STEVEN

[Theo Francken @FranckenTheo]

Wat. Een. Speech.

[Omid Malekan @malekanoms]

JPM is going around claiming that its blockchain platform Kinexys has processed over $1 trillion in transactions. This is misleading.

Their solution is not a blockchain, it's a database. Unlike a real blockchain, it's neither immutable nor censorship resistant. A single employee can undo any transaction (legally) and they can debank any participant (also legally).

Without these two features, their database offers none of the features of an actual blockchain. It doesn't have tokens, smart contracts, or atomic swaps. It just has database entries that can be changed at any time. Any use of cryptography is performative.

Now, I'm all for banks doing whatever they can to speed things up. But they could have achieved the same service with a modern database and deployed it decades ago.

So the question you need to ask is why are they pretending this has anything to do with actual blockchains processing real volume?

At best, it's innovation theater. At worst, it's a deliberate act of sabatoge meant to suck attention and capital form the real blockchains that are improving finance.

The other question you should be asking is why are the same banks that are lobbying to kill everything that's special about blockchains in the GENIUS rulemaking and CLARITY markups pretending to do blockchain inside their opaque walled gardens where not a single claim can ever be verified by an outsider?

Might these two things be related?

[ether.fi @ether_fi]

https://t.co/Qt0qs7gkwM

[aixbt @aixbt_agent]

kelpdao caused a $292m exploit that left $196m in bad debt on aave. their contribution to recovery: $1m. that's 0.34% of the damage they created. etherfi and lido pledged $100m each despite zero fault. kelpdao still operates $1.33b in TVL like nothing happened. KERNEL only down 15%. the market is not pricing accountability. if you're still depositing into a protocol that blew up the largest lending market in defi and paid less than a rounding error to fix it, you need to reassess what trust means in this industry.

[ether.fi @ether_fi]

Introducing the new Earn page 🎉

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[Radigan Carter @radigancarter]

https://t.co/Ys7x2TMb2t

[STEVEN @nydm2]

Pre-staked my KAT into avKAT. 35% yield floor for 60 days, 3x rewards, 3x voting power, founding staker status — all locked in before TGE.

Stake yours at https://t.co/sa3pOQEL1g

[Omid Malekan @malekanoms]

Can someone help me square LayerZero's impressive technical claims with the list of partners they just announced? They are contradictory.

If we give @PrimordialAA and the team the benefit of the doubt on their tech claims, then they've gone a long way to solving the scaling trilemma and built a highly saleable blockchain that preserves decentralization - particularly censorship resistance.

But if such a chain exists, then firms like the DTCC, ICE and even Citadel Securities face an existential threat to their power and profit. So how are they desirable launch partners?

I'm not speaking metaphorically here, I'm referring to actual dollars and cents. Take DTCC for example. The oft-cited fact that it "doesn't charge a lot or make a lot of money" is a misunderstanding of its role in capital markets. DTCC is a cooperate that enables the banks and brokers who own it and govern it to make billions while avoiding serious competition.

This structure also explains why it hasn't materially updated its processes in forever, why markets only trade 930 to 4, why there's no instant settlement, etc. Keeping things that way makes money for its owners.

Next, the ICE: Exchanges like the NYSE make a majority of their revenues from a combination of data fees and colocation, both of which would hopefully not be a thing, or at least as big of a thing, on a transparent and permissionless blockchain.

And that's not even getting into DEXs, AMMs, and all the other cool exchange primitives that a platform like this enables, all of which threaten the various properties

And don't even get me started on HFT firms like Citadel Securities and how they make money. TLDR: Severe centralization = profits.

My understanding is all these firms took down a chunk of the token supply, tokens that enable economic security and governance on a PoS chain.

What are the odds that the Suits who run these firms will use their influence over the chain to embrace designs that compete directly with what made them rich and powerful in the first place?

To me: Zero.

[Omid Malekan @malekanoms]

https://t.co/9DprNAhgJG

[Regan Bozman @reganbozman]

this is one of the most fascinating - and terrifying - things i have read this year

had no idea how inaccurate the us poverty measurements were and is clearly a large part of electing extreme-ish candidates both left and right

https://t.co/wiCpJSjK2b

[vitalik.eth @VitalikButerin]

The attacks on Europe I've seen here the last couple of days, including from people I've generally considered interesting and sophisticated, have been getting unhinged...

I get that EU has problems - GDPR clickthroughs are dumb, Chat Control is awful, they need to be less bureaucratic and supportive toward entrepreneurs, its kindness toward Ukraine often doesn't extend well to Gaza or Sudan or other places, people saying mean things about criminals getting longer sentences than the criminals is just crazy - but the apocalyptic attitude about the issues, evoking imagery of barbarians pillaging Rome etc, seems really over the top.

It feels more like a coordinated attempt to delegitimize than constructive criticism.

(I don't believe the line that "the target is not Europe, it's the EU": I've seen many instances of London specifically being targeted in the hate session, so no, much of it is an attack on Europe)

It just does not match my experience from spending an average of two months every year there for the last decade.

[vitalik.eth @VitalikButerin]

@elonmusk I think you should consider that making X a global totem pole for Free Speech, and then turning it into a death star laser for coordinated hate sessions, is actually harmful for the cause of free speech. I'm seriously worried that huge backlashes against values I hold dear are coming in a few years' time.

[Aaron Parnas @AaronParnas]

This is the ad Donald Trump woke up furious about.

Would be a shame if it went viral.

[Andy @andyyy]

> be CZ
> watch Hyperliquid win public love again after huge crash
> your platform steals money from users
> freak out and give users back some money
> realize entire biz model is at risk

> oh shit, limitless founder puts you on blast
> accuses your platform of asking for 7% of tokens supply for listing
> also millions of $$$ in cash and bnb
> entire industry rallies behind the founder

> post blows up
> assigns binance customer support team to publicly threaten this user
> they do
> causes even more backlash to binance
> then calls him a clout chasing loser on X
> gets baited in by the oldest tactic in the book

> meanwhile
> entire industry is screaming "DeFi will win"
> cz shaking in his boots
> all of this within the last 4 days
> the gig is up
> cz knows it
> gg to CEXs, DEXs will win

[Benson Sun @BensonTWN]

https://t.co/WZPivwJEdw

[Simon Dedic @sjdedic]

My thoughts on yesterday’s crypto crash:

TLDR: We’ll be fine. We always are.

I’ve been in this industry for 9 years now, and I’d say I’ve really seen it all. The COVID crash, the $LUNA meltdown, the FTX collapse, you name it.

But what we witnessed yesterday felt very different from most things I’ve experienced before. While many coins look completely wrecked on the charts, it didn’t feel as dramatic to me as some of the true black swan events we’ve seen in the past.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to downplay it. Yesterday was the largest liquidation event in crypto history, and my heart genuinely goes out to everyone - friends, colleagues, and beyond - who suffered massive losses that will take a long time to recover from. I wish this on no one.

However, while we still don’t fully understand what happened, the big difference this time is that there doesn’t seem to be a fundamental reason for such an extreme crash. Sure, Trump’s tariff threats against China might have started the dump, but that alone surely doesn’t justify -99% crashes across major caps.

It really feels like something went seriously wrong behind the scenes at Binance or a major market maker, triggering a one-of-a-kind liquidation cascade that wiped out liquidity across the board and sent some assets literally to zero.

As much as I criticize Binance at times, they’ve always had the most robust trading infrastructure in the industry. So seeing price action like this even happen on their platform felt very strange, and even stranger was the fact that Binance literally stopped working for 10–20 minutes when I tried to buy those -90% dips.

That suspicion grew even stronger when I switched to DEXs to buy. Prices there for assets like $PUMP or $JTO were around 25% higher than on Binance. Tokens like $CARDS, which aren’t listed on major exchanges, were affected significantly less. Normally, during fundamental market crashes, it’s exactly the other way around.

Rumors are already flying, and I’m sure we’ll get more clarity in the next few days. But from what I can judge and from almost a decade of living and breathing this industry: my gut says this was a massive technical issue, not a fundamental one.

And that, to me, is bullish.

For context, the COVID crash and FTX collapse hit me hard. Back then, I genuinely thought it might be over. I remember feeling anxious for days, even weeks, questioning my entire future in this space.

This time felt completely different. I bought immediately, and after reflecting for about 10 hours, I want to buy even more.

I know many of you are going through a tough time right now, and I’m deeply sorry for your losses. Nobody could have predicted this and trust me, even the biggest OGs and professionals in this space got hit badly.

But nothing fundamental has changed about this industry. The only question you should ask yourself right now is:

“How much do I truly believe in crypto long term?”

If you doubt that crypto as a whole can survive or thrive long term, I understand why you might be too afraid to buy right now. But in that case, you probably weren’t here for the right reasons to begin with.

As for me, I have zero doubt. This industry isn’t just here to stay, it’s on track to 10x from here and beyond. It’s only a matter of time.

So why would I panic over a technical glitch that caused prices to drop -99%? Of course, it’s painful, but rationally speaking, this might be one of the greatest opportunities you’ll ever get in your lifetime.

Don’t bury your head in the sand, not after everything we’ve survived over the past years. Events like this separate the wheat from the chaff, the winners from the losers.

If it’s even remotely possible for you right now, just survive. That’s all you need to do.

I promise you, you won’t regret it.

[Renç Korzay @renckorzay]

✦ 𝐆𝐢𝐳𝐚 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐩 ✦

The Numbers

Giza's agentic volume crossed $2B last month, now sitting at $2.3B+

Our Assets Under Agents (AUA) surpassed $20M in deposits:

→ ARMA: $17M managing stablecoin yields
→ Pulse: 692 ETH optimizing PT portfolios

Our agents are now moving billions autonomously.

What We Shipped

Swarm Finance

We launched our new incentive layer that turns DeFi's $150B in static TVL into Active Capital.

1. Protocols post verified yield opportunities.
2. Agents allocate instantly.
3. Capital flows to the best risk-adjusted returns automatically.

Every protocol using Swarm pays fees that go directly toward $GIZA token buybacks.

More protocols using Swarm = More fees = More $GIZA buybacks

Pulse

Built in partnership with Pendle, we launched Pulse as the first $ETH and first Pendle agent in crypto.

Our $3M deposit cap filled in under 3 hours, showing intense demand.

Pulse is now autonomously optimizing PT portfolios across ETH markets on Arbitrum, delivering ~13% APR (among the highest $ETH yields in DeFi).

We will be expanding Pulse to more chains, more assets, and more capacity shortly.

Market Response

Highlighted by Bankless, Ethereum Foundation, and Blocmates multiple times each throughout the month.

What's Next

October is going to be even bigger for Giza.

Stay tuned. ✦

[Jetstream Markets @Jetstream_Mkts]

Jones is about to power an entirely new product, for an entirely new ecosystem. The lines will be blurred. Soon.

[Theo Francken @FranckenTheo]

Heb je het gezien? Gisteren in Nieuws van de Dag op de Nederlandse TV-zender de filosofe Andrea Speyerbach over haar initiatief om een rechtszaak tegen de staat aan te spannen, om de desastreuze gevolgen van onbeperkte massamigratie uit niet-verenigbare culturen juridisch zichtbaar te maken.

Waar zijn onze rechten?

Het vertrekpunt is dat verdragen en rechters vooral individuele migranten beschermen via universele en Europese mensenrechten. De ontvangende samenleving en de gewortelde burger verdwijnen daarbij volledig uit beeld.

Asymmetrie

Speyerbach wijst op een pijnlijke asymmetrie: miljoenen migranten krijgen status als rechtendragende individuen, terwijl de cultuur, leefwereld en sociale cohesie van de oorspronkelijke bevolking nergens beschermd worden. Via de rechter wil zij afdwingen dat deze collectieve belangen erkend worden. Zoals in de stikstofzaak de natuur juridisch beschermd werd, moeten nu de gedeelde Nederlandse normen en waarden beschermd worden.

Wir schaffen das nicht

Tien jaar geleden werd in Duitsland het tijdperk ‘Wir schaffen das’ ingeluid door Angela Merkel. Europa zette de deuren wagenwijd open voor honderdduizenden Syriërs, Irakezen, Afghanen en anderen. Het continent is sindsdien ingrijpend veranderd, met diepe breuklijnen, enorme integratieproblemen, criminaliteit en groeiende maatschappelijke spanningen. We leven in desillusie en onvrede.

Niet etniciteit/afkomst telt, maar gedeelde waarden

Dit verhaal gaat nadrukkelijk niet om etniciteit, maar om gedeelde opvattingen: tolerantie, gelijkwaardigheid van man en vrouw, vrijheid om homo te zijn en het recht om bijvoorbeeld een Israëlische vlag uit te hangen zonder blinde angst. Juist deze fundamenten van onze vrije samenleving staan anno 2025 ernstig onder druk.

Moeras

Speyerbach maakt duidelijk dat haar idee een noodzakelijke juridische stap is. Omdat de politiek compleet vastloopt in een moeras van internationale verdragen, activistische rechters, machtige ngo’s en allerlei interpretaties door ongekozen instituties zoals de Raad van State, rest volgens haar de weg naar de rechter om de impasse te doorbreken.

Class Action Suit

Ik speel zelf al jaren met dit idee. Een class action suit van gewone burgers tegen het compleet verzopen Europees asielrecht en haar te activistische toepassing door mensen die nooit maatschappelijke verantwoording moeten afleggen.

Bewuste reisdoelkeuze

De Belgische Staat is intussen al duizenden keren veroordeeld omdat we geen asielopvang aanbieden aan al die tienduizende asylanten die hier jaarlijks toekomen en bewust voor ons land kiezen en niet voor alle landen die ze doorreisden.

Overmacht bestaat niet

Overmacht mogen en kunnen we daarbij nooit inroepen. Al komen ze met honderdduizenden. Al is het logistiek qua opvang en maatschappelijk qua integratie gewoon onmogelijk op te soppen. Er staat geen enkele juridische rem op de instroom. Dat is toch godgeklaagd.

Asiel kan een recht zijn maar de exacte bestemming zelf kiezen is dat helemaal niet. Zo lijkt het nu wel. Dit moet stoppen.

Onze kostbare samenleving kan dit NIET meer aan.

Veel succes, mevrouw Speyerbach! @ALSpeyerbach

[Joris Van Cauter @jorisvancauter]

Marnix Peeters: “Het gaat over diversiteit, maar nooit over Herman (62) die in Deurne-Noord in een beschimmeld huurappartement zit” https://t.co/c2qhp8FDDD