Max | Blockstories.io

Founder of Blockstories - Digital Assets in Europe | Join 15,000+ readers and subscribe to our Institutional Briefing

[Max | Blockstories.io @MXVargo]

Another banger from the onchain credit trenches

[fiodar @Yuschukid]

.@3janexyz is probably one of the most interesting DeFi protocols in the market today.

Building on the synthetic dollar model that Ethena pioneered, the protocol is now trying to scale a new real-world yield source onchain: asset-backed financing.

Through first partnerships with U.S. fintech lenders, 3Jane recently brought consumer and SMB credit into DeFi, pushing yields on its USD3 token to as high as 15%.

But what actually is asset-backed financing?
What are the challenges of bringing it onchain?
How does 3Jane try to solve these challenges?
And are investors ready to deploy into the new product?

We answer all of these questions in the article below, with exclusive insights from:

-> @_yakovsky, Founder @ 3Jane
-> @mr_optimax, Founder @ @anemoycapital
-> @stevenwisbrun_ , Co-Founder & CIO @ @M1Capital_

Please, enjoy the read!

[Max | Blockstories.io @MXVargo]

@SuperteamDE @solana @SolanaEvents @SolanaSummitOrg @pattiruss_ @pattiruss_ 🔥🔥🔥

[Max | Blockstories.io @MXVargo]

Last week, we hosted our biggest Summit yet.

- 180+ attendees
- 300+ more on the waitlist
- and lots of love for the Blockstories merch

Amsterdam has one of the most interesting ecosystems in Europe right now.

We'll be 100% back next year.

Thanks to everyone who joined us!

[Max | Blockstories.io @MXVargo]

@kugusha Vibes

[Max | Blockstories.io @MXVargo]

Bullish new financial rails tech

[fiodar @Yuschukid]

In the article below, we at @block_stories shed light on @Morpho Midnight, which seemed surprisingly underdiscussed in the days following the whitepaper publication.

Supported by insights from @merlinegalite, we explain why the protocol’s upcoming launch matters for the institutional adoption of crypto lending, what key features its architecture introduces, and how Morpho might try to bootstrap these new markets.

We also spoke with a few chads who know a thing or two about fixed-term infrastructure to gather more perspectives:

-> @functionzero from @Wildcat elaborated on the historic bottlenecks holding back fixed-term lending, what has changed since, and how Midnight fits into this evolution.

-> David Vatchev, Head of Tokenization at @Fasanara Capital, shared his perspective on the practical unlocks that fixed-rate lending brings to institutional players.

-> @NCortosao from @Zharta shared his thoughts on what is still missing beyond the core infrastructure layer for fixed-rate lending to take off.

I hope you like it! Especially you @tomwanhh

[Tom Wan @tomwanhh]

@MXVargo @Yuschukid Big fan of Blockstories and Fiodar btw

[Max | Blockstories.io @MXVargo]

@tomwanhh @Yuschukid big fan of data wizard Tom Wan Kenobi

[fiodar @Yuschukid]

https://t.co/xMTjQgEt9R

[fiodar @Yuschukid]

https://t.co/36jie9ieeZ

[Louis Tellier | Blockstories @Louis_Tellier]

🔴 EXCLUSIVE @block_stories: The EUR stablecoin consortium Qivalis could soon grow to as many as 37 members.

Last week, Blockstories revealed that the European banking consortium Qivalis, aiming to issue a euro-denominated stablecoin in H2 2026, was set to be joined by at least 19 more banks, with an official announcement expected in early summer.

According to our information, 6 more banks have since also expressed their commitment to joining the consortium.

This would bring the number of members to 37.

Could this finally be the project that allows the euro stablecoin market to truly take off?

So far, the main challenge has been liquidity. And the potential distribution brought by 37 major European banks could be a game changer.

We’ll share more information about what’s happening behind the scenes of Europe’s stablecoin consortium on Thursday in our Institutional Briefing, our weekly newsletter.

👉 To subscribe and receive the full insights, see the link in the first comment.

[Max | Blockstories.io @MXVargo]

Major scoop by @Louis_Tellier

Qivalis leaves no room for a second European consortium. Winner takes it all.

[Louis Tellier | Blockstories @Louis_Tellier]

🔴 Exclusive @block_stories: 19 additional European banks set to join the @qivaliseu stablecoin consortium, aiming to issue a euro stablecoin in H2 2026👇

👉 According to our information, 19 banks across 12 European countries have formally “committed” to join the euro stablecoin banking consortium.

The list reviewed by Blockstories includes the French banks Crédit Mutuel and Groupe BPCE, the third-largest banking group in France, which launched its retail crypto offering in December via its subsidiary Hexarq.

ABN AMRO, Helaba, Nordea Bank, and Erste Group are also among the new entrants. Spain makes a notable entry as well, with five participants: Bankinter and Abanca, alongside the three MiCA-authorized CASPs Cecabank, Banco Sabadell, and Kutxabank.

With this additional group, the consortium would bring together more than 30 participating European banks, with existing members including BNP Paribas, UniCredit, ING, DekaBank, DZ Bank, and BBVA.

This marks an important step, as the consortium aims to create a common infrastructure that banks can build on, rather than having many competing instruments, and to ensure broad distribution.

Today, Qivalis is still in the process of obtaining an e-money institution license from the Dutch Central Bank, while it will issue the euro stablecoin as a standalone company, with a launch planned for H2 2026.

Full article in the first comment👇

[fiodar @Yuschukid]

https://t.co/BIBsAlDaCO

[fiodar @Yuschukid]

https://t.co/eLkAEqCBaE

[Louis Tellier | Blockstories @Louis_Tellier]

What Rune is describing, clearly defining in advance, in an immutable way, how assets and losses will be allocated in case of a hack, exploit, or insolvency, is precisely what TradFi calls a bankruptcy regime or, more specifically for large institutions, a resolution plan (often called a “living will”).

In TradFi:

• Post-2008 crisis, regulations like the Dodd-Frank Act require major banks and systemic institutions to submit detailed resolution plans to regulators (Fed, FDIC, etc.).

• These plans explain exactly how the institution would be resolved (liquidated or restructured) in a crisis, without taxpayer bailouts or systemic chaos.

• They cover loss allocation, governance, liquidity, entity separation, and extreme stress scenarios. Regulators must approve them before large-scale operations, it’s a formal battle-testing attestation.

In DeFi, there’s no central regulator enforcing this upfront. So when an exploit hits (like with rsETH), it often triggers a chaotic “civil war": ad-hoc negotiations, governance votes, conflicts of interest, and angry users who feel unfairly treated.

[fiodar @Yuschukid]

https://t.co/qasAVnLGKG

[fiodar @Yuschukid]

I’ll admit that “Will Aave Win?” is a very broad question. After writing the piece below, I’m not even sure whether it’s the right question to ask.

“Win” what? Lending market share? In that case,@aave is already winning, controlling roughly 58% of the lending market across major chains.

But the lending market is broad, and its composition is changing. It’s not just retail investors anymore who are looping their favorite tokens for leveraged exposure (a use case that made Aave the Goliath it is today).

It's increasingly institutions, fintechs, and asset managers who use these markets to deliver the one thing their customers want: yield.

And in that market, Aave has serious competition from modular lending platforms such as @Morpho, which are slowly but surely establishing themselves as default infrastructure for onchain asset management solutions. Coinbase, Bitwise, and Société Générale are all building on top of Morpho.

But arguably, this isn’t — and shouldn’t be — Aave’s core market anyway, although its recent V4 upgrade has opened it up to broader institutional participation.

Long story short: the lending market is experiencing quite turbulent and transformative times right now. Which is also why it is key to understand how leaders in this market are navigating these shifts.

So, we at @block_stories have taken a closer look at the biggest recent changes around Aave.

Together with @StaniKulechov from Aave Labs and @AElkrief from @upshift_fi, we shed light on:

--> Aave’s big V4 upgrade, what improvements it brings, and how it positions the protocol against rising competition in the lending market

--> The recent internal disputes at the Aave DAO, and how the recently passed “Aave Will Win” framework aims to resolve some of the key problems once and for all

--> Which business lines of its growing product suite Aave will focus on most in the coming months, and why

Find it all in the article below!

[fiodar @Yuschukid]

https://t.co/aegMTWXoxc

[Max | Blockstories.io @MXVargo]

@v_calmon @block_stories @TheAgora_Event @KaikoData @Louis_Tellier The Agora was a 10/10. Already looking forward to the next edition!

[Max | Blockstories.io @MXVargo]

Just returned from EthCC in Cannes. 10 takeaways:

1/ The bifurcation is real: bear market energy amongst crypto-natives (lots of runway talk), conviction amongst traditional finance.

2/ Everyone is pivoting to "serving institutions." Few know who they mean or how to serve them.

3/ Top themes: onchain vaults, hot L1s (Canton, Arc, Tempo), private credit, agentic payments, stablecoin-based neobanks.

4/ re: vaults: The Resolv hack grounded the ecosystem. Builders and curators are highly aware of the challenges ahead.

5/ The industry has run out of weird ideas. We need to bring that back.

6/ VCs are struggling to find projects worth backing. Several funds are quietly going out of business.

7/ Layer-2s were barely represented

8/ On the other hand, the Ethereum Foundation felt very present. Showing up everywhere, engaging with investors, builders, and institutional participants.

9/ Very few big announcements (Aave v4, Aztec mainnet launch, ?). No Vlad Tenev renting a French villa to announce 7 crypto products.

10/ Cannes in spring might be the best conference setting on the planet. Everything walkable, no tourists yet, perfect weather.

Shoutout to the teams at @rwasummit , @KaikoData , and @Morpho for hosting the best side events. RWA Summit, The Agora, and Vault Summit were the places to be.