Ledger Launch - Ledger launches next-gen Nano device and Wallet app to strengthen digital asset and identity security in the AI era.
Predictions Partnership- Kalshi taps RedStone to bring real-world event data on-chain.
Plasma Expansion - Plasma obtains VASP license, opens Amsterdam office to expand stablecoin payments in EU.
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In this episode of Fully Diluted, Messari’s Dylan Bane and the Messari Research team sit down with Mert Mumtaz, Co-founder and CEO of Helius, to unpack the evolving privacy landscape in crypto. They dive deep into Zcash’s resurgence, Solana’s growing DeFi ecosystem, and the regulatory and technical hurdles shaping the next generation of privacy-preserving systems.
Mert discusses why privacy is fundamental to crypto’s future, how advancements in ZK proofs, FHE, and MPC are transforming usability, and why regulation may finally be catching up to innovation. The group also explores Solana’s momentum in trading infrastructure, perps, and DeFi market structure—and what it means for a truly decentralized financial internet.
Messari's protocol reports give you a deep dive on the foundation and state of top crypto protocols, including key metrics and notable events. See the complete list of protocol reports here and get a preview of our latest report below.
LPT’s circulating market capitalization increased 4.8% QoQ, rising from $259.5 million to $271.8 million
Demand-side fees grew 76% QoQ to $203,700, alongside a 94% increase in total processed minutes to 89.4 million
AI driven fees rose 131% QoQ to $147,100, accounting for over 70% of total protocol revenue
Total staking rewards increased 30% QoQ to $18.1 million
Fifth-largest DeFi network by TVL ($6.2B)
TRON hit all-time highs in Q3 2025, with market cap up 19% QoQ to $31.6B and revenue up 30.5% QoQ to $1.2B
Major integrations with MetaMask, Chainlink, Graph Protocol, and deBridge enhanced interoperability
TRON was selected by the U.S. Department of Commerce to record GDP data and sponsored major global blockchain events
Manifesto 2.0: pivot from protocol-first to distribution-first. The App and Agent Hub becomes the primary surface for publishing, discovering, and calling AI agents
WARD will launch in Q4 2025 with a 1 billion supply for network payments, validator bonds, incentives, and governance
Chain support extends execution to Solana, Ethereum, Base, and BNB Chain.
New integrations with DeBridge’s cross-chain bridging and Hyperliquid’s upcoming AI trading terminal
Prediction markets are becoming one of the most important battlegrounds in crypto. At the center: Polymarket and Kalshi, have different playbooks but the same endgame, turning real-world events into liquid, tradable markets. This will result in a better product for consumers in the long run and turn prediction markets into one of the leading sectors in crypto.
The capital backing both platforms reflects how seriously this space is being taken. Kalshi raised a $185M Series C in June, followed by a $300M Series D in October. Polymarket recently closed a $2B round from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), parent of the NYSE. Both now carry institutional weight well beyond their crypto-native roots.
Trading activity is keeping pace. In October, Polymarket has recorded $1.9B in notional volume, followed close behind by Kalshi with $1.8B. Each is tracking toward $45B+ annualized.
But the real shift is in how both are positioning for growth.
Kalshi started as a U.S.-regulated prediction market, approved by the CFTC, and now it’s leaning into crypto infrastructure and distribution. On Oct. 22, they announced they’re providing liquidity for Jupiter prediction markets, and on Oct. 13, they partnered with Pyth to publish its event data onchain. A few days later, Robinhood announced it would add 100+ new event contracts from Kalshi for key 2025 political events like tariffs, Fed policy, spending cuts, and more.
Polymarket, by contrast, is expanding from a crypto-native foundation into regulated territory. Earlier this month, they received approval to operate in the U.S. and have also rolled out a slate of integrations. In the past two weeks alone, it launched up/down equity markets, allowing users to bet on stock price movements, added deposit and withdrawal for Hyperliquid, and confirmed an exclusive MetaMask integration.
On Oct. 22, the NHL became the first major U.S. sports league to ink multiyear licensing deals with Kalshi and Polymarket…one of the biggest announcements in the sector to date. Kalshi and Polymarket can now legally use NHL team names, logos, and terms like “Stanley Cup” in their markets, and as part of the deal, their NHL prediction markets will be highlighted during NHL broadcasts (incl. the Stanley Cup playoffs and the Winter Classic). That means millions of viewers, many of whom have never heard of Polymarket or Kalshi, will now see them alongside the NHL’s most high-visibility events. It’s the first time prediction markets have received this kind of mainstream airtime, positioning them as direct competitors to sportsbooks like FanDuel and DraftKings.
Kalshi’s CEO, Tarek Mansour, likened the rivalry to Brady vs. Manning, two operators pushing each other to raise their game, which is timely as Tom Brady mentioned Polymarket during a Week 6 NFL broadcast. Mansour framed Polymarket not as a threat, but as a worthy competitor. One that forces Kalshi to build faster, think harder, and deliver better. And in his view, it’s the users who will ultimately benefit from that pressure.
This isn’t just a race for market share. It’s a competition to optimize both product architecture and distribution rails. Kalshi is expanding into crypto-native infrastructure through data oracles and retail integrations, while Polymarket is moving toward regulatory onboarding and formalized distribution through platforms like MetaMask. The back-and-forth is accelerating iteration across UX, liquidity access, and composability, and that dynamic is what gives prediction markets a real chance to mature into a leading financial primitive.