Crypto's Value Capture Problem & Why Robinhood Built Its Own Blockchain
Jason YanowitzSantiago Roel Santos
After eight months across 20-plus sectors, Santos says Inversion’s crypto-embedding thesis failed to clear the return hurdle, shifting focus to quality, cash-flowing businesses.On-chain B2B borrowing costs 8–12%, while crypto FX quotes sit 20–50 basis points above mid-market; Robinhood Chain’s more than $500 million in Uniswap volume and roughly 150,000 new active wallets show verticalization, though P&L value remains disputed.
State of The Market, The Prediction Market Wars & Kraken Pursues Aave
Jason YanowitzSantiago Roel Santos
Crypto venture is splitting into a weak early-stage market and improving later-stage payments, stablecoin, tokenized-asset and M&A activity.Stablecoin transfer volume remains distorted by bots, but adjusted metrics, card swipes and about 30 public-company implementations offer stronger adoption evidence.Kalshi’s reported $40B raise remains unconfirmed as fee compression looms, while institutional clearing and block trades could expand prediction markets.
How We Got Fred Wilson, Benchmark and Index to Invest $94M | Why Robinhood's Strategy is Wrong
FOMO raised a $75M Series B at a $550M post-money valuation from Index and USV, with founders anchoring the price before receiving a term sheet.Its 17-person, AI-enabled organization has no meetings, 1:1s, or hierarchy, while founder-grade equity aligns a small group for a decade-long build.Pre-IPO perps and thesis-driven trading could define its global wedge, but SpaceX’s retail performance and prediction-market regulation remain key tests.
It's Still a Bull Market, But Not The One You Wanted
DAS drew 2,900 attendees, including 130 sovereigns, endowments, and pensions, signaling an institutional bull market alongside a token bear.Stablecoins are moving toward capital markets, with Western Union exploring float release and Rain-powered cards for 100M customers across 190 countries.Most implementations are not live at scale, leaving adoption, oracle losses, RWA quality, and Clarity’s regulatory path to watch.
Binance CEO: 4 Months in Prison, $4 Billion Fine, and What Comes Next
CZChamath PalihapitiyaJason CalacanisDavid SacksDavid Friedberg
Binance emerged after China’s March 2017 shutdown erased roughly 30 software clients, with an ICO selling 60% of BNB for about $15 million to fund the crypto-to-crypto exchange.Faster execution and a 50% fee discount drove adoption, but weak KYC/AML and unregistered US service led to CZ’s four-month sentence, while AI-agent payments remain a possibility and privacy unresolved.
Bitcoin Breaks $95k, Crypto’s Valuation Problem, & The Path To Real On-Chain Users
Santiago Roel SantosAvi FelmanJonah Van Bourg
Santi argues ex-Bitcoin crypto’s $1.5T valuation lacks support while active on-chain users remain around 40M, setting a 500 million-user threshold for taking the market seriously.The investable shift is from commodity blockspace to killer applications, with Inversion proposing to buy real businesses such as Western Union and route settlement flows through its own chain to solve crypto’s go-to-market problem.