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The Energy Network uses household devices to increase grid capacity. Launched by Fuse, a $400M ARR scale-up. Check out the first live product demo here.
Strategy Increases BTC - MicroStrategy (MSTR) purchased an additional 1,142 bitcoin for approximately $90 million last week.
Robinhood Supports RWAs - Robinhood launched the public testnet for Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum Layer 2 network built using Arbitrum technology.
Memecoins - Memecoins are leading cryptocurrency market gains, with the CoinDesk Memecoin Index (CDMEME) up 1.5%, while major tokens like Bitcoin (BTC) are struggling near $70,000 and Ether (ETH) declined.
What would most justify upgrading from research only to an expanded advisory service?
The Electric Dollar: How Stablecoins Finance AI’s Future
Dylan Bane sits down with Anirudh from Robot Ventures to discuss a provocative thesis: stablecoin issuers could become the marginal buyers of US debt, helping finance the explosive growth of AI infrastructure.
Anirudh explains how Tether and Circle have already become the 15th largest holders of US Treasuries, and why this matters for both crypto and American competitiveness. The conversation explores how on-chain capital markets could unlock trillions in AI CapEx that traditional finance can't provide.
Beyond just AI financing, the discussion spans auto-formalization in mathematics, the future of DePIN (decentralized physical infrastructure), and why composable on-chain assets will reshape global capital markets. Anirudh shares insights on what's working in crypto venture today, from prediction markets like Polymarket to bandwidth networks like Dawn.
They debate whether central banks will eventually hold stablecoins, how agents will transform capital allocation, and why the supply chain for AI spans 80,000 companies worldwide.
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.
by: Austin Freimuth @oztxn · Research Analyst
In November 2025, CMC20 launched on BNB Chain as Reserve’s core broad-market onchain index, allowing holders to gain diversified exposure to the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization through a single token.
CMC20 supports permissionless minting and redemption. Any market participant can arbitrage price discrepancies between the index token and its underlying assets, helping keep prices aligned without relying on authorized intermediaries.
CMC20 has shown high trading activity relative to its size, with an average daily turnover of 56.5%, driven by roughly $3.1 million in daily trading volume against a market capitalization averaging about $5.9 million.
CMC20 affects Reserve’s fee generation and RSR supply dynamics through trading activity. Periods of higher minting activity increase platform fee revenue, which is currently used for RSR token burns but can be redirected through governance over time.
by: Matt Kreiser @KreiserMatt · Research Analyst
U.S. spot XRP ETFs launched in November 2025, reaching $1 billion in AUM in less than four weeks, the fastest to do so since ETH. The offering significantly expands U.S access to XRP for investors previously limited by custody and compliance barriers.
The XRPL is primed for institutional adoption, as necessary identity, financial, compliance, and privacy features are being implemented. These include multipurpose tokens (MPTs) with metadata to store RWA parameters, a native lending protocol, confidential MPTs using Zero Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs), and credentials to control access via KYC/AML.
Permissioned Domains (XLS-80) is scheduled to go live in February and builds on Credentials, allowing entities, such as institutions, to require specific credentials, including Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements, to access their offerings on the XRPL.
Ripple’s USD-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD, closed 2025 with a market cap of $235 million on the XRPL (+164% QoQ), making it the network’s largest stablecoin.
The XRPL closed 2025 with an all-time high distributed RWA market cap of $281.2 million (+37% QoQ) as issuance grew for several RWAs launched in Q2 2025, including Ondo’s OUSG tokenized treasury fund, Guggenheim’s Digital Commercial Paper, and tokenized real estate issued by Ctrl Alt.
by: Matt Kreiser @KreiserMatt · Research Analyst
SparkLend is the leading institutional-grade, blue-chip money-market protocol in DeFi, beating out Aave V3’s Prime Market instance in market size, variety of blue-chip assets offered, and maximum leverage on a risk-adjusted basis.
Alternatively architected lending and borrowing protocols like Morpho and Maple Finance are complementary to SparkLend, serving as higher-yielding markets for Spark’s Liquidity Layer (SLL) to deploy capital outside of SparkLend’s conservative architecture and parameters.
As a Star (SubDAO) of Sky, Spark can borrow billions of USDS at the Base Rate and leverage the Peg Stability Module to rapidly scale blue-chip stablecoin markets on SparkLend, like PYUSD.
Spark is integrating with Anchorage, a leading qualified custodian offering tri-party collateral management. Initial borrowers under this structure include three institutional counterparties which have borrowed $150 million USDC against $222 million of BTC collateral.
Spark prioritizes security and capital preservation as reflected by SparkLend’s high-quality asset composition of ETH and ETH derivatives, U.S. dollar stablecoins, and BTC derivatives. The protocol has been configured to primarily enable ETH, ETH derivatives, and BTC derivatives as collateral to borrow U.S. dollar stablecoins.
Crypto brands once treated the Super Bowl as their marquee advertising moment. In 2022, FTX, Crypto.com, and Coinbase flooded the broadcast during what became known as the "Crypto Bowl.” Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs were rumored to have a spot saved for them on the big screen during Eminem’s halftime show.
Super Bowl LX painted a different picture, with the only crypto-related ad being Coinbase's Backstreet Boys karaoke spot. In 2026, the real action happened off-screen, where prediction markets quietly dominated retail attention and onchain metrics.
How Prediction Markets Stole the Show
Prediction market platforms recorded $6.26 billion in trading volume during the seven days ending February 2, the week before Super Bowl LX. Kalshi led at $2.79 billion, followed by Polymarket at $1.915 billion. Opinion captured $1.24 billion, while predict.fun, Limitless, and smaller platforms split the remainder.
Zooming in on Kalshi
Kalshi recorded $871 million in volume on February 8, an 82.76% day-over-day increase. The platform's cumulative volume crossed $39 billion by game day, driven by steady daily activity in the $200-$400 million range throughout January, before the final week's surge.
Kalshi's Parlay Moment
Kalshi's “combos” markets hit $164.66 million in volume on February 8, nearly triple the typical daily baseline of under $50 million. Cumulative combos volume reached a record $2.65 billion by game day, up from near zero in mid-September.
Prediction markets are actively replicating the UX of sports betting apps. The dynamics of “Combos” on Kalshi closely mirror parlay culture on DraftKings and FanDuel, where users stack multiple bets into a single wager. Polymarket offers pre-built parlays, but Kalshi users gravitated toward custom combos, constructing their own multi-leg positions around player performances and game outcomes.
The Lone Crypto Ad
Coinbase made its Super Bowl comeback with a Backstreet Boys-themed karaoke ad, the only crypto spot in the broadcast. The ad leaned into nostalgia rather than technical product pitches, a contrast from the spotlights observed in 2022.
It's a positive signal that Coinbase is back in the game, but the real story remains off-screen. Prediction markets drove more retail engagement than any 30-second commercial could.
