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- Trump’s Pro-Crypto Executive Orders, Sequoia’s Big Bet On Crypto & More
Trump’s Pro-Crypto Executive Orders, Sequoia’s Big Bet On Crypto & More
Also: Nubank rolls out USDC to 100 million customers.
Welcome back!
This is J264G and this week I’ve got these titbits for you:
Executive Orders: Crypto as a national priority, crypto advisory & more.
Sequoia’s Bet: Why the venture firm co-led Phantom’s $150 million Series C.
Stablecoin Adoption: Nubank expands USDC to 100 million customers.
Over $15 trillion has already moved through USDC — yet the stablecoin era is just getting started.
Open societies inspire innovation.
Open money empowers it.
Our COO Elisabeth Carpenter shares her thoughts on unlocking global opportunities with USDC, the digital dollar that moves as freely as the internet.
— Circle (@circle)
8:01 PM • Jan 16, 2025
Now, let’s jump right into this week’s newsletter!
Click on any underlined heading/hyperlink to learn more.
Spotlight
Kingmaker
Let me break your frame real quick.
In the coming months, you’ll witness a seismic shift in how we store, compound, trade, and move value. Put differently: The way we’ve engaged with money for decades is about to be fundamentally rewritten.
This change isn’t incremental; it’s transformative.
Last week, Phantom made headlines with the announcement of a $150 million Series C funding round at a $3 billion valuation, co-led by Sequoia and Paradigm. At the core of the announcement stands Phantom's vision to transform from a crypto wallet into the world’s largest and most trusted consumer finance platform.
We're thrilled to share we've raised a $150M Series C at a $3B valuation, co-led by @sequoia and @paradigm.
This milestone accelerates our mission to build the world’s biggest and most-trusted consumer finance platform.
— Phantom (@phantom)
10:26 PM • Jan 16, 2025
This is not just an expansion; it’s a paradigm shift.
Phantom already enables users to leverage cryptocurrencies and tokenised RWAs such as USDY, while also facilitating peer-to-peer and cross-border transactions. In this context, onchain equities will be the next frontier. While this may seem ambitious, Exodus has already demonstrated the feasibility of this approach. Consequently, a fully developed onchain equities ecosystem for Phantom users might be closer than we think.
Once equities are truly onchain, the implications of Phantom’s vision will be profound: Imagine a world where users can seamlessly store, compound, trade, and move value — all within a single, unified platform.
Do you see the bigger picture now?
Phantom isn’t just building features for a crypto wallet; the team is creating an integrated financial stack. From payments to investments, Phantom appears poised to consolidate every major aspect of the financial ecosystem — disrupting incumbents at every level.
But here’s the real kicker: It’s not just about Phantom’s platform evolution.
The true kingmaker in all of this? Self custody.
Today, most people rely on centralised entities to safeguard their assets. But with increasing concerns over deplatforming, debanking, and the limitations of legacy systems, the demand for self-sovereignty is surging. Why should individuals have to fear losing access to their funds or face delays and high fees for simple transactions?
STOCK MARKETS ARE CLOSED
CRYPTO MARKETS NEVER CLOSE
THE FUTURE OF MONEY IS 24/7/365
— MoonPay 🟣 (@moonpay)
9:54 PM • Jan 18, 2025
With Phantom, self custody is easily accessible and delightful. Users have complete control over their assets and the ability to transact 24/7 — all while enjoying lower fees and near-instant settlements — regardless of where they are in the world. As more people come to understand these benefits, the self custody migration might be inevitable.
This shift isn’t just about convenience; it’s about freedom.
It’s about empowering individuals to take control of their financial destiny without relying on centralised entities. The age of self custody is here, and it’s ushering in a world where the power of money truly belongs to the people.
Old model:
-You work for money.
-They print it.
-You save your money.
-They devalue it.
-You invest your money.
-They manipulate it.New model:
-You save in Bitcoin.
-There’s nothing they can do about it.— Bitcoin Dad (@bitcoin_dad)
12:22 AM • Jan 18, 2025
Charts Of The Week
The apps gotta eat too! Apps on Solana generated an industry leading $751m of revenue in Q4, followed by Ethereum coming at $314
Open question: for every dollar the chain makes in REV, how much revenue do applications earn?
AppRevenue/REV sounds fun... tomorrow's project
— Dan Smith (@smyyguy)
11:13 PM • Jan 14, 2025
News Bites
Presidential Memes: With just days before his inauguration, President Donald Trump launched a memecoin on Solana: $TRUMP. The Trump-affiliated token has rapidly soared to a multi-billion-dollar market cap, with trading volumes showing continued strong interest from traders.
My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE! It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump Community. GET YOUR $TRUMP NOW. Go to gettrumpmemes.com — Have Fun!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
2:44 AM • Jan 18, 2025
Executive Orders: President Trump may declare cryptocurrency a national priority, potentially issuing an executive order to establish a crypto advisory council, giving the industry another strong voice within his administration. Additionally, President Trump’s broader executive actions could also include the creation of an America-First Strategic Reserve — incorporating tokens from U.S.-based entities such as SOL and XRP.
Solana Spot ETFs: J.P. Morgan projects that altcoin ETFs could attract $14 billion in inflows within their first year, with $4-8 billion anticipated for XRP and $3-6 billion for SOL alone — further highlighting the significant investor interest in gaining regulated exposure to altcoins through ETFs.
ETF Innovation: Speaking of ETFs, VanEck has filed for an Onchain Economy ETF, an actively managed fund aimed at investing in companies with crypto-centric business models — crypto exchanges, payment gateways, Bitcoin miners, data centres etc. — paving the way for broader investment opportunities.
Stablecoin Adoption: Nubank is expanding its USDC programme to its 100 million customers. Nubank customers can now earn daily returns at a fixed rate of 4% per year on a minimum balance of just 10 USDC, signalling growing adoption of stablecoin-based financial products.
Sandwich Bots: Sandwich attacks remain an issue for traders on Solana. A recent post reveals that just six bots dominate sandwiching activities on the network.
Caught In 4K
One of the greatest inhibitors to innovation on Solana is the protocol limitations
Max CU per transaction, max CU per block, and max transaction size all require developers to come up with clever ways to get around the limits
This could be changing
— Jacob Creech (@jacobvcreech)
3:15 AM • Jan 15, 2025
Weekly Take
Prompt (agency) and evals (taste) will rule everything around us
— Garry Tan (@garrytan)
2:45 PM • Jan 17, 2025
Keks & Giggles
Imagine trying to explain this to someone in 2005
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas)
8:28 PM • Jan 18, 2025
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!
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.