The SEC just opened its first direct legal lane for onchain tokenized U.S. stocks. Its new 5-year Innovation Exemption lets permissioned AMMs trade real, rights-bearing tokenized stocks without the venue registering as an exchange or its LPs as dealers. What it means: > Tokenized stocks can now trade onchain in the U.S. through qualifying Tokenized Securities Venues (TSVs). > These HAVE to be real 1:1 stocks, carrying the same dividends, voting rights, etc. Synthetics and derivatives don’t qualify. > The model is still permissioned. Pools need allowlists/KYC, must follow OFAC rules, operate within volume/ticker caps, and give issuers the chance to veto listings. > Offshore stock-token markets aren’t going anywhere. This creates a compliant onshore alternative rather than eliminating synthetic markets abroad. > The big question is demand. Can a gated, compliant system attract meaningful volume when offshore alternatives are much easier to access? As they said they would, it appears CLARITY's failure has fired up the SEC and CFTC to pursue rulemaking on their own. I don't think this is the last exemption we'll be seeing...

NEW EPISODE - @arc Mainnet Is Live But @circle's bet goes far beyond another L1. Circle's @chandhok joins us to unpack the bigger vision: AI agents with wallets and credit, tokenized stocks, global FX, privacy, subsecond settlement, and an “economic OS” built for money moving onchain. A look inside what Circle is building with Arc, and what could actually make it different. CHAPTERS --- 0:00 Arc Mainnet Is Live 2:57 The “Economic OS” Vision 5:29 Validators, Privacy and Post-Quantum Security 8:27 How Private Is Arc? 12:24 Immutability and the Lazarus Test 16:14 What Gets Built on Arc First? 19:19 AI Agents Become Economic Actors 26:45 Agentic Commerce Gets Real 33:17 Reputation, Nano-Payments and Agent Credit 36:37 Tokenized Stocks and 24/7 Markets 39:59 Solving the On-Ramp and FX Problem 47:39 What Happens After Launch Day? 49:16 Closing Thoughts

Crypto options could become much more than another trading product. @nickforster sees them becoming part of the industry’s risk infrastructure: “When our options markets become liquid, volatility actually generally comes down.” “You can have hedges embedded via the options to protect against massive downsides and big wicks.” The endgame: “become the risk absorption engine for a lot of those different hedging flows.”

The establishment squirming over permissionlessness never gets old Every argument against tokenized stocks is just "but we didn't approve it." @vladtenev is pushing the frontier, and it's not for everyone

Wrote about the tailwinds mounting distrust in frontier labs will have for inference markets, particularly those onchain. Providing any level of anonymity, even if it just means using a router/gateway via @AskVenice / @BlockRunAI / @AskSurplus, will be more in demand. x402 works well here to enable this.

NEW REPORT: Onchain Activity is Heating Up…What Comes Next? Bitcoin is flashing early-bull signals, but the all-clear still isn’t here. @JustDeauIt and @RyanSAdams break down the new Golden Cross, why $69.9K and $80.4K define the next move, and how rising onchain speculation compares with early 2023. They also dive into PUMP vs. PONS, Robinhood Chain’s breakout, mobile-first crypto trading, and whether this new wave of risk-taking is just getting started. [TIMESTAMPS] 0:00 Intro 0:12 Bull Market Setup 3:49 Bitcoin’s Key Levels 9:20 Golden Cross Explained 13:33 Alt Season or Not 19:36 2023 Speculation Replay 24:09 PONS and Robinhood Surge 36:20 ETH’s Role in the Rally 39:55 Macro Risks Ahead 43:49 Portfolio Risk Management

The bear market didn’t kill crypto’s winners. It made them easier to identify. That’s the opportunity @AustinBarack sees now: “You’ve been able to see this separation of instead of looking at 100 tokens, alright, there’s actually 10 maybe or five that are really, really compelling.” “They’re finding product market fit, they’re growing quickly.” “And then are also priced really attractively.”

base:0xacfe6019ed1a7dc6f7b508c02d1b04ec88cc21bf and hyperliquid:native may be one of the clearest examples of a broader shift: crypto tokens starting to trade on fundamentals, not just bitcoin:native beta. @AustinBarack : “These are businesses that are growing really quickly.” “They’re seeing fundamental value being returned to token holders.” “A lot of them have been growing faster than people expected and were valued cheaper than was reasonable.” “That non-correlated aspect should continue to do well.”

.@AustinBarack says crypto’s infrastructure era is over. “The excitement around new chains, be it layer twos or layer ones, is mostly a thing of the past.” “We’re gonna see 90 plus percent of revenue generated by the applications.” “I think we’re gonna find the most enduring tokens be applications and money.” “It’s gonna really be about applications, usage, and money.”

NEW EPISODE - Crypto’s Next Winners Won’t Be Blockchains The infra era is fading. The next wave of crypto value may come from apps with real users, real revenue, and real tokenholder returns. @AustinBarack joins @TrustlessState to break down: • Why $VVV could still be materially undervalued • $PUMP trading at just ~5x buybacks • @Hyperliquid’s expanding role in global markets • @ether_fi's evolution into an onchain neo brokerage • Why applications could eventually generate 90%+ of crypto revenue CHAPTERS --- 0:00 Finding Growth and Value in Crypto 4:17 Why Liquid Tokens Are Winning His Attention 7:00 How Austin Values Venice and VVV 15:34 The Biggest Bet in the Venice Model 24:53 Can Venice Balance Growth and Token Value? 32:53 Venice Growth and the OpenRouter Signal 37:31 Can Fundamental Tokens Outperform the Crypto Cycle? 43:50 Pump, Hyperliquid and EtherFi 48:57 EtherFi’s Shift Into a Neo Brokerage 58:24 Why the Market Discounts Pump 1:02:42 The Next Era of Crypto

WEEKLY ROLLUP: Robinhood’s Memecoin Economy Is Exploding Robinhood Chain is exploding as memecoins collide with tokenized stocks, and @hosseeb thinks the whole thing may end badly. @RyanSAdams and Haseeb unpack the new casino economy, Saylor’s Bitcoin comeback, Solana’s issuance cut, and the latest AI safety scare. [TIMESTAMPS] 0:00 Intro 2:32 Macro Bounce & Treasury-Fed Tug-of-War - @exec_sum - @0xVirtanen - @hosseeb 12:41 Saylor’s Bitcoin Comeback - @saylor - @Strategy - @AIGOLDOfficial - @AltcoinPro_ 17:35 Robinhood Meme & Stock Token Mania - @MikeIppolito_ - @haydenzadams - @nansen_ai 31:41 Ethereum, Solana & the Issuance Vote - @LorenzoARK - @web3_data - @0xcarlosg - @P2Pvalidator - @stevenzeiler - @mert 46:52 21 Banks Chase Stablecoins 50:44 KYC Breach Fallout - @ErikVoorhees - @rstormsf 56:56 Astra Raises AI Alarms

NEW EPISODE - NFTs Are Getting Fun Again FWA (@token_works) turns NFT trading into a game: pull a random asset, keep it, or take the $ETH backing. @rhynotic and @econoar join @TrustlessState to break down: • Why NFT liquidity dried up • How FWA creates a shared liquidity pool • Why “gacha” mechanics actually work onchain • The new FWAR launch model for NFT collections • How tokenized Pokémon cards, watches, stocks, and more could eventually enter the same market CHAPTERS --- 0:00 What Is Fake World Assets? 1:38 Making NFTs Fun Again 3:55 How the FWA Pool Works 8:42 Why Eric Is Bullish on FWA 13:20 A Liquidity Layer for NFTs 16:00 From NFTs to Real-World Assets 20:13 Pricing, Buybacks and Incentives 28:36 Custom Pools and New NFT Markets 31:57 The FWA Token 39:06 FWAR and a New Way to Launch NFTs 48:47 What Comes Next for FWA 50:12 Multichain FWA and the Bigger Vision 54:46 Closing Thoughts

NEW REPORT: Bitcoin’s Early Bull vs. September Weakness Bitcoin’s 23% surge may have marked the end of the bear market—but September could still deliver one more shakeout. @JustDeauIt and @RyanSAdams break down the early-bull signals emerging across Bitcoin and crypto, why $69.4K is the key level to watch, and how the Treasury “put” is reshaping the macro backdrop. They also cover Saylor’s return to buying, rising onchain speculation, and whether investors are still early to the next cycle. [TIMESTAMPS] 0:00 Intro 0:18 Bull or September? 3:17 Speed-Running the Cycle Low 17:52 Mixed Signals, Early Bull 26:54 Debasement Trade and Macro 38:50 September Cooldown Ahead 43:19 Mindset and Missed Gains

.@Kalshi's onshore strategy is really a bet on the 99%. @j0hnwang: “For like the 99% TAM of the world… that is the user set that we should be hunting for.” “The only way to tap into that user set” is to run paid ads, partner with household consumer names, integrate into large brokers and financial institutions, and be on the App Store. “I think it’s really a critical thing to take this onshore regulated approach if you want to tap into that user set.”

The @Kalshi vs. @Polymarket rivalry may not be as close as it used to be. @j0hnwang: “We’ve really grown to be like four to five times larger. At least in crypto, we’re 10 times larger than them in volumes.” “We’ve also found our own lane a bit more.” “We’ve ultimately probably pulled ahead and are no longer fighting as hard over tit-for-tats day to day.”

.@Kalshi isn’t trying to become the biggest prediction market. The ambition is much bigger: “Our ultimate goal is to be the largest exchange on the planet.” “We own the trader relationship.” “We also, I think, have a leading position in the two newest asset classes… prediction markets and perpetual futures.” “That’s our foot in the door when it comes to really having a fighting chance at getting to that stage.”

NEW EPISODE - "We Want to Be Bigger Than the CME" @Kalshi is moving far beyond prediction markets. @j0hnwang joins @TrustlessState to unpack its regulated crypto perps push, why regulation could be its biggest competitive advantage, and how event contracts could evolve into serious institutional hedging infrastructure. They also debate prediction markets’ insider trading problem, preview gold and silver perps, and address the rivalry with @Polymarket, including Kalshi’s claim that its crypto volume is now 10x larger. CHAPTERS --- 0:00 Is Kalshi a Crypto Company? 3:56 Global Expansion and the Regulated Edge 14:55 The Regulated Perps Bet 21:38 Combining Perps and Predictions 27:51 The Insider Trading Problem 38:50 Who Owns Market Information? 45:58 From Sportsbooks to the CME 55:24 Prediction Markets for Institutions 1:02:40 Kalshi Versus Polymarket

NEW EPISODE - Bullish on Automation and Robotics, but not Humanoid Robots Humanoid robots are getting the headlines. But @Lux_Capital's @Farshchi says the real robotics boom is happening somewhere else: factories, warehouses, autonomous vehicles, and the software making automation dramatically cheaper. CHAPTERS --- 0:00 Is the Robotics Hype Justified? 2:02 Why Humanoids Aren’t the Main Story 8:14 Robotics vs. Automation 12:20 Specialized Robots vs. Generalists 19:24 Making Robotics Accessible 22:25 AI Unlocks New Robotic Tasks 24:52 Robotics’ Internet Moment 27:52 Robots, Jobs, and Cheap Labor 31:28 What Automation Does to the Economy 39:07 What Still Holds Robotics Back 42:30 How AI Actually Powers Robots 50:49 The Robotics Data Bottleneck 53:34 Robotics Companies to Watch

Can AI investment keep compounding without eventually consuming the entire economy? @RyanSAdams is skeptical: “By 2030, we may need as much as $11 trillion in AI CapEx.” “Where’s all this going to come from?” “At some point in time, the exponential eats the rest of the world economy, all the capital we have, and the entire world GDP is just basically the AI trade.” “I’ve been scratching my head trying to figure out how much longer the AI trade can continue.”

EARLY ACCESS: Bullish on Automation and Robotics, but not Humanoid Robots | @Farshchi of @Lux_Capital 🟢 Out now for Bankless Premium subscribers 📅 Out on public feeds Monday, August 31 Sign up for early access and the ad-free version now 👇🏻