RaaS #573: Lighter Addresses Allocation Fears Head-On!

Base Creator Coins Stir Backlash, Meme Futures Get Exposed, and Moar!

A $5M USDC deposit flagged by MLM sparked concerns around preferential treatment and early allocations. Lighter clarified that it came from two pre-existing arrangements: a late-2024 third-party LP deal to bootstrap liquidity, and an allocation to a trading firm that supported development. No personal or financial ties were disclosed.

Meanwhile, Polymarket drama brewed around Lighter’s FDV market. Traders are debating whether Polymarket’s Lighter FDV market should resolve to “No,” since the rules specify a governance token launch, and LIT is explicitly not one. Utility, staking, and buybacks? Yes. Governance? No. Market resolution drama feels inevitable.

BROCCOLI pumped nearly 1,000% before collapsing over 80% within minutes. Investigators allege a hacked Binance market maker account used leveraged futures to force a short squeeze, with Binance-controlled wallets holding ~64% of the supply. If the price moves without on-chain activity, the price was never real.

Pendle announced the return of jrUSDe and srUSDe with an April 2, 2026, maturity, following the successful securing of over $200M. Same yield structure, same points, but longer runway. Yield without new risk is the pitch, and Pendle keeps leaning into it.

Or even an ABG.

Tenderly is now an official public RPC provider for Polygon, offering free, enterprise-grade infrastructure to the ecosystem. Reliable infra is boring, until it breaks. Polygon's choice of Tenderly signals a push for stability at scale.

Base’s creator coins went live and immediately drew criticism after high-profile tokens pumped and dumped. Builders accused Base of favoring certain platforms, while users took losses. Brian Armstrong defended creator coins as “one experiment,” promising better messaging and personalization. Drama aside, Base still generated ~$75M in revenue in 2025.

Your daily dose of bite-sized crypto news.

1. Robinhood activity on Arbitrum has overtaken Ethereum mainnet for the first time, signaling a quiet shift of retail flow toward L2s.

2. Cascade raised its Liquidity Strategy pre-allocation cap to $2M after strong demand, with the next access window opening Jan 6 at 12 PM ET.

3. Shade Network opened a capped waitlist of 15,000 slots, putting early access to its privacy L2 on a first-come basis.

4. Vitalik Buterin briefly changed his PFP to a Milady, instantly sending Crypto Twitter into speculation mode.

5. Axios Finance launched its beta mainnet with limited invites, now rolling out to early community members.

A 2024 bet resurfaced: Infinex founder wagered $50K that ETH would hit $25K by December 2025. It didn’t. Kyle, DWF chairman, is reportedly coming to collect. Crypto never forgets.

Trump Media announced plans to issue one DJT digital token per share, partnering with Cryptodotcom. Rewards will tie into its platform ecosystem. TradFi equity meets crypto incentives, again.

Same Brian, same.

Top Gainers: LIGHT, COLLECT, Q, LYN, QRX.

Looking back at 2025, here’s a recap of some of the most thought-provoking reads we’ve seen as the year wraps up.

1. PinkBrains compiles 26 crypto predictions for 2026, pulling from Galaxy, a16z, Messari, Delphi, Coinbase Ventures, and Bitwise. Crypto is entering 2026 more institutional, more regulated, and more infrastructure-driven.

2. GB£ explains why owning a niche is better than chasing everything. By narrowing content to a specific, repeatable problem and delivering daily, bite-sized solutions, growth compounds faster than broad “crypto generalist” posting.

3. Merlin Egalite reflects on Morpho’s breakout 2025, as deposits grew from ~$5B to ~$13B and users increased from ~67K to 1.4M.

4. Alex compares financial services and stablecoin issuer revenues from 2022 to 2025, showing both growing rapidly.

5. Vitalik Buterin explores the tension between Big Business, Big Government, and Big Mob, arguing that progress requires a balance of power rather than dominance by any single force.

CFTC Chair Michael Selig has appointed Amir Zaidi as Chief of Staff, citing his role in launching regulated Bitcoin futures during Trump’s first term. The regulatory chessboard is filling out fast.

OnRe increased its USDC Vault cap by $1M, now offering 10.3% APY via real-world reinsurance and treasury exposure. Users also earn Loopscale and OnRe points. Real yield keeps winning attention.

That’s all for today!