Blockchain

a16z crypto plans to raise \$2 billion for its fifth crypto fund in the first half of 2026, doubling down amid the industry's cold winter. This article provides an in-depth review of a16z's evolution from an "elephant hunter" to a "media empire": from its prescient early investments in Coinbase and Uniswap to its current control over the narrative war through a16z New Media. Despite controversies surrounding "VC coin" setbacks, a16z remains committed to the long-term belief that blockchain is the next-generation infrastructure for the internet, seeking to hunt for the next "Web3 dawn" on the eve of regulatory clarity.

The article points out that the demand for AI computing power has shifted from a chip shortage to a power shortage. Bitcoin miners, with their already energized land, are seizing the first-mover advantage. The construction cost per MW has soared to $8-11 million. It also deconstructs the energy arbitrage logic behind the power moat, the transition to liquid cooling, and the large-scale leases.

This article examines the duopoly formed by Polymarket and Kalshi, exploring both crypto-native platforms like Opinion.trade and compliant distribution channels such as Interactive Brokers. It highlights how prediction markets are evolving from simple betting tools into a foundational global truth layer.

eSui Dollar is a synthetic dollar asset jointly launched by Ethena Labs and the eSui team. After its initial debut in the fourth quarter of 2025, it has now been formally integrated into the DeepBook margin system. The significance of this integration lies in the fact that eSui Dollar has become the first synthetic dollar that can be directly embedded within DeepBook's margin framework. This allows dollar denominated assets to participate in margin trading, lending, and leveraged strategies within Sui's native liquidity layer, marking the entry of digital dollar assets into an on-chain risk management and liquidation architecture.

The Sui DeFi Moonshots Program is a selective ecosystem support initiative launched by Sui for high-potential teams. Its purpose is to identify and empower builders capable of fundamentally reshaping onchain financial structures. Unlike traditional ecosystem subsidy programs that focus on scale expansion or liquidity incentives, the Moonshots Program centers on transformative innovation. It targets DeFi projects capable of introducing entirely new financial primitives and redesigning interaction logic and capital efficiency structures, rather than simply optimizing parameters within existing models.

Ethereum, Solana, and Sui each represent different technological paths in the development of Layer 1 public blockchains. Competition among Layer 1 networks has gradually evolved from the early tradeoff between decentralization and security into a broader divergence centered on underlying architectural design. Ethereum is moving toward a modular architecture supported by Layer 2 scaling, Solana focuses on pushing the limits of single chain performance, while Sui rethinks blockchain execution by redesigning state management through its transaction model and asset structure. As a result, this competition is no longer simply about parameter optimization such as TPS or transaction fees. Instead, it reflects a deeper divide in design philosophy and the long term capacity of blockchain infrastructure to support future applications.

Sui is a high performance Layer 1 blockchain whose native token is SUI. Its core objective is to address structural limitations found in traditional blockchains, particularly in scalability, transaction latency, and user experience. Rather than relying solely on hardware improvements to increase TPS, Sui redesigns the execution model at the architectural level. By enabling parallel processing of non conflicting transactions, the network can handle large volumes of activity simultaneously, providing scalable infrastructure for future large scale Web3 applications.

Sign (SIGN) is an onchain attestation and data verification protocol built for the Web3 ecosystem. Its core objective is to establish a system of verifiable, composable, and cross-chain digital credentials for identities, behaviors, and data, allowing both onchain and offchain information to be securely recorded and accessed through cryptographic proofs.

Sign Protocol is a Web3 infrastructure designed for onchain attestations and identity verification. By combining decentralized identity (DID), verifiable credentials, and structured onchain data, it creates a trust system that is verifiable, composable, and shareable across applications. Users can generate and manage multiple types of identity credentials onchain, including identity verification, behavioral records, contribution proof, and governance participation history. Over time, blockchain addresses can evolve from simple identifiers into verifiable trust networks.

As a blockchain-based infrastructure for decentralized attestations and identity, Sign Protocol is designed to create a trusted layer for data and identity through on-chain attestation mechanisms. By combining standardized data structures, cross-chain messaging, and multi-chain verification, Sign allows identity credentials to move securely across different blockchain ecosystems and remain verifiable wherever they are used.

Circle (CRCL) stock has experienced a steady upward trend in recent sessions, attracting notable interest from the market. This article provides an in-depth analysis of USDC’s expansion, progress in stablecoin regulation, financial results, and industry trends, offering a thorough assessment of the main factors driving Circle’s stock rally and the associated potential risks.

Sky Protocol is a decentralized finance (DeFi) base protocol built with a modular architecture. By separating stablecoins, governance, yield strategies, and application layer features into distinct, composable modules, it allows each component to function independently while collaborating seamlessly. This design significantly increases the flexibility and innovation potential of the entire financial system.

Sky (SKY) is a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol built on a modular financial architecture, aiming to create a scalable, governable, and highly composable on-chain financial system through a multi-layered ecosystem and a dual-token mechanism. In contrast to the conventional single-protocol approach of typical DeFi projects, Sky utilizes its Stars sub-ecosystem and modular design, enabling diverse financial applications to run on a unified infrastructure and share liquidity, governance, and technical frameworks.

SKY is the primary governance token of the Sky Protocol ecosystem, playing an essential role in protocol governance, ecosystem incentives, and value capture. Through token-based voting and on-chain governance mechanisms, SKY holders are empowered to participate in protocol parameter adjustments, vote on upgrade proposals, and shape the ecosystem’s development direction—ensuring that the protocol’s evolution is progressively driven by the community.

CoinGecko's annual data shows that in 2025, DEX perpetual contract trading volume skyrocketed by 346% to $6.7 trillion, while CEX holdings fell by 20.8%. Platforms like Hyperliquid have emerged among the global top ten, accelerating the crypto market's transition from centralized exchanges to on-chain financial infrastructure.