Stripe Supports Solana Stablecoin Payments, Solana Games On TikTok & More

Welcome back!

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

• Stablecoin Expansion: Stripe now supports Solana stablecoin payments.

• Gamifying TikTok: Sonic releases a tap-to-earn Solana game on TikTok. 

• Thought Leadership: What crypto can learn from TradFi's thought leadership.

Crypto assets are steadily becoming an integral part of the broader financial ecosystem.

That said, blockchain infrastructure i.e. crypto rails hold even greater significance than crypto assets themselves, but that’s still not widely recognized — so we’ve got work to do.

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

Click on any underlined heading/hyperlink to learn more.

Spotlight

Thought Leadership

Let’s be real.

As an industry, we’re failing to effectively communicate the real value of crypto.

Just look around: Most people either don’t know what crypto is, or think it’s just about trading memecoins — while politicians and celebrities reduce crypto to Bitcoin or assume it’s a tool for exploiting the gullible and terminally online.

This is frustrating because crypto has the potential to overhaul global finance and even usher in a new era of the internet.

But right now, we’re stuck in a perfect storm — lacking educational efforts and facing a damaged reputation from endless bugs, hacks, and scams (안녕하세요, North Korea!). 

Yes, traditional finance has its flaws too — TD Bank’s recent $3 billion fine for laundering cartel money proves that. But still, somehow, traditional finance manages to onboard and retain users more effectively and maintain a better public image.

So, what's the trick?

It all boils down to thought leadership.

Traditional financial institutions know how to communicate with all their stakeholders: governments, policymakers, regulators, industry leaders, customers, and the broader public — across platforms. 

Whether it’s on their own website or newsletter, or FOX, CNN, New York Times, The Washington Post, The Economic Times, Valor Econômico, 日本経済新聞, podcasts, sponsorships, 𝕏, Instagram, TikTok, or Reddit, they consistently push their narrative in multiple languages and regions. 

Simply put: From CEOs to interns, they champion their mission and products through all available channels, leveraging the Rule of 7. 

The Rule of 7 states that people need multiple touchpoints with a brand before taking action. Thought leaders do exactly that: Building trust and credibility by offering continuous, consistent, and valuable insights across platforms that make it easier for non-experts to engage with their mission and products.

Who in the onchain economy — responsible for a censorship-resistant, permissionless, and self custody product or service — is actively doing this?

Because what I see is that we’re mostly busy shouting into the void of 𝕏, Telegram, Discord, and Reddit, speaking to people who are already sold on crypto — all while not pushing back on the notion that we're a scam-riddled industry.

This needs to change.

But do enough people in the crypto industry have the willingness and tenacity to venture beyond our echo chambers? Do they have the drive to craft clear, compelling messaging about censorship resistance, permissionlessness, and self custody that reaches governments, policymakers, regulators, industry leaders, customers, and the broader public on platforms they actually use?

Self custody, powered by censorship resistance and permissionlessness, is a fundamental principle of individual autonomy and financial freedom.

But until we embrace thought leadership, we’ll never successfully communicate that vision — or move towards the future we’re all hoping for.

Chart Of The Week

News Bites

Stablecoin Expansion: Stripe now supports Solana stablecoin payments for merchants across more than 150 countries. When enabled, customers can effortlessly complete transactions in USDC and USDP by connecting their Phantom wallet at checkout — while merchants benefit from frictionless stablecoin-to-fiat conversions and easy USD withdrawals.

¡Hola Argentina! Kriptonmarket enables users in Buenos Aires to pay with USDT on Solana at over 2,000 cafés and stores, offering greater financial flexibility for everyday transactions.

Crypto Rails: In a recent podcast, Anthony Serio of Sphere Labs and Reed Luhtanen of the Faster Payments Council (FPC) discussed the growing role of stablecoins in enabling fast, secure payments.

Validator Clients: Currently, Solana mainly runs on one validator client, however, independent validator clients such as Firedancer and Sig by Syndica are making significant progress.

Tokenized Real Estate: MetaWealth has launched its latest tokenized real estate offering in central Athens, enabling investors to easily get involved in the Greek property market within minutes.

Solana MEV: For a deep dive into Solana MEV — including Jito bundle compositions and atomic arbitrage — read this post.

Gamifying TikTok: SonicX, a tap-to-earn game built on Solana, is now live on TikTok — tapping into the app’s vast user base.

Caught In 4K

Weekly Take

Keks & Giggles

And that's a wrap!

If you'd like to reach me, respond to this newsletter or reach out to me 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.}