Monero, the leading privacy coin, suffered an 18-block reorg after Qubic consolidated large mining power. Debate rages: Qubic claims 51% control; Monero devs deny widescale damage. Exchanges raised confirmations. The episode shows PoW chains can be threatened by economic incentives
After years of development, blockchain games still capture only a sliver of the gaming industry. The promise of true asset ownership, stable economies, and transferability remains unmet. Recent trends suggest blockchain was more hype feature than genuine necessity
Nasdaq has filed with the U.S. SEC to bring tokenized securities onto its main market, aiming to trade blockchain-based and traditional shares side by side. If approved, the move could make Nasdaq the first U.S. exchange to integrate tokenized equities under existing protections
Hyperliquid is preparing to launch its own stablecoin, USDH, through a validator-led governance vote. With USDC currently dominating its ecosystem, USDH would reduce reliance on external issuers and capture reserve yield. Paxos, Frax, Ethena, and an Agora–MoonPay coalition are competing to deploy it
Blockchain promised to reinvent ROSCAs through smart contracts, but despite many pilots adoption never scaled. Instead, the most successful digital ROSCAs are centralized apps like Tanda and Chama — thriving on trust, not code
Monero, the leading privacy coin, suffered an 18-block reorg after Qubic consolidated large mining power. Debate rages: Qubic claims 51% control; Monero devs deny widescale damage. Exchanges raised confirmations. The episode shows PoW chains can be threatened by economic incentives
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) launches fully-blockchain powered fundraising.
Native Markets, a Hyperliquid ecosystem team, won the competition to issue Hyperliquid's USDH stablecoin.
Attack on Monero, users accepting XMR payments are advised to wait for more confirmations.
Tether to issue US compliant stablecoin USAT with Anchorage Digital.
WisdomTree
Uniswap’s Unichain has boosted L2 volumes past $40B, but liquidity tells a different story. TVL has halved since July, exposing the limits of incentive-driven growth. Despite cheaper fees, users remain on Ethereum—where Uniswap continues to be one of the network’s largest revenue engines.
TON Strategy Company, formerly Verb Technology, has rebranded as a Toncoin treasury, holding $713M in TON and targeting over 5% of supply. By staking its holdings and adopting financial engineering akin to Strategy’s playbook, it aims to turn crypto reserves into shareholder returns
From $GOAT to $FART, memecoins show how hype burns fast and budgets vanish faster. Market caps in the tens of millions may look like real businesses, but behind the joke lies sunk marketing spend, fragile communities, and the math of attention that always runs out of breath
Jito’s BAM transforms MEV on Solana from a private auction into a transparent, programmable marketplace. While Ethereum introduced PBS, Solana may now be a step ahead—embedding MEV handling directly into the protocol with greater flexibility and developer access.
Circle’s decision to bring native USDC to Hyperliquid underscores the chain’s rise as an institutional-grade DeFi hub, while advancing its strategy to make USDC the default stablecoin — trusted, redeemable, and seamlessly transferable across chains
Global Dollar’s stablecoin USDG is growing fast—thanks to a new model where partners like Robinhood, OKX, and Mastercard earn a share of reserve yields. With over 25 institutions onboard and market cap surpassing $329M, USDG is quietly building a powerful global distribution network
By building an open ecosystem, the project lowers the barrier to join the AI economy, whether you’re launching new models or curating datasets. Yet it's unclear if token rewards alone can sustain quality, coordination, and long-term innovation in such a decentralized development model
A year after the SEC’s X account was hacked to falsely announce Bitcoin ETF approval, only one man—Eric Council Jr.—has been charged. He pleaded guilty to SIM-swapping the account but acted on behalf of unidentified co-conspirators. Was insider information involved? The full truth remains elusive.
January set the tone for crypto regulation in 2025: as the U.S. loosens up, other regions take their own path—Africa pushes anti-fraud measures, Asia balances its approach, and Europe starts to follow the MiCA playbook.
Happy Sunday, Observers!
A common response to fear is to freeze.
All financial markets opened in red on Monday as a result of Donald Trump’s announcement of the imposition of tariffs on the United States largest trading partners.
The protectionist trade policy itself was postponed for a month in
The project has seen decent growth in 2024 but still trails leading players in adoption. While its strategic push into Web3 gaming aims to unlock broader success, the outcome remains uncertain.
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) launches fully-blockchain powered fundraising.
Native Markets, a Hyperliquid ecosystem team, won the competition to issue Hyperliquid's USDH stablecoin.
Attack on Monero, users accepting XMR payments are advised to wait for more confirmations.
Tether to issue US compliant stablecoin USAT with Anchorage Digital.
WisdomTree
Uniswap’s Unichain has boosted L2 volumes past $40B, but liquidity tells a different story. TVL has halved since July, exposing the limits of incentive-driven growth. Despite cheaper fees, users remain on Ethereum—where Uniswap continues to be one of the network’s largest revenue engines.
TON Strategy Company, formerly Verb Technology, has rebranded as a Toncoin treasury, holding $713M in TON and targeting over 5% of supply. By staking its holdings and adopting financial engineering akin to Strategy’s playbook, it aims to turn crypto reserves into shareholder returns
From $GOAT to $FART, memecoins show how hype burns fast and budgets vanish faster. Market caps in the tens of millions may look like real businesses, but behind the joke lies sunk marketing spend, fragile communities, and the math of attention that always runs out of breath
Jito’s BAM transforms MEV on Solana from a private auction into a transparent, programmable marketplace. While Ethereum introduced PBS, Solana may now be a step ahead—embedding MEV handling directly into the protocol with greater flexibility and developer access.
Circle’s decision to bring native USDC to Hyperliquid underscores the chain’s rise as an institutional-grade DeFi hub, while advancing its strategy to make USDC the default stablecoin — trusted, redeemable, and seamlessly transferable across chains
Global Dollar’s stablecoin USDG is growing fast—thanks to a new model where partners like Robinhood, OKX, and Mastercard earn a share of reserve yields. With over 25 institutions onboard and market cap surpassing $329M, USDG is quietly building a powerful global distribution network
