AI is coming for all of our jobs.



The same exact data can, however, be used to reach the exact opposite conclusion.



Noah Smith <a href="https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/ai-and-jobs-again?publication_id=35345&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;r=6g77v&amp;utm_medium=email">looks</a> at the paper’s findings and wonders why employment losses would only be found among the youngest workers.&nbsp;



If AI is ready to replace humans, wouldn’t companies fire their most expensive humans first?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



<a href="https://joshuagans.substack.com/p/if-ai-and-workers-were-strong-complements?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_campaign=post_embed&amp;utm_medium=web">Joshua Gans</a> says the fact that companies have hired even more experienced employees is significant: It suggests that AI is making more experienced workers more valuable.



“If a new technology comes along that augments the productivity of existing workers,” Gans explains, “then any business will want to hire workers with the necessary skills and experience and fewer workers who don’t have those skills.”



From that perspective, Stanford’s paper is good news for human employment, not bad.



Like Tony Stark and his JARVIS assistant, AI is so far proving to augment human workers rather than replace them — and if augmented workers are more productive, the first-order effect of AI should be to make employment go up, not down.



The real problem now, Gans concludes, is businesses that have stopped hiring entry-level workers “are going to run out of workers with experience.”



If so, we might soon stop fearing AIs, and start fearing the lack of them.



Let’s check the charts.



The trend is not our friend:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="836" height="716" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-05-at-16.46.43.png" alt="" class="wp-image-107315" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-05-at-16.46.43.png?w=836 836w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-05-at-16.46.43.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-05-at-16.46.43.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-05-at-16.46.43.png?w=305 305w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-05-at-16.46.43.png?w=256 256w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-05-at-16.46.43.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 836px) 100vw, 836px" /></figure>



This morning’s mobs data showed that employment fell in June — according to the BLS’s model, which is not to be taken literally. Still, the trend is undeniably going in the wrong direction.



The AI effect:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="925" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-52.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107309" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-52.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-52.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-52.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-52.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-52.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-52.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-52.png?w=451 451w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-52.png?w=379 379w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-52.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



From the aforementioned Stanford paper, its data on developer jobs by age group shows employment has fallen sharply for the youngest employees — but risen for the oldest. We can only hope that the same is true for newsletter writers.



More data:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="935" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-49.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107306" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-49.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-49.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-49.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-49.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-49.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-49.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-49.png?w=447 447w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-49.png?w=375 375w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-49.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



Brian Armstrong <a href="https://x.com/brian_armstrong/status/1963315806248604035">shares</a> that over 40% of the code at Coinbase is now generated by AI. But he also notes that the code “needs to be reviewed and understood” by humans. That would explain the Stanford paper’s finding that experienced developers are in higher demand — and maybe confirm Joshua Gans’ thesis that AI is augmenting workers, not replacing them.



Zooming out:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="883" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-48.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107305" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-48.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-48.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-48.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-48.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-48.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-48.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-48.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-48.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-48.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



The unemployment rate for college graduates has ticked up, but remains within historic norms.&nbsp;



The ATM experience:&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="1006" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-50.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107307" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-50.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-50.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-50.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-50.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-50.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-50.png?w=409 409w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-50.png?w=415 415w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-50.png?w=348 348w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-50.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



The best time to be a bank teller was the 18 years after ATMs arrived, because they made tellers more productive and bank branches more profitable. Online banking, however, was a replacement technology.



Look familiar?



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="919" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-51.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107308" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-51.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-51.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-51.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-51.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-51.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-51.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-51.png?w=454 454w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-51.png?w=381 381w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-51.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



The researchers at Epoch AI predict artificial intelligence will be an augmenting technology in the first instance — causing wages to increase 10x in just over a decade — but then become a replacing technology, causing wages to crash. But Benjamin Todd notes that this assumes AI can do 100% of the jobs. “If instead humans remain necessary for just a small fraction of tasks, say 1%, then the same model shows that wages increase indefinitely.” In other words, we have somewhere between 12 and infinity years of rapidly growing wages to look forward to.



The falling cost of compute:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="680" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-05-at-16.47.20.png" alt="" class="wp-image-107316" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-05-at-16.47.20.png?w=740 740w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-05-at-16.47.20.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-05-at-16.47.20.png?w=280 280w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-05-at-16.47.20.png?w=284 284w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-05-at-16.47.20.png?w=238 238w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-05-at-16.47.20.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></figure>



If AI is going to someday do 99% of the jobs, it’s going to demand a lot of power. This chart from a <a href="https://download.ssrn.com/2025/7/9/5136877.pdf?response-content-disposition=inline&amp;X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEA8aCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJHMEUCIQDW7Tb35437%2BjGVGkiVvMbgMmqVlZ%2B4MLk%2Fwn%2BYlWGQkAIgKo8tjkr%2FPzF5TXr05Zc%2Bs13tLct9kmaCOyZ7wjeh5w4qvgUIdxAEGgwzMDg0NzUzMDEyNTciDAEV6k5sjY%2FBKrKf8yqbBf7mkSKNo7vj0zjkkbOhG2nnyjHfa29N%2FE%2Fuz%2Bpruqp0%2FmzY920VTFV3V4oaBGsF8SRZvaxQfTp2UNpWcoK3z9jXLeFkXYmwnKQj0CZxtxq1auFTBh5aCMNtjBJ%2Fq5GqKzzKh6GXI1pOKzpQH5v4l4QOZt9wVW%2F57ifBbFxSE%2BWk%2F35nxRgKbh254HWvpA2m2P%2FPC2gpaII73fInwqzOk0aZ%2F0atGqSrIkyP1P4MLIgM9gN6N8BI3ZtIIgxAMQPM8Ut943HljlhHwW2p0tk19PxbBVEF%2BOL3ypkOwVZYOelllqaJpe%2BGREmyCRMTms4Gwdqm1B68D84ndQDClWKZMXHGF7sfJ9ejgGfhnSgWpOSejcq3yX7LU22keUAB8vmJOw%2FqWL0n7njRC8fn3ikGNk0DrNRj8ys8IKLOYwm4MvqaWBfa520Vwjf74%2B34yKSpFbSStsWqiNokmp6wxbBlENh%2BmSQOiY%2BBJjjME%2B0B3xu63MGbSpnLpOTLkCoSj0CvHDvPIM9bRd%2B0yW1p4x%2BEXQQ7XCSceidyf3tgjbI%2Bl8roufqa2Aj2A4FKbocx54dwhRsWaT9Xnj%2BYkd%2BGYs%2FOWa05CCA281VVpx%2FapJxHSp053IBJZ2KAQlqWFUNoq9JmOa9xO6ZYObMZg7pMx%2BTUxupGtIFlJwoY13%2FhOxdELqgq1bVOg9HuIFFdcmMuKsYflq57LyC5CXfx1mjuGA8j45%2F%2F5MGJF%2B4AKb2zPcEkkRFr%2Fa4ExEHYf%2BrFlngthPuSECTDNM3nRSwHyjIk5M0R0yDnrhZwtY%2BO6OB6pTh8S8HoZDwAu0TaYzgx%2BIdmsa6aecj%2BSX7TR6f8gGxUBebq4tiupfIbAYrjQJ1Wjpy9enR7Jz%2F2Tg080Ki4oL4wzuHrxQY6sQE5vTfzWLK9MaiOckljVuAKxx3xBRfZrN%2BxQWofEb0YwJlY8Ad8D9Fp6CufWFFO3gSrr2mqzwLyYp18lz5KZeJ6lDcu5ZQO1VrIYq438p0anm%2BUd6wpxyy995Y8OzfaO7dEiHgU44wto443afEpK%2F6Jw%2Fxec8Smf%2BqqyIgiBvKaEGw5IzZ5QmshEmW4%2FnKj4zuj30YEkG%2FQGXx2zX9oCKwV%2BqcKeKeGshsAqKUnz86Z9Zo%3D&amp;X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&amp;X-Amz-Date=20250905T145014Z&amp;X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&amp;X-Amz-Expires=300&amp;X-Amz-Credential=ASIAUPUUPRWERD62S6PS%2F20250905%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&amp;X-Amz-Signature=9dda38e55c6190a0b3202500822c33794c2bc5488efb0c8765b259fafb8530e0&amp;abstractId=5136877">paper</a> on the use of Gen AI in the workplace suggests we’ll figure out how to do it cheaply.



Not everything is AI:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="978" height="634" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-05-at-16.47.36.png" alt="" class="wp-image-107317" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-05-at-16.47.36.png?w=978 978w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-05-at-16.47.36.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-05-at-16.47.36.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-05-at-16.47.36.png?w=396 396w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-05-at-16.47.36.png?w=403 403w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-05-at-16.47.36.png?w=338 338w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-05-at-16.47.36.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 978px) 100vw, 978px" /></figure>



Shares of Build-A-Bear are up 1,800% over the past five years — outperforming Nvidia by nearly 600 percentage points.



The long view (2):



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="917" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-47.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107304" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-47.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-47.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-47.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-47.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-47.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-47.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-47.png?w=455 455w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-47.png?w=382 382w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-47.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



A century of rising US employment through nonstop technological upheaval is reassuring proof that humans always find new things to do.



The example of bank branches and ATMs will still worry people, of course — even if AI is augmenting human workers now, it might replace them later.



But <a href="https://www.economicstrategygroup.org/publication/deming_ong_summers/">research</a> by future-of-work economist David Deming suggests that employment always changes far slower than technology, so it’s unlikely to happen anytime soon.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Or ever.



“While AI helps with certain tasks of professional and managerial workers,” Deming concludes, “the demand for good ideas and cogent analysis of complex counterfactual thought experiments may be nearly unlimited.”



In other words, we might all be bank tellers making change today — and Tony Stark-like augmented humans doing superhero things tomorrow.



Let’s hope so.



Have a great weekend, augmented readers.



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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>



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The Breakdown Newsletter

Friday charts: Job-pocalypse now?

Casey Wagner

The Senate Banking Committee on Friday afternoon finalized an updated version of its market structure bill, and it includes a key provision that industry members have been pushing. 



The latest version of the Responsible Financial Innovation Act of 2025, which comes in at 182 pages, includes a section titled “protecting software developers and software innovation,” according to a copy of the draft reviewed by Blockworks.&nbsp;



It’s a section that is notably missing from the House’s market structure bill, the CLARITY Act.



Lawmakers are expected to consider the new version at the end of September, Blockworks <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/senate-september-market-structure-bill">reported</a> last week.&nbsp;



The Senate’s new draft seeks to exclude certain actors from securities laws and disclosure requirements. It states that validators are exempt from anti-money laundering and anti-fraud compliance requirements.&nbsp;



The new version also stipulates that offering, selling or transferring an NFT does not constitute a securities offering or sale of an investment contract, something the House’s bill also did not include.&nbsp;



Friday’s discussion draft expands significantly on the 35-page draft Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) — along with Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), and Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) — introduced in July. While the first draft focused on the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s role in overseeing digital assets, the updated text includes provisions for how the agency should work with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).&nbsp;



Similar to the CLARITY Act, the new version requires the SEC and CFTC to issue joint rules defining and regulating digital commodities.



Lawmakers are now tasked with turning the two pieces of legislation into one. Lummis, earlier this month at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxVj-Lxj2Sk">said</a> she hopes to have a crypto market structure bill on President Donald Trump’s desk by Thanksgiving.&nbsp;



The <a href="https://www.congress.gov/119/bills/hr3633/BILLS-119hr3633eh.pdf">CLARITY Act</a> passed the House in a <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/us-house-passes-clarity-act">294-134 vote</a>. 78 Democrats voted in favor of the measure.



The updated draft comes after the SEC and the CFTC released two joint statements on crypto this week.&nbsp;



In a joint statement released Friday, SEC Chair Paul Atkins and CFTC Acting Chair Caroline Pham kicked off what the two are calling “a new beginning” for their agencies.&nbsp;



“It is a new day at the SEC and the CFTC, and today we reaffirm the need to ensure regulation does not stand in the way of progress,” Atkins and Pham wrote. “By working in lockstep, our two agencies can harness our nation’s unique regulatory structure into a source of strength for market participants, investors, and all Americans.”



Pham and Atkins’ Friday comments come after the SEC and CFTC staff on Tuesday released a joint statement clarifying rules around certain crypto trading. 



Exchanges registered with either the SEC or the CFTC are not prohibited from facilitating trading of certain spot commodity products, staff wrote. These include “leveraged, margined, or financed spot retail commodity transactions on digital assets,” per the statement.



Updated September 5, 2025 at 5:17 pm: Added further context. 



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Cynthia Lummis

Senate Banking Committee finalizes updated market structure bill draft 

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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Because companies accumulating crypto (aka digital asset treasuries, or DATs) have created quite the buzz this summer, it’s worth addressing reported guidance such firms are getting from a major exchange.&nbsp;



The TL;DR, you ask? Nasdaq told companies listed on its exchange that their shareholders, “under certain circumstances,” would need to approve plans to raise money to buy crypto, Yueqi Yang <a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/nasdaq-steps-scrutiny-companies-loading-crypto?offer=rtsu-engagement-25%2Crtsu-featured-articles-pro&amp;utm_campaign=RTSU%3A+Nasdaq+Steps+U&amp;utm_content=9928&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=cio&amp;utm_term=6713">reported</a>.



I got ahold of a rep at Nasdaq, who declined to comment.



But let’s take a moment to clarify something. The exchange has not created any new rules specific to crypto-linked companies. Any guidance given to industry firms deals with adhering to existing standards (feel free to peruse those <a href="https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rules/nasdaq-5600-series#nasdaq-rule_5635">here</a>).&nbsp;



Among the companies reportedly in the crosshairs here was Heritage Distilling, Finality Capital Partners’ David Grider’s X post shows.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1178" height="1262" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-56.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107313" style="width:645px;height:auto" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-56.png?w=1178 1178w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-56.png?w=280 280w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-56.png?w=956 956w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-56.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-56.png?w=240 240w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-56.png?w=244 244w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-56.png?w=204 204w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-56.png?w=75 75w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1178px) 100vw, 1178px" /></figure>



My colleague Byron Gilliam — author of <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/the-breakdown">The Breakdown newsletter</a> — gave this <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/overconfidence-in-crypto-markets">take</a> yesterday: “That doesn’t seem like a lot to ask — shouldn’t shareholders get to vote on such a major change of direction?”



Put simply, I agree. And others — like Federico Brokate, head of 21Shares’ US business — tell me they too are not surprised, given exchanges long prioritizing investor protection.



“Transitioning to a digital asset treasury significantly alters a company’s risk and return profile, making it crucial for boards and investors to be aligned in their understanding and approval of such a strategic move,” the ex-BlackRock exec said.



Bitwise senior investment strategist Juan Leon added: “The change reinforces a trend: institutional investors are increasingly embracing crypto, but looking for transparency and governance standards.”&nbsp;



The more important question seems to be how this would impact what has become <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/companies-holding-crypto-phase-one">a bit of a craze</a>. The splash of colors on the right side of this chart show how many more companies have begun stockpiling bitcoin, ether and other tokens this summer:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="865" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-57.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107346" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-57.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-57.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-57.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-57.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-57.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-57.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-57.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-57.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-57.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



Shares of Strategy — holder of a bazillion or so bitcoin (636,505 BTC, in actuality) — dipped Thursday, seemingly in response to the report.



BitMine Immersion, which boasts the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/eth-treasury-companies-growth">largest corporate ETH treasury</a> and also saw a share price decline Thursday, felt the need to share an X post in the story’s wake.&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">For those wondering&#8230; BitMine is listed on the NYSE American. BitMine is able to issue shares via its existing shelf registration without shareholder approval. Ticker: <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24BMNR&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$BMNR</a> Chairman: Thomas &quot;Tom&quot; Lee <a href="https://twitter.com/fundstrat?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@fundstrat</a>&mdash; Bitmine BMNR (@BitMNR) <a href="https://twitter.com/BitMNR/status/1963687490557980692?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



“We don’t anticipate this rule will significantly deter corporate interest in adding crypto to balance sheets,” Brokate noted. “While it may introduce some delays as boards and shareholders assess the risks and benefits, it’s unlikely to stifle overall demand.”



Leon agreed about Nasdaq’s reported guidance potentially slowing adoption, particularly for smaller companies seeking to replicate MSTR’s model. Over the longer term, it could “concentrate the crypto treasury strategy among better-capitalized, high-conviction firms willing to navigate the governance process,” he added.



That doesn’t seem like a bad thing at all — and could help investors more easily navigate a subsector some <a href="https://fortune.com/crypto/2025/07/30/bitcoin-treasuries/">remain skeptical of</a>. Perhaps you saw what <a href="https://x.com/nic__carter/status/1928447918354149728">Nic Carter</a> and Blockworks’ own <a href="https://x.com/MikeIppolito_/status/1927450775870931015">Michael Ippolito</a> had to say about these vehicles as far back as May.&nbsp;



“For investors, that means the wild-west phase of public companies casually turning into crypto vehicles is ending,” Leon explained.&nbsp;



Perhaps only a handful of these crypto-accumulating machines reach scale and withstand the test of time. But we’re likely to see <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/companies-building-btc-treasuries-corporate-reserves">many more</a> quietly putting a small percentage of reserves toward BTC, for example, as a hedge against uncertainty.



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Nasdaq’s reported guidance to DATs ‘unlikely to stifle overall demand’

Jack Kubinec

SOL Strategies received approval to list its shares on Nasdaq under the ticker STKE, Blockworks has learned exclusively.



The shares, according to the press release, are expected to start trading on Sept. 9.



SOL Strategies became the first Solana treasury company after <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/lightspeed-newsletter-sol-strategies-rebrand">rebranding</a> from Cypherpunk Holdings in September 2024. Its stock currently only trades in Canada, however, and the company’s net asset value has been passed by a trio of newer US-based Solana DATs.



Following years of uninspiring stock returns, the Canadian crypto holding company Cypherpunk Holdings tapped board member and ex-Valkyrie CEO Leah Wald as CEO last summer. After taking the reins, Wald remade the company into a Solana DAT — several months before <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sol-digital-asset-treasuries-are-coming-in-size">DAT mania</a> took hold of Wall Street.



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sol-strategies-is-solanas-microstrategy">Meet Sol Strategies: The MicroStrategy of Solana</a>



SOL Strategies has particularly honed in on Solana staking. The company acquired Solana validators from Orangefin Ventures, Cogent Crypto, and Laine. It has hired multiple staking-focused executives and has made more ecosystem-focused staking moves like <a href="https://solstrategies.io/sol-strategies-partners-with-pudgy-penguins-to-launch-enterprise-pengu-validator-on-solana/">launching</a> a Pudgy Penguins white label validator and <a href="https://x.com/solstrategies_/status/1953123970317701606">powering</a> the Solana Mobile validator.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="928" height="528" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-46.png" alt="" class="wp-image-107289" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-46.png?w=928 928w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-46.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-46.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-46.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-46.png?w=459 459w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-46.png?w=385 385w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-46.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 928px) 100vw, 928px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Solana Treasury Companies SOL holdings. CYFRD corresponds to SOL Strategies. Source: Blockworks Research</figcaption></figure>



SOL Strategies’ stock is up almost 900% over the past year, but its roughly $90 million in SOL holdings makes it significantly smaller than the three largest Solana DATs, which all hold between $380 and $420 million in SOL. That’s likely been partly due to SOL Strategies’ lack of access to the US market.&nbsp;



The company first applied for a Nasdaq listing in December 2024. In the interim, it has been progressing through requisite procedural steps, such as when it <a href="https://site.financialmodelingprep.com/market-news/sol-strategies-inc-announces-reverse-stock-split">underwent</a> an eight-for-one reverse stock split in August.



SOL Strategies’ listing means every Solana DAT tracked by Blockworks Research will trade on Nasdaq with the exception of BIT Mining, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange.



“Above this being a huge achievement for both my team and the larger SOL Strategies community, our approval to list on Nasdaq signals to both institutional and retail investors that a Solana-focused validator and treasury company can meet the same standards of transparency, resilience, and growth expected of any public company. It also demonstrates that our approach to business is resonating within both the Solana ecosystem and the traditional capital markets,” Wald said.



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Leah Wald

Exclusive: Nasdaq approves SOL Strategies listing

Multicoin Capital managing partner Kyle Samani is expected to serve as chairman for a forthcoming Solana treasury vehicle, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.



Multicoin hatched plans for a potential $1 billion Solana digital asset treasury company, alongside Galaxy Digital and Jump Crypto, Bloomberg first <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-25/galaxy-jump-multicoin-seek-1-billion-for-buying-solana-token">reported</a>.



According to the report, the DAT is expected to be created via a takeover of an undisclosed publicly traded entity. The transaction is yet to take place.&nbsp;



Multicoin and Galaxy declined to comment. Samani and Jump did not return requests for comment.



Samani’s role as chairman could answer a question on many Solana watchers’ minds lately: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/solana-wall-street-champion">Who will be Solana’s version of Michael Saylor?</a>&nbsp;



Multicoin first <a href="https://www.crunchbase.com/funding_round/solana-io-seed--6b558739">invested</a> in Solana during the blockchain’s 2018 seed round, and Samani has become one of the network’s staunchest advocates.



Samani frequently posts in Solana’s favor — and <a href="https://x.com/KyleSamani/status/1962520401915027808">trolls</a> its competitors — to his more than 170,000 followers on X. Samani’s chairmanship could set him up for a similar role to Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor and BitMine chairman Tom Lee, who have become well-known for television appearances and social media posts praising bitcoin and ether — which are held by their respective DATs.



If Multicoin, Galaxy, and Jump’s forthcoming DAT is able to raise and deploy $1 billion, it would become the largest Solana treasury vehicle as things stand today. The current leader, Upexi, has a net asset value of $413 million, according to Blockworks Research <a href="https://blockworks.com/analytics/treasury-companies">data</a>.&nbsp;



Solana treasury companies are proportionally smaller overall than for BTC or ETH. Just 1% of SOL is held by treasury companies, compared to 3.4% and 2.9% of bitcoin and ether, respectively.



Updated 9/5/2025 at 1:42 p.m. ET: Michael Saylor is Strategy executive chairman.



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Multicoin’s Kyle Samani expected to be chairman for Solana treasury company: Sources

Macauley Peterson

YO, short for Yield Optimizer, launched a yoEUR vault on Friday, adding fresh momentum to the euro stablecoin trade. But market infrastructure still lags behind. Cross-chain liquidity for Circle’s EURC is limited, causing distortions in interest rates on borrow and lending markets not seen with larger USD-pegged stablecoins.



yoEUR is a <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/multichain">multichain</a> yield vault designed to optimize returns on EURC. Like YO’s earlier offerings, covering ETH, BTC and USD, the vault allocates capital across multiple chains and strategies using a risk-adjusted framework.



The “yoTokens implement the <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/erc-4626">ERC-4626</a> tokenized vault standard, with key additions to support a multi-chain architecture,” YO Labs CEO Driss Benamour told Blockworks. “YO deposits are currently on <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/base">Base</a>, with one-click deposits supported from multiple chains, including <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/arbitrum">Arbitrum</a>, via integrated routing and bridging. YO actively harvests yields across multiple chains, including <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/ethereum">Ethereum</a>, Base, and <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/unichain-mainnet-is-live">Unichain</a>, with Arbitrum coming soon.”



Asked about visibility into yield positions, Benamour said: “All YO strategies are fully transparent and accessible on the dApp…Users can always track exactly where their assets are allocated via the dApp.”



The launch comes as euro-denominated stablecoins inch further into the DeFi spotlight, thanks to a dollar weakness. The greenback has been ranging over the summer, but is down roughly -12% against the euro year-to-date.



On Solana’s <a href="https://blockworks.co/podcast/lightspeed/3274fdb8-7f13-11f0-b217-8b38893dcf35">Jupiter Lend</a> kicked off <a href="https://x.com/kashdhanda/status/1963135217738149902">a two-month</a> incentive program pushing posted EURC APYs above 7%.



Aave founder Stani Kulechov has repeatedly <a href="https://x.com/StaniKulechov/status/1956645156762820709">promoted</a> ~5% lending yields on EURC via Aave deployments on Base and Ethereum that support EURC.



But the euro carry trade remains fragmented. On Aave v3 Ethereum, borrow rates for EURC briefly spiked to nearly 20% around 6:00 a.m. ET Friday before falling below 8% by 11:00 a.m. — a textbook case of what happens when a tightly capped market brushes up against Aave’s interest rate “kink.” Once utilization crosses a certain threshold, even small net borrows can send rates soaring until new supply arrives.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="845" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-45.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107272" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-45.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-45.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-45.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-45.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-45.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-45.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-45.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-45.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-45.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Source: <a href="https://aavescan.com/ethereum-v3/eurc">Aavescan.com</a></figcaption></figure>



In theory, borrowers could arbitrage the spread — borrow where liquidity is cheap (e.g., Base) and lend where it’s scarce (mainnet). But in practice, bridging friction kills the trade. Unlike USDC, EURC lacks a native <a href="https://bridg.sh/?to=ethereum&amp;from=base">CCTP-style</a> burn-and-mint bridge, so most flows rely on swap-and-bridge routes or CEX rails.



Portal (Wormhole’s token bridge) has been <a href="https://x.com/wormhole/status/1959964316968640921">promoting</a> EURC bridging between chains following its August launch, but even at a modest €10,000 size, transfers from Base to <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/solana">Solana</a> clock in at ~33 bps, and Solana to Ethereum via Portal at ~49 bps. Base to Ethereum EURC bridges can be done for a more modest ~22 bps per via <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/squid-upgrade-cross-chain-abstraction">Squid router</a>.



All of these spreads will increase with size, of course, making it difficult to bring rates in line without relying on, for example, Coinbase as an intermediary.



But this can be an advantage for the little guy with capital already in place on these chains. Jupiter’s boost lifts APYs on Solana, but the cost to move funds in and out quickly discourages hedge-fund scale operations. Aave’s mainnet spikes tend to be driven by caps and a small number of large wallets, not durable demand. Risk curator Chaos Labs has <a href="https://governance.aave.com/t/chaos-labs-risk-stewards-increase-supply-and-borrow-caps-on-aave-v3-08-14-25/22934">twice moved</a> to raise the caps on EURC specifically on Aave’s core instance.



A vault that rotates between chains and strategies can theoretically harvest what individual users can’t.



“The euro is one of the most widely traded currencies in the world,” Benamour said. “With yoEUR, we’re unlocking the best DeFi yield for euro-denominated stablecoins, making it easy for anyone to earn more on their assets.”



As of today yoEUR is principally allocated to <a href="https://x.com/yeluacaM/status/1959729262765723887">Tokemak’s baseEUR vault</a> for which yields are boosted by <a href="https://blockworks.co/price/toke">TOKE</a> token emissions. That would make it appealing to users who don’t want to be bothered with, or gain a tax benefit from avoiding, having to claim rewards. There can also be advantages in terms of risk management, with both concentration risk mitigated and a confidence boost from risk ratings by Exponential.



Euro stablecoins in aggregate now top $540 million in <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories/eur-stablecoin">market cap</a>. But until native cross-chain mobility arrives, and money market caps scale up, expect rates to stay weird.



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Euro

Euro stablecoin push runs into thin liquidity

The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA), regulator of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), has launched a pilot project allowing firms to pay regulatory fees using US dollar-pegged stablecoins.



<a href="https://aifc.kz/news/afsa-launches-pilot-project-to-accept-regulatory-fees-in-stablecoins/">Announced</a> on Thursday, during Astana Finance Days, the initiative introduces stablecoin settlement for license and supervision charges, and looks to position Kazakhstan as a regional hub for digital finance innovation.



The program operates under a multilateral memorandum of understanding, with Bybit as the first participant. AFSA noted that other firms can join the pilot if they meet eligibility requirements, and their participation will be disclosed on the regulator’s website. AFSA specified that only Digital Asset Service Providers licensed to offer money services in relation to digital assets or operate trading facilities can participate in the pilot as Providers. These entities act as agents, executing payments in stablecoins on behalf of firms and then remitting the equivalent amount in fiat currency to AFSA’s designated bank account.



“This initiative represents a first-of-its-kind regulatory framework for payments in stablecoins in the region,” AFSA CEO Evgeniya Bogdanova said.&nbsp;



Bybit COO Mazurka Zeng added that the exchange is “proud to contribute to expanding the payment ecosystem at the beating heart of financial innovation in Kazakhstan, the AIFC.”



Kazakhstan has been gradually expanding its digital asset oversight. In January 2024, AFSA <a href="https://afsa.aifc.kz/astana-financial-services-authority-afsa-introduces-stablecoin-framework/">introduced</a> a Stablecoin Framework and later <a href="https://afsa.aifc.kz/afsa-grants-first-stablecoin-issuer-license/">issued</a> the country’s first fiat-backed stablecoin license to AnchorX.KZ Limited. At the national level, the government is also <a href="https://astanatimes.com/2025/08/national-bank-launches-regulatory-sandbox-for-digital-assets/">developing</a> a regulatory sandbox and is actively <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240117160300/https:/nationalbank.kz/file/download/97556">progressing</a> a digital tenge pilot, with the first retail transaction completed in November 2023 and full implementation planned by the end of 2025.



The pilot marks a practical step in shifting regulatory payments away from traditional bank transfers, which are often slow and costly, toward blockchain-based solutions that promise speed, efficiency and transparency. While the project remains experimental, it reflects Kazakhstan’s ambition to grow the AIFC into a hub for fintech and digital asset services, even as questions about risk, custody, and long-term regulatory harmonization remain.



Blockworks Research data shows that stablecoins remain the dominant onchain settlement instrument, with daily transfer volumes on Ethereum alone ranging between $30 billion and $70 billion and occasional spikes above $100 billion.



<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-44.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107266" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-44.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-44.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-44.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-44.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-44.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-44.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-44.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-44.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-44.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Daily transfer volumes on Ethereum | Source: <a href="https://blockworks.com/analytics/chain-comparison">Blockworks Research</a></figcaption></figure>



Despite recent slowdowns in decentralized exchange activity, stablecoin liquidity continues to climb, anchored on Ethereum but increasingly shifting toward Solana, which has grown from about $2 billion in late 2023 to more than $10 billion by mid-2025.



A Blockworks Research <a href="https://app.blockworksresearch.com/unlocked/stablecoins-as-financial-superconductors">report</a> from Q1 2025 suggested that emerging issuers such as Ethena’s USDe are expanding quickly, while legacy decentralized options like Maker’s DAI have stagnated. That shift reflects rising demand for yield-linked or synthetic dollar exposure — a dynamic that could influence Kazakhstan’s stablecoin policy as it seeks to favorably position the Astana International Financial Centre.



Updated 9/05/2025 at 11:53 a.m. ET to include figures on stablecoins and transfer volume.



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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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Asia

Kazakhstan’s AFSA pilots stablecoin payments for regulatory fees

Tron founder Justin Sun claims his WLFI, the native tokens of Trump-linked World Liberty Financial, has been “unreasonably frozen” after a blacklisting on Thursday.&nbsp;



Sun is, according to the post, unable to transfer or use his multi-million dollar stash of WLFI&nbsp; after supposedly making an onchain move of roughly $9 million worth of the asset.



The reported blacklisting, which can be <a href="https://etherscan.io/tx/0x0230880850ae1daebdb1a9984f0f6b1601390bbe4738152556738aa901862d74">traced onchain,</a> marked one of the first governance tests for the project, launched by President Donald Trump (who is <a href="https://worldlibertyfinancial.com/about">designated</a> &#8220;co-founder emeritus&#8221;) and his family, who <a href="https://blockworks.co/price/wlfi">introduced</a> its token earlier this week.



<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">To the World Liberty Financials team and the global community, As one of the early major investors in World Liberty Financials, I have contributed not only capital but also my trust and support for the future of this project. My goal has always been to grow alongside the team…&mdash; H.E. Justin Sun 👨‍🚀 (Astronaut Version) (@justinsuntron) <a href="https://twitter.com/justinsuntron/status/1963807543983263802?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Since the incident, Justin Sun — who <a href="https://www.binance.com/en/square/post/01-20-2025-wlfi-7500-19174615399722">invested</a> at least $75 million into WLFI and also <a href="https://gizmodo.com/crypto-billionaire-justin-sun-vows-to-buy-another-100-million-of-trumps-memecoin-2000628350">pledged</a> $100 million toward Trump’s memecoin — has posted on X multiple times regarding the situation and asking the World Liberty team to unlock his holdings.



He also claimed that US-listed crypto stocks are an “undervalued opportunity” and <a href="https://x.com/justinsuntron/status/1963961392295244130">said</a> he’d “market buy $10 million worth of ALTS and $10 million worth of WLFI.”



WLFI fell sharply during Thursday’s trading session, dropping more than 20% before partially recovering, <a href="https://blockworks.co/price/wlfi">according</a> to Blockworks data. It currently idles around 64% down over the past seven days.



Onchain data from analytics firm Arkham shows Sun’s address sent 50 million WLFI tokens to a wallet associated with crypto exchange HTX shortly before the freeze.



<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">JUST IN: JUSTIN SUN’S ADDRESS BLACKLISTED FOR TRANSFERRING $9M <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24WLFI&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$WLFI</a> <a href="https://t.co/O25281D7mi">pic.twitter.com/O25281D7mi</a>&mdash; Arkham (@arkham) <a href="https://twitter.com/arkham/status/1963655261249228999?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



The tokens appear to have been later routed through additional addresses, including a Binance-linked deposit wallet, adding to speculation about large-scale sell pressure. Some 60 million WLFI were subsequently transferred into an HTX Gnosis Safe Proxy.



World Liberty Financial has not issued a statement on why the wallet was frozen and did not respond to requests for comment from Blockworks prior to publication.



Sun described tokens as “sacred and inviolable” and said unilateral actions threatened investor confidence. Sun also denied that the transfers amounted to sales, framing them as small exchange deposit tests.



<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">Our address only carried out a few general exchange deposit tests with very small amounts, followed by an address dispersion. No buying or selling was involved, so it could not possibly have any impact on the market.&mdash; H.E. Justin Sun 👨‍🚀 (Astronaut Version) (@justinsuntron) <a href="https://twitter.com/justinsuntron/status/1963695382996894000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



In 2023, the US SEC, under Chair Gary Gensler, <a href="https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-25676">filed</a> a lawsuit against Sun in March 2023, alleging unregistered offers and sales of Tron (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT) tokens and manipulative wash trading.



However, the suit was <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-sec-tron-founder-justin-sun-explore-resolution-civil-fraud-case-2025-02-26/">paused</a> at the joint request of the SEC and Sun as both sides explored a potential settlement. However, no such settlement has been finalized since that time.



World Liberty Financial itself has raised questions about governance and concentration of control. Founded in 2024, the Trump family <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/how-trump-family-took-over-crypto-firm-it-raised-hundreds-millions-2025-03-31/">holds</a> a 60% controlling stake and stands to receive 75% of the platform’s token-sale revenue as of early 2025. It has also drawn <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-family-crypto-venture-tapped-part-2b-emirati/story?id=121415842">scrutiny</a> for a $2 billion investment from an Abu Dhabi-backed entity and the introduction of a proprietary stablecoin. Critics, <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/how-donald-trumps-crypto-dealings-push-the-bounds-of-corruption">including</a> The New Yorker, have warned that the project blurs the line between private gain and public influence given President Trump’s political position.



This is a developing story.



<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="https://blockworks.co/author/jeffrey-albus" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jeffrey Albus</a>&nbsp;before publication.



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Donald Trump

Justin Sun claims WLFI tokens ‘unreasonably frozen’

Trump Media &amp; Technology Group announced on Friday that it closed a $105 million agreement with Crypto.com to acquire 684.4 million Cronos (CRO) tokens.



The purchase, priced at roughly $0.153 per token, represents about 2% of CRO’s circulating supply and was settled through a 50-50 mix of cash and Trump Media stock. Both the tokens and shares exchanged will be subject to a lock-up period, <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/b2icontent.irpass.cc/2660/rl157514.pdf">according</a> to the company’s press release.



The acquired tokens will be held with Crypto.com Custody, its institutional-grade storage service, and staked to generate additional revenue.



Trump Media said the partnership will also integrate CRO into Truth Social and Truth+ platforms as part of a rewards system using Crypto.com’s wallet infrastructure.



Devin Nunes, Trump Media’s chairman and CEO, called CRO a “versatile utility” for payments and transfers, while Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek described the deal as the first of many steps to expand adoption of the Cronos blockchain.



The purchase builds on Trump Media’s prior creation of Trump Media Group CRO Strategy, Inc., which has signed a definitive agreement to merge with Yorkville Acquisition Corp., a special-purpose acquisition company.



The new entity is <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/trump-media-crypto-com-sign-155m-deal">designed</a> to serve as a dedicated CRO treasury, targeting up to 19% of the token’s supply. The company presented the move as a long-term strategy to embed Cronos within its media and financial ecosystem, though it also acknowledged forward-looking risks tied to regulation, volatility, and competition in blockchain infrastructure.



This is a developing story.



<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" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jeffrey Albus</a>&nbsp;before publication.



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Trump Media finalizes $105M Cronos purchase

Sora Ventures has announced plans to launch Asia’s first $1 billion Bitcoin treasury fund, aiming to accelerate regional adoption of corporate Bitcoin reserves.



The announcement came during Taipei Blockchain Week, with the firm disclosing $200 million in initial institutional commitments from Asia-based partners. Sora Ventures said it intends to complete the Bitcoin acquisitions within six months, positioning the vehicle as the largest coordinated treasury initiative in the region.



The effort comes amid a broader surge in corporate crypto treasury strategies, first popularized by U.S. firms like MicroStrategy and Block. Blockworks reporting shows companies added billions in digital assets in recent months.



That includes Strategy Inc.’s 636,505 BTC, BitMine Immersion’s 1.87 million ETH, and SharpLink’s recent 39,008 ETH acquisition. Ether Machine, preparing for a Nasdaq debut, has also raised 150,000 ETH in financing, bringing its total holdings close to half a million ETH.



Sora’s fund aims to support both existing treasury participants and new entrants, including Metaplanet in Japan, as well as Moon Inc., BitPlanet and DV8 in Southeast Asia. Sora is also part of a consortium seeking a controlling stake in Thai-listed DV8 to further expand Bitcoin treasury access in the region. Blockworks Research data shows how corporate crypto treasuries have expanded well beyond Bitcoin, with firms now holding more than $90 billion in BTC, $12 billion in ETH, and nearly $1 billion in SOL.



<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-43.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107228" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-43.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-43.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-43.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-43.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-43.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-43.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-43.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-43.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-43.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Aggregate market cap of crypto treasury companies by asset | Source: Blockworks Research</figcaption></figure>



Strategy (MSTR) leads with 636,505 BTC worth $70.5 billion, while BitMine tops Ethereum holders with 1.87 million ETH, and Solana exposure is spread across companies like Upexi and Sharps Technology, which each hold roughly 2 million SOL.



Aggregate treasury assets have now exceeded $100 billion in market value, with some firms allocating more than 80% of total assets to crypto.



This is a developing story.



<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" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jeffrey Albus</a>&nbsp;before publication.



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Sora Ventures plans $1B Bitcoin treasury fund in Asia

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">
&#8220;The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.&#8221;&nbsp;



— Charles Bukowski
</blockquote>



<a href="https://economics.appstate.edu/sites/default/files/cear_wp_2021_01_-_gender_confidence_and_the_mismeasure_of_intelligence_competitiveness_and_literacy_july_2024.pdf">Crypto bros are from Mars…</a>



An academic study <a href="https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2025/09/it-would-take-more-than-one-paper-to-establish-these-claims.html">flagged</a> by Tyler Cowen might inadvertently explain why the cryptosphere is so male dominated.



The researchers report their findings that the advantage men sometimes have in intelligence testing is eliminated (or reversed) when the tests are adjusted for confidence levels.&nbsp;



Men and women, they find, differ primarily in how sure they’re right: Men are more likely to act as though they’re certain, women are more likely to hedge or admit uncertainty.



This maps neatly to investing styles, I think — crypto-investing styles, especially.



Crypto culture often valorizes conviction (“diamond hands,” “HODL”) and punishes hesitation.



Men are overrepresented in crypto not because they’re more willing to take risks, but because the culture and payoff structure reward overconfidence.



Charles Bukowski says overconfidence is the problem with the world, but there’s something to be said for being irrationally sure that you’re right — if startup founders weren’t overconfident in their odds of success, for example, we might not ever have any new companies.



I’d argue that early Bitcoiners were similarly overconfident. But also that they had to be because you’ll never hit a 10,000x investment if you carefully weigh the risk/reward.



Those kinds of returns can only be achieved through belief.&nbsp;



Only a true believer could resist the urge to sell up 10, 100 or a 1,000x.



This, I suspect, is why men are so overrepresented in crypto: They’re better at believing they’re right.&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.galaxy.com/insights/research/tokenized-glxy">There’s now a stock on a blockchain</a>



Bringing stocks onchain has been a crypto talking point for years, but the Galaxy shares on Solana as of this week are the first ones to actually get there.



Most “real-world assets” that claim to be onchain are just IOUs for assets that remain off-chain.



Tokenized Galaxy shares, by contrast, are the real thing — holding Galaxy onchain makes you a shareholder in Galaxy, not a creditor to an intermediary that holds them on your behalf.&nbsp;



You can even take Galaxy shares held in your brokerage account and send them to <a href="https://superstate.com">Superstate</a> to be tokenized on Solana.



There’s not much reason to do that, because you can’t stake, LP or even buy or sell them onchain as of yet.



For now, it’s just a different form of recordkeeping.&nbsp;



But recordkeeping is important.&nbsp;



It means Galaxy could raise capital onchain which is not otherwise possible; or maybe even airdrop shares to incentivize some new behavior.



Superstate’s Robert Leshner says that “moving the recordkeeping from stacks of middlemen to just the token is going to facilitate all these subtle upgrades to the system.”



It’s unclear what that means in practice, but Leshner believes it will bring crypto’s “unbridled innovation” to traditional assets.



Which sounds terrifying.



But fun.



<a href="https://woodcoincrypto.com/coin-verification/">The Wood Wide Web&nbsp;</a>



In addition to the first stock going onchain, we might soon have the first token to go off-chain: “Woodcoin” is pitched as “the first cryptocurrency you can carry in your pocket.”



As the name suggests, these are coins made from wood, which sounds like the least crypto thing imaginable.



But they qualify as crypto because “the images of the coins are secured using cryptographic hash functions and shared via a peer-to-peer network.”



As far as I can tell, no coins have been issued as of yet.



But Woodcoin has big, Bitcoin-like ambitions: “By replacing trust in fiat issuers with trust in physical uniqueness, Woodcoin provides a foundation for trade that is immune to inflationary abuse, resistant to seizure and adaptable to global economic growth.”



The project’s <a href="https://woodcoincrypto.com/whitepaper/">white paper</a> makes a convincing case for why it would make a better global currency than either gold (too heavy) or bitcoin (too deflationary).



It also faults Bitcoin for the “vast electricity consumption” of its proof-of-work mining process.



Woodcoin, by contrast, is secured by a “shared registry and the physical uniqueness of each coin,” which does not involve burning any energy.



We wood have to cut down some trees, though.



<a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/nasdaq-steps-scrutiny-companies-loading-crypto">Nasdaq taps the brakes on DATs</a>



Yueqi Yang reports that would-be digital asset treasury companies (DATs) are facing new obstacles: “Nasdaq recently told some publicly listed companies that under certain circumstances, their shareholders would need to approve the plan to raise capital to buy crypto, according to people familiar with the matter.”



That doesn’t seem like a lot to ask — shouldn’t shareholders get to vote on such a major change of direction?



But slowing the process down even a little might scuttle the whole trade.



Announcing a shareholder vote on a proposal to pivot to crypto is unlikely to elicit the same market enthusiasm as announcing the pivot as a fait accompli.



And without that first pop, what’s the point? DATs only work if investors are excited about them.&nbsp;



If nothing else, Yang’s reporting is a reminder that exchanges are also regulators — and a warning that they’re not entirely sold on their listings pivoting to crypto.



They haven’t told anyone to stop. But with the DAT trade already stalling, just tapping the brakes might be enough to bring the trade to a standstill.



<a href="https://davidzmorris.substack.com/p/bullish-and-eos-a-fraud-in-plain?utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;_bhlid=c6bacd5903bb15cc96a480860c115dbd78367ab4">The bear case for Bullish</a>



In a Substack post, David Morris contends that the 24,000 BTC held on the balance sheet of the crypto exchange Bullish was effectively stolen.&nbsp;



He traces the history of Bullish back to 2017, when the corporate entity behind the EOS blockchain, Block.One, raised $4.1 billion in an ICO.



Morris cites an EOS community member, Yves La Rose, who says the proceeds were never used to develop EOS, as token holders must have expected.



Instead, they were used to buy the 24,000 bitcoin that can now be found on the Bullish balance sheet.



“A less diplomatic way of putting it,” Morris writes, “would be that EOS is a failure because Block.One stole all the investors’ money.”&nbsp;



“Stole” sounds too strong to me.&nbsp;



Once EOS investors sent their money to Block.One, I’m guessing Block.One was not under any legal obligation to employ it to the benefit of EOS token holders.&nbsp;



Diverting it to the balance sheet of an unrelated entity does seem unethical, though, which is Morris&#8217; main message. He warns the new holders of Bullish equity that they “shouldn’t expect much more ambition or honesty from this team than it has shown at any other moment after a big payout.”



Unlike token holders, however, equity holders have legal rights, so they should be treated more fairly.



But Morris warns they’re already being misled. He cites Dave Wang, who says that Bullish’s preferred accounting metric is deliberately misleading: “The headline 2024 ‘adjusted transaction revenue’ is ~$158 million whereas core transaction revenue is $2 million,” he <a href="https://x.com/DaveWangMIA/status/1957452763287482395">wrote</a> on X.



Wang calls Bullish “a meticulously engineered illusion” that should be valued at “a steep discount to the company&#8217;s net liquid assets” — which is almost the worst possible thing an analyst can say about a company.



Still, I can’t imagine this is news to the institutional investors who bought into the Bullish IPO — they tend to be good at accounting, and presumably did their due diligence before sending Bullish $1.1 billion.



But they were probably all TradFi bros, too, so that might have been overconfident.



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Thursday links: Overconfidence, crypto firsts, DATs and Bullish

ArbitrumDAO has officially launched Season One of its DeFi Renaissance Incentive Program (DRIP), deploying up to 24 million <a href="https://blockworks.com/analytics/arbitrum/arbitrum-token">ARB</a> to supercharge top lending protocols.&nbsp;



The initiative marks the first phase of a $40 million campaign, approved by the DAO in June, to roll out targeted DeFi incentives over four seasons.



The program serves to scale capital-efficient strategies on <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/arbitrum">Arbitrum</a> by incentivizing borrowing against popular yield-bearing assets, according to Matt Fiebach, co-founder at Entropy Advisors, which helped design it.



“With the rise of <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/liquid-staking">LSTs</a> and LRTs like <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/lido">Lido</a> and EtherFi, yield-bearing stables such as <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/ethena">Ethena</a> and Syrup, and robust <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/pendle">Pendle</a> Markets, leveraged looping has become one of the cornerstones of DeFi,” Fiebach told Blockworks. “It’s an open secret that looping these assets is a primary driver of lending market growth today. However, a small fraction of this activity currently takes place on Ethereum L2s.”



“There is a significant opportunity to enable similar activity on Arbitrum, but doing so requires building a solid foundation,” Fiebach added. “The motivation behind DRIP’s Season One is to ensure that users on Arbitrum can loop frictionlessly with the most popular yield-bearing assets.”



Looping — whereby users deposit yield-bearing assets, borrow against them, and redeploy into the same positions — drives tens of billions in open interest on Ethereum mainnet, accounting for about 20–30% of DeFi money market activity, according to RedStone co-founder Marcin Kaźmierczak. He expects DRIP will give that percentage a boost.



“As DRIP brings more exotic collaterals into play… growth will depend on risk management tools keeping pace with innovation,” Kaźmierczak told Blockworks. “Also, we need to remember that looping is mainly around correlated assets with collateral accruing yield over time.”



The ability to double-dip on yield in this way is how DRIP aims to bring greater capital efficiency to Arbitrum, and the rewards will be structured to attract sticky liquidity rather than short-term mercenaries. Entropy plans to adjust the incentive design “continuously” to target “high-quality” capital.



“The program is structured in two-week epochs, enabling measurable iterative progress,” said Fiebach. “We believe the program design is robust, but there is no ‘free lunch’ when it comes to incentives,” he said.



Season One is live across Aave, Morpho, Euler, Fluid, Dolomite, and Silo, with ARB rewards for borrowing against collaterals like weETH, rsETH, sUSDC, and syrupUSDC.



Not included, at least initially, is Notional Finance, which <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/arbitrum-defi-yield-optimization">made a big push to Arbitrum</a> already in 2023 after pioneering the concept of leveraged stablecoins vaults.



Protocols were selected based on scale, traction, and alignment with Arbitrum.



In the “alignment” camp, Fiebach cited <a href="https://docs.theo.xyz/thbill">thBILL</a>, noting that while it’s “a brand-new asset, and still relatively small in size, it is backed with RWAs that are held entirely on Arbitrum One, which we felt justified its inclusion despite its early stage.”



He added that DRIP incentives are already catalyzing deployments: “We have found incentives to be an effective tool to get deployments of applications/assets not yet deployed to Arbitrum (syrupUSDC, Morpho, Euler, etc).”



That’s already playing out. Maple Finance launched its high-yield stablecoin syrupUSDC on Arbitrum this week, integrating with Euler, Morpho, and Fluid. According to Maple CEO Sid Powell, DRIP rewards will compound Maple’s native yield and “accelerate the adoption of onchain capital markets.”



Entropy plans to publicly track DRIP’s effectiveness, via “efficiency metrics, including TVL per dollar spent and overall market share growth,” Fiebach said. “However, not all TVL is created equal; what matters most is how much of that growth remains after the program ends.”



Beyond TVL and strictly onchain metrics, Arbitrum will be looking for qualitative progress in its DeFi offerings, such as new deployments, co-incentives, and integrations.



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Arbitrum

Arbitrum kicks off $40M incentive program with focus on leveraged looping

Felix Jauvin

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



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It’s a big week for labor market data. With everything published except for tomorrow’s NFP report, let’s round up all the data we received this week and get an idea of where things stand — and how that contrasts with the expected Fed rate cut this September.



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



It’s always important to remember how lagged the JOLTS report is as a datapoint. This report is from July and, much like the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/jobs-report-number-is-always-wrong">jobs report</a> we received last month, it’s quite weak.



Job openings surprised to the downside at 7.18 million, below the expected 7.4 million.&nbsp;



When we contextualize that alongside how many unemployed people there are, we actually saw the jobs-workers gap go negative for the first time since the pandemic.&nbsp;



Although not an outright sign of recession (we spent the entirety of the 2010s in negative territory), it does highlight the relative weakness of the labor market.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="966" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-42.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107216" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-42.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-42.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-42.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-42.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-42.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-42.png?w=426 426w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-42.png?w=432 432w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-42.png?w=363 363w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-42.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



A key input into the Beveridge curve is the job vacancy rate that comes from this report.&nbsp;



I’m a big fan of the Beveridge curve as it&#8217;s an effective way to gauge the amount of slack in the labor market. Given where we are in the Beveridge curve now, any meaningful weakening in jobs available from this point forward would likely trigger an aggressive increase in the unemployment rate.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="blob:https://cms.blockworks.co/29059b91-39e2-4e99-a14f-5c4294ded7ec" width="624" height="487">



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">ADP report</h2>



With the recent firing of BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, ADP’s employment data has taken on increased importance in gauging labor market strength.&nbsp;



Although ADP gets a lot of flack since it comes out before NFP and thus has little predictive power, on a longer-term horizon the two actually track quite nicely:&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="742" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-41.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107215" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-41.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-41.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-41.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-41.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-41.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-41.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-41.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-41.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-41.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



Today’s ADP report came in below expectations and further emboldened the doves on the FOMC to move forward with a cut in September: <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="blob:https://cms.blockworks.co/f061d7d1-9b9d-402a-b85a-fc4fc8617ec8" width="624" height="487">



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Challenger Survey</h2>



Finally, we received today’s Challenger Survey layoffs report. It showed a 13% YoY increase, which is significant. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1404" height="916" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-04-at-16.48.45.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107218" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-04-at-16.48.45.png?w=1404 1404w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-04-at-16.48.45.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-04-at-16.48.45.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-04-at-16.48.45.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-04-at-16.48.45.png?w=394 394w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-04-at-16.48.45.png?w=400 400w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-04-at-16.48.45.png?w=336 336w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-04-at-16.48.45.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1404px) 100vw, 1404px" /></figure>



As economist Parker Ross noted in tandem with the chart above: “Last Aug. is a tough benchmark, when layoffs were already 81% above the pre-Covid norm, so the fact we&#8217;re up 13% YoY from that elevated level means we&#8217;re now 105% above the pre-Covid norm for Aug., up from 98% in July.”



Even without the NFP report in hand, the present labor market data overall offers plenty of rationale to warrant the Fed cutting rates in a couple of weeks.







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Federal Reserve

The state of the labor market

Apps, users, and revenue are all nice, but what blockchains really need in 2025 is a Michael Saylor.



As Wall Street has swooned over public companies that buy crypto, it’s become clear that Solana has a couple of disadvantages in the digital asset treasury (<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/treasury-companies">DAT</a>) game. It is younger and carries a smaller market cap than bitcoin or ether, so Wall Street is less familiar with it.&nbsp;



And in the eyes of some investors, SOL is missing something else: a Michael Saylor-like figure who can sing the asset’s praises to mainstream investors.&nbsp;



The lack of a Wall Street advocate has contributed to Solana’s struggle to keep up with bitcoin and ether treasury companies. While so-called DATs hold roughly 3.4% and 2.9% of all BTC and ETH, respectively, they hold just 1% of SOL. And despite their growing number, the largest Solana DAT is just the tenth-largest DAT overall.&nbsp;



In conversations on Solana’s search for a <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/michael-saylor">Michael Saylor</a> or a <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/tom-lees-price-predictions">Tom Lee</a>, two common threads emerged: Solana needs a Wall Street figurehead to keep pace in the current market environment, and no one is quite sure who that person should be.&nbsp;



Multiple sources told Blockworks that Solana’s version of Saylor should be someone from a traditional finance background rather than Solana’s current online orbit.



At Strategy, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/michael-saylor-bitcoin-microstrategy">Saylor has turned</a> what was once a middling software company stock into a bitcoin-buying behemoth with a net asset value — which is the market value of its bitcoin holdings — of more than $70 billion. His bullish X posts and TV appearances have turned him into a de facto bitcoin spokesperson.



BitMine, a bitcoin mining company that recently adopted an Ethereum treasury strategy, appears to have caught the same lightning in a bottle when it appointed Fundstrat chief investment officer and CNBC contributor Tom Lee as its chairman.&nbsp;



With Lee making regular CNBC appearances to sing ETH’s praises and a Founders Fund investment providing legitimacy in the eyes of investors, BMNR has grown to become the second-largest treasury company with a NAV of over $8 billion.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="772" height="320" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-39.png" alt="" class="wp-image-107201" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-39.png?w=772 772w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-39.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-39.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-39.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-39.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-39.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-39.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 772px) 100vw, 772px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The ten largest DATs. Source: <a href="https://blockworks.com/analytics/treasury-companies">Blockworks Research</a></figcaption></figure>



Behind the scenes, DAT executives are casting around in search of public-facing Solana advocates.&nbsp;



One person involved in a Solana DAT recounted asking ChatGPT who Michael Saylor’s equivalent could be for a Solana treasury company. The chatbot listed Helius CEO Mert Mumtaz, Asymmetric CEO Joe McCann, Solana co-founder Raj Gokal, and Solana Foundation CEO Lily Liu.



The problem with well-known Solana figures like these is that they tend to have “something [else] going on,” as a different person working at a DAT put it.



In a text, Mumtaz said he has been “approached by roughly all [Solana DATs] to be involved in varying capacities,” noting that he hasn’t made any final decisions and adding: “[I’m] overall interested in the long-term health of solana above all and am trying to figure out how best I can help with that.”



McCann, who until recently would frequently post about Solana to more than 100,000 X followers, was <a href="https://unchainedcrypto.com/new-solana-treasury-company-raising-1-5-billion-to-be-led-by-joe-mccann/">tapped</a> as CEO of a potential $1.5 billion Solana DAT. The deal fell apart after a limited partner in McCann’s hedge fund posted about the fund’s poor performance on X, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/joe-mccann-solana-spac-deal-off">Blockworks previously reported</a>. McCann did not return a request for comment.



Gokal and a representative for Liu did not return requests for comment on whether they intend to formally get involved in DATs.



Galaxy Digital, Multicoin Capital, and Jump Crypto are reportedly plotting a $1 billion Solana DAT raise, according to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-25/galaxy-jump-multicoin-seek-1-billion-for-buying-solana-token">Bloomberg</a>. Such a deal would involve two names that came up in conversations about potential Solana DAT leaders: Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz and Multicoin managing partner Kyle Samani. But both already have day jobs, so it’s unclear whether they’d want to take on a role akin to being CEO of a publicly traded company.&nbsp;



Samani and Novogratz did not comment on their roles in the reported DAT.



Among the CEOs of existing Solana DATs, Sol Strategies <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sol-strategies-is-solanas-microstrategy">CEO Leah Wald</a> shows promise as a public face for Solana, boasting a sizable online following and an impressive institutional crypto resume. However, she has (so far) played a more behind-the-scenes role as the Canadian holding company <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/nasdaq-on-solana-opening-bell-sol-strategies">awaits</a> a hoped-for Nasdaq listing.



“I don’t see myself as a Saylor or a Lee. I’m secretly an introvert, and that job would mean way too much public speaking. That’d be like being scared of heights and then deciding to become a window washer on skyscrapers,” Wald said in a text.



Due to the slim pickings in Solanaland, some DATs are thinking the right person might be a relative unknown to Solana folks — as Saylor and Lee were to bitcoin and ether before assuming their current roles.&nbsp;



“In Tom Lee you have two things: He is very comfortable on CNBC, and he speaks to TradFi. I have been looking and have not found who that person would be,” said one person working on a Solana DAT, who said they had considered making inroads with candidates ranging from former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci to the meme stock influencer Roaring Kitty.&nbsp;



Potential leaders also don’t come cheap. Former BlackRock executive Joseph Chalom <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1981535/000164117225020947/form8-k.htm">received</a> a $7 million stock grant plus a potential salary and long-term incentive bonus in the millions to become co-CEO of SharpLink Gaming, the second-largest ETH treasury company.&nbsp;



Looking at Chalom’s compensation package, one Solana DAT executive said the price tag “could be well worth it” for SharpLink. Even so, the executive noted, getting Wall Street compliance departments to sign off on DAT partnerships can be a challenge.



“Our issue is not getting it in front of these crazy high-level people, it’s the strict compliance side of things” that is making it hard to get well-known Wall Streeters on board, they said.



It’s nevertheless becoming clear that Solana DATs intend to start rolling out their own versions of Saylor and Lee.&nbsp;



Last week, the crypto investment platform CoinList sent some investors an email, reviewed by Blockworks, which advertised an “upcoming SOL treasury company coming imminently to the public market.”



“This anticipated vehicle is currently in stealth, and we cannot disclose the details. If completed, it will be the largest SOL treasury vehicle on the market with some of the most prominent industry backers, and the likely ‘Saylor of Solana,’” the email said.



The deal is expected to close and be announced on September 8th, the email said. CoinList did not return multiple requests for comment.



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