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In a week where Bitcoin remains above $115k and institutional giants continue their methodical march into crypto, the landscape we once knew as the wild west of finance is transforming before our eyes.
Readers, we're witnessing nothing short of a financial paradigm shift – from Ray Dalio's surprising 15% Bitcoin allocation recommendation to BlackRock's ETF amassing a staggering $86 billion in under a year. The question is no longer whether institutions will adopt crypto, but how quickly the remaining holdouts will capitulate.
In this issue, we'll dissect the blue-chip evolution of Bitcoin, Ethereum's institutional awakening, and the stablecoin revolution that's quietly reshaping global capital flows.
As always, feel free to send us feedback at [email protected].
Bitcoin’s Blue-Chip Moment — From Cypherpunk to Corner Office
Bitcoin $BTC.X ( ▼ 1.11% ) is no longer the outsider—it’s becoming the benchmark for global capital allocation.
Over the past year, its investment thesis has evolved. Once a niche asset for iconoclasts, Bitcoin now sits in institutional portfolios. BlackRock’s iShares ETF (iBit) $IBIT ( ▼ 3.17% ) has amassed $86 billion, with options open interest reaching $34 billion—a staggering scale for a product under a year old. Even Ray Dalio now suggests a 15% allocation to Bitcoin or gold, reflecting a broader shift in capital flows.
If you were optimizing your portfolio for the best return to risk ratio, you would have about 15% of your money in gold or Bitcoin
Liquidity, once a weakness, is now a feature. A $9 billion OTC sale of 80,000 BTC triggered only a brief 3% dip, highlighting institutional demand. Institutions now drive 45% of Coinbase’s daily volume, and public company holdings jumped 35% in a quarter. “Such a big trade being absorbed speaks to the demand,” says Slava Rubin, who now calls his million-dollar Bitcoin forecast “almost conservative.”
Adoption is advancing across layers. PayPal $PYPL ( ▼ 2.4% ) is onboarding merchants. The Lightning Network is enabling fast, low-fee payments. And forecasts suggest 50%+ mainstream adoption within 3–4 years. “When you hold your sovereign Bitcoin, you are the bank,” says Jay of Bitcoin Ben World Ventures.
Volatility is subsiding. With only 2.5 million coins left on exchanges and treasury companies buying at 10x daily issuance, Bitcoin is entering its blue-chip phase—driven by balance sheets, not leverage.
The next chapter will test whether Bitcoin can remain both a reserve for the powerful and a sovereign tool for the individual.
Former Zillow exec targets $1.3T market
The wealthiest companies tend to target the biggest markets. For example, NVIDIA skyrocketed nearly 200% higher in the last year with the $214B AI market’s tailwind.
That’s why investors are so excited about Pacaso.
Created by a former Zillow exec, Pacaso brings co-ownership to a $1.3 trillion real estate market. And by handing keys to 2,000+ happy homeowners, they’ve made $110M+ in gross profit to date. They even reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO.
No wonder the same VCs behind Uber, Venmo, and eBay also invested in Pacaso. And for just $2.90/share, you can join them as an early-stage Pacaso investor today.
Paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals.
Ether Ascendant — From Smart Contracts to Institutional Capital
Ethereum’s $ETH.X ( ▼ 3.59% ) second decade isn’t about speculation—it’s about productive capital. And the world’s largest investors are paying attention.
Once a builder’s sandbox, Ethereum now anchors a parallel financial system. Over $250B in assets settle on its rails, with Aave’s $AAVE.X ( ▼ 3.22% ) $50B+ in deposits rivaling top U.S. banks.
Ether is the commodity to the future of the Internet, It generates yield intrinsically through staking, restaking, and financial participation.
Institutional momentum is accelerating. Ether Machine holds 170,000+ ETH, with a 400,000+ ETH target. SharpLink $SBET ( ▼ 8.88% ) is raising $5B to acquire ETH directly. Meanwhile, BlackRock’s BUIDL fund $BUIDL.X ( 0.0% ) and tokenized money market offerings from BNY Mellon and Goldman Sachs are merging TradFi with DeFi—using Ethereum as the settlement layer. As David Merin notes, “Ethereum requires active use… It doesn’t lend itself to a passive ETF.”
Layer 2s like Optimism, Arbitrum, and Base are scaling Ethereum’s bandwidth, with EIP-4844 already operating at 75% blob capacity. On-chain stablecoins now exceed $130B, and products like USDE (yielding 12%, with nearly $7B supply) are reframing what “DeFi yield” means.
Solana $SOL.X ( ▼ 3.04% ) is pushing forward with speed and meme-led momentum, but its DeFi footprint remains modest—$4B in Kamino $KMNO.X ( ▼ 5.09% ) deposits versus Aave’s $AAVE.X ( ▼ 3.22% ) $50B.
Solana’s DeFi is growing, but still an order of magnitude smaller.
This cycle won’t be won by throughput alone. Productive capital, institutional flows, and composable finance are defining the next era—and Ethereum remains the substrate of choice.
Stablecoin Supercycle — DeFi’s New Yield Machine
Stablecoins are no longer crypto’s plumbing—they’re the engine of a new financial order.
Over the past year, the convergence of DeFi and TradFi has moved from theory to balance sheets. $130 billion in stablecoins now flow through Ethereum, powering protocols like Ethena $ENA.X ( ▼ 8.86% ) , Infini, and Spark as they reimagine yield and capital efficiency. “We just kind of want to focus on providing the best and the highest APY at the largest scale,” says Connor Ryder of Ethena Labs, citing USDE’s 12% APY on nearly $7 billion in supply as proof of maturity.
We offer higher rates on pretty much every app in existence
Yield innovation is the arms race. Infini’s tranching model splits instant liquidity and double-digit returns—8.75% for senior tranches, 13.5–15.5% for junior—balancing reserves with risk. Tokenized money market funds and Nasdaq-listed vehicles like Stablecoin X ($260M raised, locking 8% of ENA supply) are pulling in banks and asset managers eager for on-chain yield with regulatory cover.
But risk shadows reward. Michael Bentley of Euler Finance warns that “leveraging stablecoin yield is probably the biggest trade in the market today,” boosting efficiency while risking systemic cracks. With tokenized treasuries, fintech onramps, and real-world assets joining the mix, DeFi’s liquidity is now part of global capital markets—not a sideshow.
The next phase? Stablecoins will act as both settlement layer and yield engine—blurring the line between DeFi and Wall Street.
Whales, White Papers, and the New Crypto Order — Market Structure Grows Up
A $9 billion Bitcoin sale used to trigger panic. Now, it signals market maturity.
The market is more liquid and less volatile than most financial models assume
When Galaxy Digital sold 80,000 BTC—worth $9B—the price dipped less than 3%. It’s a shift from the days when a single whale could spark a selloff, and a testament to crypto’s institutional evolution.
Macro signals remain mixed. Odds of a September Fed rate cut have dropped to 60–63%, down from 80%. Altcoins have softened, while Bitcoin ($117K–$121K) and Ethereum ($3,760) have held steady. The S&P 500 sits near record highs, though investors eye tariffs and stagflation risks.
On the policy front, change is coming. A new White House crypto report, SEC leadership, and the Clarity and Genius Acts promise clearer rules around stablecoins, tokenized securities, and treasury strategies. Yet saturation looms. “There’s only one Michael Saylor,” warns Ram Ahluwalia of Lumida, noting fatigue as firms like Bitmoney and SharpLink Gaming amass 1M+ ETH.
Portfolio theory is shifting. VanEck’s Matthew Siegel suggests crypto exposure optimizes risk at 20%, though most allocators remain between 0.5–2%. Still, the trajectory is clear: crypto is moving from fringe allocation to core strategy.
The next phase? A market guided not by memes or panic—but by liquidity, regulation, and institutional flow.
Balance Sheet Ballet — How Corporate Treasuries Are Rewriting Crypto’s Playbook
Institutional capital is no longer circling crypto—it’s moving in, armed with the tools of corporate finance.
In the last 18 months, $90B has been raised by treasury companies, echoing MicroStrategy’s $MSTR ( ▼ 8.77% ) Bitcoin strategy. These public firms and special-purpose vehicles—often trading at 2x NAV—are using debt, preferred equity, and tokenized assets to engineer exposure.
People are paying $2 in equity value for every $1 in crypto. If these guys get too big… we might end up on the house of cards again.
Legislation like the Genius and Clarity Acts has unlocked spot ETFs and tokenized funds, accelerating institutional momentum. Binance reports a 21% year-on-year rise in VIP and institutional users. “There are more institutions exploring beyond ETFs,” notes Catherine Chen, head of Binance Institutional.
But this maturation comes with trade-offs. Roughly 11% of all Bitcoin now sits in ETFs and treasuries, reshaping liquidity and volatility. DeFi protocols like Ethena and Infini offer 12–15% APY, luring capital but amplifying risk. “They don’t need the money,” says Dylan LeClair of MetaPlanet. “They’re just doing it for operating leverage—and the collateral is transparent and homogenous.”
The next act? Capital formation is speeding up, but investors must look beyond the headline numbers. In this cycle, the risk may lie not in the asset—but in the structure.
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Disclaimer: The information provided in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Cryptocurrency investments are speculative and involve significant risk. Please conduct your own research and consult with a financial professional before making any investment decisions.