Corporate playbooks hit crypto

In recent weeks, the digital asset landscape has seen a fresh wave of corporates not just investing in the space, but building directly on it, staking claims through crypto treasuries or even developing their own infrastructure.

The latest playbook? Owning the rails themselves. Both Stripe and Circle have now announced plans for their own Layer-1 blockchains, a clear sign that stablecoins are still the industry’s golden goose. For Circle, this also reflects an urgent need to diversify revenue, given that a large share of its cost base is tied to distributing USDC and maintaining its sizable team. Stripe, meanwhile, is aiming for full-stack control of the payment process, embedding stablecoin capabilities directly into its own ecosystem.

The open question: will this movement toward proprietary chains accelerate fragmentation, or can it still align with the current industry push for interoperability?

A new wave of tokens buyback strategy

One player that deserves more attention in this context is Plasma, the new Bitcoin sidechain from Tether. Technically, it’s a secondary network with its own rules, secured by another chain. Strategically, it’s a serious bid for dominance. With Tether’s unmatched distribution network, deep operational experience, and enormous treasury, Plasma has the resources to compete at scale — perhaps positioning Tether as the “winner that takes it all” in the next phase of blockchain infrastructure.

Another emerging trend worth watching is the rise of token buybacks. While buybacks are a familiar tool in equities, they’re only now taking root in crypto. Hyperliquid arguably kicked off the current wave (even if their version is closer to purchasing tokens distributed for free than classic buybacks) with millions of dollars spent each day on its own token, and the idea is spreading, from major projects like Chainlink to meme-coin launchpads such as Pump.fun, Bonk, and Zora. Are these buybacks always justified? That’s debatable. But for long-term holders, they’re arguably a better outcome than endless dilution.

This newsletter will ease up for the next two weeks before getting back even denser. Before that, I recommend watching our latest interview with hedge fund manager, TV host, and author Henri Arslanian, a conversation rich with insight on where this fast-moving industry is headed.