Brought to you by:

Hey all, happy Wednesday. While markets are down for the week, integrations into TradFi are up only. Tether is a top purchaser and holder of US debt (short-term Treasurys), and the implications of this cannot be overstated. Simultaneously, “Crypto IPO Summer” continues as Figure Technologies (known for tokenizing home equity loans on the Provenance blockchain) filed for its IPO. Meanwhile, Kinetiq’s rapid growth has made kHYPE one of the largest markets on Pendle, with fixed yields hovering around 14%. 

Tether was the seventh-largest net buyer of US Treasurys in Q2 2025. With ~$8 billion in incremental purchases, Tether is positioning its reserves as a quasi-sovereign allocator. This aligns with its business model: backing USDT with highly liquid, low-risk assets while capturing yield from elevated short-term rates. The move underscores two dynamics:

• Institutionalization of stablecoins: Tether is now functionally a material participant in global USD funding markets, alongside central banks and sovereign wealth funds.

• Liquidity concentration risk: Treasury bills are becoming the backbone of USDT collateral. Any regulatory, liquidity or market shock to this exposure could reverberate across crypto markets and short-term dollar funding channels.

Tether’s ascent as a top 10 foreign buyer signals a structural shift: Stablecoin issuers are no longer just liquidity users within crypto, but systemically relevant investors in global sovereign debt markets. For Treasurys, this is supportive in the near term, but the reliance on a private, opaque entity adds a new risk layer to the market’s stability profile.

Continuing on the tokenized asset front, Figure Technology Solutions (hereafter “Figure”) formally filed for an IPO. It’s aiming for a Nasdaq listing under the ticker FIGR, with Goldman Sachs, Jefferies and BofA Securities serving as lead underwriters. 

The company reported a 22% YoY increase in revenue to approximately $190.6 million for the first half of 2025. Even more compelling is Figure’s return to profitability, $29.1 million in net income, reversing a $15.6 million loss in the same period last year. Figure also disclosed that since inception, it has originated over $16 billion in home equity loans, and counts more than 160 partners, including mortgage originators, banks, servicers and credit unions, utilizing its Provenance blockchain-powered lending platform. 

In 2025, public markets have seen a vibrant "crypto IPO summer". It was marked by standout debuts and filings from major players like Circle, Bullish, Gemini and others, driven by renewed regulatory clarity, investor enthusiasm and institutional backing. Figure Technology distinguishes itself within this wave by anchoring its strategy not around an exchange or stablecoin, but rather around tokenization of real-world, traditionally illiquid assets using public infrastructure (Provenance). With its profitability and healthy growth, Figure delivers proven operational success, showcasing a highly touted use case for blockchains in capital markets.

— Marc

Brought to you by:

Katana is a DeFi chain built for real sustainable yield and deep liquidity. It concentrates liquidity into core applications and channels the chain’s revenue back to the users.

Creating a better DeFi experience that benefits the active users on the chain.

Earn boosted yield and KAT tokens: Deposit directly into vaults on the katana app and start earning on your ETH, BTC, USDC, and more.

Kinetiq and Pendle

Kinetiq has established itself as Hyperliquid's primary liquid staking derivative protocol, converting HYPE tokens into kHYPE, a reward-bearing liquid staking token that functions across HyperEVM. The protocol currently manages approximately $1.22 billion in total value locked as of August 2025, marking a 33% week-over-week increase after surpassing $750 million within two weeks of its launch.

The protocol has gained notable traction on Pendle, becoming the second-largest protocol by TVL with $459 million in deposits. Pendle now accounts for approximately 35% of Kinetiq's total TVL, with kHYPE emerging as the third-largest market on the platform. Pendle PTs currently imply a 14% fixed APY, while 32.2% of kHYPE's total supply has been deployed on Pendle markets.

Kinetiq operates a points-based rewards system called kPoints, distributing 800,000 points weekly through Tuesday snapshots and Thursday distributions. This mechanism aims to encourage adoption and position participants for potential future token distribution events.

Kinetiq is developing a new product line: Exchange-as-a-Service through its upcoming "Launch" product, which packages Hyperliquid's HIP-3 functionality. Under HIP-3, builders typically must acquire and stake one million HYPE tokens (valued at approximately $43.5 million) to deploy perpetual markets. Kinetiq's Launch product will address this barrier by offering stake rental services, at pricing yet to be determined.

With 28.7 million HYPE tokens currently staked, Kinetiq theoretically could support up to 28 HIP-3 builders, potentially enabling the creation of perpetual futures markets for pre-IPO companies and other alternative assets that require risk isolation from Hyperliquid's main exchange.

— Boccaccio

1. ETH Strategy x Ether.Fi

ETH Strategy has announced its first staking partnership with Ether.Fi, one of DeFi’s fastest-growing protocols with over $12 billion TVL. The collaboration integrates Ether.Fi’s liquid restaking flows (eETH) into ETH Strategy’s treasury program, marking the beginning of a series of partnerships aimed at diversifying and compounding ETH treasury returns.

2. BTCS makes history with first-ever Ethereum dividend

BTCS Inc. is pioneering a novel payout structure, its inaugural “Bividend.” Shareholders have the option to receive $0.05 per share in either ETH or cash, along with a $0.35 per‑share loyalty bonus in ETH for those who register their shares with the transfer agent and hold them for at least 120 days. The move is strategically designed to reward long‑term investors while combating short‑selling by limiting share borrowability. The news sparked an approximately 7% jump in BTCS’s stock price.

3. Inside dark pools on Solana — The Gwart Show

Benedict Brady discussed Solana's trading evolution from AMMs to dark AMMs and RFQ systems, explaining how market makers adapted to network congestion by creating proprietary liquidity curves. He covered Jupiter's central role in routing, current execution quality delivering ~5 basis point spreads, and his transition to building Meridian, an AI trading assistant.

4. Fundamentals vs. flows — Jon Charbonneau

DBA published a blog post examining the fundamental differences between fundamental investing and flows-based investing in cryptocurrency markets. Charbonneau argues that fundamental investing focuses on assets with quantifiable economic benefits like cash yield or utility, while greater fool investing relies solely on finding buyers at higher prices. He contends that fundamental investing typically offers better downside protection but may miss speculative gains, while flows-based strategies depend heavily on unpredictable human psychology. Charbonneau advocates for fundamentals-driven approaches as crypto matures, noting that while both strategies involve future predictions, fundamental analysis often enables more confident projections.

It’s the summer of DATs and the party is going strong. 

But when October rolls around, everyone will be looking to DAS: London to hear from these meta-defining voices on where things stand and where they’re headed.

Get your ticket today with promo code: 0X100 for £100 off