RaaS #489: Hyperliquid Launches Stablecoin!

Tether Dives In Gold, Trump Media Buys CRO, and Moar!

Hyperliquid is launching USDH, a Hyperliquid-first stablecoin chosen via validator vote. Teams must win the vote by proving they can build a native, compliant, and high-demand stablecoin. The winner gets the USDH ticker, but still needs to win a gas auction to deploy it.

The honeymoon phase is over. Testnet bots, vanity metrics, and mindshare charts won’t cut it. Investors aren’t swiping right on dreams anymore; they want real revenue, real users, and real adoption. If you’re still playing the 2021 playbook, don’t expect a second date.

Codex positions itself as Ethereum’s stablecoin SpecOps, an L2 built from day one to extend Ethereum’s dominance. With a laser-focused BD & eng loop, Codex tackles on/off-ramp friction and real-world stablecoin flows, aiming to outpace Tron and rival alt-L1s in real adoption.

Uniswap, Solana, and DeFi’s legal heavyweights have united to shut down Bancor’s patent claims over “pricing tokens with math.” The amicus brief argues it’s basic economic logic wrapped in blockchain, hardly patentable, and sets a precedent to protect open DeFi innovation.

Somnia’s tokenomics prioritize real-time apps: deflationary gas fees, per-app throughput discounts, and transient storage make games and social tools viable. With high validator stakes and tight governance vesting, it’s built for uptime, scale, and aligned usage-based value.

Berachain’s Build-a-Berathon winners show real-world ambition: Hummingbird’s drone delivery network took $30K, Credifi’s credit protocol got $15K, Change’s AI activism tool won $5K, Scrambled landed a $150K investment, with Robin Markets and MyAssets.Fun rounding out the prize pool.

Stripe and Paradigm have launched Tempo, a payments-first, EVM-compatible blockchain purpose-built for stablecoins. With support from partners like Visa, Shopify, and OpenAI, Tempo targets real-world flows, from remittances to agentic payments, backed by Stripe-grade infra and crypto-native neutrality.

HIP-3 turns Hyperliquid into the Everything Exchange. It lets anyone launch their own perp markets using HL’s infra, like a white-label perps engine. Builders stake 1M HYPE, plug in an oracle, and earn up to 50% of trading fees. Kinetiq, Hyenatrade, and Hyperbeat lower the entry cost and expand market access.

What to do about the taxes?

Kite AI unveils the team powering its vision: founders from Databricks, Uber, and Salesforce; execs from NEAR, BlockFi, and McKinsey; and experts across AI, DeFi, and design. Decades of experience converge to build the trust layer for autonomous agents.

Trading is now backend infra. HIP-3 and GTE made execution a commodity, shifting value to frontends that build sticky ecosystems. Real moats come from social graphs, gameplay, and verticalized UX, FOMO, Fireplace, and others show how to make trading apps that actually matter.

Want to go viral and make money? Start by picking a niche audience, spotting trends early, and writing scroll-stopping hooks. Keep content sharp, visual, and easy to follow. Engage before and after posting. Reuse what works. Monetize slowly, with brand deals that fit your voice.

Kraken acquires Breakout, a trading platform launched in 2023 by CT veterans like Mayne and Cred. Breakout lets skilled traders earn capital and keep up to 90% of profits. It will be integrated into Kraken Pro, expanding Kraken’s tools for advanced users amid a wave of crypto M&As.

Tether is doubling down on gold, with $8.7B already held and plans to invest further into mining and royalty firms like Elemental Altus. Meanwhile, El Salvador bought 14K oz of gold for $50M. It’s the first such move since 1990, echoing Tether CEO Ardoino’s view of gold as “natural Bitcoin.”

WLFI token launched with a $5B paper wealth boost to the Trump family. The WLFI treasury blacklisted Justin Sun’s address, prompting his public protest and calls for unfreezing.

Strong roundup for anyone job hunting in crypto right now, especially the chain-specific links (Solana, Sui, Sei, etc). Worth adding: a lot of hiring still happens through X or referrals. Cold DMs > cold resumes.

Lead Bank, a crypto-friendly lender backed by a16z, raised $70M in a Series B led by ICONIQ and Greycroft, reaching a $1.47B valuation. Since its 2022 acquisition, it’s scaled its fintech services, most recently partnering with Stripe and Visa on stablecoin-linked payment cards.

Collector Crypt (CARDS) is the most complete onchain TCG play, $75M+ revenue, gacha-driven retention, deep logistics, and real token exposure to the $7B+ Pokémon/MTG RWA market. A defensible wedge in one of crypto’s highest-LTV verticals.

Top Gainers: PTB, TDCCP, RED, ASD, SOMI.

Solana’s token holder income is down ~95% since Jan, outpacing the ~85% drop in network revenue. The culprit: SIMD 96, which rerouted all priority fees to validators. SIMD 123 was meant to rebalance this, but six months later, it’s still not live.

Trump Media just acquired 684M CRO tokens (~$178M) in a half-cash, half-stock deal with Crypto.com, aiming to integrate CRO into Truth Social’s rewards system. It’s part of a larger $6.4B CRO treasury strategy, with custody and staking handled via Crypto.com.

Exit the dopamine loop by training a seven-second pause, syncing mind-intellect-heart, and replacing outcome-chasing with clear, aligned action. Act from swadharma, close every loop with learning, and serve to stabilize.

Vader unstaked everything in one go, told no one in advance, and called it a strategic reset to “protect long-term health.” Totally not a rug, just a surprise exit plan dressed up as a pivot. But don’t worry, MVP is coming soon.

That’s all for today, see you next week!