

Vitalik Buterin is not really talking about price right now. That alone makes his latest message stand out.
While much of the crypto market remains fixated on ETFs, flows, and whether this cycle has one more leg left, Ethereum’s co-founder is pointing somewhere else entirely. In his view, 2026 should be the year Ethereum starts actively reversing what he sees as a slow drift away from self-sovereignty and trustlessness.
It is not framed as a dramatic pivot or some shiny new roadmap. It is more like a reminder. Ethereum, according to Buterin, has spent years getting bigger, faster, and easier to use, and in the process it has quietly accepted compromises that would have felt uncomfortable in its earlier days.
Now he wants to unwind some of that.
There is no denying Ethereum’s growth. Rollups work. DeFi runs real money. Institutions are here. The network feels permanent in a way it did not a few years ago.
But ease comes with dependencies. Many users do not run nodes. Many apps rely on the same handful of infrastructure providers. Wallets often default to custodial or semi-custodial setups because it is simpler and users are afraid of losing seed phrases.
None of this is accidental. It happened because it worked. It brought users in. It made Ethereum usable.
But Buterin’s argument is that convenience has slowly started to crowd out something more important. If Ethereum depends too much on trusted intermediaries, even friendly ones, then it starts to look less like a trustless system and more like a decentralized brand layered on top of familiar structures.
That, in his view, is a problem worth addressing head-on.
When Buterin talks about self-sovereignty, he is not being abstract. He is talking about very practical things, like how people actually control their assets.
Seed phrases remain one of crypto’s most unforgiving design choices. Lose it and your funds are gone. For many users, that risk pushes them straight into custodial solutions, which defeats the point.
Ethereum’s push around account abstraction and social recovery wallets is meant to change that dynamic. The idea is not to make users memorize better passwords. It is to give them safer ways to stay in control without handing the keys to someone else.
This is where Buterin tends to sound almost stubborn. He does not accept that usability and self-custody have to be opposites. He sees bad wallet UX as a solvable design problem, not a reason to abandon the principle.
Another issue that keeps coming up is verification. Ethereum is designed so anyone can independently verify the network’s state. In practice, most people do not.
Instead, users and apps lean on centralized RPC providers, cloud services, and hosted endpoints. It works. Until it does not.
Buterin has been blunt about this. If Ethereum becomes a network where only a small group of actors can realistically verify what is happening, then decentralization starts to thin out where it matters most.
This is why there is so much emphasis on lighter nodes, better data availability, and zero-knowledge tech. The goal is not academic elegance. It is making verification cheap and accessible enough that it becomes normal again.
In other words, Ethereum should be something you can check for yourself, not something you take on faith.
Despite years of progress, privacy on Ethereum remains optional and often awkward. Many transactions leak more information than users realize, simply because they rely on centralized relayers or analytics-heavy infrastructure.
Buterin has been pushing the idea that privacy should feel boring. Not exotic. Not advanced. Just there.
If private transactions require special effort or deep technical knowledge, most users will skip them. That creates a network where surveillance becomes the default state, which cuts directly against the idea of permissionless participation.
The renewed focus here is about making privacy part of the base layer experience, not something bolted on later for power users.
One of the more interesting parts of Buterin’s recent comments is how long-term they are. He talks openly about quantum resistance and cryptographic upgrades that may not matter for years.
That is not the kind of thing that drives usage next quarter. It is the kind of thing you worry about if you think Ethereum should still be around in 20 or 30 years.
The same mindset shows up in his thoughts on stablecoins and financial infrastructure. Relying entirely on centralized issuers and traditional banking rails might be convenient now, but it introduces fragility over time.
The message is subtle but consistent. Ethereum should not optimize only for what works today. It should optimize for what survives stress.
There is also something missing from this conversation, and it feels intentional. Buterin is not talking about memecoins, viral apps, or chasing narratives to pump activity.
Instead, he keeps circling back to resilience. Can Ethereum keep working if major providers go offline. Can users still transact if key companies disappear. Can the system hold up under pressure.
That focus might feel boring to parts of the market. It is also probably why it matters.
Ethereum is no longer trying to prove that it works. It already does. The question now is what kind of system it wants to be as it becomes harder to change.
By framing 2026 as a year of recommitment, Buterin is effectively asking the ecosystem to slow down just enough to check its foundations. Not to undo progress, but to make sure that progress did not quietly hollow out the original mission.
Whether developers and users fully follow that lead is an open question. Ethereum is too big to move in one direction all at once.
Still, when its most influential voice says the next phase is about trustlessness, self-sovereignty, and resilience, it is worth paying attention. Not because it promises a price move, but because it says something about where Ethereum thinks its long-term value really comes from.
You can stay up to date on all News, Events, and Marketing of Rare Network, including Rare Evo: America’s Premier Blockchain Conference, happening July 28th-31st, 2026 at The ARIA Resort & Casino, by following our socials on X, LinkedIn, and YouTube.


Alchemix has always been built around a simple but powerful idea. Use yield to repay debt over time and let users borrow without the pressure of liquidations. That foundation remains fully intact in Alchemix v3.
What v3 introduces is scale, structure, and confidence.
With the full protocol migration set for February 6th, 2026, Alchemix is rolling out its most advanced architecture to date, expanding what self-repaying loans can support while keeping the experience familiar to long-time users.
Alchemix v3 represents a step forward in how the protocol organizes yield, debt, and user positions.
The new system introduces standardized vaults, clearer internal accounting, and a modular design that allows the protocol to support higher capital efficiency and more predictable outcomes. These upgrades do not change how Alchemix works at a conceptual level. They allow it to work at a larger scale, with more flexibility.
It is the difference between a system that functions well and one that is designed to support growth.
A standout feature of v3 is the upgraded Transmuter and the introduction of fixed redemption windows.
Synthetic assets like alUSD and alETH can now be redeemed for underlying collateral after defined timeframes. This gives the system a clearer rhythm and strengthens peg behavior, while still relying on yield as the core engine behind redemptions.
For users, this means clearer expectations. For the protocol, it means more predictable flows and easier long-term planning.
This added structure is a major step forward in making self-repaying loans easier to understand and trust at scale.
Yield has always been central to Alchemix, and v3 expands what yield can do through the introduction of the Mix-Yield Token, or MYT.
MYT represents aggregated yield exposure managed at the protocol level. Instead of interacting with individual strategies, users gain access to diversified yield through a single mechanism governed by the DAO.
This design allows Alchemix to adapt as yield opportunities evolve, without changing the user experience. It also strengthens the protocol’s ability to manage risk and allocate capital efficiently across strategies and environments.
It is yield abstraction done with intention.
One of the most visible improvements in v3 is the increase in borrowing capacity to up to 90 percent loan-to-value.
This unlocks significantly more flexibility for users, allowing capital to work harder while maintaining the defining characteristics of Alchemix. Loans still repay themselves over time. There are still no liquidations. Users are still free from constant position management.
The improvement comes from a stronger internal structure and more efficient system design, not from added complexity.
In v3, user positions are represented as NFTs that fully encode collateral, debt, and yield exposure.
This approach makes positions easier to track, transfer, and integrate with other DeFi protocols in the future. It also simplifies the protocol’s internal architecture, making it more modular and easier to extend.
Position NFTs serve as a building block, enabling Alchemix to plug into a wider ecosystem without altering its core mechanics.
The move to v3 is being executed through a protocol-level migration that prioritizes continuity.
On February 6th, 2026, v2 contracts will be frozen, positions will be snapshotted, and equivalent positions will be recreated in v3. Economic value is preserved, and users are not required to take action unless they choose to.
To reinforce alignment, Alchemix is also introducing a Migration Mana Program that rewards users who remain deposited through the transition.
The process reflects a careful, deliberate approach to upgrading critical infrastructure.
As details around v3 have emerged, the direction of the protocol has become clearer.
Alchemix is focusing on predictability, capital efficiency, and long-term composability. The goal is not to chase trends, but to strengthen the foundations of self-repaying finance so it can support broader use cases over time.
Alchemix v3 does not replace what came before. It expands on it.
Self-repaying loans remain the core. Yield remains the engine. Time remains a feature, not a risk.
With the v3 migration scheduled for February 6th, 2026, Alchemix is demonstrating how a proven DeFi model can evolve thoughtfully, gaining structure and scale without losing its identity.
Sometimes the most powerful upgrades are the ones that simply let a great idea grow into its full potential.
You can stay up to date on all News, Events, and Marketing of Rare Network, including Rare Evo: America’s Premier Blockchain Conference, happening July 28th-31st, 2026 at The ARIA Resort & Casino, by following our socials on X, LinkedIn, and YouTube.


A public company best known for holding large amounts of Ethereum is now placing a very different kind of bet, one that sits at the intersection of crypto, finance, and the creator economy.
BitMine Immersion Technologies, a crypto treasury firm chaired by Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, says it plans to invest $200 million into Beast Industries, the company behind YouTube creator MrBeast. The goal, according to executives, is to explore how decentralized finance could play a role in a future financial services platform tied to one of the internet’s largest audiences.
This is not a meme coin launch or a celebrity endorsement deal. It looks more like a strategic attempt to combine capital markets, Ethereum infrastructure, and massive consumer distribution.
BitMine has been repositioning itself as an Ethereum-focused treasury company, following a playbook that investors have seen before in Bitcoin-heavy balance sheet strategies. The difference is scale and ambition.
The firm holds a substantial amount of ETH and has spoken publicly about building staking infrastructure and validator operations. But simply holding crypto is no longer enough to sustain investor interest, especially as enthusiasm around treasury-style trades has cooled.
The next step is finding ways to turn those holdings into something operational. That is where Beast Industries comes in.
MrBeast is not just a YouTuber. His business spans media, merchandise, and consumer brands, and it reaches hundreds of millions of people, many of them young and digitally native. For a company looking to build or support crypto-based financial products, that kind of distribution is hard to ignore.
Executives at Beast Industries have been clear that the company is looking at financial services. Trademark filings and past reporting suggest a wide scope, including payments, lending, insurance, and potentially crypto-related offerings.
The key word is explore. There is no product launch yet, and there is no guarantee that every idea becomes reality. Still, the language around incorporating DeFi suggests interest in crypto-native rails rather than simply slapping a brand on traditional products.
In practice, that could mean crypto-powered payments, wallet functionality, token-based rewards, or lending products that lean on blockchain infrastructure behind the scenes. It could also mean partnerships with existing fintech or crypto firms to avoid the heavy regulatory lift of building financial institutions from scratch.
In this context, DeFi should probably be read less as a commitment to complex on-chain protocols and more as a distribution strategy.
For years, crypto has struggled to reach mainstream users without relying on exchanges or speculative narratives. A creator-led platform flips that equation. The audience already exists. The challenge becomes offering products that are simple, compliant, and trustworthy enough to meet that audience where it is.
That trust component matters. MrBeast’s brand is built on transparency and goodwill. Any financial product under that banner would be judged harshly if it felt confusing, risky, or exploitative. Crypto’s history with celebrity-adjacent scams only raises the stakes.
For Beast Industries, entering finance is not trivial. Even lightweight financial products come with regulatory scrutiny, reputational risk, and long-term obligations to users. A misstep could damage a brand that has taken years to build.
For BitMine, the risk is different. Crypto treasury strategies have gone in and out of favor, often tracking the price of the underlying asset more than business fundamentals. Investors have shown signs of fatigue toward companies whose primary strategy is buying and holding crypto.
Backing a creator-led financial push is an attempt to move beyond that narrative. Whether markets reward that shift remains an open question.
This investment fits into a broader trend where crypto companies are looking for real-world distribution and cash-flow-adjacent businesses, while creators are looking for ways to turn attention into durable platforms.
Ethereum sits in the middle of that equation. It provides the infrastructure for staking, tokenization, and programmable finance, all of which appeal to firms trying to rethink how financial products are built and delivered.
The unusual part is seeing a public crypto treasury company and a creator empire meet at that intersection.
Several things will determine whether this becomes a defining moment or a footnote.
First is structure. How the investment is deployed, and what BitMine actually receives in return, will shape how investors interpret the move.
Second is execution. A vague commitment to DeFi means little without a clear product vision and compliance strategy.
Third is messaging. Any hint of speculative tokens or unclear financial incentives could quickly undermine trust.
BitMine’s $200 million bet is a sign that crypto treasury firms are searching for their next evolution. Holding Ethereum is one thing. Building products, platforms, and distribution around it is another.
MrBeast brings something crypto rarely has in abundance: mainstream attention paired with trust at scale. Whether that combination can be turned into sustainable financial services without repeating the industry’s past mistakes is the real test.
For now, the deal signals that crypto’s next phase may be less about balance sheets and more about who controls distribution.
You can stay up to date on all News, Events, and Marketing of Rare Network, including Rare Evo: America’s Premier Blockchain Conference, happening July 28th-31st, 2026 at The ARIA Resort & Casino, by following our socials on X, LinkedIn, and YouTube.


X is getting ready to roll out something called Smart Cashtags, and while the feature sounds minor on the surface, it could change how people follow crypto markets day to day.
Cashtags are already familiar to anyone who spends time on crypto Twitter. Add a dollar sign in front of a ticker like $BTC or $ETH and the platform turns it into a clickable reference tied to ongoing conversations. It has always been useful for tracking sentiment, but not particularly helpful if you actually want to know what the market is doing in that moment.
Smart Cashtags are meant to fix that.
Instead of just linking to a stream of posts, the upgraded version will surface live prices, basic performance data, and charts directly in the feed. The idea is simple: if people are talking about a token, you should be able to see what it is doing without leaving the timeline.
For a platform where crypto narratives often move faster than prices themselves, that shift matters.
Crypto trading already lives on X. News breaks there. Narratives form there. Panic and euphoria show up there first. What has been missing is the data itself.
Smart Cashtags bring that data closer to the conversation.
The feature was announced by Nikita Bier, who is Head of Product at X, saying it will convert posts into live market data entry points.
When someone mentions a token using a cashtag, the platform will recognize the asset and display up to date pricing alongside the post. Tapping the tag is expected to open more context, recent price moves, charts, and related discussion, all in one place.
It reduces the constant app hopping that most traders know too well. Instead of checking a charting app, then jumping back to X to see what people are saying, everything shows up together.
Over time, that could subtly change how people consume market information. The feed becomes less of a rumor mill and more of a lightweight market view.
Crypto is unusually sensitive to social momentum. A token can start trending hours before volume shows up. A single viral post can spark a rally or accelerate a selloff.
Putting price data directly next to those conversations tightens that feedback loop.
A trader scrolling their timeline might see a surge in posts about a token at the same moment the price is breaking out. The same dynamic works in reverse during downturns. That kind of visibility favors speed and awareness, especially for retail traders who do not live inside professional trading dashboards.
It also lowers the barrier to entry. You do not need to know where to look or which tools to use. The information comes to you as part of the conversation.
That accessibility cuts both ways. More visibility can mean better context, but it can also amplify emotional reactions during volatile moments.
Smart Cashtags are not just about showing a price number.
One of the quieter improvements is accuracy. Crypto tickers can be messy. Different tokens share similar symbols, and some symbols overlap with stocks or other assets. Smart Cashtags are expected to better identify and map posts to the correct asset, reducing confusion and mislabeling.
That matters more as crypto bleeds into traditional finance, with tokenized assets, ETFs, and crossover tickers becoming more common.
This is also not X’s first step into market data. Earlier versions of cashtags already offered limited chart previews through external integrations. Those features felt bolted on. Smart Cashtags move the data front and center, making it part of the native experience instead of a side panel.
Embedding live prices into social feeds is not risk free.
If data is delayed or inaccurate, misinformation spreads faster. When price movements and social reactions are displayed together, markets can become more reflexive. Trends may accelerate, and herd behavior could become more pronounced, especially in smaller or thinner markets.
There is also the question of incentives. Once price data lives inside the feed, it opens the door to monetization, premium analytics, or trading integrations. None of that has been formally announced, but the direction is hard to ignore.
Smart Cashtags fit neatly into X’s broader ambitions. The platform has been inching toward financial services, payments, and creator driven monetization for some time. Turning the feed into a place where financial data lives alongside conversation feels like a natural extension, and ultimately leads toward X becoming the everything app.
For crypto specifically, it reinforces X’s position as the main arena where narratives meet price action. It is not a trading terminal, but it does not need to be. Influence often matters more than precision.
Smart Cashtags may look like a small product update, but they point to something bigger.
By putting live crypto prices directly into the timeline, X is collapsing the distance between sentiment and market reality. For traders, builders, and casual observers alike, that could change how quickly ideas turn into action.
Whether it leads to better informed decisions or faster hype cycles will depend on how it is used. Either way, crypto conversations on X are about to feel a lot closer to the market itself.
You can stay up to date on all News, Events, and Marketing of Rare Network, including Rare Evo: America’s Premier Blockchain Conference, happening July 28th-31st, 2026 at The ARIA Resort & Casino, by following our socials on X, LinkedIn, and YouTube.


Optimism is considering a significant shift in how value flows back to its native token holders.
A new governance proposal would allocate 50 percent of all Superchain revenue toward regular buybacks of the OP token, marking one of the clearest attempts yet by a major Layer 2 ecosystem to directly link token economics with real network revenue.
If approved, the buybacks would begin as early as February and would be funded through sequencer fees generated across the Superchain, Optimism’s growing network of OP Stack based chains. The remaining revenue would continue to support protocol development, public goods funding, and ecosystem operations.
The proposal reflects a broader debate playing out across crypto: how networks should balance reinvestment with returning value to token holders.
Optimism’s Superchain model pools revenue from multiple Layer 2 networks that use the OP Stack. These chains contribute a portion of their sequencer fees into a shared system, creating a steady revenue stream tied directly to transaction activity.
Under the new plan, half of that revenue would be used to purchase OP tokens on the open market. Those tokens would then be held by the Optimism treasury, where governance could later decide whether to burn them, redistribute them, or use them for future incentives.
Supporters of the proposal argue that buybacks would strengthen the relationship between Superchain usage and demand for OP. As more chains join the ecosystem and activity grows, buyback volumes could rise alongside revenue.
It is a notable shift for a project that has historically emphasized governance participation and public goods funding over direct token value capture.
Optimism has spent the past year expanding the Superchain, with more networks adopting the OP Stack and contributing fees back to the collective. That growth has made revenue allocation a more pressing question. Optimism shared that it has collected 5,868 ETH in revenue from the Superchain, all of which has flowed into a token-governed treasury.
Rather than committing all proceeds to grants or long term development, the Foundation appears to be signaling that token holders should benefit more directly from the ecosystem’s success.
At the same time, the proposal stops short of mandating token burns or fixed distributions. By returning bought tokens to the treasury, Optimism preserves flexibility while still introducing a market facing mechanism tied to revenue.
Under the proposal, which is expected to go to a governance vote on January 22, Optimism would begin monthly OP token buybacks as early as February. The purchases would be funded by sequencer fee revenue generated across OP Stack based networks, including Coinbase’s Base, Uniswap’s Unichain, World’s World Chain, Sony’s Soneium, and other Superchain members.
Approval would make Optimism one of the more prominent Ethereum scaling projects to formalize buybacks as part of its economic model.
Whether the plan passes or not, the discussion highlights a shift in tone across crypto infrastructure projects. As networks mature and generate meaningful revenue, questions around sustainability, incentives, and value capture are becoming harder to avoid.
For Optimism, the vote could shape how the Superchain evolves from a technical scaling solution into a fully self sustaining economic system.
You can stay up to date on all News, Events, and Marketing of Rare Network, including Rare Evo: America’s Premier Blockchain Conference, happening July 28th-31st, 2026 at The ARIA Resort & Casino, by following our socials on X, LinkedIn, and YouTube.


Aave is once again at the center of a familiar DeFi question. Who really controls the protocol, the DAO or the company that builds and maintains it?
This week, Aave Labs moved to ease growing tensions with the Aave DAO after backlash over how non-protocol revenue is handled. The dispute has exposed deeper cracks in the relationship between token holders and the development team, and raised uncomfortable questions about decentralization, ownership, and incentives in one of crypto’s largest lending platforms. In a governance post on Friday, Aave founder Stani Kulechov wrote that,
"Given the recent conversations in the community, at Aave Labs we are committed to sharing revenue generated outside the protocol with token holders, alignment is important for us and for AAVE holders, and we’ll follow up soon with a formal proposal that will include specific structures for how this works.”
At issue is revenue generated outside Aave’s core smart contracts. Specifically, fees tied to the protocol’s frontend and swap integrations. While these fees are not produced directly by the lending protocol itself, many DAO members argue they should still benefit token holders, especially when the interface is tightly associated with the Aave brand.
The disagreement came into focus after Aave Labs switched its frontend swap provider, a move that redirected fees away from the DAO treasury. Some delegates estimate the change could divert millions of dollars annually that previously flowed to token holders. That sparked immediate criticism, with governance participants accusing Aave Labs of unilaterally monetizing the ecosystem without sufficient community approval.
Aave Labs has pushed back on that framing. The team says the frontend is a separate product that requires ongoing development, maintenance, and legal responsibility. From its perspective, monetizing the interface is a reasonable way to fund operations, and not a violation of DAO governance. The protocol itself, they argue, remains fully controlled by token holders.
Still, the explanation did little to calm concerns. For many in the DAO, the issue is less about the money and more about precedent. If revenue connected to the Aave user experience can be captured outside governance, it raises questions about how much power token holders actually have.
The situation escalated when a proposal surfaced that would move control of Aave’s brand assets into a DAO-controlled legal structure. The vote was rushed to Snapshot, drawing criticism over process and transparency. Some contributors said the proposal appeared without proper consultation, further eroding trust at an already sensitive moment.
Market reaction was swift. AAVE’s price slid as traders weighed the uncertainty, adding financial pressure to an already tense governance environment. Longtime delegates warned that unresolved conflicts between Labs and the DAO could weaken Aave’s standing as a leading DeFi protocol.
In response, Aave Labs has now signaled a willingness to compromise. The team proposed sharing portions of non-protocol revenue with the DAO, framing it as a goodwill gesture rather than an obligation. The move is intended to reset the conversation and bring governance discussions back to alignment rather than escalation.
Whether that will be enough remains unclear. Some DAO members see the offer as a step in the right direction. Others worry it avoids the core issue, which is defining where the DAO’s authority begins and ends.
The broader implications stretch well beyond Aave. As DeFi matures, protocols are increasingly forced to reconcile decentralization ideals with the realities of product development, regulation, and sustainable funding. Aave’s governance clash is becoming a case study in what happens when those lines are left blurry.
For now, both sides appear to be stepping back from the brink. But the debate has made one thing clear. In crypto, decentralization is not a destination, it’s an ongoing negotiation.


Crypto enters 2026 without the drama that once defined the start of a new year. Prices are steady but not euphoric. The timelines are calmer. The noise has faded. And yet, beneath that surface calm, the industry feels more focused and more self-assured than it has in a long time.
This does not feel like a market losing relevance. It feels like one that has stopped trying to prove itself every day.
After a tough reset in 2025, crypto is no longer driven by momentum alone. It is being shaped by infrastructure, regulation, and a growing sense that digital assets are slowly becoming part of the financial background rather than a constant headline.
The pullback that closed out 2025 forced a hard reset across the industry. Excess leverage was flushed out. Projects built purely on narrative struggled to survive. Capital became more cautious, and in many cases, more serious.
Entering 2026, the market feels leaner and more selective. Bitcoin and Ethereum remain central, not because they promise overnight gains, but because they sit at the core of a system that is gradually being integrated into global finance.
Volatility has not disappeared, but it feels more tied to real catalysts. Flows, macro conditions, regulatory developments. This is no longer a market reacting to every rumor or viral post.
For investors who think in cycles rather than weeks, this is often the phase where foundations quietly form.
Institutional involvement is no longer a future narrative. It is an active force shaping how crypto evolves.
ETFs, custody platforms, tokenized funds, and on chain settlement tools are becoming familiar concepts inside traditional finance. What stands out is how little of this activity is happening in public. Much of it is operational, slow, and deliberate.
That shift is noticeable at industry conferences and in private meetings. The energy is different. Fewer grand predictions. More conversations about compliance, liquidity, risk frameworks, and long term deployment. More handshakes, fewer hype decks.
Institutions do not move quickly, but when they start building infrastructure, they tend to stay.
Regulation is still controversial, but the tone has softened. Clearer rules are beginning to replace uncertainty, especially around stablecoins, custody, and reporting.
For many market participants, this clarity is not restrictive. It is enabling. It allows companies to plan, investors to allocate, and builders to focus on execution instead of interpretation.
Crypto does not need to be unregulated to grow. It needs to be understood. 2026 feels like a step in that direction.
One of the strongest signals for crypto’s future is how little attention some of its most important developments receive.
Stablecoins are increasingly used for payments and settlement, especially in cross border contexts where traditional systems are slow and expensive. This is not a speculative use case. It is a practical one.
Tokenization is following a similar path. Real world assets like funds, bonds, and private credit are being tested on chain. The goal is efficiency, transparency, and liquidity, not buzz.
These are the kinds of changes that rarely reverse once they gain traction.
DeFi is no longer trying to reinvent finance overnight. It is focusing on doing specific things better. Automation, interoperability, and capital efficiency are the priorities now.
AI, meanwhile, is becoming part of the background. It shows up in analytics, trading strategies, monitoring tools, and security systems. Less hype, more utility.
This maturation may feel less exciting, but it is exactly what long term systems tend to look like before they scale.
Crypto in 2026 does not feel like a peak. It feels like a setup.
Builders are still building, even without constant attention. Institutions are committing resources, not just headlines. Regulators are engaging instead of reacting. Investors are meeting in person again, comparing notes, and thinking beyond the next quarter.
The industry feels more grounded, but also more aligned.
What makes 2026 particularly interesting is not what happens this year, but what it enables next.
If infrastructure continues to solidify, regulation continues to clarify, and real usage keeps expanding, crypto may enter its next growth phase from a position of strength rather than speculation. The next cycle, whenever it arrives, is likely to be driven less by hype and more by inevitability.
Markets tend to move fastest when most people are no longer watching closely. Crypto may be entering that phase now.
It does not need to shout. It just needs to keep working.
And if it does, the years beyond 2026 may end up being the ones that finally justify everything that came before.
You can stay up to date on all News, Events, and Marketing of Rare Network, including Rare Evo: America’s Premier Blockchain Conference, happening July 28th-31st, 2026 at The ARIA Resort & Casino, by following our socials on X, LinkedIn, and YouTube.


Decentralized perpetual futures have gone from niche to normal this year. Volumes keep rising, traders keep rotating on chain, and perps are now one of the few crypto products seeing consistent usage. Lighter’s launch of its native token, LIT, on December 30 fits squarely into that trend.
For Lighter, the token launch was not a sudden pivot. It followed months of points programs, trading incentives, and gradual onboarding of users who were effectively SOL being asked to prove they would stick around. With LIT now live, those points have turned into tokens, and the protocol has taken a step toward formalizing ownership.
The LIT token generation event took place on December 30, alongside the initial airdrop. About 25 percent of the total one billion token supply was distributed directly to users who qualified through earlier activity on the platform.
The airdrop was ADA designed to be simple. Tokens were sent automatically to wallets, with no separate claim process and no vesting on that portion. According to the team, the goal was to avoid friction and make sure users actually received what they earned, rather than navigating another multi-step process.
In the days leading up to the launch, large on-chain transfers tied to Lighter hinted that the rollout was imminent. That activity sparked plenty of speculation, but once the token went live, the mechanics turned out to be largely in line with what the team had been signaling.
LIT has a fixed supply of one billion tokens. Half of that supply is allocated to the community and ecosystem, while the other half is split between the team and early investors.
The team’s allocation accounts for roughly 26 percent of the total supply. Investors hold around 24 percent. Those tokens are locked for the first year and then vest gradually over several years. The structure reflects an effort to balance internal incentives with the expectations of a user base that is increasingly sensitive to future supply.
The community share goes beyond the initial airdrop. It also funds ongoing trading incentives, staking rewards, and future programs aimed at keeping activity on the platform as competition among perps exchanges intensifies.
LIT did not wait until launch day to attract attention. Pre-market trading had already been active, with centralized and decentralized venues offering early exposure through synthetic markets and limited listings.
That early price discovery set expectations, though liquidity was thin and pricing uneven. Since the launch, focus has shifted to how LIT trades with real circulation, as airdropped tokens begin to move and broader markets form. Volatility has been expected, especially in the first few sessions, as supply and demand work themselves out. The LIT token is currently trading at $2.74 with a market cap just shy of $700M.
At its core, Lighter runs a decentralized perpetuals exchange on Ethereum. The platform uses a Layer-2 design built around zero-knowledge technology to keep trades fast and fees predictable, while still settling activity on chain.
The team has been clear that LIT is not meant to exist in isolation. The token is expected to play a role in staking, incentives, and access to certain platform features over time. Lighter has also pointed to future products, including options and tokenized assets, as part of a broader roadmap that extends beyond perps alone.
Another point emphasized in the launch messaging is alignment. The protocol generates revenue through trading activity, and the intent is for token holders to benefit as the platform grows, whether through reinvestment, incentives, or other value-sharing mechanisms.
Lighter’s token launch comes at a moment when decentralized perpetuals are no longer trying to prove they work. That question has largely been answered. Instead, the focus has moved to scale, retention, and differentiation.
Platforms like Hyperliquid and dYdX have shown that traders will stay on chain if execution is good enough. Tokens, in that context, are becoming tools for locking in users rather than just raising capital.
By distributing a large share of LIT to active participants and keeping insider tokens locked, Lighter is betting that ownership and incentives can help it compete in an increasingly crowded market. Whether that holds up will depend less on launch-day excitement and more on what happens next.
As volumes continue to rise and on-chain perps become a permanent part of crypto trading, Lighter’s challenge will be turning early momentum into something durable. The LIT launch is an important step, but it is only the beginning.
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JPMorgan Chase is stepping deeper into blockchain finance, this time with a product that looks very familiar to Wall Street.
The bank has launched a tokenized money-market fund on Ethereum, marking one of the clearest signs yet that large financial institutions are moving beyond experiments and into real onchain products designed for investors.
The fund, called My OnChain Net Yield, or MONY, is a private money-market vehicle issued by JPMorgan Asset Management. It is seeded with $100 million of the bank’s own capital and is aimed squarely at institutional clients and high-net-worth investors, not crypto traders chasing volatility.
In simple terms, it is a traditional money-market fund, but the ownership lives on a blockchain.
Money-market funds are among the most conservative products in finance. They invest in short-term, high-quality debt and are used by institutions to park cash, manage liquidity, and earn modest yield.
JPMorgan is not changing that formula. What it is changing is how the fund is issued, held, and transferred.
Instead of relying solely on traditional fund administration systems, MONY issues digital tokens on Ethereum that represent ownership in the fund. Investors can subscribe using cash or stablecoins and receive tokenized shares that can be held in compatible digital wallets.
The pitch is efficiency. Blockchain settlement can be faster, more transparent, and easier to integrate with other digital financial tools. For large investors managing billions in cash, shaving time and operational friction matters.
Ethereum has become the default blockchain for large financial institutions experimenting with tokenization. It offers a mature ecosystem, deep liquidity, and a growing set of standards for issuing real-world assets onchain.
Timing also plays a role. Tokenized funds have gained momentum over the past year as interest rates remain elevated and investors search for safe yield options that can operate alongside digital assets.
Stablecoins now move enormous sums across blockchains, but they typically do not pay interest. Tokenized money-market funds fill that gap, allowing capital to stay onchain while earning yield backed by regulated assets. That combination is proving difficult for institutions to ignore.
JPMorgan has framed the move as a response to client demand rather than a bet on crypto prices. The goal is infrastructure, not speculation.
Behind JPMorgan’s move is a surge in client interest that has been building quietly.
“There is a massive amount of interest from clients around tokenization,” said John Donohue, who leads liquidity at JPMorgan Asset Management. The firm expects to be a leader in the space and to give investors the same range of choices on blockchain that they already have in traditional money-market funds.
That demand is arriving as the regulatory picture in the U.S. begins to look more settled. Policymakers have taken steps this year to clarify how digital asset activity fits within the existing financial system. New rules around dollar-backed stablecoins and clearer signals on oversight of blockchain-based products have reduced some of the uncertainty that previously kept large institutions cautious.
Those changes have encouraged banks and asset managers to move faster on tokenization initiatives across funds, securities, and other real-world assets.
The market reflects that shift. The total value of tokenized real-world assets reached roughly $38 billion in 2025, a record level. Tokenized money-market funds have been particularly attractive to crypto-native investors, offering a way to earn yield without leaving the blockchain or converting assets back into traditional cash accounts.
JPMorgan’s launch places it alongside a growing group of large financial firms experimenting with tokenized funds.
BlackRock operates the largest tokenized money-market fund, with assets already measured in the billions. Goldman Sachs and Bank of New York Mellon have also outlined plans to issue digital tokens tied to money-market products from major asset managers. At the same time, crypto exchanges have begun rolling out tokenized stocks and other securities in select markets.
What was once a collection of pilot programs is turning into a competitive landscape.
There is a longer-term bet embedded in JPMorgan’s move. If financial assets increasingly live onchain, money-market funds could become core building blocks of a new financial stack.
Tokenized cash can be used as collateral, settle instantly, and plug into automated systems that move value without waiting for bank cut-off times or settlement windows.
That future is still taking shape, and it will not arrive overnight. But moves like this bring it closer, one conservative product at a time.
For JPMorgan, MONY is not a moonshot. It is something more deliberate. Take a product Wall Street already trusts, put it on new rails, and see where efficiency leads.
That approach may end up being the most convincing case yet for blockchain finance inside traditional markets.
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The crypto market has seen a sharp rise in volatility and price movement, with Bitcoin and Ethereum leading the rally. This surge has not come out of nowhere. It is tied closely to speculation surrounding the latest Federal Open Market Committee decision. As traders positioned themselves for potential changes in U.S. monetary policy, the crypto market responded with a wave of buying, short liquidations, and renewed bullish sentiment.
The move is another clear example of how deeply connected crypto has become to broader macroeconomic conditions.
In the days leading up to the meeting, expectations grew that the Federal Reserve might soften its stance on interest rates. Even the possibility of a rate cut or a more dovish tone tends to shift investors toward higher risk assets. Crypto is usually among the first to react.
Lower interest rates reduce the appeal of cash and bonds, while making speculative and growth oriented assets more attractive. That dynamic has long played out in equities. Now it is becoming increasingly visible in crypto as well.
Bitcoin and Ethereum both climbed into short term highs before the decision. As prices moved up, heavily leveraged short positions began to unwind. This added fuel to the rally as forced liquidations pushed prices even higher. It was a feedback loop that often appears during major macro events and is especially common in the crypto market due to its high leverage environment.

Even though crypto operates independently of government control, the industry still reacts strongly to the tone and trajectory of central bank policy.
A few things are becoming clear:
Traders treat FOMC guidance as a direct indicator of risk sentiment.
Expectations alone can drive price action before the decision is released.
Liquidity conditions continue to shape the strength of crypto market rebounds.
Bitcoin and Ethereum are increasingly acting like macro assets rather than purely speculative ones.
As the market leaned toward a more accommodative outlook, traders began rotating capital back into large cap cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin and Ethereum benefited the most, but the effect spilled into altcoins as well.
Short term, this created a volatile environment. Longer term, it signals a deeper connection between crypto and global financial cycles.
While investors always react to big economic events, this moment feels different. The alignment of easing inflation, slower economic pressure, and the possibility of rate cuts creates a setup where risk assets could see more sustained inflows.
Crypto is no longer operating separately from traditional finance. If liquidity improves across the economy, that liquidity tends to find its way into high growth and high volatility markets. Bitcoin and Ethereum fit that profile perfectly.
This raises a question that many in the industry are now considering. Is this the beginning of a broader shift where crypto consistently responds to macro cycles the same way equities and bonds do?
If so, price behavior may become more predictable around central bank events than it was in the early years of the industry.
If the Fed follows a path of easing or signals greater flexibility, crypto markets could experience a sustained wave of inflows.
Investors may shift back toward risk, viewing Bitcoin and Ethereum as core components of a diversified macro portfolio.
Lower interest rates increase liquidity across financial markets, which historically supports larger moves in non traditional assets.
A clearer link between crypto and macro conditions could attract more institutional traders who specialize in macro driven strategies.
If the Fed holds rates higher for longer or delivers a hawkish message, the market could see an immediate reversal.
Liquidations can cut both ways. The same leverage that amplifies rallies can intensify declines.
Uncertainty in global markets, geopolitical pressure, or a sudden risk off event could stall any recovery.
Crypto may remain highly sensitive to macro shifts, reducing the independence that once drove speculative surges.
This moment serves as a reminder that crypto does not move in isolation. Bitcoin and Ethereum now sit within the larger financial ecosystem. When central bank policy shifts, these assets feel the impact quickly. That connection is growing stronger, not weaker.
For traders, FOMC weeks will continue to be periods of heightened volatility. Positioning before and after the decision may offer opportunities, but it also increases risk.
For long term investors, understanding macro cycles is becoming just as important as understanding blockchain fundamentals.
For the market as a whole, this could signal a shift toward a more mature ecosystem. If crypto continues to move with global financial cycles, it may attract more institutional interest, more capital, and more stability over time.
The surge before the FOMC decision is not just another short term rally. It is a signal of where the market is heading and how interconnected crypto has become with traditional finance.
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The crypto industry is moving into a new phase, and Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan believes the shift is much larger than the market realizes. His view is that the combination of regulatory changes, institutional interest, and the rise of on chain financial infrastructure is creating an environment that could redefine how global markets function.
What is striking is not just his optimism, but the level of detail behind it. Hougan is not talking about the next bull run or a temporary upswing. He is talking about a structural change that could reshape how assets move and how financial services are delivered.
For years, regulation has been the main obstacle standing between crypto and traditional finance. That has started to change in a very real way. In a recent address, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins presented a plan known informally as Project Crypto. Instead of focusing primarily on enforcement, the initiative outlines a path for integrating traditional markets with public blockchains.
Hougan called this the most optimistic regulatory stance he has ever seen and said it forced him to revise not just the scale of crypto’s potential, but the timeline as well. His point is straightforward. The market has not fully absorbed what a cooperative regulatory regime could unlock. Investors have priced in caution for so long that they have not adjusted to the possibility of acceleration.
Hougan identifies three categories where he sees the strongest potential.
1. Layer 1 blockchains and core crypto networks.
If financial activity continues to move on chain, the blockchains that support settlement, tokenization, stablecoins, and decentralized financial rails could see massive growth. Hougan mentions networks like Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, Avalanche, Aptos, Sui, NEAR and others. His view is that the right approach is not to pick a single winner, but to build a diversified basket of networks that are gaining real world usage.
2. Decentralized finance protocols.
With clearer regulatory treatment, DeFi could move from a niche set of applications to the backbone of a new financial system. Protocols that automate trading, lending, borrowing, derivatives, and stablecoin issuance could scale far beyond their current user base. Hougan believes that once regulatory friction drops, institutional participation could flow in rapidly.
3. Financial super apps.
This is one of the most ambitious parts of the projection. Hougan believes new platforms will combine traditional finance and crypto into a single interface. Instead of having brokerage accounts in one place, bank accounts in another, and crypto apps somewhere else, users could interact with all financial assets through one unified system. He thinks a company in this category could become the largest financial services firm in the world, potentially passing a one trillion dollar valuation.
Hougan has consistently argued that crypto could deliver ten to twenty times growth over the next decade. His reasoning is not based on hype. It is based on the idea that crypto is entering a period where cycles driven by halving events or speculative trading matter less than structural factors. He believes the “four year cycle” narrative has lost relevance. What now matters is the maturation of the asset class and the integration of crypto with global finance.
In his view, the size of the market today reflects years of hesitation driven by legal uncertainty. Once that uncertainty lifts, capital could move faster than analysts expect. Institutions that have been watching from the sidelines may feel more comfortable allocating real budget to crypto infrastructure, tokens, or tokenized assets.
There is no guarantee that the optimistic scenario plays out. Hougan acknowledges both sides.
What could go right:
Regulatory clarity could remove the largest barrier to institutional adoption.
Layer 1 networks with real usage could become the settlement layers of a digital financial system.
Super apps could reduce friction for everyday users, pulling millions more into on chain ecosystems.
The industry could attract capital at a scale closer to major traditional asset classes.
What could go wrong:
Regulatory implementation may move slower than expected, or shift again under new political leadership.
Some networks or protocols may fail to scale, or may lose out to competitors.
Macroeconomic conditions could suppress risk assets even if fundamentals improve.
Volatility could remain a psychological barrier for mainstream investors.
If Hougan is right, the industry is not just entering a new market cycle. It is entering the early stages of a long transformation in how financial markets operate. Investors who once tried to time cycles may need to rethink their approach and focus more on diversified exposure to infrastructure. Builders may find themselves working in an environment that is more supportive than anything they have experienced so far. Policymakers may influence the shape of global finance for decades based on decisions they make in the next few years.
It is possible that crypto still has years of volatility ahead. It is also possible that the industry is standing on the edge of the most meaningful phase of its development. Hougan’s message is that the market may be thinking too small. He believes the shift underway is not incremental. It is transformative.
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For years, Vanguard was the holdout. While BlackRock, Fidelity and nearly every major brokerage warmed up to Bitcoin and other digital assets, Vanguard kept the door shut. The message was always the same. Crypto is too volatile, too speculative and not aligned with the firm’s long term investment philosophy.
But that chapter is officially over.
Vanguard has reversed course and will now allow its clients to buy regulated crypto exchange traded funds. Considering the firm manages nearly 11 trillion dollars for about 50 million people, this is not a small policy change. This is one of the biggest signals yet that crypto has crossed into the financial mainstream.
And honestly, it is about time.
Let’s make this simple. When a financial giant the size of Vanguard changes its mind, everyone else pays attention. Before this shift, millions of Vanguard clients who wanted crypto exposure had to open accounts elsewhere. Now they can invest in Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana and other major assets directly through the platform they already use for retirement accounts, tax advantaged portfolios and long term investing.
That convenience alone is enough to drive new inflows.
For years, Vanguard executives wrote off crypto as noise. They did not want to offer products that they viewed as speculative. Investors disagreed. Crypto ETFs brought regulatory clarity, and retail demand never really disappeared. Eventually, the disconnect became too large to ignore.
The firm is not rushing into anything, but it is acknowledging reality. Crypto is not going away.
Andrew Kadjeski, head of brokerage and investments at Vanguard, reportedly said:
“Cryptocurrency ETFs and mutual funds have been tested through periods of market volatility, performing as designed while maintaining liquidity. The administrative processes to service these types of funds have matured, and investor preferences continue to evolve.”
Once the most conservative player in the room changes its tune, excuses start to disappear. If Vanguard believes regulated crypto ETFs are fit for millions of retirement portfolios, it becomes harder for other institutions to argue otherwise.
This could spark a wave of copycat decisions across the finance industry.What makes Vanguard’s move important is not how fast new money will flow in, but how stable that money tends to be. Vanguard’s capital is not like hedge fund cash that races in and out of positions. It is not like retail trading either, where sentiment can change overnight. Vanguard clients invest steadily, hold for years and rarely chase price swings. That kind of capital is long term and sticky.
Take a simple example. If an investor uses a “60, 40, 1” portfolio split across stocks, bonds and crypto, the system automatically keeps those weights balanced. If Bitcoin or Solana drops, the portfolio buys more to restore the target 1 percent allocation. If crypto rises too quickly, it trims the position back down. Even that small allocation, repeated across millions of accounts, can have real impact. When a firm with trillions under management opens a new asset class to its clients, it is not a niche development. It creates a steady, predictable pipeline of investment.
And whether the crypto community likes it or not, mainstream validation matters. For many everyday investors, seeing Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs listed next to S&P 500 index funds or bond ETFs instantly reframes how they think about digital assets. Buying crypto through a familiar brokerage account removes friction. It removes fear. It lets people treat crypto like any other part of their long term portfolio. For many, a regulated ETF inside a retirement account is the safest and simplest way to get exposure. Vanguard recognizing this is a meaningful signal.
It is worth being clear. Vanguard is not becoming a crypto company overnight.
It will not launch its own crypto funds.
It will only list approved, regulated ETFs from other issuers.
It will not support speculative or meme based assets.
This is a cautious step, but it is still a big one. The firm has gone from “crypto is not welcome here” to “crypto is allowed if it is regulated, structured and aligned with long term investing.”
Crypto still carries real risk. Prices remain volatile. Regulations are evolving. Not every Vanguard customer will jump into digital assets, and that is perfectly fine. This move is about access, not pressure.
There is also the chance that Vanguard may expand slowly. It will likely start with a small list of ETFs and add more only after seeing how clients respond.
But the important part is that the door is open. Even a cautious opening is still an opening.
The truth is simple. Vanguard was one of the last major hurdles between crypto and true mainstream adoption. Now that barrier is gone.
This does not guarantee a bull market. It does not promise returns. But it does mark a new stage. Crypto now sits alongside traditional assets inside one of the most respected financial institutions in the world.
People who would never consider setting up a crypto exchange account can now invest in digital assets the same way they invest in index funds or bonds.
That is how real adoption grows. That is how new capital enters. And that is how crypto becomes part of normal investing instead of something people talk about from the sidelines.
Vanguard did not just allow crypto ETFs.
It helped legitimize the entire space.
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