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Issuance Entrant - Superstate rolls out direct stock issuance for public companies on Ethereum, Solana.
Helium Expansion - Helium expands to Brazil with Mambo WiFi in DePIN breakthrough.
Payments Premier - Stripe's Tempo Payments Blockchain opens to public with Mastercard, UBS Onboard.
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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.
Permissionless Bitcoin sidechain that brings EVM-style smart contracts to BTC while using BTC (rBTC) as gas
BTC is bridged 1:1 into rBTC via the PowPeg bridge so users can lend, borrow, swap, and farm yields without leaving the Bitcoin universe
Rootstock reuses Bitcoin’s hashpower through merged mining plus DECOR+ consensus, keeping security anchored to Bitcoin
Q3 showed modest DeFi TVL and fee growth, but softer usage: transactions, active addresses, and revenue (in BTC terms) all declined
A user-driven security network focused on preventing scams, malicious contracts, and risky transactions across Web3.
Transaction Simulation API launched: real-time, multichain transaction risk analysis for wallets, apps, and institutions.
Ecosystem profit grew +32.5% QoQ to $4.5M, driven by higher API usage and Chrome extension adoption
500M GPS Security Fund introduced: dual staking + bounty system that rewards security contributors and incentivizes user-led intelligence
Layer-1 smart contract blockchain using Liquid Proof-of-Stake (LPoS) for consensus
Token: XTZ (tez) is the native asset used for staking (“baking”), delegation, governance, and fees on L1 and on the Tezos-based L2
Tezos L1 transactions rose 21.5% QoQ; contract calls also increased, signaling healthier base-layer activity
L1 fees climbed 16.9% QoQ to 17,460 XTZ, while Etherlink L2 fees fell 36.7% QoQ to 50,220 XTZ as its Kernel 4.1 upgrade doubled gas throughput and lowered effective costs
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Today, no product fully satisfies the requirements of an end-to-end DefiBank, even though it is technically possible today. The main gaps are onchain payments, which are hindered by a lack of business buy-in, and borrowing, which is limited by small balance sheets and high-risk users. As a result, this report should be viewed as forward-looking, with elements that border on mechanism design rather than analysis of fully deployed systems.
However, the foundations for structural disruption are in place. Unlike neobanks, which upgrade the interface but remain tethered to legacy infrastructure, DefiBanks can offer a full-stack alternative built around self-custody, capital efficiency, and quick finality. The next phase will reward those who use earn and borrow to deliver meaningfully better economics than neobanks and centralized exchanges, exit traditional Spending rails, or those who target markets underserved by traditional banks and neobanks, including merchants, emerging markets, and medium-to-high risk users.
