Gm friends, BTC remains at a crucial juncture.

It’s currently back above its 50-week MA at the time of writing, with the weekly candle closing later today.

This has been a key level respected for nearly two years now and serves as a strong indicator of the broader trend we’re in.

We’ve had rumors of a $2K stimulus going out to Americans, alongside headlines suggesting the government may reopen imminently, both potentially positive for liquidity.

A bit of hopium… but caution is still very much warranted right now. BTC will provide the direction.

Join the alpha please Telegram channel. It’s free to subscribe for more market updates, DeFi & airdrop opportunities.

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1. Stimulating into a Bubble

1. Articles by Ray Dalio are always worth a read. His latest piece argues that we’ve reached a key turning point in the Big Debt Cycle, signaling that the U.S. may be entering a late-stage debt and asset bubble phase.

2. The Last 1000x in crypto

A thoughtful privacy thesis.

3. SmartCon 2025 round up

Every major Chainlink announcement from SmartCon.

4. How to Come Back From Zero in Crypto

Some solid advice in this one.

5. Ore Protocol

A novel protocol on Solana has generated $3.4M in the last 12 days and is now #6 in 24h revenue among all crypto protocols. This thread breaks down how Ore works.

Yield of the week (brought to you by Kamino)

Low-risk liquidity vault: USDS–USDC

APY: ~12%, boosted by USDS incentives.

A very solid, risk-adjusted option for your stables.

Kamino has one of the strongest security track records in all of DeFi and remains one of the few platforms worth considering as a home for your stablecoins.

Check out Kamino

alpha_pls tweet of the week

Rambling thoughts:

And that’s your alpha.

Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Crypto currencies are very risky assets and you can lose all of your money. Do your own research.

Gm friends, BTC continues to go sideways, and there’s a kind of permanent anxiety as everyone waits to see which direction it chooses next.

The next big move will likely dictate the coming months, and there are solid arguments on both sides.

I still lean toward BTC moving higher, given how much selling it’s absorbed over quite a long period of time.

Join the alpha please Telegram channel. It’s free to subscribe for more market updates, DeFi & airdrop opportunities.

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Your weekly reading:

*All screenshots will take you to Twitter if you click.

1. Bitcoin’s Silent IPO: Why This Consolidation Isn’t What You Think

Jordi argues that the current price action in Bitcoin resembles the kind of distribution you typically see around IPOs.

2. Liquidity alpha

“TLDR; liquidity headwinds ease after this week alleviating the pressure on Bitcoin.”

3. The Incentive Layer - A Bittensor Documentary

Long form watch on Bittensor.

4. Bob Loukas Wisdom

“The goal is to flow wealth down into the Foundational. Think of it as a funnel, you want high flow in to have a better chance to multiply it and have enough to flow the way down.”

5. Crypto has become an inferior casino

“…financial nihilists no longer believe in crypto as the best place to express their financial nihilism views.”

Yield of the week (brought to you by Kamino)

Kamino still offers several options for earning around 10% APY on stablecoins right now.

With the market looking shaky and indecisive, it’s a solid option to earn yield if you’ve gone risk-off.

Kamino has one of the strongest security track records in all of DeFi and remains one of the few platforms worth considering as a home for your stablecoins.

Check out Kamino Lend

alpha_pls tweet of the week

Rambling thoughts:

And that’s your alpha.

Thanks for reading alpha please! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Crypto currencies are very risky assets and you can lose all of your money. Do your own research.

One of the first very clear value propositions of crypto revolved around privacy.

It’s one of those crypto verticals I could chat about with a friend down at the pub, and they’d instantly be somewhat interested, as they can see governments are turning very authoritarian all around the world.

Although most people wouldn’t actually do anything about it, it still shows that it’s an obvious and powerful crypto primitive with massive adoption potential.

So this week, I’ve decided to prepare a special Alpha Apps edition featuring 3 crypto protocols built around privacy.

Let’s get into it.

This newsletter is made possible by Mantle 🙏

Calling all builders. This one is for anyone that has an idea.

Just build it.

Here are the tracks:

• RWA/ RealFi

• DeFi & Composability

• GameFi & Social

• AI & Oracles

• ZK & Privacy

• Infrastructure & Tooling

There’s $150k in total rewards.

Join the Mantle Global Hackathon

1. ZCash

One of the early critiques of Bitcoin’s design was that its ledger, while anonymous, was fully public, and hence couldn’t truly serve as a real cypherpunk unstoppable store of value solution capable of protecting the collective from AI and surveillance being abused at scale.

ZCash is an OG protocol from 2016 that built on this exact idea: create a private store-of-value solution. It’s a PoW blockchain with ZEC as its native asset, inheriting the same supply cap (21M) and inflation schedule as Bitcoin, but with a privacy options embedded at the protocol level through zero-knowledge encryption.

While BTC was ultimately the one that caught the most traction, ZCash quietly persisted on the side over the years. And just recently, it’s been regaining a lot of traction and momentum.

To be honest, while part of this might just be a bit of short-term hype, there’s also something deeper behind it. I have no idea how this will play out, but here’s an initial idea:

• Buy the amount of ZEC you wish you had bought and held in BTC

• Shield it, and put it somewhere safe and protected.

• Be comfortable losing it, but treat it as a hedge against a potential Orwellian reality.

Last but not least, here’s a fantastic read on the case for a small allocation to ZEC:

I recommend trying the Zashi wallet for storing and shielding your ZEC. It’s a pretty slick mobile wallet, which is also recommended on ZCash’s official website.

Zashi Wallet

2. Umbra

Umbra is another privacy-focused crypto project that recently gained significant traction after its historic ICO on MetaDAO.

The project raised $3M, but what was really huge is that it got over $154M in total capital commitments. While a lot of that can be attributed to big LPs being aware of the cap and pouring in more capital to get a bigger alloc knowing they would be refunded, I still think it’s an impressive stats and shows the current hype around privacy.

Umbra’s goal is to serve as the privacy layer for Solana by providing the necessary infrastructure to execute confidential transactions, allowing users and applications to protect their data on-chain.

This means that with Umbra, anyone on Solana is able to:

• Execute private payments and transfers

• Perform confidential DeFi transactions (e.g., shield your trading strategies)

• Manage your treasury privately as a business (e.g., run onchain operations confidentially, such as handling payroll or sensitive business expenses)

Umbra’s roadmap is also packed for this year. I am excited for it.

If you are a big Solana user and are interested in privacy, Umbra is a no-brainer to follow and try out. The UMBRA token has been live for a few weeks, so might be worth keeping on your watchlist.

*No investment advice and please DYOR.

Try Umbra

3. Railgun

To finish today’s piece, I want to present a third privacy protocol that I like.

Railgun defines itself as Ethereum’s universal privacy solution. It enables EVM users to shield and anonymize transactions of both ERC-20 tokens and NFTs. In short, you can swap and use DeFi privately without losing out on liquidity.

To be clear, Railgun is not a blockchain but rather an onchain smart contract code that acts as a backend privacy infrastructure, which can be integrated into any wallet and where Railgun users have access to a special 0zk address that remains confidential. This means the user experience is similar to using a regular public wallet to interact with Ethereum or EVM chains, just with the added ability to transact privately.

The protocol has gained significant traction since launch, with over $4B in total shielded volume to date. This clearly shows there’s a real market need for privacy infrastructure like Railgun. Moreover, Vitalik himself has been a strong advocate of the protocol, which is both reassuring and a strong signal that some of the brightest minds in the space deeply care about the topic of privacy.

Another important point is that Railgun has a built-in anti–money laundering mechanism, which helps ensure the protocol isn’t used for illicit activity. This is a key feature that makes it even more legit.

As always, if you are interested, I recommend you check out their app.

Try Railgun

And that’s your alpha.

Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Crypto currencies are very risky assets and you can lose all of your money. Do your own research.

Gm friends, it’s been a crazy week.

I think most still haven’t recovered from witnessing the alt-coin flash crash last Friday.

I suspect we have more chop to come before we resolve one way or the other.

The BTC daily is in a downtrend, so that needs to reverse first before we can feel bullish.

The one big thing that I think is in BTC’s favour is that gold has been ripping, and looks overextended. I am a believer that BTC eventually catches up, but of course timing when that happens is very difficult.

Join the alpha please Telegram channel. It’s free to subscribe for more market updates, DeFi & airdrop opportunities.

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Your weekly reading:

*All screenshots will take you to Twitter if you click.

1. The Binance Liquidity Collapse

Very good write up on the historical liquidation event.

2. Cobie wisdom

“The truth is I have always optimised for enjoying my life and not going to 0.”

Many lessons contained within this long form reply from Cobie.

3. Bitcoin game theory

Interesting thoughts on China, gold and Bitcoin.

4. Hyperliquid 2026 Thesis

Re-evaluating the Hyperliquid thesis.

5. Zcash

Intriguing thoughts on Zcash.

Yield of the week (brought to you by Kamino)

You might be looking around for somewhere to earn yield on your stablecoins this week.

The Lend tab on Kamino is full of opportunities around ~10% APY with very clear explanations of the yield strategies which are rooted in Kamino’s lending protocol.

Kamino has one of the strongest security track records in all of DeFi, and is one of the very few places worthy of considering as a home for you stablecoins.

Check out Kamino Lend

alpha_pls tweet of the week

Onchain is the future.

And that’s your alpha.

Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Crypto currencies are very risky assets and you can lose all of your money. Do your own research.

There’s a lot of cool new projects are popping up left and right. Time to lock in and make the most of these opportunities while they last.

Here are 3 new apps worth trying this week.

This newsletter is made possible by Mantle 🙏

MNT has a number of benefits which can optimize your trading on Bybit.

You can get to VIP tier by simply holding MNT, alongside getting discounts on your trading fees, and access to other rewards.

They have a special event running right now that is worth checking out.

Explore MNT on Bybit

1. Rysk Finance

When it comes to airdrop farming, the best strategy isn’t to start using a new protocol once the consensus thinks it’s going to cook. The nature of markets is such that if the average participant is already talking about an opportunity, it usually means the most asymmetric upside is likely gone (the kind of opportunity that can make you jump the wealth ladder).

Being an early user of Hyperliquid was far from consensus when it first launched. But those who saw the potential early made outsized returns because they were both early and right.

So while other perp DEXs might still deliver big airdrops, and while Hyperliquid may still cook one of the largest one (and still 100% worth farming) I don’t think the opportunity will be as asymmetric as the first HYPE drop.

Now of course, it’s very hard to know what the next big meta will be (and that’s why the potential rewards are huge). But personally, I have a few sectors I’m excited about, and one of them is options, which I still see as an untapped vertical in crypto.

One early stage opportunities that I particularly like in this sector is Rysk Finance.

Rysk Finance is an options protocol live on the HyperEVM that gives you access to options strategies on Hyperliquid assets. The two main strategies they offer are secured puts and covered calls.

Secured Puts:

You can think of it as “getting paid to buy the dip.”

You lock up stablecoins and choose the price at which you’d be happy to buy an asset (like HYPE or BTC). If the market dips to that price, you automatically buy it. If it doesn’t, you simply keep the premium you earned for selling that option.

For instance, if you want the option to buy the dip (while still earning a premium and Rysk points), you could set up a secured put to buy BTC below $108k until October 31 by locking some USDT0 now. If BTC doesn’t drop to that price, you simply keep your funds and the premium you earned.

Covered Calls:

This one is the opposite, it’s like “getting paid to sell the top.”

You lock up your asset and agree to sell it if the price reaches a target level. If it does, your position sells automatically. If it doesn’t, you keep your asset and also earn the premium.

For instance, you could set a target to sell your kHYPE at $55 until October 31. You just need to lock your kHYPE and earn 12.91% APR upfront. If kHYPE crosses $55, you sell it automatically at that price. If it doesn’t, you simply get your kHYPE back (and you’ll also earn Kinetiq points in the process).

Honestly, Rysk has some great earning opportunities right now, and it’s still a super early project. The UI is intuitive, so even if you know nothing about options, you can quickly figure out how it works.

The only drawback is that the entry barrier is a bit high. For example, you need at least 50 kHYPE or around $5k to open a BTC secured put. But in a way, that also filters out the noise, meaning less competition for early farmers if you have the funds.

If you’re interested, I highly encourage you to check out their docs to better understand how everything works, then try it for yourself.

As always with DeFi and especially derivatives, remember that this carries risk, so only move forward if you fully understand what you’re doing and are comfortable with the downside.

Try Rysk

2. Solstice

Stablecoins are a hot topic right now. Among the new protocols, one interesting one that just launched on Solana is Solstice.

You can think of Solstice as a Solana-native version of Ethena. Its main product is USX, an over-collateralized synthetic stablecoin designed to stay pegged to $1 through delta-neutral positions. On the other hand, eUSX is the yield-bearing version the yield-bearing version of USX and accrues the yield from the trading strategy.

Solstice launched just over a week ago and has already amassed over $200M in TVL, which is a strong start. While I have some doubts about whether it can grow enough to become a leading stablecoin on Solana, I still think it’s an interesting project worth farming: it has strong support from the Solana ecosystem, good yields, low risk, and a nice airdrop potential.

How to take advantage:

• Deposit USDC to mint USX.

• Stake USX into eUSX to earn around 10.2% yield.

• Use my code xyz to get a multiplier on Flare points.

• Last but not least, you can even put those assets to work in DeFi (for instance, you can LP on Raydium for a 10× multiplier).

What is interesting is that the team already mentioned that the SLX TGE is expected to happen by EOY, so it can be a good play if you have some stables on Solana.

As well, the tokenomics of the project are also super interesting, as SLX only unlocks when TVL milestones are hit - no VC cliffs, no time-based unlocks. The community grows the supply through TVL, and as project KPIs increase, more tokens are issued.

This is a very interesting and new approach for a protocol, which aligns all the project’s key stakeholders in a clean and transparent way.

Try Solstice now and use my referral code to start earning Flares: 5uJSssXVfE

Try Solstice

3. Fireplace

For today’s third app, I’ll cover a new project in another sector I’m really bullish on: prediction markets.

Fireplace aims to become the most normie-friendly app for participating in prediction markets.

To do so, they’re building a mobile-first app designed for seamless UX, with features like hyper-personalized feeds and unified deposit addresses (so you can deposit any token from any chain, no need to bridge).

Under the hood, Fireplace aggregates markets from Polymarket and Kalshi to give users the best experience, and it also integrates social features, making the experience more interactive and fun with your friends.

This is an interesting project in a very promising market. However, it’s still early-stage, and the team has everything to prove, so it’s difficult to assess how well it will perform just yet. But, it’s definitely one to keep an eye on.

You can join their waitlist today to make sure you don’t miss out when they go live.

Join Waitlist

And that’s your alpha.

Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Crypto currencies are very risky assets and you can lose all of your money. Do your own research.

Gm friends, bears are very, very rekt right now.

Bitcoin had a huge impulse off the zone where bears and bulls were battling it out.

This morning Bitcoin made a brief new ATH, and whilst we may get some late longs being punished, BTC should be venturing into price discovery properly soon enough.

We continue to climb the wall of worry in this bull market.

Let’s go Q4.

Join the alpha please Telegram channel. It’s free to subscribe for more market updates, DeFi & airdrop opportunities.

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Your weekly reading:

*All screenshots will take you to Twitter if you click.

1. How to be good at crypto

Invest in yourself and your skills.

2. Treat trading like poker, not chess

Good advice in here.

3. GLXY Bull case

GLXY fundamentals laid out.

4. Why Hyperliquid is still the best-positioned Perp Dex

Analyzing the fundamentals of Hyperliquid.

5. Why is October often so bullish?

When macro and seasonality align we get green candles.

Yield of the week (brought to you by Kamino)

Phantom just launched their new stablecoin called CASH, and they have partnered with Kamino to bring it to market.

Simple lending of CASH in the Maple market on Kamino can net you 17.13% APY right now.

Very nice yield.

You can use Kamino to swap into CASH from any stablecoin.

Check out CASH on Kamino

alpha_pls tweet of the week

Aged well.

MASS + HYPE Airdrop

If you want to trade Hyperliquid perps on mobile, do it on Mass.

• Best mobile app for Hyperliquid perps

• One of the top-earning apps from Builder Codes

• Non-custodial, with perps, stocks, lending, spot, on/off-ramp

• UI/UX is goated

My lore is that I actually worked on this product in 2023, and now many of the ideas from back then have come to life now.

Special deal: Download with my ref link and earn double MASS tokens for the first month. These are real pre-TGE tokens, not points.

Very much worth downloading and seeing if you like the feel of the app.

Download Mass

And that’s your alpha.

Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Crypto currencies are very risky assets and you can lose all of your money. Do your own research.

I had to skip Alpha Apps last week (life happens), but we’re back today with 3 new apps that caught my eye.

I think all three are huge opportunities, as they are running points programmes, and are likely to be significant airdrops when they TGE.

Do not fade.

1. Lighter

The perp DEX category is full of hype right now: CZ is pushing Aster, Jeff just blessed the Hyperliquid core community with a new round of magic money through a Hypurr NFT airdrop, and competition is heating up.

The perps space will continue to grow massively, and there will be a few big winners alongside Hyperliquid.

I’m very sure Lighter will be one of them, and I think there’s a very good chance it establishes itself as the #2 perp DEX in the long run, and executes one of the biggest airdrops of 2025.

Lighter is a perp DEX built as a custom L2 on Ethereum. It leverages zero-knowledge proofs of all operations including matching and liquidations (this is what makes Lighter special), and runs with a private sequencer, allowing it to achieve strong performance in both latency and finality.

It’s also the first perp DEX to introduce zero trading fees for retail users. According to the founder, this model is sustainable because Lighter still earns revenue by charging fees only to market makers. This is essentially the Robinhood model onchain.

Also worth noting: Lighter has managed to built a nice community among retail, but also with the support of sharp funds or bright minds like Jordi Alexander or Vlad from Robinhood.

Here’s a good podcast to watch if you want to dig more on the project.

All in all, I think it’s the second-best perp DEX behind Hyperliquid right now and metrics are up-only.

Now, after 8 months of private beta and the close of Season 1, public mainnet is now live with Season 2 officially kicking off. Season 2 is set to run through 2025 (team have been hinting at a big airdrop allocation).

I strongly recommend you create some volume on Lighter, as we could be looking at anywhere from $42-150 per point. This will be one of the largest airdrops this year.

I have a ref link below, if you want to try and earn some points. You still have time.

Trade and earn points on Lighter

2. Vest

It’s perp DEX season and I have yet another protocol I want to share, which sits in a slightly different category to Lighter. This one is backed by Jane Street, and it’s very early.

Vest is an interesting new perps Dex for the TradFi market where you can trade stocks, indexes, and more, 24/7 and with leverage.

Arguably stocks are much easier to trade than crypto right now. Vest lets you do that with perps.

It’s still relatively early and under the radar, but liquidity looks solid with $20M+ in the LP vault and active MMs on every book.

The TAM for this kind of product is really significant here imo, since the product lets anyone with a crypto wallet trade stocks 24/7 with leverage. That’s a powerful unlock.

Personally, I’m bullish: the UI/UX is good; it is backed by Jane street which adds a layer of confidence; and last but not least not least, I don’t see anyone talking about it on my feed which is a good sign.

This means being early there could carry a real upside if the protocol manage to get solid traction.

You can already earn points by trading and providing liquidity on Vest (equity perps give you a 1.5x boost) so I wouldn’t fade that.

If you’ve ever wanted to trade stocks with leverage directly from your crypto wallet, you know where to go.

I have started to low leverage long major tech stocks and indexes on any small dip.

Here’s my ref link to try it out.

Try Vest

3. USD.ai

USD.ai is a synthetic dollar protocol designed to finance the physical infrastructure of AI (Compute) and other emerging sectors.

Here’s the best explanation I found of how the protocol works:

TL;DR:

• USDai: A low-risk, fully backed synthetic dollar collateralized by T-Bills and infra assets. It doesn’t pass yield to holders, but offers deep secondary market liquidity across DeFi and CeFi.

• sUSDai: The yield-bearing version of USDai, backed by income-generating compute infra like AI compute.

This means the yield from sUSDai comes from real-world borrowers who need compute and infra (GPU clusters, node networks, etc.), but are too small to raise money from banks or big VCs.

However, worth noting that as these assets are inherently less liquid than stablecoins, there is a risk factor involved and it can also be subject to redemption periods.

Given the rise of AI and the need for more and more compute, I feel this is an interesting concept that can scale if executed properly.

How to take advantage:

Simply stake USDai: Deposit USDC or USDT → mint USDai → stake it as sUSDai → earn 13% APY + exposure to a potential token yield.

Yield trading: Pendle markets for USD.ai just launched, which opens the door to some interesting opportunities.

One thing I always like to do with stablecoins product is LP’ing to get exposure to both yield, trading fees, and protocol airdrop.

Alternatively, if you’re comfortable foregoing the potential airdrop, you can buy PT to lock in a juicy fixed yield.

Only Caveat: The current deposit cap for USD.ai has already been reached.
If you’re interested, the best move for now is to wait for the next cap increase and follow them on X to be among the first to know when deposits reopen.

You can join my USD.ai team so you are ready when the deposit cap is raised.

Join my USD.ai team

And that’s your alpha.

Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Crypto currencies are very risky assets and you can lose all of your money. Do your own research.

Gm friends, we’re back in what feels like one of those make it or break it moments for Bitcoin. You could call it a battle between the “Four-Year Cycle” and “Extended Cycle” theses.

This week’s price action has been rough, and my gut says Bitcoin may have more downside before any big upside move, though of course, short-term PA is notoriously hard to predict.

Below are a few opinions that may add some color on where we are in the cycle…

Join the alpha please Telegram channel. It’s free to subscribe for more market updates, DeFi & airdrop opportunities.

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Your weekly reading:

*All screenshots will take you to Twitter if you click.

1. Trump’s efforts to take control of the Fed represent a momentous catalyst

Long form thoughts on the long BTC trade/investment.

2. Cycle Peak? Not likely

“Still, two secular trends are bulletproof: blockchain adoption and monetary debasement.”

3. Why we haven’t topped

A data backed thread looking at a lot of different indicators.

4. The Plasma Thesis

Plasma has launched with a bang.

5. Mantle Bull Thesis

Why Mantle (MNT) is an asymmetric opportunity.

Yield of the week (brought to you by Kamino)

One of the easiest risk-adjusted stablecoin strategies in crypto right now.

Kamino’s PYUSD vault is earning 17.18% APY. It’s a simple set-and-forget play: just supply PYUSD to the vault, and you’re done.

Rewards are boosted with both PYUSD and KMNO incentives.

Check out PYUSD Vault

alpha_pls tweet of the week

More musings on where we stand in the cycle.

MASS + HYPE Airdrop

If you want to trade Hyperliquid perps on mobile, do it on Mass.

• Best mobile app for Hyperliquid perps

• One of the top-earning apps from Builder Codes

• Non-custodial, with perps, stocks, lending, spot, on/off-ramp

• UI/UX is goated

My lore is that I actually worked on this product in 2023, and now many of the ideas from back then have come to life now.

Special deal: Download with my ref link and earn double MASS tokens for the first month. These are real pre-TGE tokens, not points.

Very much worth downloading and seeing if you like the feel of the app.

Download Mass

And that’s your alpha.

Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Crypto currencies are very risky assets and you can lose all of your money. Do your own research.

gm friends.

Coming up again with 3 promising new apps that are worth trying. All pre-TGE.

This newsletter is made possible by Mantle 🙏

This week marks a defining moment for Mantle Network.

With the successful upgrade to Succinct’s OP Succinct on Mainnet, Mantle has become the first OP Stack Layer 2 to launch as a ZK Validity Rollup, and the largest ZK rollup by TVL.

What does this mean?

• Ethereum-grade security with the efficiency of ZK proofs

• 1-hour finality & 12-hour withdrawals, reducing capital idle time

• Faster, safer, more accessible settlement for DeFi, RWAs, and institutions

Mantle is more than just an L2 (should be aware of that now), it’s evolving into the Liquidity Chain, a platform where capital flows securely and efficiently between real-world and digital economies.

From optimistic rollup → ZK rollup.

Proud to have Mantle as a partner, who keep on shipping to improve their product offering.

Read more about the upgrade

1. Kyros

Kyros is the liquid restaking layer for Jito (Re)staking.

It acts as the coordination point between builders who want to leverage restaking to bootstrap the economic security of their projects, and DeFi users who want access to new yield opportunities.

I’ve been a big fan of Jito since day one, but I’ll admit I was skeptical when they first launched Jito (Re)staking, especially after the overhyped and under-delivered promises of EigenLayer.

That said, Jito built its restaking infra with a product-first approach. They needed it to support TipRouter, the mechanism that distributes tips (the largest source of REV on Solana).

This has been a real success: TipRouter has already distributed over $1M to restakers, which makes it the first proven use case of restaking. This early win makes me genuinely optimistic about the future of restaking on Solana.

Now, among the different options to leverage restaking on Solana, Kyros is my personal favorite. Here’s why:

• Good traction without being overfarmed: With $47M+ TVL, Kyros is the second-largest liquid restaking protocol on Solana (behind Fragmetric) but still has a lot of growth potential ahead.

• Wide DeFi integration: Kyros is well-integrated into Solana DeFi and with solid secondary market liquidity.

• Low risk: Kyros relies only on Jito’s restaking stack, which minimizes DeFi and composability risks compared to competitors.

• Strong partners: Support from SwissBorg (~$2B AUM, 888k users) is giving Kyros a powerful distribution channel.

• No private funding: Kyros is also fully bootstrapped, which is a nice add on.

• Clear roadmap: You can check out this article for more info.

How to take advantage:

The main product offering of Kyros is kySOL, a restaked version of JitoSOL.

With kySOL, you get all the benefits of JitoSOL but with added yield from restaking while remaining fully liquid.

If you’re bullish on SOL (you really should be), the simplest move is to mint kySOL directly on Kyros. You’ll earn a nice yield and Kyros points. A real win-win.

You can also go a step further and use your kySOL in DeFi. For example, yield trading on Exponent is an interesting strategy (and might also give you exposure to an Exponent airdrop).

Last but not least, Kyros also has a quest system called The Village, with 10 different ranks to climb. Maybe that could lead to something interesting down the line.

Try Kyros

2. Euphoria

Euphoria is a new project building a mobile-first derivatives trading app on MegaETH.

Their goal: do for crypto derivatives what Robinhood did for stock options. Or in other words, democratize access to crypto derivative trading through a seamless, intuitive experience that can onboard the masses.

Key features of the future app:

• Tap Trading: One-tap interface that makes derivatives trading approachable.

• Gamification: Points, streaks, leaderboards, and social elements that makes trading more engaging.

• Social features: Ability to follow, compete, and collaborate with friends or top traders directly in the app.

• Minimum friction: All the complexity is abstracted away to deliver users a smooth, mobile-native experience.

Why the opportunity is clear:

Crypto derivatives account for around 80% of all exchange volume, yet no true mobile-first app exists that is focused on making derivatives trading simple and accessible.

From experience, it’s very tough to onboard normal people to perps or options if they don’t have some solid finance background as the UX alone can feel intimidating. But if Euphoria can reduce the friction and make derivatives trading feel natural to everyone, not just crypto-natives, it could unlock an entirely new and untapped market.

Last but not least, Euphoria is also building on MegaETH which is a new ecosystem that I am bullish on. They’ve also raised $7.5M from top tier investors which adds a layer of confidence in what they can achieve.

Indeed, they even managed to onboard Seraphim. And if Seraphim is bullish and decided to invest in Euphoria (he is usually very selective) it means there is something big going on. I wouldn’t fade that.

Euphoria is not live yet. For now, the best thing you could do is to just join their Waitlist, Discord, or TG, and wait for the platform to be live.

The earlier you are in, the better.

3. Paradex

The third app for today is Paradex: a perp DEX built on Starknet.

While I think Hyperliquid is the clear market leader in perp DEXs, with no clear second best, Paradex is nonetheless an interesting protocol to follow with a nice product offering. It’s also showing a bit of traction in recent month.

One particular thing I like is their perps option product. You can think of it as a daily option that does not expire. Your max loss is the total funding you pay for the time you keep the position open and the only way to get liquidated is if you can't pay funding anymore.

Right now, you can earn points from trading on Paradex, which will convert into an airdrop.

I would definitely not switch from Hyperliquid to Paradex, as I think the upside of a potential HYPE season 2 airdrop + HyperEVM ecosystem is still way higher.

But if you wish, you could allocate a small amount to try Paradex yourself and then decide if it’s worth more attention.

My ref link to try Paradex:

Try Paradex

And that’s your alpha.

Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Crypto currencies are very risky assets and you can lose all of your money. Do your own research.

Gm friends, we have near enough confirmation that we are going to get a rate cut in September.

Bitcoin hasn’t made a decisive move up or down, but we’ve seen SOL really roar back after the news of its DAT (FORD) came out.

With Gold ripping, it does feel like BTC will eventually follow, and things are really shaping up for a big Q4.

Join the alpha please Telegram channel. It’s free to subscribe for more market updates, DeFi & airdrop opportunities.

Subscribe to the TG channel

This newsletter is made possible by Kamino

Kamino have released an amazing new feature that allows users to look beyond today’s rates, evaluating how Multiply strategies have performed over time, at any chosen leverage level.

SyrupUSDC multiply has been the best risk adjusted stablecoin yield on the market for some time now imo, and now you can verify the returns in the past yourself.

Kamino continue to provide their users with the best tools in DeFi.

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Your weekly reading:

*All screenshots will take you to Twitter if you click.

1. Are we near “peak cycle”?

“This does not look like an above-trend late-cycle economy. It looks much more like an early-cycle economy trying to build momentum.”

2. The Alt DAT Cheatsheet

Excellent write up on DATs.

3. Most Consequential 7 days in Ethena’s history

It’s been a big week for Ethena.

4. Why PUMP could be the trade of Q4

PUMP analysis.

5. Creating the world’s leading Solana Treasury Company

Announcement of a new major Solana DAT company, which has raised $1.65B.

alpha_pls tweet of the week

Hyperliquid thoughts.

MASS + HYPE Airdrop

If you want to trade Hyperliquid perps on mobile, do it on Mass.

• Best mobile app for Hyperliquid perps

• One of the top-earning apps from Builder Codes

• Non-custodial, with perps, stocks, lending, spot, on/off-ramp

• UI/UX is goated

My lore is that I actually worked on this product in 2023, and now many of the ideas from back then have come to life now.

Special deal: Download with my ref link and earn double MASS tokens for the first month. These are real pre-TGE tokens, not points.

Very much worth downloading and seeing if you like the feel of the app.

Download Mass

And that’s your alpha.

Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Crypto currencies are very risky assets and you can lose all of your money. Do your own research.

This week is a special edition of Alpha Apps as we dive into the TCG (Trading Card Game) × Crypto vertical.

If you’ve ever loved collecting trading cards as a kid (particularly Pokemon), or still do, this one’s for you.

I have secured some special offers below, and invite codes to a closed beta app, so make sure you read everything.

This newsletter is made possible by Mantle 🙏

MNT hit a new ATH this week. If you’ve been following along, you’ve seen many of the new integrations between Mantle and Bybit.

MNT x Bybit 2.0 roadmap:

• Buy – Get large amounts of MNT instantly with lower slippage

• Use – Pay, trade and explore more utilities across Bybit

• Hold – Unlock VIP benefits and exclusive privileges

• Earn – Grow your MNT with savings, staking, structured products, and earn new tokens via Launchpool and Megadrop

• Limited offers – Join exclusive campaigns and special perks

Trading fee discounts using MNT should start late September, which will create a big new source of demand and utility for MNT.

ByBit x Mantle Roadmap

TL:DR of the TCG x Crypto thesis

The hype around trading cards (Pokémon, One Piece, MTG, etc.) has been insane for years. Why? A mix of factors:

• Financial nihilism: Many young people feel locked out of traditional assets like housing. Cards become an accessible store of value, and nostalgia makes them meaningful.

• Cultural status: A rare card today is like a Rolex or AP, but for a different crowd. Scarcity plus social media flexing = cultural capital.

• Speculation: Big money chasing cards accelerates momentum.

We’re not early to this trend, but there’s still froth in the short term. The mid-term could bring dips (better entry points), but long-term, I remain bullish on the category long term.

Where does crypto fits in?

Recently, CT has rediscovered the TCG hype. The synergy is obvious:

• Crypto solves liquidity and instant availability issues for TCG cards.

• TCG is already a gambling-like category, crypto natives with deep pockets love the dopamine hit of opening expensive packs.

The sector is clearly taking off. That’s why I’m highlighting my top picks for TCG × Crypto apps worth checking out.

1. Courtyard

Courtyard is currently the most popular TCG crypto marketplace, leading in traction and trading volume. It’s also live on mobile (which is a huge plus when trying to onboard mainstream collectors).

You can open packs of different price points to get a single graded card or a physical graded comic. You will always get a buyback offer. The odds of pulling collectables of different price points are transparently displayed. You always have like a 1% chance of landing something huge.

With Courtyard, you can also buy and sell graded cards in the marketplace. You can redeem your slabs whenever you want, but will need to pay some fees to do so.

Overall, it’s a nice product that is simple to understand, very trustworthy, and also the current market leader.

You can earn points for purchasing packs. You can also earn 30 points for checking in each day. Points can be used to pay for packs now.

What makes Courtyard stand out:

• Biggest platform by volume

• Wide range of TCG choice

• Seamless UX + Mobile app

• Pre-token and with an active leaderboard

So you got the point: if you are into TCG, Courtyard is a no-brainer to try. They also recently did a 30M raise that highlights how well they are doing. This is also pre-token.

I’ve managed to get a nice promo code from Courtard for all of you that want to try the app.

Use this code to get 15% off on any starter, pro or master pack: ALPHAPLEASE15

Try Courtyard

2. Rip.Fun

Rip.Fun is a more recent Pokemon card collecting app that I’m very fond of.

It currently has two main product offerings:

• Buy real Pokémon packs and open them in app (modern and vintage packs)

• Trade cards on their market place

The Rip.Fun team opens the pack securely and transparently for you to view on the platform. In addition, Rip.Fun provides a secure vault for storing your cards and the ability to redeem them in the real-world.

I also think Rip.Fun has the best and most engaging UI/UX. The interface feels smooth, trading cards is easy, and it includes useful tools to track your collection and showcase it to others which adds a strong social element.

I have been in touch with the founder, who seems very sharp, and their roadmap is full of exciting things:

• Mystery packs

• Grading service - you can get your cards graded at the click of a button (this solves a big headache for many collectors)

• Booster boxes

It’s still early days, but Rip.Fun is one of my personal favorites among the emerging TCG crypto apps.

Rip.Fun is in Closed Beta for now but I have managed to get 14 invite codes for you (be quick):

7UYV-9JS5

YB89-4Z1R

FLW6-WMI9

QE0V-XZMM

XYNH-DP14

0VAX-7QX2

HKWS-Z82N

WVX5-047H

3JY7-6BJ3

D37C-OW74

K6D8-L3FN

HTVI-GGSP

SAZT-M61Y

HKD8-A6H8

Try Rip.Fun

3. Phygitals

Phygitals is built on Tensor’s protocol, letting them focus on distribution instead of marketplace infrastructure.

The project is still early (currently in Beta), but it already has a strong offering, and a well-polished product. I particularly like its clean dashboard for exploring collections, which definitely makes you want to collect more.

On top of its marketplace, Phygitals also offers two ways to collect trading cards: Claw Machines (pay to open a pack, similar to Courtyard) and Lucky Draw (a lottery-style system for cards).

I like that Phygitals displays the fair market value (FMV) of each card on its marketplace, so even if you are new to Pokemon collecting you have a reference price. The UI/UX is also very good.

Phygitals has seen 10× growth in the past month, gaining significant traction and reaching 1/5 of Courtyard’s revenue.

Last but not least, Phygitals is pre-token, so there’s an added carrot for trying out the app.

Try Phygitals

4. CollectorCrypt (Bonus #1)

The fourth (and #1 bonus) app I want to present you is CollectorCrypt (CC).

It is yet another platform for trading both physical and digital collectible cards through an onchain marketplace on Solana. They also feature a virtual Gacha Machine where users can open packs online.

Here’s how it works:

• You send your cards to secured vaults (PSA, PWCC, ALT), where they’re stored and insured

• Cards are authenticated, scanned, and linked to your wallet or profile

• You can then buy, sell, and transfer cards securely at a fraction of competitors’ costs

• Finally, you can also try the Gacha Machine where you pay to open a random card pack (odds are clearly defined).

In recent weeks, the platform has experienced strong growth. Currently, CollectorCrypt is in the top 30 highest revenue-generating projects in all of crypto over the past 7 days.

For now, they specifically deal with Pokemon cards (where they are literally one of eBay's largest card buyers, purchasing $500,000 worth of cards every single week).

This is another platform that is definitely worth trying if you are into TCG.

The only caveat: they already have a token $CARDS. That means there’s no extra upside just from using the app, but $CARDS itself could be worth adding to your watchlist.

I’ll leave you with this article from Kyle for a deeper dive into CollectorCrypt and $CARDS.

Try Collector Crypt

5. Beezie (Bonus #2)

Last TCG crypto app for today is Beezie.

Its core offer is similar to the others with a Marketplace, a Vault option for your collectibles, and a Claw.

However, it has had less traction than the others so far. I haven’t spent as much time on Beezie, but it features a wide variety of card categories.

That said, Beezie is pre-token, which means there could still be upside for early users.

Try Beezie

One last quick note

If you’re serious about TCG collecting, you should definitely register to all of these platforms.

Certain cards may only be available on specific marketplaces, and having access to multiple platforms gives you more options to compare prices and find the best deals.

More choice means better opportunities (and bigger airdrop opportunities).

And that’s your alpha.

Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Crypto currencies are very risky assets and you can lose all of your money. Do your own research.

If you’ve been following my work, you know how excited I am about the HyperEVM ecosystem.

In many ways, it reminds me of the early Solana boom back in late 2023. For now, I still think it’s one of the most interesting ecosystems to watch, with plenty of potential airdrop opportunities ahead.

That’s why, for the past months, I’ve covered a new HyperEVM app every week in my new Alpha Apps newsletter series (if you haven’t checked it out yet, you should).

But today, I want to share my full Hyperliquid airdrop tier list.

Get ready, I’m dropping a lot of alpha (this took a really long time lol).

PS: I also added a bonus section at the end with a concrete plan on how to farm the HyperEVM. So stick around until the end.

The bull case for Hyperliquid

Before diving into the tier list, I want to explain why I’m bullish on Hyperliquid and its ecosystem.

1/ Hyperliquid embodies the real ethos of crypto

Hyperliquid started as a perp DEX with no KYC, no gas fees, and top-tier design and UX. It later expanded into building its own L1.

The “secret sauce” comes from a rare combination:

• Self-funded → No extractive private rounds where TGE is an exit event instead of the beginning.

• Successful airdrop → 30% of supply distributed in the genesis airdrop, with HYPE up more than 10x since launch.

• Product-first approach → Build something people want → get long-term users → reward them with a big airdrop → expand by building your chain (instead of launching an empty chain with zero traction).

• Big rewards still ahead → 40% of HYPE supply (billions of dollars) is reserved for future incentives. This may include another airdrop and is a major growth catalyst.

• Strong tokenomics → 99% of fees are used to buy back HYPE.

• Lean, agile team → Just 11 people building Hyperliquid, with >$100M average revenue per employee.

Unlike most projects that fade after mercenary farming, Hyperliquid only got stronger post-airdrop. Every metric is up and to the right. It’s becoming the first decentralized perps exchange to truly compete with giants like Binance.

2/ Hyperliquid is a cash cow, and HYPE is undervalued

Current annualized revenue sits at ~$1.37B (based on ~$114M in monthly fees).

On top of that, 99% of revenue is used to buy back HYPE. At this pace, all circulating HYPE could theoretically be bought back in less than 9 years.

No other protocol in crypto has economics this strong. Truly one of a kind.

3/ The ecosystem is growing fast

The Hyperliquid TVL chart says it all - growth is accelerating.

Some of DeFi’s biggest names (Ethena, EtherFi, Pendle, Morpho) are expanding into HyperEVM. If sharp teams like these are allocating resources here, it’s a strong signal something real is happening.

At the same time, Hyperliquid-native projects like Kinetiq and Liminal are emerging (more on them later).

On top of that, the recent integration of native USDC support removes a big risk factor and serves as yet another positive catalyst for the ecosystem.

4/ HYPE is a strong collateral asset

For any L1 to thrive, it needs a strong collateral token:

• Ethereum → ETH

• Solana → SOL

• BNB Chain → BNB

Most L1s today lack this, which limits DeFi growth.

But HyperEVM has HYPE, arguably one of the strongest assets in crypto. That alone is a big bull case.

5/ Builder Codes: a brilliant distribution strategy

Builder Codes let developers build trading apps using Hyperliquid’s core infrastructure and earn a share of fees from the trades they route.

This effectively turns DeFi builders into distribution partners for Hyperliquid in a true win-win model.

One of the best examples is Phantom, which launched its Perps via Hyperliquid.

Rabby Wallet is hinting at doing the same and protocols like Ranger Finance or Mass are also leveraging it. Honestly, this is a brilliant growth strategy for Hyperliquid.

6/ HIP-3 is changing the game

HIP-3 allows anyone to create new perp markets by staking 1M HYPE (~$42M). Deployers set parameters and earn up to 50% of fees.

Unlike Builder Codes (distribution), HIP-3 is about product expansion.

More markets → more users → more fees → more buybacks → more traction.

If you want to learn more about the implication of HIP-3, just give yourself some time to read this piece:

7/ The synergy between Hyperliquid and the HyperEVM

People often talk about Hyperliquid and the HyperEVM as if they were separate. In reality, they’re two sides of the same thing.

• HyperEVM → programmability: it extends Hyperliquid’s engine, making it programmable and composable with the rest of DeFi.

• Hyperliquid → liquidity & cash flow: the exchange brings instant volume, credibility, and revenue to the chain.

This creates a unique feedback loop: DeFi protocols on the HyperEVM can directly tap into Hyperliquid’s deep liquidity and order books while still using the flexibility of EVM smart contracts.

This kind of synergy doesn’t exist elsewhere and is yet another point that reinforces the bullish case for the Hyperliquid ecosystem.

This newsletter is made free by MASS

If you want to trade Hyperliquid perps on mobile, do it on Mass.

• Best mobile app for Hyperliquid perps

• One of the top-earning apps from Builder Codes

• Non-custodial, with perps, stocks, lending, spot, on/off-ramp

• UI/UX is goated

My lore is that I actually worked on this product in 2023, and now many of the ideas from back then have come to life now.

Special deal: Download with my ref link and earn double MASS tokens for the first month. These are real pre-TGE tokens, not points.

Very much worth downloading and seeing if you like the feel of the app.

Download Mass

Airdrop Tier list

Okay, so I’m sure that by now, you’ll agree there are plenty of reasons to believe that Hyperliquid is an interesting ecosystem to focus on.

Now, when it comes to airdrops, having a good watchlist can be your best asset. And you know what? That’s exactly what I’ve put together for you here.

This isn’t exhaustive. It’s just projects I think are worth watching and have personally used. DYOR.

S-tier: Unit, Kinetiq

Two no-brainers. In my opinion, these are the easiest and highest-potential airdrops to farm on Hyperliquid.

Unit

I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again: I think Unit is possibly the best airdrop opportunity when looking at how important it is to Hyperliquid.

Unit is the asset tokenization and bridging layer behind spot trading on Hyperliquid. It allows users to deposit, withdraw, and trade major crypto assets like BTC, ETH, and SOL directly into Hyperliquid.

Since launch, the protocol has seen impressive growth and traction. Unit now holds over $1B in TVL with more than $115B in annualized volume (and is generating a lot of revenue). So far, over 98% of those revenues have gone directly into buying back HYPE.

How to position yourself for UNIT & a future HYPE airdrop:

• Use the interface at app.hyperunit.xyz or via Hyperliquid to deposit BTC, ETH, SOL and other assets natively

• Trade these assets on Hyperliquid’s spot markets

You can also take it a step further by doing some back-and-forth bridging to and from Hyperliquid, or by engaging with the HyperEVM using Unit assets.

Here is a ref link that will get you a discount on fees.

Kinetiq

To me, Kinetiq is another S-tier protocol on Hyperliquid.

Kinetiq is the leading liquid staking protocol on Hyperliquid where you can stake HYPE and receive Kinetiq Staked HYPE (kHYPE) in return. kHYPE is fully liquid, usable across DeFi, and automatically accrues staking rewards.

This was by far the most anticipated LST on Hyperliquid. Since going live on July 15th, the protocol has already amassed over $1.7B in TVL across 15k wallets and position itself as a key protocol on the HyperEVM.

There’s also a points program live. The exact rules aren’t fully disclosed, but from what I’ve seen it’s a mix of holding kHYPE and using it across DeFi (with a large chunk of points currently flowing into YT-kHYPE on Pendle).

If you want a hassle-free setup to earn points, you can simply deposit your kHYPE into Kinetiq’s Earn vault (and you’ll also be farming multiple protocols at the same time).

A reasonable heuristic is to think of Kinetiq the same way you’d think of Jito on Solana with comparable valuation ratios. And importantly, it’s not overfarmed yet: $1.7B in TVL across ~15k wallets is still an healthy ratio.

Another factor that potentially gives Kinetiq a very big FDV in the future is its new product: Launch. This is the first Exchange-as-a-Service (EaaS) platform built with HIP-3, enabling anyone to deploy and operate their own perps without the 1M staked HYPE requirements.

I just had a look at this tweet that I posted just before the JTO airdrop and I feel history has a good chance of repeating here with rewards of similar order of magnitude (this also holds true for UNIT imo).

So if you are bullish on HYPE, you know how to put them to work.

Try Kinetiq today

A-tier: Liminal, Hyperbeat

Strong protocols with solid traction, interesting use case and still among the top opportunities on Hyperliquid.

Liminal

Liminal is a delta-neutral yield platform that lets you earn real and juicy yield without taking market exposure.

Simple concept and somewhat similar to what Ethena is doing, except that with Liminal you have the full flexibility to decide your own portfolio allocation for delta-neutral farming.

Here’s how it works:

• Deposit USDC into Liminal

• Choose if you want to allocate into Liminal classic strategy or build your own custom portfolio of delta-neutral trades

• Sit back, relax, and collect yield without worrying about market direction

One tweak to be aware of:

By default, Liminal is set to “Regular” mode. In this setup, Liminal manages custody and strategies for you. It’s the easiest option, but there’s a catch: your spot and perp volumes may not count toward your Hyperliquid or Unit account activity. That means you could miss out on potential Unit airdrop.

To fix this, you can switch your account to Institutional mode. In that case, assets stay under your custody in a sub-account, and Liminal execute trades on your behalf. (Don’t worry, Liminal will never have access to, or be able to withdraw, your funds).

Anyways, I really like what Liminal is building. It’s truly a one-of-a-kind protocol that’s shaping up to become another pillar of yield on Hyperliquid. And they’re doing great work, since launch over $1.4M has already been distributed to users.

I’ve got a nice chunk of my stables parked there and plan to keep holding.

Start earning on Liminal now

Hyperbeat

HyperBeat is a one-stop-shop DeFi protocol for the HyperEVM ecosystem.

The platform has partnered with top protocols and infrastructure providers to offer a full product suite consisting of:

• Staking: You can liquid stake your HYPE into beHYPE, built in collaboration with EtherFi.

• Earn: HyperBeat works with top infra providers and strategists to propose different vaults on the HyperEVM. Yields are attractive and let you earn points across all major HyperEVM protocols.

• Morphobeat: Permissionless and isolated lending market powered by Morpho, where you can lend and borrow all your favorite assets on the HyperEVM.

• Masterswap: Move assets from any chain into HYPE on HyperEVM. Hyperbeat auto-routes the best path - for example, swap SOL on Solana to HYPE on HyperEVM in one click.

HyperBeat has been running a points program with a capped supply of 51M Hearts.

Right now, less than 12% of Hearts remains up for grabs. So be quick if you want exposure to a potential HyperBeat airdrop.

What is also interesting is that the reward system is structured into six tiers. This setup might be a hint toward a tier-based airdrop, which would mean it’s not too late to start using HyperBeat and climbing the ranks.

Best way to start earning Hearts?

Deposit into a vault and farm multiple HyperEVM protocols. You’ve got plenty of options depending on which asset you want exposure to (HYPE, BTC, Stablecoins, and even Gold).

I’ve personally deposited into the Ultra HYPE vault, earning 6% APY on my HYPE + points across six protocols. Super capital efficient.

Additionally, if you’re holding HYPE, you can simply liquid stake it into beHYPE (10M Heart up for grabs), which I’ve also done. The good news is that beHYPE will soon be listed as cash collateral for the EtherFi Card. (grab yours now).

So you’ve got the point - lots of ways to put capital to work with HyperBeat, plus the added upside of an interesting airdrop potential ahead.

If you want to give it a try, here’s my referral link:

Earn on Hyperbeat

B-Tier: Hyperlend, Felix, Project X, Ventuals

Still solid protocols to farm with a decent shot at meaningful airdrops. A bit more complex or less certain than S- and A-tier plays, but definitely worth having on your watchlist.

Hyperlend

Hyperlend is a lending and borrowing protocol built on Hyperliquid that was recognized as a friendly fork by Aave governance.

Its main product offers consist of:

• Lending and Borrowing: classic market to lend and borrow your favorite asset o the HyperEVM (HYPE, uBTC, and even PT-KHYPE, etc). You know the drill of how these works by now.

• HLP Vault: HLP is a Hyperliquid vault open to everyone that engages in market-making and liquidation processes, earning a portion of trading fees (yields are usually juicy). As such, the HLP Vaults on Hyperlend give you exposure to these returns while issuing an IOU that is transferable and DeFi-compatible, allowing your assets to work even harder (a really cool feature).

  

• Hyperloop: A one-click way to open a leveraged loop position using any two tokens: one is supplied, one is borrowed.

There are plenty of interesting lending and borrowing strategies to discover on Hyperlend. One of the standout ones is the PT-kHYPE loop, where you can earn the highest yields on your HYPE (though you’ll forgo airdrop exposure).

Overall, Hyperlend is the lending protocol that has gained the most traction so far. It’s also my favorite in terms of UX and product design, especially with the HLP Vaults and Hyperloop.

That said, the fact that it’s an Aave fork is why I placed it in the B-tier as historically, forks tend to be more limited in upside potential.

Still, it’s a solid protocol to try.

Try Hyperlend

Felix

Felix is an another protocol offering a full suite of borrowing and lending products. In a sense, it is pretty similar to Hyperlend but with a few tweaks.

The core product is a CDP that lets you deposit assets like HYPE, kHYPE, or uBTC and borrow feUSD against them. Alongside this, there’s also a vanilla model built on the Morpho stack.

They also launched hUSDL, a treasury-backed stablecoin. It’s custom-built for Hyperliquid’s trading environment, serving as collateral for borrowing/lending, trade settlement, and in the future HIP-3 markets. What’s also interesting is that the yield from hUSDL’s backing is used to buy spot HYPE, which is then redistributed as rewards to drive HyperEVM growth.

So far, Felix managed to get some solid traction with around $380M in TVL and $18.5M in expected annualized fees.

Their points program is ongoing, and it also seems less farmed than Hyperlend, which is another good reason to give Felix a shot.

Try Felix

Project X

Project X’s vision is to become the leading DEX aggregator across the entire EVM ecosystem.

As a first step, they’ve just launched their own DEX on the HyperEVM. The next step is to evolve into a DEX aggregator within the EVM, with phase three still [REDACTED] for now.

Since launch, the protocol has already gained strong traction and quickly became the #1 DEX on the HyperEVM, crossing $100M+ in TVL. I don’t think Project X will have any problems keeping its lead on the HyperEVM.

The real test will be when they enter their next phase and try to capture market share across the broader EVM ecosystem.

It’s still unclear how sticky capital will be post-airdrop, or how big the TAM really is for a DEX on the HyperEVM (especially one that’s a fork of Uniswap).

Still, the team are good marketeers, the project is fully self-funded, and they’re actively hyping upcoming features. That’s why I put them in the B-tier and I think the airdrop could be good.

How to take advantage?

Project X already has a points program live.

If you’ve got some experience with LP’ing, Project X could be a nice farm.

For example, if you’ve staked HYPE into kHYPE, you can deploy it into the kHYPE-HYPE pool (which is currently the largest pool on Project X).

Here are a few other main pools you might want to check out:

LP or Swap on Project X

Ventuals

Ventuals’ mission is to turn startup valuations into tradable perpetual futures on Hyperliquid via HIP-3. This means you’ll be able to long or short your favorite pre-IPO companies with leverage.

A big part of crypto innovation has always been about tokenization and unlocking new markets. For instance, ICOs, made private VC rounds on early stage projects liquid and available for every one from day one.

Now, with Ventuals, we’re entering a new frontier: trading traditional companies before they IPO. This could add a new layer of efficiency to startup valuations (letting markets price companies instead of a handful of bankers behind closed doors), while also democratizing access to an asset class once reserved for accredited investors.

For now, Ventuals is not live yet, so we still need to see how they will execute on their mission. But what is sure is that the opportunity is compelling (and it perfectly showcases the power of HIP-3).

How to take advantage:

Ventuals is currently only live on Testnet. They are waiting for the HIP-3 standard to go live on Hyperliquid Mainnet. In the meantime, you can already start testing their product (and maybe testnet will even count for an airdrop).

Another step you can take today is to deposit into the Ventuals vault on Hyperbeat. Right now, this looks like one of the best ways to get early exposure to Ventuals (plus, you’ll also be earning Hyperbeat Heart).

Try Ventuals

C-tier: Hypurrfi, Hyperswap

In my view, these have lower airdrop potential compared to the other plays, but they still deserve a mention (and could end up being a surprise).

Hypurrfi

HypurrFi is another non‑custodial lending protocol native to the HyperEVM. What set HypurrFi apart is:

1/ A quick deposit and borrow feature with a smooth UX and a good range of assets.

With HypurrFi, you can also quickly loop into leveraged positions by borrowing against your collateral, to acquire more asset re-deposit to go leverage-long.

2/ Hypurffi is also the home to USDXL, an hybrid backed synthetic dollar where protocol revenue is used to acquire treasuries as additional protocol security.

3/ They also partnered with BrahmaFi to release a crypto card available for select users according to points ranking on HypurrFi.

Point program is live

You can check out this page for a clearer view of what counts and the top multipliers.

Try HypurrFi

Hyperswap

As the name suggests, Hyperswap is a Hyperliquid-native AMM DEX that lets you swap assets directly on the HyperEVM.

It was the first native AMM to launch and gained a lot of early traction. But over time, it progressively lost market share once Project X entered the scene.

If you look at the chart, you can clearly see that the day Project X launched (with $40M in TVL on day one) marked the peak of Hyperswap’s TVL.

Still, I think the project has an interesting vision and, in my view, it still deserves a spot on this list - even if its potential might be smaller than the other top-tier plays.

If you’re curious to dig deeper into their vision, here’s a good read:

Try Hyperswap

Wrapping up

Here I’ve shared with you my full tier list of HyperEVM airdrop opportunities.

Of course, this is totally subjective and just my personal view. My hope is that with this post, you’ll be able to filter out the protocols you find most interesting and worth your time.

One piece of advice I’ll leave you with: if you don’t have a lot of capital, it’s often better to focus on 3–4 plays more heavily that with the most synergy between them rather than spreading yourself across too many protocols. That’s the strategy I’ve been using so far, and it has worked pretty well.

And in the words of GCR: “He who chases two rabbits catches neither.” I think that’s a good philosophy to stand by when farming airdrops.

Bonus: Example Farming Setup

Here’s a simple plan you could follow to farm the HyperEVM:

1. Trade spot on Unit → Convert part of your portfolio into Hyperliquid assets via Unit.

2. Liquid stake HYPE into kHYPE → Then deploy into Kinetiq vaults or DeFi (Hyperbeat, Hyperlend, Felix).

3. DeFi with Unit spot assets → Use uBTC or another major for lending/borrowing.

4. Stables → Split between Liminal (Institutional mode) and Hyperbeat’s stablecoin vaults.

As always: only risk what you can afford to lose, and make sure you understand what you’re doing.

Now it’s up to you to decide what’s best.

And that’s your alpha.

Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Crypto currencies are very risky assets and you can lose all of your money. Do your own research.

Gm friends, BTC looks fairly weak right now. Is the best explanation just seasonality? Hard to say, markets are full of noise, and we can always come up with an answer to suit the short term.

Alts have shown quite a bit of strength, which is probably an indicator of where we are in the cycle (late).

I still think BTC has another move up eventually, probably after more people capitulate calling the cycle top.

Join the alpha please Telegram channel. It’s free to subscribe for more market updates, DeFi & airdrop opportunities.

Subscribe to the TG channel

Your weekly reading:

*All screenshots will take you to Twitter if you click.

1. Ethereum & Solana vs Corporation L1s

An interesting perspective (some will call it fud) on how corporate L1s may become the main destination for stablecoins in the future.

2. Solana, DAT and Locked SOL

Nom argues that SOL DATs will be more efficient at accumulating the currently trading supply (different from circulating supply) compared to ETH or BTC DATs.

3. Hyperliquid is capturing market share

A data thread showing Hyperliquid’s growing fundamentals.

4. Podcast with Jordi on wealth, crypto & the future

A fascinating conversation with Jordi Alexander on a wide range of topics.

5. Prediction Markets Landscape

“We believe prediction markets today are where DeFi was in 2019.”

Connor maps out the prediction markets landscape and breaks it down into different categories. Lots of apps for you to save to a watchlist.

Yield of the week (brought to you by Kamino)

SyrupUSDC LTVs have increased on Kamino, meaning you can now increase leverage for potentially higher yields.

SyrupUSDC Multiply already offered some of the best risk-adjusted yields in DeFi, and now it’s even better.

At the time of writing, SyrupUSDC/USDC is showing 23%+ APY at max leverage.

Make sure you understand how Kamino Multiply works before depositing any funds.

Check out SyrupUSDC Multiply

alpha_pls tweet of the week

A provocative chart worth looking at.

DeFi Credit Card I like

You’re earning double-digit APY in the Liquid USD vault, using your card in borrow mode (no tax), buying what you want, and earning 3% cashback.

Pretty wild, and a no-brainer if you’re serious about using crypto in real life.

Get the EtherFi Credit Card

And that’s your alpha.

Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Crypto currencies are very risky assets and you can lose all of your money. Do your own research.

We are back with 3 more apps for you to check out.

First up: something for all the football fans.

This newsletter is made possible by Mantle 🙏

We now have confirmation from Bybit of their live and upcoming MNT integrations:

• MNT spot pairs

• MNT trading fee discount

• MNT Institutional benefits

• MNT for VIP Tiers

• MNT fixed terms savings

• Increased MNT mega drop allocations

All of this creates new utility for MNT and a fresh source of demand. The Mantle × Bybit partnership is definitely one to keep an eye on.

1. Football.Fun

Unless you’ve been under a rock this past week, you’ve probably seen Football.Fun popping up everywhere. As the name suggests, it’s another fantasy game, this time based on football.

It’s gone viral over the last 10 days, dominating discussions on CT and racking up big numbers. They’ve already generated over $2.3M in fees, which is pretty remarkable for such a new project.

Here is the rawest explanation of how it works:

How to get started

• Go to Football.Fun

• On the home screen, I recommend first clicking “How to Play.” The game can be a bit confusing at first, and this helps.

• Deposit USDC from Base into the platform (make sure it’s USDC on Base, and only deposit what you can afford to lose).

• After depositing, you’ll receive Gold, the in-game currency, and can start playing.

• Now you can start by buying shares of players you think are worth buying and have potential to perform well. The more shares you own, the larger your rewards if that player performs well.

• Each share typically equals 4 contracts (tickets to earn rewards in tournaments). If contracts run out, your player won’t join future tournaments unless you extend them by buying more shares.

• Once you’ve bought shares, players are automatically entered into weekly tournaments. Depending on performance on the pitch, you earn: TP (Tournament Points), SP (Skill Points), a % share of the prize pool.

• Worth noting that Football.Fun uses Opta stats for scoring to avoid opinion-based results.

• Rewards are distributed around 2 days after a tournament ends. With TP, you can open packs for more shares.

Ok, with all that, you should be set up to start playing.

There are more subtleties to the game, but the best way to learn is simply to try it. (Just keep in mind: there is risk involved, so only play with what you can afford to lose).

In crypto, attention spans are short. Metas come and go quickly. For Football.Fun, it’s too early to say, but my take is this: the game is genuinely fun, it’s built around something people already love, and the monetary layer adds excitement. If the team executes well, they’ve got a decent shot at sustaining traction. The keys will be keeping bots out, keeping it organic, and shipping thoughtful features.

One concern was licensing. At first, I thought they’d get sued if they scaled too big. But the founder has addressed this in detail, which is reassuring.

So if you want to try Football.Fun (only deposit what you can afford to lose), here’s my ref link:

Try football.fun

2. MetaDAO

It’s rare to come across true 0-to-1 innovation in crypto. But MetaDAO, with its Futarchy-based model, feels like exactly that.

What is Futarchy?

It is impossible to understand what MetaDAO is doing if we don’t first introduce Futarchy. So let’s do it.

Futarchy is a form of governance first put forward by economist Robin Hanson in 2000, which makes decision-making based on prediction markets. In a futarchy, decisions don't go to votes: they get traded.

Instead of debating proposals in endless forums and then voting, Futarchy leverages the power of markets to forecast which decisions will be best. Proposals pass when the market speculates that they're good. Proposals fail when the market speculates that they're bad.

For example, a company could raise a futarchy proposal to undergo a merger or acquisition, and move forward only if the market predicted that it would boost the company’s stock price.

So you got the point: the principal belief of Futarchy is simple: markets are better than individuals at making decisions, and we should leverage this property for governance.

What is MetaDAO?

At its core, MetaDAO just does exactly that - it brings Futarchy to life. It is the first platform to put the concept into practice through a launchpad + DAO model.

1/ Launchpad

Projects can raise money through MetaDAO’s unique launchpad architecture. The idea is simple: make ICOs great again with an unruggable model that backs genuine founders while protecting early-stage investors - a real win-win.

Here’s how it works:

The model has some very cool properties:

• At launch, Market Cap = Net Asset Value (NAV) of the project → so theoretically, you can’t lose money from day one.

• Every major spend goes through a Futarchy vote (e.g. hiring someone to build a product).

• There is no cap on the investment. The market decides how much goes to a project, which is an interesting property as well.

• Markets decide the best path forward for the project, not a small group of insiders.

• Core contributor allocations are voted on → founders don’t get tokens automatically on day one. They must pass proposals (like KPI-based vesting).

• If something goes wrong, investors can even vote to redeem funds. If the vote passes, funds are returned.

This creates a system where founders’ incentives are fully aligned. They can’t rug, they only earn allocation when the market supports it, and with Market Cap = NAV at launch, investors are protected from the start.

2/ DAO

With MetaDAO, projects can also set up a DAO governed by Futarchy. Raising a proposal is simple: write it, explain the case, set a few parameters for the market, and you’re good to go.

Here is an example of a proposal that got rejected:

It’s exciting to see projects like Jito and Sanctum starting to experiment with this new model. Let’s face it: the traditional DAO structure is broken, and Futarchy offers a fresh and promising alternative.

TL;DR

Even if there’s still a long journey from 1-to-n in terms of product design, adoption, and trust, I really like what MetaDAO is building.

I truly hope they win.

So if you’re into early-stage investing or want to try participating in Futarchy, MetaDAO is definitely a project to watch.

And while you’re at it, go follow Proph3t and Nallok on X - two genuine founders pushing this vision forward.

3. Omnipair

Omnipair is an early-stage project that launched its ICO on the MetaDAO platform. It is the very first DeFi protocol to embrace Futarchy from day one. Highly experimental, but very promising project, and great to see some DeFi innovation on Solana.

Just a month ago, Omnipair managed to raise $1.1M to build a permissionless, oracle-less, isolated-collateral markets. The goal is to enables anyone to lend, borrow, and trade long-tail assets with leverage, without relying on governance whitelists, external oracles, or centralized risk management.

This opens the door to trading leverage on any asset that has liquidity, without permission.

You can explore their blackpaper to get a feel of what they are building.

For now, Omnipair is still very early stage, so there isn’t much to add yet on the product side.

What does stand out, however, is that MetaDAO has been very strict so far about the quality of founders it supports through the launchpad. That gives a degree of confidence in both the team and the project’s potential.

Definitely worth following Omnipair on X. And if you want to dive deeper, you can also join their Discord here.

The $OMFG token has been live for a few weeks, so could be worth adding to your watchlist.

*It’s not very liquid, and it’s a very small market cap, so please be careful.

And that’s your alpha.

Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Crypto currencies are very risky assets and you can lose all of your money. Do your own research.

Gm friends, the market derisked ahead of Jackson Hole, but found itself slightly offside as Powell was more dovish than anticipated.

send.exe was initiated, and all markets rallied following the end of Powell’s speech.

It feels to me as though we have had a macro turning point, and if we zoom out then risk on for the foreseeable future - with rates very likely coming down in September - makes sense.

Join the alpha please Telegram channel. It’s free to subscribe for more market updates, DeFi & airdrop opportunities.

Subscribe to the TG channel

Your weekly reading:

*All screenshots will take you to Twitter if you click.

1. Bitcoin and Crypto Cycle Tops

Bigger picture thinking.

2. Solana is the contrarian play

mert with another eloquent Solana pitch.

3. The Chainlink Endgame

Long form post expanding on Chainlink’s updated vision.

4. Pendle Bull Thesis

Deep dive into Pendle.

5. Guide to Digital Art

If you have any interest in digital art as an asset class then this is a must watch video for you.

Yield of the week (brought to you by Kamino)

I think it’s worth a reminder that JLP multiply offers exceptional yield on probably the best index in crypto this cycle.

With SOL moving up again recently, JLP has been doing very well, and Kamino helps you amplify that yield via multiply.

Please make sure you understand how Kamino Multiply works, and the basket of assets that makes up JLP.

Check out JLP Multiply

alpha_pls tweet of the week

Four-Year Cycle Top vs Extended Cycle to 2026.

DeFi Credit Card I like

EtherFi offers a DeFi-native credit card that lets you spend your crypto on real-world purchases, just like a traditional card.

What’s especially interesting is that you can borrow against your EtherFi balance (ETH, BTC, stables) to fund purchases - non-custodial and secure.

IMO, this is one of the best crypto cards out there. Onboarding is smooth, UX is great, and KYC is quick. They offer both virtual and physical cards with a transparent fee structure. Cashback ranges from 2–3%, which often offsets the fees.

Imagine this:

You’re earning double-digit APY in the Liquid USD vault, using your card in borrow mode (no tax), buying what you want, and earning 3% cashback.

Pretty wild, and a no-brainer if you’re serious about using crypto in real life.

Get the EtherFi Credit Card

And that’s your alpha.

Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Crypto currencies are very risky assets and you can lose all of your money. Do your own research.

Here we go again with a few more apps worth spending 5 minutes of your time on.

All pre-TGE this week.

Opportunities for different portfolio sizes too.

This newsletter is made possible by Mantle 🙏

Here’s a great summary image of MNT’s new utility and integrations into Bybit.

The other key piece of alpha: the collateral value ratio for MNT on Bybit has been adjusted across UTA Loan, Crypto Loan, and INS Loan, making MNT more favorable as collateral.

Helen (Bybit co-CEO) and Emily (Head of Bybit Spot) joining Mantle as Core Contributors is a strong signal that Mantle is a main focus for Bybit in the near to medium term.

Definitely worth keeping an eye on, especially since Bybit is the #2 CEX globally by Open Interest.

Ongoing MNT opportunties

1. Turtle

If you like to participate in the latest DeFi opportunities, you should check out Turtle.

Turtle is a distribution protocol that connects liquidity providers (LPs) with the best incentive programs across assets and chains.

It’s a win-win:

• Users (LPs): Get access to exclusive deals (like boosted points on DeFi positions), with the assurance that every deal has passed Turtle’s due diligence. All you need to do is register your wallet with Turtle once, then keep using DeFi as usual—earning extra rewards along the way.

• DeFi protocols: Gain a one-stop distribution layer for liquidity, attracting capital more efficiently through Turtle’s network of LPs.

Importantly, Turtle adds no extra counterparty risk. You register your wallet once, then interact directly with partner protocols, not Turtle smart contracts (they don’t even have any).

Active campaign:

Currently, there are campaigns for TAC and Katana. If you’re bullish on either, it’s worth checking the app.

Current deals:

As of today, there are 16 active deals. Highlights include Veda, Euler, Lombard, and more. If you’re already using these protocols, Turtle helps you stack extra rewards on top of what you’re earning.

One notable new deal is with the EtherFi Card: by registering through Turtle, you instantly unlock day-1 access to the Luxe tier, normally requiring 15,000 points (via $3,000 spend or $15,000 ETHFI staked). A neat shortcut to premium benefits without the grind.

Oh, and one last thing: Turtle is still pre-token, another good reason to register.

Try Turtle

2. Ranger Finance

The race for the best trading experience on Solana is still wide open.

For now, Jupiter dominates both spot and perps. But new challengers are entering the arena, one of the most interesting being Ranger Finance.

Ranger is a pre-token DEX aggregator for both spot and perps that finds the best routes for your trades.

• Spot: Aggregates liquidity from Jupiter, DFlow, Kamino, OKX, Pyth Express Relay, and more ensuring best price and lowest fee.

• Perps: Connects to Drift, Jupiter, and Flash Trade.

A big new update is the integration of Hyperliquid. This is one of the features that truly makes Ranger stand out (for now it’s still in closed beta).

The UX is seamless, intuitive, and well-built, clearly backed by smart people.

But beyond the product, one of the biggest reasons to try Ranger now is timing: it’s early, pre-token, and already running a points program. Add the Hyperliquid integration, and the upside for early users looks solid.

If you’re active on Solana, it’s worth trying this week. If you like it and stick around, you could end up in line for an interesting airdrop if Ranger captures market share.

Trade on Ranger

3. Fantasy top

Fantasy Top is a SocialFi Trading Card Game (TCG) where players collect NFT cards of CT influencers and earn points based on their real-time Twitter engagement.

Think fantasy football, but instead of Messi or Ronaldo, you draft your favorite Crypto Twitter accounts (“heroes”). Your team scores points based on their engagement on X, and you compete in seasons and tournaments for rewards.

The game is still early, but the team has nailed the UX/UI and already has strong traction (190k players and $5M in rewards distributed).

How to start playing:

• Create an account by connecting your wallet or linking your X profile.

• Follow the onboarding carefully, it can feel a bit confusing at first, but clicks after a few minutes.

• Build your hero card collection via:

  • Buying hero packs (varying rarities, like football/Pokémon cards).

  • Trading cards directly on the marketplace to build your dream team.

If you don’t want to spend ETH, you can still join through weekly quests, daily spins, or the luck wheel. These earn Fragments (in-game currency), which can be used to buy packs, an easy way to explore before investing further.

Lastly, Fantasy Top doesn’t have a token yet, but players can already earn FAN points. Add in the fact that there are real $ rewards for top players, and it’s worth checking out if you’re active on CT and like this type of game.

Try Fantasy Top

And that’s your alpha.

Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Crypto currencies are very risky assets and you can lose all of your money. Do your own research.

Gm friends, It’s been a choppy week in the markets.

BTC made a rather unceremonious ATH before dipping, dragging ETH and the rest of the market down with it.

Interestingly, BTC.D continued to fall, as ETH and select alts showed relative strength.

We’re heading into another volatile week with Powell speaking, but there are plenty of reasons to stay positive—the recent dip looks to have been bought.

Join the alpha please Telegram channel. It’s free to subscribe for more market updates, DeFi & airdrop opportunities.

Subscribe to the TG channel

This newsletter is made possible by Kamino 🙏

It’s worth highlighting Kamino’s extraordinary track record since launching on mainnet three years ago:

• 0 bad debt

• 0 exploits

• 0 incidents

Now, Kamino is the #1 protocol on Solana by TVL, with over $3B locked.

Use Kamino

Your weekly reading:

*All screenshots will take you to Twitter if you click.

1. Chainlink bull thesis

A comprehensive long-form report on Chainlink.

2. Hyperliquid Report

An analysis of Hyperliquid’s first six months of 2025.

3. Mantle and ByBit

Modeling MNT’s potential new buy pressure after Mantle’s deeper integration with Bybit.

4. Stablecoin Chains

First it was L1s, then L2s, now it's stablecoin chains.

5. DAT Value Creation

Case study on BitMine.

alpha_pls tweet of the week

A Chainlink observation in light of corporations launching L1s.

And that’s your alpha.

Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Crypto currencies are very risky assets and you can lose all of your money. Do your own research.

gm, we are back again with three more apps for you to try out.

The last two are pre-TGE 👀

This newsletter is made possible by Mantle 🙏

A lot of people don’t realize that Mantle was incubated by Bybit and has always been a direct supporter.

Now, they’ve announced a much bigger and more direct strategic alignment with Bybit.

The use of MNT for trading fees and VIP tiers on Bybit could be a massive utility boost, among other benefits. This also has a direct implication for MNT demand, estimated at $500M–$2B annually, purely from trading fees.

There’s a lot of alpha in Defi Maestro’s recap of the most recent AMA (linked above) that I think you should read.

Bybit is the #2 CEX by OI in crypto and has huge distribution. This is great news for Mantle and will help a lot with adoption.

1. Maple Finance

Maple is an onchain asset management platform building a comprehensive suite of financial products for crypto.

Over the past year, Maple TVL has surged from $225M to more than $2.1B, even surpassing BlackRock’s BUIDL money market fund in assets under management. This shows how competitive DeFi products are becoming with their TradFi counterparts.

Currently, Maple has two core product lines: Maple Institutional and SyrupUSDC/USDT.

Maple Institutional
As the name suggests, this is Maple’s institutional arm, built for professional investors seeking overcollateralized lending and asset management products.

The lending side offers two main pool types: High Yield and Blue Chip, each designed to match different risk/return preferences.

On the asset management side, Maple recently launched a BTC Yield product, allowing institutions to deposit BTC and earn interest, effectively generating yield from idle assets.

SyrupUSDC/USDT
While Maple’s institutional products require KYC, legal agreements, and due diligence, SyrupUSDC and SyrupUSDT are open to everyone.

These tokens provide direct access to Maple’s lending pools through a simple interface and smart contract router.

Here’s how it works: Capital deposited into SyrupUSDC is lent to institutional borrowers from Maple’s Blue Chip and High Yield pools, following the same rigorous credit checks. Interest from these loans flows back to SyrupUSDC holders as yield.

SyrupUSDC/USDT has been a huge success, driving much of Maple’s growth over the past few months and opening the door for retail users to participate in what was previously an institutional-grade credit market.

And rightly so, as syrupUSDC is currently home to some of the best yield for stables. With no commits period, here’s what you can earn right now:

SyrupUSDC/USDT is available on both Ethereum and Solana, with strong DeFi integrations. It can be a solid option for parking stablecoins or deploying them across DeFi.

Some of my favorite plays with SyrupUSDC:

1/ Looping on Kamino

I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s worth repeating: I still think it’s one of the best stablecoin yields in DeFi right now.

Currently, the max APY (with 5x leverage) on SyrupUSDC Multiply via Kamino is ~26.46%, with an average of ~15% APY since launch, very attractive.

If you have stables on Solana, this is a great option to consider. It is incredibly easy to deposit: simply choose your leverage and click once. Kamino handles the rest.

As always, looping carries inherent market risk. Monitor borrowing rates periodically. If they spike and remain high in a frothy market, it may be time to unwind.

2/ LP’ing on Pendle

Another interesting play: lock in up to ~9.16% APY by LP’ing SyrupUSDC on Pendle. Simple and effective.

2. Payy

Crypto cards are a huge opportunity, they bridge your digital assets with everyday spending. But most come with a major drawback: your card activity can be directly linked to your onchain history, leaving a fully traceable record of everything you spend.

Payy fixes this with a crypto card + onchain banking platform fully focused on preserving privacy.

They’re building an entire ZK-powered chain, the Payy Network, ensuring all your onchain activity and balances remain fully shielded by zero-knowledge proofs.

With Payy, you can deposit/withdraw funds, send/receive payments, and spend stablecoins via a card - all privately.

The main features of Payy card:

The Payy card is a self-custodial Visa card that allows you to spend USDC from your Payy Wallet in stores or online.

How to get your Payy Card

It is super simple and easy to start using Payy. You simply need to:

1. Download the Payy App (ref link) on your mobile

2. Complete KYC

3. Receive your virtual Payy Card

4. Deposit funds to your Payy Wallet from banks, crypto exchanges or blockchains

5. Start using your Payy Card.

Worth noting: you also earn points for using Payy. Currently, you earn 1 point per dollar in your balance each day, which adds a nice extra carrot on top.

Try Payy

3. Bullpen

Bullpen is an onchain trading platform supporting both Solana and Hyperliquid, available on Desktop, Mobile, and Telegram.

You can bridge to Hyperliquid in seconds to trade perps, or hunt the hottest memecoins on Solana, all through a single, simple interface.

Notable tools:

• Memescope → filters new Solana coin launches

• Runners → algorithmically identifies tokens with strong momentum

Those tools can be a good add-on if you are active in the Solana trenches.

Additional features like a portfolio tracker are coming soon.

If you run a TG channel, you can also add the @BullpenFiBot for in-chat token insights, leaderboards, and trading.

All trading volume currently counts toward an ongoing points program, plus, you can save 10% on trading fees using my ref link.

Try Bullpen

And that’s your alpha.

Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Crypto currencies are very risky assets and you can lose all of your money. Do your own research.

Gm friends, ETH is finally over that $4K level.

For the first time all cycle we are seeing BTC dominance come down for a sustained period of time, and this has led to algos firing on alts.

The ETH Treasury company bid won’t be stopping anytime soon imo, which is supportive of a risk on environment for the wider alt market.

Join the alpha please Telegram channel. It’s free to subscribe for more market updates, DeFi & airdrop opportunities.

Subscribe to the TG channel

Your weekly reading:

*All screenshots will take you to Twitter if you click.

1. Crypto in 401ks

Why crypto in 401ks is bigger news than the ETFs.

2. Chainlink Reserve

Chainlink have flipped the switch.

3. The Cost of Confirmation

“You can’t make the risk disappear completely if you want to get paid.”

4. 5 Ways to use GPT-5 for Crypto

List of prompts for you to try out.

5. Ethena: Data-Driven Update & Valuation

Number crunching for Ethena.

Yield of the week (brought to you by Kamino)

Season 4 is live on Kamino!

No more points, you will now earn fixed KMNO tokens (with some vesting).

You can see exactly what you are earning. Earn KMNO on top of what was already good stablecoin yield in these three vaults, with strategies run by risk managers.

You can earn up to 17.59% by simply supplying USDG, or 15% on USDC.

You will generate a bigger return if you stake some KMNO.

UI and analytics on Kamino remain the best in DeFi. You will see your interest earned, claimable rewards and Seaso 4 KMNO generating in real time all transparently for you.

Check out Kamino Season 4

alpha_pls tweet of the week

BTC.D observation.

Airdrop Opportunity

High stablecoin yield + LIMINAL, UNIT & HYPE airdrop

Liminal is one of the best DeFi apps I've used (on any chain), so slick.

Here’s how it works:

• Deposit USDC into Liminal via Hyperliquid’s native spot infrastructure or via Arbitrum, Ethereum, Base, or HyperEVM.

• Liminal automatically deploys your funds into a delta-neutral strategy: a spot long (e.g., HYPE or BTC) paired with an equal-sized short perp.

This setup protects your position from market swings - the long and short offset each other - while you earn the funding rate on the short perp, which can be highly attractive.

I’ve averaged 19% APY over the last month, whilst making myself eligible for LIMINAL, UNIT & HYPE airdrops.

Here's my ref link if you didn't managed to get in yet:

Use Liminal

And that’s your alpha.

Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Crypto currencies are very risky assets and you can lose all of your money. Do your own research.

Every week I scour all of crypto to find interesting apps and opportunities to bring you.

So once again, here are 3 more apps.

The last one is an easy opportunity for everyone, you simply need to connect your X account.

This newsletter is made possible by Mantle 🙏

Something that I don’t think many people realize about Mantle is how many opportunities it creates for MNT holders.

When you add it all up, the yield is quite significant, for example, $1.28 earned per MNT token held.

There are currently several ongoing reward events that are definitely worth checking out.

Opportunites to earn rewards with MNT

Pendle (HyperEVM focus)

By now, Pendle is a household name in DeFi.

I started using Pendle in early 2023. Two years later, it has grown to over $7.7B in TVL and has become the go-to protocol for anything yield-related. And rightly so, it’s a top-notch product, and I have nothing but admiration for what the team has accomplished.

At this point, I suspect I’ll be a Pendle user forever, and some portion of my net worth will always be earning yield there.

Even though most of you reading this likely already know about Pendle, I still think it deserves a spot on this list.

Quick TL;DR of Pendle

Pendle is a yield trading protocol that splits yield-bearing assets into two parts:

• PT (Principal Token)

• YT (Yield Token)

Pendle allows PT and YT to be traded separately via its AMM, where users can provide single-sided, impermanent-loss-free liquidity using LP tokens. This unlocks new ways to hedge, speculate on fixed or implied yield, and boost returns.

As a Pendle user, here are the three main plays:

• PT: Gives you fixed yield for a given duration, locked in upfront to eliminate rate volatility. However, you won’t earn protocol points or airdrops since you’re foregoing implied yield.

• YT: Gives you exposure to implied yield (points, airdrops, incentives). You’re essentially farming protocol upside with leverage and no guaranteed return. Think of it as airdrop farming on steroids—high risk, high potential reward.

• LP: Lets you provide single-sided liquidity to support specific Pendle markets. LP tokens consist of the underlying asset + PT, meaning you earn a mix of:

  – PT’s fixed yield

  – The asset’s native yield

  – Swap fees from Pendle’s AMM

Personally, I’m a big fan of LP’ing. It feels like the best of both worlds. It’s usually my go-to strategy when I’m bullish on a DeFi project and want to earn juicy yields while maintaining exposure to potential airdrops and token upside.

Pendle x HyperEVM

Pendle recently launched on HyperEVM, unlocking some of the best yield opportunities at the moment.

Indeed, the launch was exceptional. In less than a week, it reached over $92M in TVL, $87M in trading volume, and secured integrations with top DeFi protocols.

Some of of my favorite plays:

1/ LP’ing

If you’re bullish on HYPE and want to earn a solid APY while maintaining exposure to a potential liquid staking protocol airdrop, you can LP with either kHYPE, liquidHYPE, or hbHYPE to earn between 10–17% APY.

My personal favorite is LP-kHYPE, because I’m most bullish on Kinetiq and believe the airdrop could be very rewarding.

You can also LP hbUSDT, Hyperbeat’s stablecoin vault, for 14% APY.

Additionally, Pendle recently integrated:

• sUSDe (with 30x Sats bonus)

• hwHLP (a yield-bearing token representing HLP, a vault powering market making and liquidation on Hyperliquid)

These two markets are still early with low liquidity, but the yields are extremely attractive.

2/ PT (with some extra looping)

If your goal is to maximize yield and you’re okay with foregoing airdrop exposure, then PT is for you. On the stablecoin side, you can currently secure 10–13% APY with PT-hbUSDT, PT-sUSDe, or PT-hwHLP.

If you want HYPE exposure, PT-kHYPE is a great option. It currently offers up to 10.41% fixed APY.

You can even take it further by using PT-kHYPE as collateral for looping strategies on DeFi protocols like Felix or Hyperlend, where it’s already integrated. This can push yields as high as 35%, making it one of the juiciest yield plays on HYPE right now.

Here’s a full breakdown of this play from the one and only Pendle Intern:

Pendle on HyperEVM is just getting started. I expect more assets and integrations to come soon.

Definitely worth keeping an eye on.

Try Pendle

Boros

Thought we were done with Pendle? Not quite.

Pendle recently launched Boros, an exciting new product that deserves attention.

Boros is a yield trading platform that lets you trade funding rates, both onchain and offchain. Just like an exchange lets you trade an asset, Boros enables you to buy and sell funding rates across markets.

Funding rate 101

Put simply:

• Funding rates are what traders in perpetual contracts pay to each other at regular intervals.

• Their purpose is to align the perpetual price with the spot price.

• When longs > shorts, funding is positive (longs pay shorts).

• When shorts > longs, funding is negative (shorts pay longs).

How does Boros work?

Boros tokenizes funding into what it calls Yield Units (YUs). Each YU represents the funding rate of 1 unit of an underlying token on a specific exchange, until a set maturity. (If you’re familiar with Pendle, it’s similar to a YT.)

Example:

In a BTCUSDT (Binance) market on Boros, with BTC as collateral, one YU represents the funding rate of 1 BTC on Binance.

Boros then enables trading of YUs:

• If you’re bullish on funding rates, you can go long.

• If you’re bearish, you can short them.

This unlocks powerful new yield primitives.

While speculating on funding rates is the clear first use case, Boros also enables:

• Hedging for perp traders with floating rate exposure

• Locking in funding yield for large cash-and-carry traders

• Rate hedging for protocols (e.g., Ethena) that want to manage funding volatility

One day it could even become a very useful feature for massive protocols like Ethena, who could potentially lock in future funding rates during specific moments or hedge when they anticipate periods of negative funding (like during a bear market).

All in all, this is a killer protocol, and I’m genuinely excited about it. This new launch also reinforces Pendle’s position as a top-tier DeFi venue. Truly a top team and a top protocol.

The Alpha

I must admit, if you're not familiar with perps or Pendle, this can be a tough protocol to grasp at first. But I highly recommend digging into it and giving Boros a try.

As perps continue to grow in volume relative to spot markets, funding rates are becoming increasingly important, and that is creating some interesting opportunities and Boros will be at the center of that.

Last but not least, to keep expectations in check, it is worth noting that Boros is launching under the same hood as Pendle, so it's unlikely there will be an airdrop for using it.

But PENDLE will benefit from it.

Try Boros

Vibes

We already covered a lot of info in today’s piece, so I am going to be quick on this one.

Vibes is a new perp DEX that aims to let you directly long and short mindshare, narratives, and sentiment.

The idea is both cool and ambitious. But for now, the product is still in its early stages and not yet ready for full public release. So it is difficult to assess its true potential or how well it will actually perform. Still, it is an interesting experiment worth following.

Vibes has recently launched its first big campaign where you can start earning Vibes simply by connecting your X account to the app. It is low effort, and you have absolutely nothing to lose by doing it.

How to earn Vibes?

• Visit Vibes

• Connect your X account to the platform

• Keep using X as usual, and try to post regularly about market sentiment

• Claim your Vibes

It is simple, costs nothing, and who knows, maybe something good happens in the future with Vibes.

Claim your vibes

And that’s your alpha.

Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Crypto currencies are very risky assets and you can lose all of your money. Do your own research.