📝#106: Peak Bubble

Hey, it’s Marc. We’ll soon publish a comprehensive report on Web3 commerce for business leaders. The first 100 people who sign up will get it for free (66/100):

“It's peak AI bubble. You get billion-dollar valuations on startups that have nothing — five people, no product, no innovation, just recent grads.”

— Ali Ghodsi, CEO & Co-Founder, Databricks

This week’s question:

👉 Keep up with all our signals for Web3 execs on our Telegram channel.

Let’s dive in🦈

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📚 Our Top Reads This Week

List of AI’s biggest names 40+ favorite AI products. a16z. Link
How will stablecoins eat payments, and what will happen next? A16z crypto. Link
Crypto Outlook 2025. Credit Suisse. Link
10 Crypto Predictions for 2025. VanEck. Link
2024 Developer Report, Why Stablecoins Will Eat Payments. TPAN. Link
One Billion AI Agents Are Coming. Bankless. Link
Databricks and its IPO Strategy. Chris Tottman. Link
Blockchain Innovation Will Put an AI-Powered Internet Back Into Users’ Hands. Chris Dixon. Link

Stablecoin Payment Expansion in the US💸

BVNK raised $50M to make global payments faster and easier for businesses.

Backers: Haun Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and Tiger Global Management.

Exclusive: Crypto startup BVNK raises $50 million at around $750 million valuation amid red-hot stablecoin interest | Fortune Crypto

Use cases of Stablecoins:

Global payroll: Deel pays contractors instantly using stablecoins like USDC.
Merchant payments: Rapyd and Visa settle payments in stablecoins for faster, global merchant payouts.
Marketplace payouts: Platforms like Airbnb and Amazon streamline payouts, reducing delays and FX risks.

By the data: BVNK has grown 200% yoy, processing $10B annually for businesses like Deel, Rapyd, and Trust Payments.

Why it Matters: Stablecoins are on track to replace legacy systems like SWIFT, with $24T in transactions this year—three times PayPal’s annual volume. Industry leaders are recognizing stablecoins’ potential to capture 10% of M2 and FX transactions in the U.S. in the coming years.

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What they’re saying: Maja Vujinovic, blockchain pioneer & investor:

"Stablecoins have the potential to revolutionize financial services by streamlining complexity for users while shaking up the current system.

The real winners will be those who control the connection to underlying assets—whether bank deposits, U.S. treasuries, or money market funds—or have business models that complement this new financial layer."

🏦 Big players are all in:

Stripe spent $1.1B to integrate stablecoin payments (acquiring Bridge).
Visa launched a platform to make stablecoin settlements mainstream.
BlackRock and Deutsche Bank are working on stablecoin-backed tools for finance and trade.
Paxos, Galaxy, Bullish, Anchorage, Kraken, Robinhood, and Nuvei launched launched their stablecoin, USDG.

What’s Next: BVNK is expanding into the US, opening offices in San Francisco and New York.

Meanwhile in Stablecoins:

Tether invests in MiCA-compliant stablecoin issuer StablR, expanding in Europe as the new regulations take effect.
Ripple launched its stablecoin RLUSD, fully backed by USD deposits, U.S. bonds, and cash equivalents.

Blockchain for Enterprises🏬

Avalanche upgrades its network to Avalanche9000— its biggest network upgrade.

Why? To build infrastructure enterprise, institutions & startup applications.

Building on Avalanche9000 | Avalanche Blog

What you should know: Avalanche's multi-chain architecture includes 3 interconnected blockchains:

X-Chain: Manages asset creation and trading.
P-Chain: Oversees validators and coordinates active subnets.
C-Chain: Powers smart contracts, similar to Ethereum.

It offers several advantages for businesses:

They’ve also launched a $40M grant for builders.

Why it matters: Avalanche9000 is making blockchain more accessible by cutting development costs and technical barriers. With key players like BlackRock on board, it’s simplifying infrastructure and accelerating adoption for new projects and established institutions.

Institutional Use cases:

Tokenization of financial assets: BlackRock’s BUIDL Fund, valued at $561M, tokenizes financial assets on Avalanche, offering stable $1 tokens, daily dividends, and yield on cash, U.S. Treasuries, and repurchase agreements.
Tokenized MMF: Franklin Templeton’s $432M FOBXX fund on Avalanche lets investors access shares via BENJI tokens, convert USDC stablecoin, and unlock enhanced liquidity.

Meanwhile: Red Bulls and Sports Illustrated’s 13-year deal with Avalanche will revolutionize ticketing at Sports Illustrated Stadium with blockchain tickets and exclusive fan perks.

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🚨 Other Highlights You Can’t Miss

Pudgy Penguin launches PENGU token. Link
OpenSea registered the "OpenSea Foundation" in the Cayman Islands and may launch a token. Link
E.l.f Cosmetics opens up a 3D shopping experience. Link

🚨 Top Under-The-Radar Macro Signals:

Bitcoin: U.S. Bitcoin ETFs recorded 15 consecutive days of inflows, totaling $6.73B—highlighting surging institutional bets. ETFs gaining capital could position BTC as as a macro hedge in 2025.
- The SEC approved the first hybrid Bitcoin-Ethereum ETFs, 80/20 BTC-ETH split, with an from Hashdex and Franklin Templeton, set to launch in January.
- MicroStrategy has purchased another 15,350 BTC this past week.
- Metaplanet raised $60.6M in bonds to accelerate Bitcoin purchases planned for 2025, adding to its 1,142 BTC treasury.
Regulation: El Salvador and Argentina signed a deal to share expertise and foster crypto innovation across Latin America.
Acquisition:
- Perplexity acquires Carbon: This will strengthen its infrastructure by retrieving information from external sources through LLM. Read more
- Visa acquires Featurespace: This will enable real-time fraud detection with integration into Visa’s risk and identity solutions. Read more