Blockchain industry executives share their thoughts on some issues of the week.
High tokenization treasury totals suggest market defensiveness but obscure real-world asset opportunities.
“News that tokenized treasuries have hit an all-time high of $4.6 billion, combined with Aave’s decision to abandon new tokens in favor of tokenized treasuries, underlines the current mood of the market – defensive.
“However, there are much bigger opportunities out there when it comes to RWAs – indeed tokenizing traditional assets can fundamentally change the way millions of people manage their wealth, bringing new generational opportunities.
“Gold is the best example. We’re talking about an asset with a market cap of around $20 trillion, hitting all-time high after all-time high in a macro environment that is challenging for every market.
“If the demand for gold is already huge in TradFi, where people can just lock it away without actually getting anything more from it, imagine the massive demand tokenized gold that can be traded within the decentralized finance ecosystem would have. Once on-chain in DeFi, gold can be put to work by holders to generate passive income (yield) and more.
“Real estate is another RWA giant that’s currently under-discussed. Representing more than a $300 trillion market cap worldwide, tokenizing real estate, with the possibility of fractionalizing its ownership, could make DeFi explode at lightspeed. Not only would real estate on-chain inject huge liquidity into the ecosystem, but just like gold, it would solve one of the major issues in DeFi right now: intense volatility and liquidation risks.”
– Kevin Rusher, founder of RWA lending platform RAAC
Increased interest in stablecoins is great; however, more options are needed.
“The 53% surge in stablecoin wallets over the past year shows investors are increasingly using them as safe havens when market volatility hits – which has been more often than not these days. Rather than offboarding back to fiat, traders are choosing to park their capital in stables, which is certainly a vote of confidence in the workings of the crypto ecosystem.
“The trouble is, this increase is primarily driven by two stablecoin giants – USDT and USDC – neither of which is decentralized by any stretch of the imagination. Indeed, they carry the same counterparty risks as fiat, so they’re crypto by name only. DeFi needs decentralized alternatives for when the going gets tough in markets, backed by something other than US treasury bills or hard cash.
“Understandably, people are still weary of decentralized stablecoins after the collapse of Luna, but the reality is this was nearly three years ago. It’s time to move on. The industry has come a long way since then: today, you can have a stablecoin backed by an established digital asset like ETH, for example.
“Centralized stablecoins like USDC or USDT also can’t access the latest innovations in stablecoin design, like automated yield mechanics. This means holders can earn yield simply by holding the asset in a wallet rather than having to stake or lock it up. The future of stablecoins lies in protocols that embed secure, automated yield strategies, making DeFi’s advantages accessible without requiring users to farm or stake actively. This brings the ethos and capabilities of crypto forward, instead of simply mimicking the current financial systems that we already know aren’t working.”
– SMARDEX co-founder Jean Rausis
Solana’s memecoin success has its uses.
“As Solana celebrates the arrival of its first futures ETF, it has firmly disproved those who doubted its survival since its launch five years ago. While not becoming the Ethereum killer it was touted to be, it has – among other things – emerged as the blockchain for memecoin trading.
“With $3 billion in daily memecoin trading volume at the peak of the frenzy, Solana’s pump.fun is the largest and highest-grossing memecoin launchpad in the market. Solana has truly found its niche in the crypto market over the last five years – and now it’s time for other blockchains to find theirs.
“Solana’s success in the memecoin sector demonstrates the need for multiple Layer1 blockchains in the crypto ecosystem. Indeed, many competitors have come into the space to challenge Solana as the retail chain, but its dominance in memecoins has kept it popular with new and mainstream users.
“There will always be faster, cheaper, more composable and more UX-friendly chains – however, specialized Layer1s that focus on a specific aspect of the industry are going to become more prevalent. Crucially, discovering a niche will allow chains to remain competitive and attract developers and users.”
– Galxe founder Charles Wayn
The SEC’s dismissal of the Ripple case is good news.
“The dismissal of the Ripple case by the SEC is a historic day for the project and the wider crypto ecosystem. This case has been a thorn in Ripple’s side since 2020 – before even the last bull run. Of all the crypto lawsuits the SEC has dismissed, this was the big one that the entire industry was holding its breath for.
“The move is certainly yet another signal that the SEC is serious about taking a more lenient stance toward crypto. However, now with its house cleaned, the real work must begin. With all of the former administration’s lawsuits out of the way, regulatory bodies must focus on delivering concrete guidance for the crypto ecosystem. This is both in terms of the legislative frameworks that will govern digital assets and the agency that will take on this job.
“The crypto industry is desperate for clear and smart regulation, not just deregulation. Without this clarity, digital assets will remain in limbo, even if the regulatory pressure has been lifted. And, until we have concrete answers, the crypto market will likely struggle to break out of its current holding pattern and continue being driven by macroeconomic news rather than more crypto-specific factors.”
– Galxe head of go to market Patrick Young