Liz Coyne

The Challenges of ‘Permissionless’ at the Institutional Level

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">
&nbsp;“Without the need to trust a third party middleman, money can be secure and transactions effortless.”



— Satoshi
</blockquote>



Property rights are not sacrosanct in traditional finance.



Even in the US stock market — where shareholder rights are treated with near-religious reverence — a company’s management can sometimes forcibly divest an unwanted shareholder of their shares.



In 2009, for example, the struggling software firm Selectica used a poison pill defense to cut a single shareholder’s stake in half.



When the pill was triggered, all shareholders other than Versata, a hedge fund, received rights that effectively doubled the number of shares they owned.



In effect, this redistributed half of Versata’s share in the company to the company’s other shareholders.



Versata sued, but a Delaware judge sided with the company — proving that, under some circumstances, a board can seize a shareholder’s property much like a government invoking eminent domain.



Unlike eminent domain, however, the company doesn’t have to compensate the dispossessed owner.



It’s not done lightly.&nbsp;



Selectica had to prove in court that its action was a “proportionate” response to a threat posed by a hostile shareholder.



But the fact that it’s possible is part of what inspired crypto and decentralized finance: a new kind of financial system where property rights are enforced by code, not the whims of a Delaware judge.



On Friday, however, World Liberty Financial — a DeFi protocol that’s “governed by a distributed community of WLFI tokenholders” — effectively dispossessed a large token holder of their tokens.&nbsp;



Justin Sun’s substantial holding of WLFI was frozen (perhaps temporarily) when his tokens were added to a blacklist that prevents them from being moved.



In total, World Liberty <a href="https://x.com/worldlibertyfi/status/1964081166367035684">blacklisted 272 accounts</a> this weekend, mostly in an effort to stop phishing attacks — which is laudable, but not exactly in the spirit of not-your-keys-not-your-coins permissionless crypto.



Sun’s tokens, however, were frozen amid reports that he shorted WLFI tokens borrowed from an exchange he controls.



Someone at World Liberty took exception to this and froze Sun’s property in response — something they can do without consulting the “distributed community” of token holders that ostensibly governs the protocol.



TradFi executives don’t appreciate short selling either, of course.



Companies that feel attacked by short sellers will sometimes issue special dividends to complicate short positions, contrive to have large holders recall the shares they’ve lent out, or even lobby the government to ban the practice (as banks successfully did in 2008).



But crypto makes this so much easier: Smart contracts can give protocols the ability to stop their tokens from moving.&nbsp;



Few protocols grant themselves this ability, presumably because it’s counter to the spirit of a decentralized, permissionless financial system.



Blacklists are usually only found in centralized stablecoins, where issuers need the ability to freeze criminals’ funds at the request of law enforcement.&nbsp;



But a blacklist for tokens?



World Liberty might be unique in granting itself the ability to extinguish property rights with just a function call to blacklist(address).



This seems to contradict the spirit of its founding mission.



As World Liberty co-founder and CEO Zach Witkoff tells it, the project was inspired by a conversation he had with the Trump brothers, Eric and Donald Jr., shortly after their accounts were “terminated” by two of the largest US banks.&nbsp;



“So, we started discussing solutions, and the conclusion was that we needed a more democratized system,&#8221; he <a href="https://wublockchain.medium.com/wlfi-ceo-coo-in-conversation-dismantling-banking-hegemony-03546c1579f8">explained</a>. “The origin of World Liberty was to truly return financial control to the users.”



But not, evidently, to users of the World Liberty token.



The project’s <a href="https://static.worldlibertyfinancial.com/docs/intl/gold-paper.pdf">Gold Paper</a> states “WLF believes that the ability to transact privately and without intermediaries is a core American value.”



But World Liberty itself is an intermediary — and an unusually powerful one.



They did warn us.&nbsp;



Further down in the gold paper it cautions that in a “Material Adverse Event or Security Risk,” governance power can be “completely vested in the multisigs.”



This makes dispossessing an unwanted token holder much easier compared to executing a complex poison pill defense that a shareholder can appeal in a Delaware court of law.



Justin Sun, by contrast, can appeal the seizure of his property only to the court of social opinion: “My tokens were unreasonably frozen,” he <a href="https://x.com/justinsuntron/status/1963807543983263802">posted</a> on X after denying accusations of short selling.&nbsp;



That’s not how this alternative financial system was meant to work.



Just the opposite: World Liberty’s multisig appears to give its founders a level of control that TradFi founders can only dream of.



Traditional founders sometimes maintain control of their company with special voting rights, but how much easier is it when that control is baked into a smart contract?



World Liberty’s control appears to be absolute.



Their token, WLFI, is strictly for governance —&nbsp; “the sole utility of holding WLFI is governance of the WLF Protocol” — but World Liberty can ignore the decisions token holders make.



Late last year, WLFI holders <a href="https://snapshot.box/#/s:worldlibertyfinancial.com/proposal/0xce3ff6b195863c2217865ba6f028d2e163d9156a25cb35d923da3a5bc8479483">voted</a> to grant the Aave DAO “approximately 7% of the total supply of $WLFI tokens” (because World Liberty was originally conceived as a fork of Aave).



Eight billion tokens voted in favor of the proposal, vs. just 187,000 against.&nbsp;



Despite that overwhelming consensus, World Liberty appears to be reneging on the deal, <a href="https://x.com/WuBlockchain/status/1959288692159512991">reportedly</a> calling it “fake news.”



This, too, is a TradFi founder&#8217;s dream.



Crypto founders already have the magical ability to raise capital without surrendering a share of their future profits (by issuing governance tokens).&nbsp;



And in this case, the founders didn’t have to surrender any governance rights, either.



Could anything be a better deal than that?



To be fair, selling a token that people think of as equity but is actually more like a collectible is hardly unique to World Liberty — there are many such cases.



If anything, World Liberty deserves credit for being upfront about it: Just the fact that it employs a CEO tells you that, whatever idealistic language used in its gold paper, it’s more of a company than a protocol.&nbsp;



But blacklisting shareholders is a level of centralization that outdoes even TradFi.



“Tokens are sacred and inviolable,”&nbsp; Justin Sun <a href="https://x.com/justinsuntron/status/1963807543983263802">wrote</a> on X, ”this should be the most basic value of any blockchain.”



Sun is not generally known as a champion of decentralization, but he makes the case for it concisely.&nbsp;



“It’s also what makes us stronger and more fair than traditional finance,” he added.



World Liberty’s founders would presumably agree: The first line of their gold paper says World Liberty is “pioneering a new era of Decentralized Finance.”



So far, though, they’re making it look a lot like the old era.



But better.



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World Liberty Financial is perfecting TradFi

Kate Irwin

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



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You’ve probably heard about <a href="https://www.theeagleonline.com/article/2025/03/the-superhero-fatigue-epidemic-is-upon-us">superhero fatigue</a> — the oft-written-about concern that moviegoing audiences are burnt out on superhero movies as a genre because studios like Marvel and Warner Bros. have been churning out so many for over a decade now.&nbsp;



Some believe superhero fatigue has occurred in part because the quality of said movies and shows has declined overall over time. The movies start to blend together; a few gain loyal fans, while many others are quickly forgotten.&nbsp;



Sound familiar?



I can’t help but feel like this is also how many in crypto must be feeling about blockchains, too.&nbsp;



I’ll be honest: I think I have both superhero fatigue <a href="https://x.com/pixiekate13/status/1917344999727063263">and new-blockchain fatigue</a>.&nbsp;



Every time a new one is announced, I ask myself — how is this one actually different? Why does this one actually matter more than the last one that came before it?



And especially, when it comes to gaming: Is yet another gaming-focused blockchain really the answer to crypto gaming’s longstanding core issue of failing to appeal to game studios and gamers more broadly?&nbsp;



But maybe I’m asking the wrong questions. Crypto is magic internet money, after all. If creating a new blockchain generates cash, people will keep creating them. But that’s more a strategy for creating a flash in the pan — and less so for creating long-term viability.



You could argue that the teams behind these new blockchains don’t have to justify their creations. Maybe you believe in platitudes like a “the more, the merrier” philosophy, where “a rising tide will lift all boats.” The more chains to choose from, the higher chances of “mass adoption.”



Maybe you believe crypto will entirely replace the traditional financial system soon enough, so you believe that crypto’s TAM is massive and global. Its potential audience is everyone, because everyone uses money, so why not launch yet another chain?&nbsp;



And there are <a href="https://www.blog.udonis.co/mobile-marketing/mobile-games/modern-mobile-gamer#h2-0">billions</a> of gamers globally, so why not launch yet another gaming chain?



Or maybe, like me, you’re a bit more skeptical that more chains are really needed. New “consumer” chains appear to be more focused on finding devs to build with them than on actually appealing to consumers.&nbsp;



Blockchain teams focus on touting technical advantages and offering grants to game projects, while everyday consumers see very little actually being marketed to them to get them on board with the promised crypto gaming revolution.&nbsp;



Consider the “XRPL Gamechain,” built on the XRPL EVM sidechain the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/b3-pc-startup-desktop-destroy-button">B3</a> team <a href="https://x.com/b3dotfun/status/1963299800562241538">announced</a> last week with XRPL Commons. It effectively brings B3’s Open App Layer to the XRP blockchain because XRPL Gamechain transactions will settle on XRP.&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">welcome <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24XRP&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$XRP</a> to B3&#39;s Open App Layer³ today, in partnership with <a href="https://twitter.com/xrpl_commons?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@xrpl_commons</a>, B3 launches&#8230; ⚫ XRPL Gamechain on testnet 🕹️ XCADE &#8211; XRP&#39;s onchain arcade this effort marks the expansion of B3&#39;s appchain vision &amp; network. <a href="https://t.co/H4Jt4cThrF">pic.twitter.com/H4Jt4cThrF</a>&mdash; B3 🎮 (@b3dotfun) <a href="https://twitter.com/b3dotfun/status/1962917076802404807?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 2, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



But the name is quite the mouthful.&nbsp;



“XRPL Gamechain” is not a consumer-friendly name at all. In fact, it’s more a name for developers. It speaks to what it is technically.



Then there’s the “<a href="https://xcade.fun/">Xcade</a>,” which launched on the XRPL Gamechain testnet with some browser-based minigames that look like we’ve traveled back in time to the early 2000s MiniClip era of Adobe Flash Player gaming:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="948" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-59.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107379" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-59.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-59.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-59.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-59.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-59.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-59.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-59.png?w=441 441w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-59.png?w=370 370w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-59.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A look at Xcade’s game library, intended to have a mobile-first focus.</figcaption></figure>



B3 says Xcade “eliminates onboarding friction and creates a low barrier to entry into the XRP ecosystem, making it easier than ever to become an active participant.”



NPC Labs’ Daryl Xu says the Xcade is intended to “jumpstart a thriving consumer ecosystem built around XRP.”



But I’m not so sold on the idea that the “Xcade” is really going to bring new people to crypto. It’s more likely another addition to the GameFi trenches.&nbsp;



Overall, I think it’s worth asking ourselves: What does crypto gaming’s growth look like? Where might growth come from, especially if traders are still busy launching <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/are-memecoins-successful-crypto-products-zora">memecoins</a>?&nbsp;



Are we really getting anyone new onboarded with new gaming-focused blockchains — or are we just preaching a slightly different sermon to the same degen choir?



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Does crypto really need more blockchains?

The NFT marketplace OpenSea announced the creation of its Flagship Collection on Monday. According to the company, this will be a $1 million initiative to acquire and curate digital art and culturally significant NFTs.



The move marks the company’s first formal reserve, <a href="https://x.com/opensea/status/1965133373489484275">designed</a> to showcase NFTs as cultural artifacts while giving artists and collectors heightened visibility. The launch also coincides with OpenSea’s broader strategy ahead of its SEA token rollout.



The program will operate under a committee-driven process, with OpenSea employees and external advisors selecting acquisitions. Purchases will be celebrated as “acquisition moments” across the platform’s channels, designed to encourage dialogue and education in the collector community. To safeguard against conflicts, OpenSea says it has established strict internal procedures to prevent leaks or trading misuse.



The first purchase in the collection is <a href="https://www.cryptopunks.app/cryptopunks/details/5273">CryptoPunk #5273</a>, one of the original 10,000 NFTs in the iconic Larva Labs series later acquired by Yuga Labs. The marketplace <a href="https://etherscan.io/tx/0xe38213bde0e43693df83838147a08bb914ad253105dfee127d4aeb556bfcf76a">appears</a> to have paid 65 ETH for the asset, worth ~$285K at time of purchase, roughly two weeks ago.



OpenSea Chief Marketing Officer Adam Hollander said the initiative is intended to “spotlight emerging artists and creators,” placing their work alongside historically significant digital pieces. Over the coming months, the marketplace says that it plans to target one acquisition every few days, spanning works from emerging artists to rare, high-profile tokens, with the goal of building a long-term cultural archive.



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OpenSea launches NFT archive with $1M+ acquisition plan

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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A Monday <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/nasdaq-sec-tokenized-securities">Nasdaq filing</a> seems to affirm what many of you may have read previously: Tokenization could transform finance sooner than many think.  



In a <a href="https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/assets/rulebook/nasdaq/filings/SR-NASDAQ-2025-072.pdf">proposal</a> to the SEC, the exchange seeks to let firms and investors tokenize the equity securities and ETPs they currently trade on the Nasdaq.&nbsp;



More specifically, the approach would allow participants the choice (upon entering an order) to have the Depository Trust Corporation (DTC) clear and settle trades in tokenized form.



Nasdaq noted that tokenized securities are “technologically distinct” from those traded on the exchange today (blockchain tech can offer faster settlements, improved audit trails, etc). But the company emphasized that both the traditional and tokenized types of shares would have the same value, rights/benefits, and market identification number.



Integrating digital assets into Nasdaq’s existing infrastructure “will advance financial innovation while maintaining stability, fairness and investor protection,” the exchange’s VP of North America said in a statement.



Ondo Finance chief strategy officer Ian De Bode said the filing reinforces the vision that blockchain tech can enhance traditional markets while preserving what makes them trusted.&nbsp;



“The same rails that gave people global access to the US dollar will now give global access to US capital markets,” he added.&nbsp;



This filing comes a bit more than a month after SEC Chair Paul Atkins’ made his “Project Crypto” pronouncement — an initiative to let the US financial markets <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-chair-atkins-project-crypto">move onchain</a>. The agency then issued a couple joint statements with the CFTC last week, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-cftc-crypto-coordination">promising collaboration</a> that fosters innovation:&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="958" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-60.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107384" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-60.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-60.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-60.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-60.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-60.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-60.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-60.png?w=436 436w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-60.png?w=366 366w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-60.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



With a household name in finance getting on the tokenization train, let’s mention another that has jumped on the bandwagon.



Fidelity launched its Treasury Digital Fund (FDIT) in December before filing for its OnChain share class in March — allowing it to use both traditional book-entry form and blockchain tech to record share ownership on Ethereum. The new share class went live last month.  



This is Fidelity’s first tokenized investment product — following fellow TradFi behemoths like Franklin Templeton and BlackRock into this realm. Its blockchain representation, the Fidelity Digital Interest Token (FDIT), can be bought/redeemed through Fidelity Investments.



The combined assets under management in BlackRock’s BUIDL, WisdomTree’s WTGXX and Franklin Templeton’s BENJI make up more than half the $7.4 billion tokenized treasury space. FDIT, in its early days, manages roughly $200 million.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="779" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-61.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107385" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-61.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-61.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-61.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-61.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-61.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-61.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-61.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-61.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-61.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



Basically, FDIT is a step toward the company building out more efficient systems and interoperability between traditional and onchain investors. Fidelity and other aforementioned financial giants clearly view yield products as a good way to start.&nbsp;



Fidelity’s Cynthia Lo Bessette told me: “Longer-term, we anticipate that market infrastructure will integrate tokenized assets, which will reshape market structure and create new opportunities for investors to access broader asset classes and personalize portfolios.”



And that expectation brings us back to what Nasdaq is trying to do. In other words, more of the financial world is getting on the same page.



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The ongoing TradFi bids to enhance markets via blockchain tech

A critical software hack may be putting crypto funds at risk, Ledger’s chief technology officer Charles Guillemet warned on Monday.



Hackers appear to have <a href="https://jdstaerk.substack.com/p/we-just-found-malicious-code-in-the">compromised</a> the npm account of an unnamed developer who’s “well-known,” Guillemet said.&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">🚨 There’s a large-scale supply chain attack in progress: the NPM account of a reputable developer has been compromised. The affected packages have already been downloaded over 1 billion times, meaning the entire JavaScript ecosystem may be at risk. The malicious payload works…&mdash; Charles Guillemet (@P3b7_) <a href="https://twitter.com/P3b7_/status/1965094840959410230?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 8, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



The hackers slipped malicious code into a tiny but widely used JavaScript package called error-ex. That package has been downloaded more than one billion times and is embedded in countless apps and services.



The malware operates by silently monitoring for cryptocurrency activity. When a user tries to send Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, or other tokens, it swaps the destination wallet with one controlled by attackers. Victims may believe they are sending funds to a trusted address, but the money instead flows to malicious actors.



Security analysts <a href="https://x.com/BleepinComputer/status/1965094845543850353">warned</a> that the code can hijack transactions at multiple layers — altering what websites display, changing background processes, and even tricking apps into misrepresenting what users are signing.



Guillemet advised hardware wallet owners to carefully confirm each transaction on the device’s screen before approving it. Because the hardware displays the true recipient address, diligent users can still spot tampering. For those using software wallets alone, he urged avoiding all on-chain transactions until the attack is better understood.



Researchers are <a href="https://x.com/buyerofponzi/status/1965105171089785100">describing</a> the breach as possibly the largest open-source supply chain attack in history. It highlights the fragility of shared software libraries and the direct financial risk they can create in 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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Critical hack may put crypto funds at risk: Ledger CTO

Jack Kubinec

Former Symbolic Capital principal Sam Lehman is taking on a new role as a junior partner at Pantera Capital, Blockworks has learned exclusively.



Pantera brought Lehman in for his expertise on investments at the intersection of crypto and AI, Lehman said. The crypto VC is stocking the cupboard shortly after its first closing for Pantera Fund V, which is <a href="https://panteracapital.docsend.com/view/ju2beeuhswk8vpu6">targeting</a> a $1 billion raise. Pantera general partner and portfolio manager Cosmo Jiang has <a href="https://www.dlnews.com/articles/deals/pantera-capital-to-invest-over-200m-into-ai-crypto-projects/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">implied</a> a significant amount of the new fund will be earmarked for crypto-AI bets.



Pantera is one of the largest and oldest crypto venture firms, having <a href="https://panteracapital.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">grown</a> to $4.8 billion in assets under management since its 2013 founding. It has cut the third-most deals among crypto VCs over the past 90 days, per Blockworks Research.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="894" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-58.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107351" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-58.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-58.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-58.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-58.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-58.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-58.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-58.png?w=467 467w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-58.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-58.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



Pantera previously showed support for Bittensor, and Jiang told Blockworks that he’s <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/projects-to-watch-pantera">watching other projects</a>, such as Grass, in March. It also <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/decentralized-ai-network-sahara-raises-fresh-capital-samsung-backed-round-2024-08-14/">led</a> a $43 million round for the blockchain-AI startup Sahara AI in 2024.



Lehman will become Pantera’s fourth junior partner. The firm also employs two managing partners, two general partners, and two partners.



While at Symbolic, Lehman made multiple investments at the intersection of crypto and AI, he said. He has also written about the sector, particularly in <a href="https://www.symbolic.capital/writing/the-worlds-rl-gym">regards</a> to reinforcement learning and pre-training, two processes through which AI models are developed.



Crypto and AI became popular speculative retail bets in late 2024, with several new projects tying tokens to AI agents — which, in many cases, were just chatbots. Many of these projects’ tokens have <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/ai-agent-market-wipeout">since cratered</a>. Lehman’s interests lie outside of curiosities like <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/lightspeed-newsletter-ai-bot-goat-memecoin">the GOAT memecoin</a>.



“If we’re using [projects] like goat, zerebro, etc, to define [the intersection of] crypto [and] AI, then, yeah, I’d definitely say there is nothing exciting to invest in there,” Lehman said in a text. “For me, however, I’m focused on more distributed, open-source AI companies where the focus is on using blockchains very intentionally / sparingly to facilitate coordination of people all over the world to collaborate on building SOTA AI.”



Lehman said he was drawn to Pantera partly due to the opportunity to work with companies “throughout their full journey, not only at the earliest stages.” He also said the move was due to the team he will be working with.



“I got to know the Pantera team during my time at Symbolic, having co-invested in several deals together. The team has a really unique mix of analytical rigor, warmth with founders, and extremely high integrity,” Lehman said.



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Ex-Symbolic principal joins Pantera to help with crypto-AI investing

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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Shifts in strategy, increased transparency may help DATs evolve

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.



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



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Nasdaq weighs SEC filing to allow tokenized securities

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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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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Senate Banking Committee finalizes updated market structure bill draft 

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’

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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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 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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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.



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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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Justin Sun claims WLFI tokens ‘unreasonably frozen’

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Chris is a passionate advocate for the potential of technology and the benefits of diversity and inclusion. His core policy focus is on digital technology for the public good with a particular interest in technologies such as AI and blockchain.



In Parliament, he specializes in legislation that deals with technology. He is a member of the House of Lord’s Digital and Communications Select Committee and was appointed to the Special Bill Committee considering Digital Asset legislation. He introduced a private members’ bill that proposed the regulation of artificial intelligence and was integral to the passing of the ground-breaking Electronic Trade Documents Bill.



On technology, he has previously co-authored House of Lords Select Committee Reports on: Democracy and Digital Technologies [2020], Artificial Intelligence [2018], and Digital Skills [2015] and under his own auspices published an influential report encouraging government testing of blockchain solutions for policy delivery, DLT for Public Good: leadership, collaboration and innovation [2017] He is also adviser to several tech and fintech companies.



On inclusion, and again under his own auspices, he has published influential reports on accessibility in the public realm and support for disabled students as well as Lords reports on Financial Exclusion [2017], Social Mobility [2016] and, for the Cabinet Office, The Lord Holmes Review on opening up public appointments to disabled people. He continues to advise the government on diversity and inclusion.



An ex-Paralympic swimmer, Chris won nine gold, five silvers and one bronze medal across four Games, including a record haul of six golds at Barcelona 1992.

Lord Holmes of Richmond MBE

Joseph Lubin is a co-founder of Ethereum, the founder and CEO of <a href="https://consensys.net/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Consensys</a> and Chairman of SharpLink. Since 2014, Consensys has played a foundational role in Ethereum’s growth, from pioneering products like MetaMask and Infura to shaping protocol development and staking infrastructure.



Born and raised in Toronto, Lubin graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He worked in the Princeton Robotics Lab, at tomandandy music developing an autonomous music composition tool, and at private research firm Vision Applications Inc. building autonomous mobile robots.



As a software and AI consultant, Lubin worked with eMagine on the Identrus project and was involved in the founding and operation of a hedge fund with a partner. He held positions as Director of the New York office of Blacksmith Software Consulting, and VP of Technology in Private Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs. Through these posts, Joe focused on the intersection of cryptography, engineering, and finance.



In 2014 he met Vitalik Buterin, a Canadian programmer, writer and Founder of Ethereum and joined the Ethereum Project as a co-founder. After the Project was launched, Joe established Consensys. Since 2014 Joe and the Consensys team have been working on the foundational software for web3, the next wave of the internet for a decentralized future.

Joseph Lubin

Mathew has more than 25 years of industry and leadership experience, having previously held several leadership positions at Goldman Sachs globally and across different functions. As Global Head of Digital Assets at Goldman Sachs, Mathew is responsible for leading the firm’s cross-divisional digital assets strategy, which includes a wide range of client-led tokenization activities, crypto-linked product offerings and blockchain investments.

Mathew McDermott

Samantha is RockawayX's Partner &amp; Chief Growth Officer. Samantha invests across stages and is a member of the firm’s Investment Committee. She also oversees the firm's post-investment engine and portfolio management, and its growth efforts across operating divisions.



Samantha previously spent four years as Head of Growth at DCG (parent company of CoinDesk, Grayscale, Luno, Foundry, Genesis and Tradeblock.) In that position, Samantha oversaw the firm's 250+ company venture portfolio and ran strategic growth and corporate development initiatives on behalf of DCG and its network of businesses. Prior to DCG, Samantha led business development efforts at Elder, a London-based health tech company, and spent four years at Orbis Investments, the global asset manager, working on its emerging market equity fund and spearheading the roll-out of an innovative online retail investment platform.

Samantha Bohbot

Daniel is the Chairman, Founder and largest shareholder in CoinShares International Limited, Europe’s largest digital asset manager with $6 Billion USD under management. He serves on the Board of the Tezos Foundation, StableMint, GTSA, Satohshi pay, and a number of CoinShares' affiliates. Since engaging initially in 2012 in crypto he has made numerous investments across the infrastructure powering crypto from data to blockchains to wallets, defi, mining, custody and crypto banks. He was formerly the global head of energy trading at JP Morgan and ran two successful commodity hedge funds. He holds three degrees: Physics, Management Science, and Applied Statistics.

Danny Masters

Chris Rayner-Cook, CIO, leads Brevan Howard’s Digital investment team. Over a 20+ career, Chris has held senior roles including at Coinbase, where he was Global Head of Trading and Financing, managed capital at large hedge funds including Brevan Howard, Citadel and Millennium, and founded and successfully sold a tokenisation business. Chris started his career at Merrill Lynch in 2000. He obtained his BSc in Pharmacology from the University of Bristol in June 2000.

Chris Rayner-Cook

Ray Hindi is the co-founded L1D and currently acts as the CEO/CIO. Ray has an investment background in venture, hedge funds and interest rate trading. Ray holds a BEng from UCL and an MSc in Finance from Imperial College. He previously acted as the CIO of Bellegarde Capital AG an independent investment group with activities focused in fintech, blockchain and other alternative investments. Also previously at Swiss Capital (StepStone Group) responsible for the firm’s macro outlook, macro hedge funds and event driven coverage. From 2005 to 2011 Ray was part of Harcourt Investment Consulting AG, a USD 6 bn fund of hedge funds firm in Zurich, and responsible for USD 2 bn of investments (rates, macro and distressed). He started his career at Bloomberg LP in London and subsequently left the firm to trade interest rates for a London based proprietary group. Ray holds a BEng from University College London (UCL) and an MSc in Finance from Imperial College.

Ray Hindi

Ben founded ParaFi in 2018 as one of the earliest investment firms focused on the blockchain and digital asset ecosystem. Prior to founding ParaFi, Ben spent the first 10 years of his career in institutional investing roles at leading asset managers including KKR and TPG. While at KKR, Ben served as a Director in the credit business, investing across a wide array of industry sectors and parts of the capital structure, including distressed special situations, private credit, and opportunistic and liquid credit. Ben also led KKR's blockchain research as part of the firm's Innovation and Disruption Council beginning in 2016. Prior to KKR, Ben served as a Vice President with TPG’s former credit business, Sixth Street Partners. As one of the first investment professionals to join the platform, Ben helped scale its private credit vehicle, TPG Specialty Lending, which went public in 2014. Earlier in his career, Ben was a member of the private equity team at Littlejohn &amp; Company and investment banking team at Rothschild &amp; Co. Ben has a passion for capital markets, behavioral economics and game theory, all of which drew him to the blockchain space. He grew up playing chess competitively and continues to play actively to this day (peak ELO 1871). He graduated with a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, magna cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania.

Ben Forman

Sandy Kaul is senior vice president, Franklin Templeton, providing advisory consulting for the firm and thought leadership as part of the Franklin Templeton Institute. She delivers actionable intelligence and insights on the future of the investment and wealth management industry for the firm and its clients. Ms. Kaul has cultivated deeply informed insights and has an extensive background in driving market leading research, thought leadership and predictive models centered on the evolution of the investment and wealth management industry. She identifies and champions opportunities to address industry advancements and drive transformation, with a focus on innovative distribution trends and digital disruption. She delivers strategic insights to inform the firm's decision-making on partnerships and investments, including within Franklin Templeton's growing digital asset business. Ms. Kaul has over 25 years of well-rounded industry experience and is a frequent speaker at industry events and a widely published author. She combines her unique blend of sell-side, buy-side and consulting insights to drive her research and thought leadership around what constitutes best practices and where innovation is occurring. Ms. Kaul joined Franklin Templeton in 2022 from Citi, where she served as Managing Director and Global Head of Business Advisory Services, and launched and built out the Citi's Business Advisory Services practice, a market leading provider of industry thought leadership spanning Citi's Markets and Global Wealth organizations. Ms. Kaul rejoined Citi in 2009, after originally starting her career there in 1985 as a Futures Research Analyst covering the soft commodities markets with Citi's predecessor firm, Shearson Lehman Brothers. She joined Commodities Corporation/Goldman Sachs Asset Management in 1995 as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA) and Portfolio Manager. After managing money for nearly six years, Ms. Kaul shifted her attention to consulting where she led the strategy practice within the Financial Services division of the renowned dot.com firm, Scient, and then went on to become a Partner at the capital markets niche management consulting firm m.a.partners/Detica. Ms. Kaul holds a bachelor's degree in history and political science from Colgate University.

Sandy Kaul

Leading Strategy and Partnerships for Digital Assets in Citi's Treasury and Trade Solutions Business. Working with a truly dynamic global team serving 140 countries, 160 currencies while regulated in 95 countries.

David Cunningham

Ryan is based in London and heads up Digital Assets globally and Strategic Investments across Europe and Asia at Barclays. The DA team is responsible for digital asset strategy, governance and the establishment of new asset, money and tokenisation initiatives across the bank. The SI team is responsible for originating, executing and portfolio managing all strategic principal equity investments made by Barclays in external companies.  Ryan joined Barclays in 2011 as an M&amp;amp;A advisor in the investment bank and moved to the Strategy and Corporate Development team in 2013, where he acted as a principal in originating and executing M&amp;amp;A transactions.Prior to Barclays, Ryan was at Nevsky Capital, a $7bn long/short equity asset manager, where he covered a range of sectors including oil &amp;amp; gas, chemicals and agriculture and before that worked at Deutsche Bank as a corporate finance advisor in the Industrials practice across Europe. Ryan holds a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Oxford and also holds an MA (Oxon) from the University of Oxford.

Ryan Hayward

Mike Higgins is an early Partner and acting, International CEO and Global Head of Corporate Development at Hidden Road. An experienced Director with two decades of active engagement within financial markets, Mike possesses expertise in market structure across the full spectrum of Global Financial Markets, including Digital Assets, FICC and Synthetic Swaps. A strong emphasis on electronic trading technologies, methodologies and workflows. His specific skills in E-Commerce, APIs, GUI, price generation algorithms, risk management and hedging strategies to a diverse group of market participants prove invaluable as Hidden Road network continues to expand. Prior to joining Hidden Road, Mike successfully built, managed and commercialised a number of businesses within financial markets which included solutions in technology, trading and brokerage. Having started his career in New York on Wall Street, Mike moved with his family to London in 2009. Mike earned a bachelors degree in economics and statistics from Fordham University in New York.

Michael Higgins

Meltem Demirors is Founder and General Partner at Crucible, an early-stage fund investing in the foundations of our digital future. Before launching Crucible in 2024, she served as Chief Strategy Officer at CoinShares, Europe’s largest and longest standing digital asset investment firm which oversees $7B in AUM. Meltem started her crypto career on the founding team at Digital Currency Group, which grew from 40 to 200 portfolio companies and 2 to 4 subsidiaries during her tenure. Beyond her corporate positions, Meltem has lectured at MIT and Oxford and is an active angel investor in over 100 startups. She leverages her vast network – ranging from major institutions to builders at the fringe – to find and fund unique opportunities for Crucible. Before joining the crypto industry in 2015, Meltem began her career trading and working in the oil and gas industry. She studied math and econ at Rice University and has an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. When she isn’t talking about data centers, the energy grid, or forward curves she can be found reading, wandering in the woods, or scheming with her magical internet money friends.

Meltem Demirors

Xiao-Xiao J. Zhu currently serves as Digital Operating Partner at KKR where he leads technology-driven value creation, innovation and digital transformation at the board and top management level of European private equity portfolio companies such as Axel Springer, GfK and Roompot Landal. He also leads KKR’s global Digital Assets &amp; Blockchain strategy, driving investments in foremost Crypto VCs such as Dragonfly Capital and Ethereal Ventures as well as Digital Assets companies such as Anchorage Digital. He is a regular speaker at key Digital Assets &amp; AI conferences, and is an angel investor in fast growing early stage technology companies such as Fuse Energy or Anagram. Prior to joining KKR, he was General Manager at BCG Digital Ventures in London and Beijing where he founded, launched and scaled new digital companies such as Heycar.com (backed by Volkswagen &amp; Daimler) or Tracr.com (backed by DeBeers). He began his career in management consulting advising Fortune 500 companies at the Boston Consulting Group in London. Notably, in an earlier life, he performed as a professional concert pianist on some of the world’s most prestigious concert venues including the Berlin Philharmonie, and played for global leaders such as George H.W. Bush, Helmut Kohl or Mikhail Gorbachev. He holds a MSc in Managerial Economics &amp; Strategy from the London School of Economics, a BA in Philosophy &amp; Economics from the Humboldt University Berlin, and a Masters in Concert Piano from the Berlin University of Arts.

Xiao-Xiao Zhu

Melvin Deng is the Chief Executive Officer of QCP, one of the first digital asset trading firms in Singapore and global market maker in digital asset derivatives. As the CEO, Melvin leads the company’s rapid growth and expansion towards its vision to partner the next generation of investors to unlock institutional opportunities in digital assets. Under his leadership, he has built the company’s institutional-grade experience, research and infrastructure into a compelling proposition for clients, in addition to overseeing all operations and risk management. He is a believer in the immense growth potential of digital asset derivatives, to unlock future adoption by traditional and institutional players. Inspired by the opportunity to disrupt financial services through digital assets and blockchain technology, he left a more than 15 year career in banking to join QCP in 2021. He was previously the Head of Treasury for a global bank, where he was a member of the Singapore management team, responsible for business and balance sheet strategy. In addition to oversight of all the bank’s Treasury-related activities, he also led balance sheet optimisation initiatives, and launched the first SORA bond in Singapore, deepening the local financial market. Melvin holds a Bachelor of Engineering with honours from the National University of Singapore, and speaks four languages.

Melvin Deng

Nikita is a Managing Partner and Head of Fasanara Digital, the crypto division of Fasanara Capital, a $5 billion hedge fund based in London. He oversees the investment strategies and strategic direction of Fasanara Digital. He originally started The Quant Group from his dorm room, building quant strategies for digital assets. In 2018, the team joined Fasanara Capital and became Fasanara Digital, which has since grown into one of the leading and best-performing digital asset funds in the space.



Additionally, Nikita is the founder of The Digital Asset Conference, an annual event aimed at advancing industry adoption, and hosts the Speaking to Legends podcast. He’s a regular speaker at major crypto conferences and has been recognised by Forbes 30 Under 30 and Financial News’ Rising Stars in Finance. Nikita is also a Young Leader Circle (YLC) at the Milken Institute, and holds a BSc in Mathematics from the University of St Andrews.

Nikita Fadeev

Michael Howell is CEO of CrossBorder Capital, a London-based FCA registered, independent research and investment company that he founded in 1996. The firm provides asset allocation and capital markets advice to institutional investors, and manages US$1 billion of assets. Michael is involved with educational charities and currently advises a major educational foundation on its investment strategy. He brings 40 years finance experience and is a regular international conference speaker, and a media and social media commentator. He has also advised the World Bank on capital flows, co-authoring their publication Opportunities in Emerging Markets (World Bank, 1995), served as board director of a listed Japanese investment trust and recently authored the book Capital Wars (Macmillan, 2020). Previously he was Head of Research for Baring Securities and board member, where he focussed on Emerging Markets, and Research Director of Salomon Brothers Inc, the US investment bank. Before entering finance, Michael worked as Group Economist for Blue Circle Industries plc. He holds a Phd. in financial economics from London University, specialising in Fixed Income, and is a SEC-qualified US Supervisory Analyst. Michael lives in Oxford, England, and is married with four children.

Michael Howell

Jess is the CEO of WalletConnect, the connectivity layer for the financial internet. Previously she led Crypto at Checkout.com, a global fintech company. Jess was also a member of the Bank of England CBDC Engagement Forum and a member of UK Finance New Digital Money Steering Group, Innovate Finance Fintech Strategy Group and Department for International Trade Fintech Group.

Jess Houlgrave

David Karney

Dan Tapiero is a renowned macro-focused investor with over 25 years of investing and entrepreneurial experience. He is the Founder, CEO and CIO of 1Roundtable Partners (1RT) and 10T Holdings (10T), which collectively manage over $1.4 billion of investments in 24 active companies across the Digital Asset Ecosystem (DAE). 1RT is a growth equity fund focused on mid-to-late stage companies in the DAE. Dan serves on several boards including Ledger, LEDN, Futureverse, and Quicknode. Before founding 1RT and 10T, Dan was Managing Partner of DTAP Capital Advisors, a global macro investment fund that he founded in 2003. He is Co-Founder of Gold Bullion International (GBI), a physical precious metals platform for the wealth management industry. GBI expanded into the cryptocurrency business through its integration with Uphold (fka Bitreserve) in 2014. Prior to GBI, he was formerly Co-Founder of the Agricultural Company of America (AGCoA), one of the largest farmland REITs in the U.S. at the time of its sale to the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) in 2013. Previously, from 1992-2012, Dan was a macro-focused portfolio manager and analyst at Duquesne Capital Management, SAC Capital Advisors, Tiger Management and Steinhardt Management Co. Dan graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Brown University, where he earned his B.A.'90 and M.A.'91 in European History. Dan has been on the Board of Trustees of the Lawrenceville School for the past 15 years and currently leads the Investment Committee for its endowment.

Dan Tapiero

Santiago Roel Santos (CryptoPunk #9159) is an investor focusing at the intersection of DeFi and the Web3 metaverse (NFTs/gaming). Most recently was a Partner at ParaFi Capital, one of the largest crypto funds specializing in DeFi. Prior to that, he was at Sageview Capital investing in Internet and software and, before that, at JP Morgan investment banking. Santiago began investing in crypto in 2012.

Santiago Roel Santos

Jeff Park is the CIO of ProCap. He also serves as an advisor to Bitwise Investments.

Jeff Park

Rebecca Rettig is the Chief Legal Officer at Jito Labs, where she leads legal, compliance, and policy strategy. She previously held the same role at the Aave Companies, a DeFi software developer, and Polygon Labs, a blockchain technology company; at both, she built the policy function and managed all legal and compliance matters. Ms. Rettig is a pioneer in shaping legal and regulatory frameworks for blockchain systems and applications, advising on matters including decentralization, token launches, and mechanisms. DeFi, structuring, and decentralized governance. She has liaised with policymakers and regulators globally on how DeFi systems operate and the appropriate intersection of law with this novel technology. Ms. Rettig began her legal career at Cravath, Swaine &amp; Moore LLP, litigating complex financial disputes, as well as a landmark peer-to-peer file-sharing case and one of the largest airline mergersin history. She was a partner at Manatt, Phelps &amp; Phillips and currently is Of Counsel at Arktouros pllc, a boutique law firm specializing in cutting-edge technology companies. She has been recognized as one of Crain’s Top Women Lawyers in New York City.

Rebecca Rettig

Nicolas is a Founding Partner of Numeus, a global digital asset investment and trading firm founded by a team of finance, blockchain and technology professionals. Nicolas leads the firm's asset management division, Forteus, that is backed by Schroders and offers institutional funds for investors seeking exposure to the digital asset ecosystem. Nicolas brings over twenty years of professional experience in a career spanning crypto, traditional finance and consulting industries. Before co-founding Numeus, Nicolas was a founding partner of Argentière Capital, a volatility-focused multi-strategy hedge fund where he was a Senior Portfolio Manager focusing on volatility strategies across equities and FX. He was a member of the firm’s Risk Management Committee and was instrumental in building many of the tools and processes employed by the firm across investment and risk management functions.



Prior to launching Argentière, Nicolas was a Portfolio Manager in JPMorgan Chase’s Equity Proprietary Trading Group in London. He previously spent nine years at Bain &amp; Company, where he was a Manager running consulting projects in the areas of corporate strategy, M&amp;A, private equity and operational improvements for clients in Europe, US and Japan.



Nicolas obtained his BA / MA in Mathematics from the Ecole Polytechnique of Lausanne in Switzerland.

Nicolas Vanhoutteghem 

Jakob is the President of GSR, he previously served as the Global CEO of GSR for over 2.5 years. Prior to joining GSR, he was Head of EMEA business at Two Sigma Investments and a board director of Two Sigma International. He has 18 years of experience developing business and investment solutions in systematic investment management, including roles at Winton Capital Management and Barclays Global Investors (BGI). Jakob earned a BSc in Economics from Lund University where he also completed the MSc coursework in Economics (without dissertation). He also holds a Ships Officers Degree, Class VIII from Chalmers University of Technology.

Jakob Palmstierna

Prior to joining the Board of the Algorand Foundation, Staci ran the Global Market Development practice at the Milken Institute, where she led its work on capital market development, crypto/blockchain solutions, and innovative finance to promote the sustainable development goals. Prior to Milken, Staci ran JPMorgan’s EMEA public sector practice out of London. Before JPMorgan, she led the Nasdaq’s two markets for microcap companies, and in the public and non-profit sectors had senior roles at the U.S. Treasury Department, the Center for Global Development, and the Harvard Institute for International Development. Staci has done business in more than 50 countries and has advised and spoken widely on the potential for cryptocurrencies and blockchain to solve real-world problems, and for financial innovation to improve inclusion and reduce global poverty. In addition to the Algorand Foundation, she sits on the Boards of the Global Blockchain Business Council, the Rwandan Capital Market Authority, and the Energy for Growth Hub. She also serves on the advisory committees of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the European Parliament’s Science and Technology Committee (STOA), the U.S. Financial Technology Association, and Evolution Environmental Asset Management.

Staci Warden

Ruud Smets is the Managing Partner and CIO at Theta Capital Management, one of theworld’s largest fund of funds allocators in blockchain-native VCs, having deployed a $650 million into early-stage strategy across 45+ specialized managers since 2018. Under Ruud's stewardship, Theta has secured early, private-stage exposure to 80% of successful blockchain projects, leveraging its unique relationships with top VCs. With Master’sdegrees in Information Technology and  Investment Theory and as a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst, Ruud combines deep financial acumen with blockchain expertise. Ruud joined Theta in 2005 and has positioned the firm as a pioneering, AIFMD licensed fund manager, offering unmatched access to blockchain’s investment potential.

Ruud Smets

Haseeb is a Managing Partner at Dragonfly. He was previously a partner at Metastable Capital, and has a background in software engineering at Airbnb and Earn.com (acquired by Coinbase).

Haseeb Qureshi

Matt Hougan is one of the world’s leading experts on crypto, ETFs, and financial technology. He is Chief Investment Officer for Bitwise Asset Management, a pioneer in cryptoasset index funds with more than $1.2 billion in assets under management. He was previously CEO of ETF.com, where he helped build the world’s first ETF data and analytics system, the leading ETF media site, and the world’s largest ETF conference, Inside ETFs. Hougan is co-author of both "A Comprehensive Guide to Exchange-Traded Funds" and "Cryptoassets: The Guide to Bitcoin, Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies for Professional Investors" from the CFA Institute’s Research Foundation. He is a crypto columnist for Forbes, and a three-time member of the Barron’s ETF Roundtable.

Matt Hougan

Morgan Krupetsky is Senior Director of Business Development for Institutions &amp; Capital Markets at Ava Labs. In her role, Morgan partners with financial services institutions as they operationalize their digital asset strategies, as well as with early stage teams building blockchain-enabled products and services for institutions.



Before joining Ava Labs, Morgan spent 12 years at Citi; she spent the majority of that time on the Institutional FX &amp; Macro sales desk covering Hedge Funds, Asset Managers, and Pension Funds, before transitioning to become Chief of Staff to Citi’s Chief Compliance Officer.

Morgan Krupetsky

Konstantin Richter is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and advisor. He has been active in the blockchain ecosystem as an advisor and contributor since 2015, with the likes of Gem, <a href="http://po.et/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Po.et</a>, and MadHive. In 2017, he created Blockdaemon in order to bring institutional-grade infrastructure to blockchain protocols, crypto native and traditional financial institutions. Subsequently, Konstantin has helmed Blockdaemon through three major funding rounds raising $400M to date. The most recent being a Series C raising $207M at a $3.25B valuation led by Sapphire and Tiger Global with previous backers SoftBank, Goldman Sachs, and Citi Ventures. Blockdaemon is the world’s largest blockchain infrastructure company for node management, MPC tech, and staking.

Konstantin Richter

Mara Schmiedt, CEO and Co-Founder of Alluvial, oversees business, operations, and strategy. She previously worked at Coinbase as Head of Sales for Coinbase Cloud, managed Business Development at Bison Trails, and served as Strategy Manager at ConsenSys, focusing on Codefi. Mara is a board member at Obol Labs, a leading DVT provider, and a strategic angel investor in over 15 projects. Passionate about open-source technology, she has published research on liquid staking and led a working group with the Ethereum Foundation that developed the Ethereum Launchpad and the first DVT proof of concepts.

Mara Schmiedt

With 7 years of experience across investment banking, hedge funds, and private equity, Guy has built a strong foundation in the financial sector. Prior to founding Ethena, he spent 6 years at Cerberus Management, a firm with $60 billion in assets under management, where he focused on investing in financial services businesses across the capital structure.

Guy Young

Sid Powell is the CEO &amp; Co-Founder of Maple Finance and with his Co-Founder Joe Flanagan founded Maple in 2019. Sid comes from a background in debt capital markets and institutional banking. During his career in traditional finance, he participated in $3BN+ of corporate bond issuance,and served as Treasurer for a commercial lending company in Australia. Maple has originated more than $5b in institutional lending since inception and currently holds over $550m in assets on the platform. We aim to be the global leader in tokenized private credit and first choice for institutional borrowers.

Sid Powell

Jordi Alexander is the Founder of Selini Capital, a leading firm within Digital Assets trading and investing. Selini has its roots in traditional markets and High-Frequency Trading, but is currently one of the most active firms in onchain DeFi as well as early stage venture investing. Jordi is an advisor to projects innovating in the space including Mantle, and is cohost of the weekly Steady Lads podcast.

Jordi Alexander

Evgeny has 15+ years of experience growing fintech businesses. He has consistently grown market share in Europe’s top fiat exchanges, developed and executed ambitious expansion projects and led agile cross-functional teams. Prior to founding Wintermute, Evgeny built and ran the Optiver’s European ETF business (HFT and OTC) – one of the largest in the EU. Evgeny holds MSc in Finance and EMBA from London Business School.

Evgeny Gaevoy

Vivek Raman

Michael Bucella is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Neoclassic Capital, a digital asset investment firm with a strong focus on Asia. Prior to Neoclassic, Michael served as General Partner with BlockTower Capital from 2017 to 2022, growing the firm near inception to managing in excess of $1B in AUM across hedge fund, venture, and credit strategies. Previous to BlockTower, Michael spent nearly a decade with Goldman Sachs in New York across both the Asset Management (GSAM) and Securities Division.

Michael Bucella

Simon Taylor is the Founder of Fintech Brainfood. Simon has been immersed in the technology of financial services for as long as he’s been working and is consistently voted one of the most influential people in Banking, Insurance and Fintech by banks, his peers and a number of industry bodies. Simon runs Fintech Brainfood, the weekly newsletter subscribed to by over 45k people at banks, fintech companies and VCs. A regular speaker, media presenter and podcaster, Simon has spent two decades in financial services in payments, banking, crypto and consulting. Simon is now focused on bringing payments onchain at Tempo, the payments-focused Blockchain incubated by Stripe and Paradigm.

Simon Taylor

Anatoly is an investment professional with 30 years of experience in investment management and hedge fund industry. Nickel Digital is a regulated multi-PM quant hedge fund specialising in market-neutral strategies in digital assets, providing institutional-grade access to this nascent market. In co-founding Nickel Digital in 2019, Anatoly leveraged his prior experience with investment management divisions of Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan in London, where he was dealing with asset allocation and portfolio construction. Anatoly earned an MA degree in International Business from the University of National and World Economy in Sofia and an Executive MBA degree from the University of Oxford in 2009. He returned to Oxford in 2018, to become part of the pioneering cohort of global investment professionals to graduate from the Oxford Blockchain Strategy Programme, which played a pivotal role in the decision to transit from traditional finance into digital assets. Anatoly is an avid sailor who has crossed both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, on a single-hull racing sailboat and a catamaran, respectively.

Anatoly Crachilov

Diogo is the co-founder of Anchorage Digital, where he served as President prior to joining Haun Ventures and where he currently serves as Executive Chairman. Anchorage Digital is the first federally chartered crypto-native bank in the US. Prior to founding Anchorage Digital, Diogo served as Platform Security Lead at Square (now known as Block). At Square, Diogo worked on the infrastructure security platform (including identity, access management, and responses systems) that is now used to move over $200B in annualized gross payments volume. Diogo also served as Security Lead at Docker, where he and his team wrote code that helps secure one of the core underpinnings of modern computing infrastructure: containers. Diogo serves as the Chairman of the NEAR Foundation. He previously served as an advisor to Airtable and StackRox.

Diogo Monica

Lekker Capital is a global macro hedge fund with a particular focus on the emerging digital asset industry. Prior to founding Lekker, Quinn served as the Head of Capital Markets for two institutional lending businesses in the digital asset ecosystem, most recently at Maple Finance. Quinn spent five years in fixed income and capital markets at Guggenheim Partners in New York before his full-time foray into crypto.

Quinn Thompson

Rob Hadick is a General Partner at Dragonfly, a ~$4bn crypto focused investment firm. Previously, he helped lead multi-stage investments into crypto companies and protocols at GoldenTree Asset Management ("GTAM"), a ~$50bn multi-strategy hedge fund. Prior to GTAM, Rob invested in and advised fintech, technology, and crypto companies while at Heritage Partners, Goldman Sachs, and PJT Partners. He holds a MBA from Columbia Business School, and a Bachelors in Economics and Political Science from Washington University in St. Louis.

Rob Hadick

Hadley is the Chief Commercial Officer at Marinade Labs, the web3 software development team behind Solana liquid and native staking protocol Marinade. He previously founded and led Fidelity’s digital assets division, after serving as SVP of Fidelity Labs where he led several divisions to research and pilot several emerging technologies, including wearable computing, VR/AR, mobile applications (including the company’s first-ever app and app brokerage), AI, and others. He also led global digital asset custody for the Bank of New York Mellon, where he launched the industry’s first bank-grade platform for digital asset custody on bitcoin and Ethereum. He also served as COO at blockchain infrastructure company Bloq, and previously led Amazon Web Services’ AWS Innovation Lab.

Hadley Stern

Omar is a digital asset expert, investor, and consultant active in the space since 2016. As Chief Business Development Officer at SecondLane (Web3 native investment bank and asset manager with $100 M+ AUM) Omar leads strategic partnerships and oversees complex deal execution with a focus on legal and operational integrity.



In addition to his role at SecondLane, Omar is a LP in several leading crypto venture funds, including Multicoin Capital, Alliance DAO, and Topology Ventures, backing the next generation of protocols and infrastructure across Web3. His investment focus also spans the convergence of blockchain and artificial intelligence, with recent backing of frontier tech companies such as Figure AI and Apptronik.



With deep involvement at both the operational and capital levels, Omar operates at the intersection of institutional adoption, capital formation, and regulatory evolution in digital assets. He is driven by his deep belief in blockchain’s potential to drive long-term, meaningful social impact on a global scale.

Omar Shakeeb

Marc Vanlerberghe is the Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer at Algorand Foundation. Marc brings more than 20 years of experience in executive marketing positions, with a strong background in entrepreneurial, hyper-growth business environments. Prior to Algorand Foundation, he was the CEO of Rulai, a startup in the nascent conversational AI space. Before that, he was CMO at Medallia, the leading SaaS platform that enables companies to capture actionable customer data in real time. At Google, Marc was Vice President of Marketing for Access and Energy and anadvisor to CapitalG. Marc is known for launching Android and developing the brand into the most popular mobile operating system. In addition, he led marketing for Google Play and Google’s hardware and retail organizations. Marc lives in Sunnyvale, California. He sits on several boards and enjoys advising startup entrepreneurs. Marc received his MBA from Stanford University and his MS degree in engineering from the University of Ghent, Belgium.

Marc Vanlerberghe

Chris is the CIO of Digital Assets at Amitis Capital. In his early career, Chris worked at several major institutions including CIBC World Markets, Société Générale Barr Devlin, Antarctica Asset Management and ING Investment Management. In 2010, he joined SAIL Advisors (the family office of the founder of Duty-Free Shoppers) as Head of Research for Tactical Trading and Relative Value Strategies. He later joined Cliffwater LLC as Managing Director covering global macro and relative value strategies on the hedge fund research team. Most recently, Chris was the CIO of Digital Assets at Forest Road, where he oversaw a digital assets-focused venture capital fund of funds. Chris has a BA in Economics and Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania and an MComm in Finance from the University of New South Wales, where he was a Federation Scholar. Chris holds the CFA, CPA, and CAIA designations. Chris has broken 9 Guinness World Records and has run marathons on all 7 continents and in all 50 US states.

Chris Solarz

Seth Ginns is a Managing Partner and Head of Liquid Investments at CoinFund, and a key member of the Venture Investment Committee. He has 20 years of Wall Street experience and has been deeply involved in the crypto community since his angel investment in Coinbase in 2012. He is also an angel in Starkware, Chainalysis, participated in the Ethereum ICO in 2014, and loves traveling globally to developer events as a way to keep a finger on the pulse of the market. His angel portfolio also includes Instacart, BillionToOne and DoorDash, and many earlier stage, high growth startups.



Prior to CoinFund, Seth invested in public growth equities over 18 years at Jennison Associates. He holds a BA in Mathematics and South Asia Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, where he serves on the International Advisory Board of the Center for the Advanced Study of India at the School of Arts and Sciences and served as an Overseer at the School of Nursing and Co-Chair of the Innovation Committee.

Seth Ginns

Ryan Rasmussen is the Head of Research at Bitwise Asset Management. Prior to Bitwise, he held a variety of corporate finance roles at Cetera Financial Group, a network of independent broker-dealers with over 8,000 financial advisors and $300 billion in assets under administration. Before Cetera, Ryan was a business analyst at Oakley and spent time as a research associate at UK Trade &amp; Investment in Sydney, Australia. He is a graduate of the Argyros School of Business &amp; Economics at Chapman University, with a B.S. in finance and a secondary focus in graphic and web design.

Ryan Rasmussen

Paul Faecks is the Founder and CEO of Plasma, a high-performance, scalable, and secure blockchain built for stablecoin payments. At Plasma, Paul is leading the team building a blockchain tailored for stablecoin transactions from the ground up. Before founding Plasma, Paul served as the CEO and Co-Founder of Alloy, a platform for institutional digital asset operations, beginning in August 2021.

Paul Faecks

Richard Green

Alwyn Clarke is a Director on Galaxy Digital’s investment banking team. Prior to joining the firm, Alwyn worked at Fenchurch Advisory Partners and Barclays Capital in London and New York, advising businesses on M&amp;A, capital raising and other strategic initiatives. He has worked with businesses across the full financial services landscape, with a core focus on financial technology and asset management. Alwyn holds a B.A. in Jurisprudence (Law with French Law) from the University of Oxford.

Alwyn Clarke

Ian brings over 20 years of experience in capital markets and fintech and is widely regarded as one of the UK’s foremost experts in blockchain and digital assets. He most recently led KPMG’s UK Crypto &amp; Digital Assets practice, and previously served as Executive Director and Board Advisor to CryptoUK, the UK’s digital asset trade association.

Ian Taylor

Avi Felman is a Principal and Head of Digital Assets Trading at&nbsp;GoldenTree&nbsp;Asset Management. Mr. Felman is also a General Partner of&nbsp;GoldenChain, a wholly owned subsidiary of&nbsp;GoldenTree&nbsp;that manages the Firm’s funds focused on digital assets. Mr. Felman is one of the longest tenured traders in digital assets and has held several prominent positions, including most recently as Co-Portfolio Manager and Head of Trading for&nbsp;BlockTower&nbsp;Capital where he grew the flagship fund portfolio from $40mm at time of joining to over $800mm. Previously, Mr. Felman was Lead Trader at Wave Financial where he co- led the development of the first SEC-regulated Bitcoin fund and he also was responsible for the derivatives strategy and trading execution. Prior to joining Wave Financial, Mr. Felman founded Ledger Capital, a firm focused on cryptocurrency trading and investments. Mr. Felman received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering&nbsp;from&nbsp;Washington University.

Avi Felman

Eric Chen is the CEO of Injective Foundation. Eric has worked within the crypto industry for over six years with his latest project, Injective, garnering interest from leading professionals across hedge funds, venture capitals and blockchain projects, including but not limited to Pantera Capital, Mark Cuban, Hashed and Binance.



Eric was featured in Forbes 30 under 30 in 2024 for his work on Injective.

Eric Chen

William joined Marshall Wace in May 2022 to oversee Fintech and Digital Assets investments for MW Digital Finance Fund.



Prior to joining Marshall Wace, William worked at Candy Capital, a family office where he was responsible for various investments across the technology sector. Prior to Candy Capital, William worked for HSBC and Greyspark Partners, were he was heading Fintech Investment Advisory. William is also an active seed investor across digital assets and fintech.

William Benattar

James is General Partner – Fund Manager &amp; GP at Republic. Prior to this, James worked in a wide variety of investing, business building and operating roles across the Alan Howard ecosystem. Originally hired into Brevan Howard, his focus was Principal Investing across Crypto, Web3, Fintech &amp; Frontier Technologies. James was also one of the founding team at WebN Group, the well-known incubator for Fintech &amp; Web3 innovation, where over 18 months significant equity value was created. Twinstake, TruFin, Libre, Geometry and Soter are a few of those companies. Due to James’s extensive experience, he additionally spent 6 months restructuring, realigning and putting into place operational policies and scaling procedures at Elwood, a market leading EMS &amp; PMS provider backed by Goldman Sachs, Citi Bank, and Barclays. Having been heavily involved in Web3 &amp; Digital Assets Markets for over 8 years, James started his career with ~15 years of investment banking experience across multi-asset trading, derivative, sales and structuring desks at top tier banks. His deep understanding of the intersection between digital assets, financial technologies and traditional finance has been crucial to creating robust investment thesis’s, venture builds and implementing operational policies, scalable processes and go-to-market strategies in portfolio companies. Outside of work, James is an advisor to various companies, including Saltford FC and has published numerous quantitative, financial and regulatory papers across both traditional and digital markets, most recently for the Digital Economic Initiative. As a qualified Chartered Financial Analyst®, James holds a Masters in Finance (Distinction) &amp; graduated with an Honours Degree in Economics from Durham University.

James Newman

Serafin Lion Engel is the Founder and CEO of Yield.xyz (formerly StakeKit), the ultimate Web 3 yield infrastructure Backed by Multicoin Capital, Yield.xyz provides customers access to over 1,000 self-custodial yields across staking, stablecoins, and DeFi. The platform facilitates over $100 million in monthly volume and powers more than 50 of the leading companies in Web3 and Fintech, including wallets like Ledger and neobanks like DeBlock.



 Before Yield.xyz, Serafin founded Omni in 2021, one of the first mobile multichain wallets. Omni was acquired by Paxful via Echo Base in 2024. Serafin entered the crypto space in 2014 through Draper University and began building on Ethereum in 2016, pioneering data sovereignty technologies and early data marketplaces.

Serafin Lion Engel

Karl-Martin Ahrend

Hong Sun joined Core as institutional contributor after serving as the VP of BD at Paxos, where he focused on infrastructure and stablecoin partnerships. He has led efforts to introduce Core’s dual staking solutions, which unlock sustainable Bitcoin yields at scale for institutional investors. Hong actively educates stakeholders on Core’s innovative staking mechanisms, helping drive institutional adoption of Bitcoin DeFi.

Hong Sun

Jeremy Ng is the Founder and CEO of OpenEden Group, a leading real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform. He brings over 20 years of experience in institutional finance, fintech, and digital assets, and leads the company's strategic direction and growth as it builds compliant, tokenized RWA products that bridge traditional finance and Web3. Prior to founding OpenEden, Jeremy served as the APAC CEO of Gemini Exchange, establishing it as Singapore's leading fiat on-ramp exchange. He also held senior leadership roles at tier-1 investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, Leonteq, and Morgan Stanley.

Jeremy Ng

Alex is a software architect with over 15 years of experience in engineering and startups. He is the co-inventor of ZKsync and currently serves as the co-founder and CEO of Matter Labs. At Matter Labs, he leads a talented team focused on addressing blockchain scalability challenges using zero-knowledge proofs. Alex's passion lies in using technology to advance personal freedom, self-ownership, and decentralization

Alex Gluchowski

Stephen Hess is the founder of Metaplex, the leading protocol for digital assets on Solana. As a Director of the Metaplex Foundation, he drives strategy, product and ecosystem growth, supporting thousands of applications and millions of users who rely on the protocol. Metaplex now powers 99% of tokens and NFTs on Solana, and through its Genesis protocol is opening the Internet Capital Markets, giving projects and entrepreneurs the ability to launch onchain and access global capital from day one. Previously, Stephen served as Head of Product at Solana Labs, where he helped scale the application layer of the network and introduced the first liquid staking programs, bridges, stablecoins, games, token standards and ecosystem integrations.

Stephen Hess

Tim has over 15 years of experience across Wall Street, Web2 and crypto. He was previously a Partner at MSA, a multi-billion investment group backed by Middle-Eastern sovereigns that have invested in global consumer plays like Klarna, Nubank, and more. He currently leads Global Strategy at Mantle, helping the ecosystem blend DeFi with TradFi go-to-market via partnerships and new products.

Timothy Chen

Tim Renew is the Deputy CEO at payments and digital assets service provider BCB Group.



Prior to joining BCB in 2024, Tim worked at payments fintech Banked, initially as Chief Revenue Officer and later CEO APAC, and before that he was Chief Revenue Officer at ecommerce firm Cloud.IQ, working in both London and San Jose, California.



Tim is a specialist in growing global fintech firms, building out GTM strategies and growing sales, marketing, product and customer success teams across the US, UK, EMEA and Australia.



During his career Tim has been instrumental in raising growth finance for fast-growing companies, attracting $85m in investment for fintechs and SaaS businesses from a range of global investment names including Bank of America, Citibank, National Australia Bank and PayPal.

Tim Renew

Theo is an investment manager at Baillie Gifford and Chair of the Tokenisation Working Group. Theo is the architect of the firm's tokenisation strategy, and responsible for designing and creating tokenised funds as one of the firm's Digital Asset experts. Theo co-manages the Baillie Gifford Strategic Bond Strategy, and is chair of the Corporate Credit Macro Group. Prior to joining Baillie Gifford in 2021, Theo was a financial journalist from 2019, with roles at various news outlets including Bloomberg and Business Insider. Theo graduated BA (Hons) in Music from Durham University in 2020 and is a CFA Charterholder.

Theo Golden

Mark Jennings

Paul Neuner is the founder and CEO of Telcoin, a blockchain-powered fintech company in the process of establishing the first Digital Asset Depository Institution chartered by the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance under the Nebraska Financial Innovation Act. Telcoin Digital Asset Bank is bridging banking and crypto worlds with natively issued multi-currency Digital Cash, and is the first US banking charter explicitly authorized to connect consumers with DeFi. Before Telcoin, he was an entrepreneur in cybersecurity and telecom fraud management, including as founder and CEO of Mobius Wireless Solutions, which built revenue assurance and fraud management solutions for mobile network operators globally. Paul also previously founded the internet application development department of Ernst &amp; Young Technologies.

Paul Neuner

Matteo Dante Perruccio is Executive Advisor at 3iQ (<a href="https://3iq.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://3iq.io/</a>) the global digital asset investment manager founded in 2012. Matteo has spent over 35 years in various strategic and leadership roles across the asset management industry, which includes CEO of Pioneer Investments. He was also a non-executive director and Global Head of Key Clients &amp; Strategic Partners at Jupiter Asset Management, a $80 billion FTSE asset manager based in the UK.



Matteo also founded alternative investment advisory boutique Hermes BPK, a joint venture with the British Telecom Pension Scheme. He has extensive experience in the family office space, having served as Chairman of Secofind Multi-family Office. Most recently he was President International at SEC registered Wave Digital Assets.

Matteo Dante Perruccio

Jenna Wright is the Managing Director of LMAX Digital, part of LMAX Group, and has recently been named as one of the top 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of Europe by The Financial Technology Report. Jenna has been instrumental in driving growth of LMAX Digital and building it into the leading institutional spot crypto currency exchange globally.  Jenna joined LMAX Group in January 2009 and has held multiple senior managerial roles at LMAX Group, including Head of Broker Operations and Head of Client Services. Prior to LMAX Group, Jenna worked at Cantor and UBS. Jenna holds BA in Economics &amp; Politics from the University of Manchester.

Jenna Wright

Chris Lawn is the Chief Executive Officer of Elwood Technologies, a leading fintech firm providing institutional-grade digital asset trading, portfolio, and risk management software. With over 30 years in global macro trading and portfolio management, he has held front-office roles at Graham Capital, Woodbine Capital, and Caxton Associates. Transitioning to digital assets, Chris advised firms like Edgewater Markets, One River Digital, and Coinbase, and subsequently joined Brevan Howard’s Principal Investments team as Crypto Strategic Advisor. Since joining Elwood in 2023, he has driven the company’s growth, positioning it as a key player in institutional digital asset infrastructure.

Chris Lawn

Matt Kunke, CFA, is an iShares Product Strategist at BlackRock focused on digital assets. In this role, Matt is focused on developing the growing digital assets ETF business, supporting efforts across research, marketing, and sales. Before joining BlackRock, Matt was a crypto research analyst at GSR, a crypto market maker and OTC trading desk, where he authored fundamental crypto research and was frequently cited in crypto media outlets. Prior to joining GSR, Matt led the digital assets research vertical at Global X ETFs and he spent several years researching alternative investment strategies in J.P. Morgan's Private Bank before that. Matt graduated Summa Cum Laude from Portland State University with a Bachelors of Arts in Mathematics and Finance, and he is a CFA charterholder.