Hi all, happy Wednesday. Tokenization and stablecoins have been the center of attention in recent weeks and both Provenance and Hyperliquid are benefiting from this. The past few days have been filled with USDH and governance drama and discussions, which we cover below.

HASH, the gas token powering the Provenance blockchain, has climbed 30% in the last 24 hours and is up 70% since May 2025 (when it listed on CoinGecko). 

The most recent surge can be attributed to a few main factors:

1. Provenance’s leadership in tokenization: Provenance has emerged as the category leader in onchain real-world assets, with more than $17 billion tokenized and serviced on its rails. That scale, paired with participation from heavyweight institutions like Apollo, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and BNY Mellon, signals that the stack is built for regulated finance. For investors, the appeal is that HASH is a direct way to express the “RWA tokenization” theme as issuance, servicing and secondary activity expand and demand for blockspace rises, which ultimately flows through to the gas token. 

2. Figure Technologies’ IPO as a spotlight: Figure, whose tokenized products run on Provenance under the $FIGR listing, brings mainstream attention to the underlying chain and its gas token. The IPO (which happens tomorrow) has put Provenance in front of equity analysts, traditional portfolio managers and financial media that may have had limited exposure to RWAs on public chains. Even though HASH isn’t part of the equity deal, the association effect can drive incremental interest and speculation as investors map Figure’s growth story to potential onchain throughput.

3. Regulatory tailwinds and the stablecoin narrative: With recent regulatory movement (e.g., the GENIUS Act), stablecoins and compliant onchain cash instruments are back in focus — key plumbing for any institutional settlement layer. YLDS, positioned as the first SEC-registered yield-bearing token and issued on Provenance, reinforces the chain’s “regulated finance” positioning. The industry has been crying out for a yield-bearing stablecoin, and though it's still early days, YLDS is positioned to be a formidable offering in this space.

4. Visibility via CoinGecko: HASH’s May 2025 CoinGecko listing materially improved discoverability among retail trackers, market makers and funds. The recent appearance of FIGR_HELOC (less than two weeks ago) also brought more attention to Figure and Provenance. FIGR_HELOC is Figure’s tokenized private credit, and with a supply value over $12 billion, FIGR_HELOC is a top 20 digital asset by market cap. More eyes on real usage tends to translate into more wallets tracking, more research coverage and ultimately more attention on HASH.

5. Liquidity constraints amplify moves: By operating in stealth mode and avoiding major CEX listings, HASH trades on thinner order books with less market-maker depth. That scarcity of resting liquidity means flows tied to headlines, IPO buzz or single institutional tickets can move price disproportionately in both directions. Until exchange footprint and market-making programs broaden and derivatives markets develop for hedging, investors should expect elevated volatility as part of the asset’s profile.

Check out our longer piece on Provenance here. 

— Marc

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USDH: Adding another assistance fund (?)

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

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

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

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

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

Context regarding the three most relevant proposals:

• Paxos: Milestone-based. Starts at 20% AF when <$1 billion, rising to 70% at >$5 billion, capped at 70%.

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

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

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

— Boccaccio

1. The state of Pokemon RWA TCG

Pokémon’s TCG is fueling a booming onchain “RWA × gacha” economy, with pack openings driving 90-99% of activity and monthly volumes hitting ~$114 million in August 2025. Courtyard leads, but Collector Crypt is quickly gaining share. Just 5-20% of users drive ~90% of spend, and margins range from 12-31% depending on buybacks and fees. The mix of durable IP and gacha mechanics makes this a sticky, whale-driven market with real recurring liquidity.

2. MegaETH introduces USDm

MegaETH, in partnership with Ethena, has launched USDm, a native stablecoin designed to keep network fees at cost and align incentives across the ecosystem. Unlike most L2s that profit from sequencer margins, USDm uses reserve yields, primarily from BlackRock’s tokenized US Treasurys via Ethena’s USDtb rails, to fund operations and ensure sub-cent, predictable fees for builders and users. This shift removes the tension between network growth and rising costs, opening the door for new real-time applications. Stablecoins like USDT0 and cUSD remain active, but USDm is positioned as the backbone of MegaETH’s low-fee, high-throughput future.

3. The new era of the stock market with Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman

Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman outlined the exchange’s transformation into a global tech and financial infrastructure leader, with growth driven by market technology, the innovation economy and trust solutions. She announced plans to introduce tokenized securities and expand trading to 24/5, modernizing post-trade processes. Friedman emphasized making IPOs more accessible, the importance of regulatory clarity in digital assets and the role of public markets in broadening economic ownership. She also reaffirmed confidence in the US dollar, Fed independence and the resilience of markets despite risks like leverage and commercial real estate.