Coinbase & Robinhood’s Stealth Mode, Phantom's New Stablecoin Services & More

Welcome back!

This is J264G and this week I’ve got these titbits for you:

• Distribution Wars: Coinbase & Robinhood's stealthy growth engines.

• Stablecoin Economy: Phantom moves into stablecoin-powered services. 

• Bank Onboarding: Fiserv to launch FIUSD & stablecoin platform on Solana.  

Crypto ETFs have ranked among the top-performing financial instruments in recent months, marking a notable shift in investor appetite. Their rise signals not only growing institutional acceptance but the rapid maturation of digital assets as a legitimate asset class.

Now, let’s jump right into this week’s newsletter!

Click on any underlined heading/hyperlink to learn more.

Spotlight

Distribution Wars

In finance, the battle for distribution is no longer a metaphor. 

It’s a full-scale arms race—unfolding not in server rooms or trading floors, but in browsers, inboxes, and YouTube feeds. As capital pools globalise and the line between traditional finance and crypto continues to blur, a simple truth has emerged: it’s not enough to build a product; you must also build an audience.

That imperative explains why Coinbase has transformed itself into a search engine darling, dominating crypto-related queries through an expansive programmatic SEO strategy. And why Robinhood now operates Sherwood News, a fully fledged media outlet. These are not side hustles or branding exercises. They are deliberate, engineered attempts to own the top of the funnel.

Because here’s the crux: the total addressable market for finance in general, and crypto in particular, is much bigger than 𝕏. The truth is, most people simply do not use the platform. 𝕏 is an echo chamber—vital for real-time signal, yes, but largely ineffective for reaching new, non-speculative consumers at scale. In contrast, Google fields billions of searches each day, ChatGPT draws on millions of authoritative blogs in real time, YouTube holds its ground as the world’s dominant streaming platform, podcast are becoming increasingly more dominant, and newsletters—once thought to be relics of the dot-com era—have quietly become one of the most effective tools for cultivating loyal, high-intent audiences.

The savviest operators in finance have taken note. They are orchestrating multichannel distribution machines—self-reinforcing content flywheels—that operate far beyond the narrow corridors of 𝕏, designed not just to inform, but to capture, convert, and compound attention at scale. This reflects a broader reality: traditional finance and crypto companies are becoming their own media empires. They no longer rely on coverage from the Wall Street Journal or guest slots on Bloomberg. They publish directly, and distribute relentlessly. In this model, content isn’t marketing—it’s product. Distribution isn’t a growth hack—it’s the moat.

As traditional finance and crypto converge, the winners will not be determined by technology alone. They will be decided by who captures mind share. Centralised firms such as Coinbase and Robinhood understand this deeply. They’ve woven content and distribution into their operating systems.

Decentralised entities, by contrast, are on the verge of missing the boat. Few maintain blogs, even fewer have coherent SEO or AEO strategies, and most have yet to build a significant presence on YouTube, launch a podcast, or consistently publish a newsletter. In a world where distribution is as critical as innovation, this is a costly choice.

This is not a call for decentralisation to mimic centralisation. Rather, it’s a warning: if we want censorship resistance, permissionlessness, and self custody to survive, decentralised platforms have to be discoverable. If decentralised platforms want adoption, they have to show up—repeatedly, and on every surface the mainstream consumer touches.

Number Of The Week

News Bites

GENIUS Act: The U.S. Senate has passed the landmark GENIUS Act, establishing the first comprehensive federal framework for stablecoins. Crucially, this legislation offers a regulated pathway for private-sector entities to issue digital dollars under government supervision. Despite this significant advance, the bill faces an uncertain reception in the Republican-controlled House.

Stablecoin Economy: As the stablecoin economy gathers momentum, Phantom continues positioning itself as a full-stack consumer finance platform by acquiring Parallax—a cross-border payments startup that leverages stablecoins. The move signals Phantom’s broader ambition to expand its self-custodial platform to the heart of stablecoin-powered financial services.

Bank Onboarding: Fiserv has partnered with Paxos, Circle, and Solana to launch a new stablecoin, FIUSD, along with a platform aimed at integrating digital dollars into regional and community banking. The platform will support interoperability with other stablecoins, signaling a broader push to embed crypto-native rails into the U.S. financial system.

Stablecoin Yield: Stablecoins on Solana are accelerating. And as stablecoin volumes and velocity increase, so too does the appetite for yield. Lulo, a Solana-native platform, has launched its iOS app to meet this demand, offering users access to real onchain yield on their USDC holdings.

European Renaissance: Coinbase has secured regulatory approval under the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework via Luxembourg’s CSSF. This strategic license enables the centralised exchange to roll out its full suite of cryptocurrency offerings to the European Union’s vast market—posing a challenge to Europe-based incumbents such Bitstamp, Bitvavo, and Bitpanda.

Deal Flow

When the Solana ecosystem moves, it moves fast.

We give capital allocators an unfair advantage: high-signal research, due diligence, and warm intros.  

Drop us a line and we’ll be in touch.

Caught In 4K

Weekly Take

Keks & Giggles

And that's a wrap!

You can reach me anytime over on 𝕏.

Talk soon!

J264G

_{DISCLAIMER
None of this is financial 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. Please be careful and do your own research. Lastly, please be advised that we discuss products and services from our partners from which our team members may hold tokens/equity.}