GN HEARTLAND |
Thursday Heart & SOL Mood:  |
— playhaus |
TOKEN | PRICE CHANGE | PRICE |
|---|---|---|
Solana ($SOL) | +0.09% | $150.51 |
Helium ($HNT) | +1.20% | $3.82 |
Pyth ($PYTH) | -3.10% | $0.15 |
Raydium ($RAY) | +12.06% | $2.90 |
(Price changes reflect past 7 days as of 5.1.25)
A flat week? In this economy?
With major AI earnings reports exceeding expectations, the TradFi world took another baby step toward stability this week. But on the other side of the spectrum, DeFi is barreling forward, in what some insiders are calling the “Crypto Renaissance”.
Bitcoin has surged past $90,000, institutional giants are diving headfirst into blockchain integration, and regulatory frameworks are crystallizing. In other words, Mona Lisa wen?
At the heart of this trend are new players and partnerships. Brandon Lutnick, son of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, is spearheading a $3 billion Bitcoin acquisition vehicle alongside SoftBank $SFTBY ( ▲ 0.16% ), Tether $USDT.X ( ▼ 0.0% ), and Bitfinex. Meanwhile, firms like Upexi $UPXI ( ▲ 9.69% ) are raising $100 million to accumulate Solana, mirroring Strategy’s $MSTR ( ▲ 0.39% ), well, strategy.
Meanwhile, the SEC is no longer the industry’s antagonist. Under Acting Chair Mark Uyeda, the agency dropped lawsuits against Coinbase $COIN ( ▼ 0.78% ), Binance $BNB.X ( ▼ 0.03% ), Kraken $KRAKEN.X ( ▲ 0.83% ), and Ripple $XRP.X ( ▲ 1.07% ), rescinded the controversial SAB 121 rule (which forced firms to list crypto holdings as liabilities), and launched a Crypto Task Force to foster dialogue with stakeholders. Uyeda’s tenure marked a stark departure from the Gensler era, emphasizing collaboration over retroactive enforcement.
Now, with Paul S. Atkins sworn in as SEC Chairman — a figure known for his crypto-friendly stance — the industry anticipates even greater momentum. Atkins’ leadership is expected to solidify regulatory clarity, enabling institutions like ING $ING ( ▼ 0.41% ) and U.S. Bank $USB ( ▲ 0.4% ) to advance stablecoin projects and real-time settlement platforms like Lynq Network.
FOMO is driving traditional finance into crypto’s arms. Cantor Fitzgerald, SoftBank, and Tether are collaborating on a multi-billion-dollar Bitcoin treasury vehicle, while Arca Labs and tZERO are modernizing settlement systems to handle programmable, yield-bearing assets. As Dan Boyle of Boies Schiller Flexner noted: “If my competitor is tokenizing assets, am I missing out?”
Elsewhere, stablecoins continue to crawl toward the promise of being crypto’s “killer app”. Partnerships like CompoSecure and MoneyGram are bridging gaps by enabling cash-to-crypto conversions at thousands of global locations. Circle’s new stablecoin orchestration layer aims to make cross-border transactions “invisible,” integrating crypto into everyday finance.
However, despite progress, stablecoins still struggle at the checkout counter. Regulatory uncertainty, technical hurdles, and user experience gaps persist. Yet, Visa $V ( ▼ 0.88% ), Mastercard $MA ( ▼ 0.26% ), and JPMorgan $JPM ( ▲ 0.93% ) are betting big on tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), from real estate to corporate treasuries.
Across the board, the crypto ecosystem is maturing into a hybrid of “casino” and “capital market”. Michael Saylor, whose firm Strategy now holds more than 550,000 BTC, captured the moment: “Bitcoin is the only asset the U.S. government won’t sell if seized. Wall Street, banks, and DC all embrace it — this is the entry point.”
Regulatory harmonization, institutional participation, and user-friendly innovation will determine whether crypto delivers on its promise of a faster, fairer financial system. As SEC Commissioner Uyeda reflected: “Life comes full circle.” The Wild West era is fading, replaced by a fusion of decentralized ethos and mainstream rigor. If the Crypto Renaissance isn’t here, it may well be around the corner.
— Muhammed
This past weekend was the 5th Annual Bitcoin Party KC, hosted by the KC Bitcoiners and their fearless public champion, Chris Wenske. Now I’ve only attended the latest few years of the event, because that’s the length of my tenure here in Kansas City, but this year was by far the largest and most engaged turnout I’ve seen.
The event features live music, delicious barbecue, an artist/vendors area with exchanges settling in Sats (aka Satoshis, the smallest unit of the bitcoin $BTC.X ( ▲ 2.16% ) currency), and, of course, plenty of thought leadership and education from local luminaries.
Value4Value (V4V), a bitcoin advisory and media group, provided a presentation on setting up your own node on the Bitcoin lighting network and opening up channels to other nodes to make it easier to settle transactions. That was something of a theme for this year’s event, as well as the area’s latest monthly open market meetup at Keystone Collab in the city’s Crossroads East district: to participate in a Bitcoin native circular economy.
We were then treated to a second presentation from the event’s sponsor, Manna Wallet, whose sleek interface and wallet feature abstractions have made buying, selling, organizing, and accounting for Sats about as seamless as you could dream of in a self-custodied software wallet. While in slight contradiction to the V4V message of managing your own node — to truly own the value of transacting with your Sats without paying middle men for the average transaction — I believe the practical endstate for most users looks much closer to what Manna is building.
V4V has all the resources to support your journey running your own node. (Including incredible SEO to boot.) Nevertheless, we project true, node running self-custody is probably a generational change away from being universally pervasive. Realistically, it feels extreme to extend Bitcoin’s use case this way.
As long as there’s energy flowing across computer networks, Bitcoin will be the hardest money around, without a doubt. But in practical cases like gold, you’re exchanging it for the medium of exchange, not using it to transact. Gold has silver and copper — the metals that make a gold standard work for the average person.
Solana $SOL.X ( ▲ 2.14% ) is neither silver, nor copper. Despite remaining the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, it’s not concerned with money, but rather, being the world’s fastest decentralized computer. And if I know anything about technology adoption, that’s a great north star to shoot for.
I do wish bitcoiners would open their perspective to the technology revolution their financial tool enacted. As important as securing financial transactions is, so is the ability to interact with digital systems. And we should have the right to secure out digital identity on Layer 1, with the best technology available.
But grievances about petty technology positional nuances aside, the event was another great example of the community coming together and celebrating the impact that Bitcoin is having on the heartland and world.
And special shout-out to RJ’s BBQ, most gracious hosts with great sauces and vibes.
— El Prof
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