Top DeFi Protocols by TVL Launched in Q2 2026
Saturn topped the new class at $181M TVL, a Bitcoin-backed dual token (USDat pays, sUSDat yields). But the real story is the pattern: half the list is risk curators on Morpho — Galaxy Digital, Wintermute (Armitage), Anthias, Gami. The newest DeFi money isn't chasing apps, it's institutions bringing vault curation onchain.
Saturn topped the new class at $181M TVL, a Bitcoin-backed dual token (USDat pays, sUSDat yields). But the real story is the pattern: half the list is risk curators on Morpho — Galaxy Digital, Wintermute (Armitage), Anthias, Gami. The newest DeFi money isn't chasing apps, it's institutions bringing vault curation onchain.
Most Active Investors by Funding Rounds in Q2 2026
Coinbase Ventures backed 16 rounds, but led only 25% of them, mostly riding along as co-investor. a16z crypto played the opposite game: 10 deals, 80% as lead — the quarter's most convicted check-writer. The read: in a thinner market, breadth and conviction are two different bets, Coinbase spreads wide, a16z backs hard.
Coinbase Ventures backed 16 rounds, but led only 25% of them, mostly riding along as co-investor. a16z crypto played the opposite game: 10 deals, 80% as lead — the quarter's most convicted check-writer. The read: in a thinner market, breadth and conviction are two different bets, Coinbase spreads wide, a16z backs hard.
Cursor Launches Its Native App for iOS Devices
Cursor has released a native iOS app, letting developers launch always-on cloud agents from anywhere — or remotely control agents already running on their computer.
The release pushes Cursor's AI coding agents beyond the desktop, letting developers manage long-running tasks straight from their phone.
👉 x.com/cursor_ai/status/2071641103191998810
Cursor has released a native iOS app, letting developers launch always-on cloud agents from anywhere — or remotely control agents already running on their computer.
Composer 2.5, Cursor's latest coding model, is 75% off in the app through July 5.
The release pushes Cursor's AI coding agents beyond the desktop, letting developers manage long-running tasks straight from their phone.
👉 x.com/cursor_ai/status/2071641103191998810
OKX Launches OKX.AI, an Onchain AI Marketplace
OKX has launched OKX.AI, a trustless marketplace where tasks are posted, escrowed onchain, and settled between people and autonomous AI agents.
It deepens OKB's role as OKX builds payment and coordination rails for the emerging agent economy.
👉 okx.ai
OKX has launched OKX.AI, a trustless marketplace where tasks are posted, escrowed onchain, and settled between people and autonomous AI agents.
Users stake OKB to arbitrate disputes, earning fees for correct rulings or losing their stake on a bad call.
It deepens OKB's role as OKX builds payment and coordination rails for the emerging agent economy.
👉 okx.ai
Arkham Ranks Prediction Traders by Accuracy
Arkham Intelligence has rolled out an Elo-style leaderboard that ranks prediction-market traders by the accuracy of their bets, not their total profit.
The accuracy-first scoring means smaller, sharper traders can outrank larger, more profitable ones.
👉 theblock.co/post/406604
Arkham Intelligence has rolled out an Elo-style leaderboard that ranks prediction-market traders by the accuracy of their bets, not their total profit.
It currently covers Polymarket, where harder, longer-odds calls lift a trader's rating more than safe favorites. Top trader GardenerCx holds a 64.3% win rate over 2,644 bets.
The accuracy-first scoring means smaller, sharper traders can outrank larger, more profitable ones.
👉 theblock.co/post/406604
Strategy Approves Up to $1.25B in Bitcoin Sales
Strategy unveiled a Digital Credit Capital Framework that, for the first time, lets the long buy-only company sell Bitcoin to actively manage its capital.
Saylor stressed Bitcoin stays the primary reserve asset, with cash covering ~17 months of dividends. MSTR snapped a 9-day losing streak on the news.
👉 strategy.com/press/strategy-announces-digital-credit-capital-framework_06-29-2026
Strategy unveiled a Digital Credit Capital Framework that, for the first time, lets the long buy-only company sell Bitcoin to actively manage its capital.
Its new BTC Monetization Program clears up to $1.25B in sales to refill the ~$2.55B USD reserve, cover dividends, or fund buybacks — alongside $2B in new repurchase authorizations.
Saylor stressed Bitcoin stays the primary reserve asset, with cash covering ~17 months of dividends. MSTR snapped a 9-day losing streak on the news.
👉 strategy.com/press/strategy-announces-digital-credit-capital-framework_06-29-2026
X Launches a Hosted MCP, Opening Its API to AI Agents
X has launched a hosted MCP server that lets AI agents tap the X API with no setup — wiring tools like Grok and Cursor into real-time X data using an account's own permissions.
X calls its feed "the best real-time information source in the world," positioning the platform as a live data layer for the agent economy.
👉 x.com/XDevelopers/status/2071752389183647758
X has launched a hosted MCP server that lets AI agents tap the X API with no setup — wiring tools like Grok and Cursor into real-time X data using an account's own permissions.
It exposes the X API and developer docs through Model Context Protocol, so any MCP-compatible agent can query X directly.
X calls its feed "the best real-time information source in the world," positioning the platform as a live data layer for the agent economy.
👉 x.com/XDevelopers/status/2071752389183647758
SK Hynix Files for a ~$29B Nasdaq Listing
SK Hynix, the dominant maker of HBM memory for AI, filed to list American depositary receipts on Nasdaq, aiming to raise about $29 billion.
BofA, Citi, Goldman, and JPMorgan are leading the deal. SK Hynix already trades in Seoul and holds ~60% of the AI HBM market.
👉 cnbc.com/2026/06/24/sk-hynix-nasdaq-adr-listing-south-korea
SK Hynix, the dominant maker of HBM memory for AI, filed to list American depositary receipts on Nasdaq, aiming to raise about $29 billion.
ADRs are priced near $166 (255,000 won), with trading slated to begin around July 10 — one of the year's biggest US listings.
BofA, Citi, Goldman, and JPMorgan are leading the deal. SK Hynix already trades in Seoul and holds ~60% of the AI HBM market.
👉 cnbc.com/2026/06/24/sk-hynix-nasdaq-adr-listing-south-korea
Plume & FalconX Launch $1B RWA Structured Credit Facility
Plume has partnered with FalconX to introduce the FALX Structured Credit Facility, a new onchain RWA product offering exposure to overcollateralized prime brokerage loans. The vault is designed to scale up to $1B in capacity, targeting institutional-grade yield strategies in a compliant, programmable format.
The vault is deployed on Plume in collaboration with OpenTrade and is available across Plume, Ethereum, and Solana. It features fixed monthly interest rates, giving investors more predictable yield compared to traditional variable DeFi lending models.
A key upgrade is intra-month subscription support, allowing capital to start earning prorated yield immediately upon entry. M11 Credit acts as administrative and collateral agent, while reporting loan composition and performance metrics across the portfolio.
👉 x.com/plumenetwork/status/2071958057614037358?s=20
Plume has partnered with FalconX to introduce the FALX Structured Credit Facility, a new onchain RWA product offering exposure to overcollateralized prime brokerage loans. The vault is designed to scale up to $1B in capacity, targeting institutional-grade yield strategies in a compliant, programmable format.
The facility is facilitated through Pareto and curated by M11 Credit, allocating capital into a FalconX-managed SPV. It provides exposure to diversified lending activity across quant funds, hedge funds, and asset managers using FalconX’s prime brokerage infrastructure.
The vault is deployed on Plume in collaboration with OpenTrade and is available across Plume, Ethereum, and Solana. It features fixed monthly interest rates, giving investors more predictable yield compared to traditional variable DeFi lending models.
A key upgrade is intra-month subscription support, allowing capital to start earning prorated yield immediately upon entry. M11 Credit acts as administrative and collateral agent, while reporting loan composition and performance metrics across the portfolio.
👉 x.com/plumenetwork/status/2071958057614037358?s=20
Securitize $1.25B IPO. Everything you need to know
Securitize (SECZ) debuts on the NYSE on July 2nd via a $1.25B merger with Cantor Equity Partners II — the first pure-play RWA tokenization company to go public.
Securitize (SECZ) debuts on the NYSE on July 2nd via a $1.25B merger with Cantor Equity Partners II — the first pure-play RWA tokenization company to go public.
It's the firm behind BlackRock's $3.1B BUIDL, with $4B+ tokenized across ~650 funds for Apollo, KKR, Hamilton Lane, VanEck & more. Everything you need to know.
Anthropic Launches Claude Sonnet 5, Its Most Agentic Yet
Anthropic released Claude Sonnet 5, its most agentic Sonnet model — able to plan and run autonomously with tools like browsers and terminals.
Sonnet 5 is the new default on Free and Pro and is live across the API as claude-sonnet-5, with stronger safety than Sonnet 4.6.
👉 anthropic.com/news/claude-sonnet-5
Anthropic released Claude Sonnet 5, its most agentic Sonnet model — able to plan and run autonomously with tools like browsers and terminals.
It delivers near-Opus 4.8 performance at a fraction of the cost — $2 / $10 per million input/output tokens at intro pricing through August 31.
Sonnet 5 is the new default on Free and Pro and is live across the API as claude-sonnet-5, with stronger safety than Sonnet 4.6.
👉 anthropic.com/news/claude-sonnet-5
MetaMask Launches a Money Account With 4% Yield
MetaMask unveiled the Money Account, a self-custodial account that automatically earns up to ~4% APY on its mUSD stablecoin as you trade, send, and spend.
mUSD is backed 1:1 by USD and short-term Treasuries via Bridge, a Stripe company. The account is rolling out now on MetaMask Mobile.
👉 metamask.io/news/introducing-metamask-money-account
MetaMask unveiled the Money Account, a self-custodial account that automatically earns up to ~4% APY on its mUSD stablecoin as you trade, send, and spend.
Funds spend worldwide via the MetaMask Card with up to 3% back, and deposits in mUSD, USDC, USDT, or DAI carry no conversion fees.
mUSD is backed 1:1 by USD and short-term Treasuries via Bridge, a Stripe company. The account is rolling out now on MetaMask Mobile.
👉 metamask.io/news/introducing-metamask-money-account
Trump Made $1B+ From Crypto as Markets Fell
Donald Trump's 2025 financial disclosure shows he earned more than $1 billion from crypto ventures — even as Bitcoin fell roughly 50% from its all-time high.
Reported by CoinDesk and The Block, the filings land as the broader market slumps — a stark split between the president's crypto windfall and investors' losses.
👉 coindesk.com/policy/2026/06/30/trump-pocketed-more-than-usd1-billion-from-crypto-ties-as-industry-headed-toward-slump
Donald Trump's 2025 financial disclosure shows he earned more than $1 billion from crypto ventures — even as Bitcoin fell roughly 50% from its all-time high.
The bulk came from $635M in $TRUMP memecoin royalties and over $500M from World Liberty Financial token sales, plus $220M+ in BTC, ETH, and USDC holdings.
Reported by CoinDesk and The Block, the filings land as the broader market slumps — a stark split between the president's crypto windfall and investors' losses.
👉 coindesk.com/policy/2026/06/30/trump-pocketed-more-than-usd1-billion-from-crypto-ties-as-industry-headed-toward-slump
OpenAI Halves Its Inference Costs With Software Alone
OpenAI engineers found a software optimization that cuts the cost of running its models by more than 50% — squeezing far more from existing GPUs, with no new hardware.
The savings give OpenAI room to widen margins, raise ChatGPT usage limits, or ease API pricing, per The Information.
👉 theinformation.com/newsletters/ai-agenda/openai-discovers-new-way-cut-inference-costs-half
OpenAI engineers found a software optimization that cuts the cost of running its models by more than 50% — squeezing far more from existing GPUs, with no new hardware.
Applied to logged-out ChatGPT, it now runs on just a couple hundred Nvidia GPUs — a fraction of the compute once needed.
The savings give OpenAI room to widen margins, raise ChatGPT usage limits, or ease API pricing, per The Information.
👉 theinformation.com/newsletters/ai-agenda/openai-discovers-new-way-cut-inference-costs-half
Starknet's Post-Quantum Security Roadmap
StarkWare published Starknet's post-quantum readiness roadmap, migrating its cryptographic surfaces off the elliptic curves quantum computers threaten — with STARK proofs and native account abstraction giving it a head start.
Its edge: STARK proofs avoid elliptic-curve assumptions, and native account abstraction lets signatures evolve without protocol-level changes.
👉 starkware.co/blog/the-architecture-advantage-starknets-quantum-readiness-roadmap
StarkWare published Starknet's post-quantum readiness roadmap, migrating its cryptographic surfaces off the elliptic curves quantum computers threaten — with STARK proofs and native account abstraction giving it a head start.
Phase 1 shifts OS config hash, address derivation, and state commitment from Pedersen to BLAKE2 (PQ-secure by default). Phase 2 adds a migration toolkit for legacy contracts; Phase 3 resolves Ethereum-facing dependencies.
Its edge: STARK proofs avoid elliptic-curve assumptions, and native account abstraction lets signatures evolve without protocol-level changes.
👉 starkware.co/blog/the-architecture-advantage-starknets-quantum-readiness-roadmap
90 Days in Crypto: Real World Assets
The tokenized real-world asset market closed Q2 at $31.7 billion, up just 6.9% for the quarter after peaking in mid-May. The headline number stalled — but underneath, the landscape shifted.
The read: RWA's total value stalled, but the growth rotated — toward Solana, and toward the platforms building the rails.
The tokenized real-world asset market closed Q2 at $31.7 billion, up just 6.9% for the quarter after peaking in mid-May. The headline number stalled — but underneath, the landscape shifted.
Networks: Ethereum still leads at $15.9B but slipped 6.3%. Solana surged 48.9% to $3.28B; BNB Chain added 13.5%.
Platforms: Securitize sits on top at $4.14B (+28.2%) — days before its NYSE debut. Ondo and Circle each grew double digits.
New this quarter: Re ($680M FDV), Real Finance, KAIO.
The read: RWA's total value stalled, but the growth rotated — toward Solana, and toward the platforms building the rails.
Europe's MiCA Regime Is Now Fully in Force
On July 1, MiCA's final transition period ended — replacing 30+ national crypto regimes with a single EU-wide rulebook. Firms now need authorization to serve any market in the bloc.
Kraken, Coinbase, OKX and Crypto.com gain a single passport across the 30-country EEA. Binance — which pulled its Greek application last week — has no MiCA license, and unlicensed firms must wind down or restrict EU services.
Multi-jurisdiction stablecoin issuance stays ambiguous, a lingering disadvantage for EU-based issuers.
👉 theblock.co/post/406766
On July 1, MiCA's final transition period ended — replacing 30+ national crypto regimes with a single EU-wide rulebook. Firms now need authorization to serve any market in the bloc.
244 CASPs are licensed as of late June, handling 83% of European trading volume. Germany leads with 57 approvals, France and the Netherlands 26 each; Greece, Hungary, Poland, Portugal and Romania have none yet.
Kraken, Coinbase, OKX and Crypto.com gain a single passport across the 30-country EEA. Binance — which pulled its Greek application last week — has no MiCA license, and unlicensed firms must wind down or restrict EU services.
Multi-jurisdiction stablecoin issuance stays ambiguous, a lingering disadvantage for EU-based issuers.
👉 theblock.co/post/406766
Where RWA Value Actually Grew in Q2 2026
Total tokenized RWA barely moved for the quarter (+7%) — but the growth underneath was anything but even. Which chains pulled it in:
Solana led by a mile, adding $1.06B (+47%) to reach $3.29B. Stellar was next at +$910M (+64%), and ZKsync Era posted the fastest run of all — up 365% to $975M.
The pattern: while Ethereum's RWA base shrank, value rotated hard into Solana, Stellar and the fast L2s. The map of tokenized assets is being redrawn — and not in Ethereum's favor.
Total tokenized RWA barely moved for the quarter (+7%) — but the growth underneath was anything but even. Which chains pulled it in:
Solana led by a mile, adding $1.06B (+47%) to reach $3.29B. Stellar was next at +$910M (+64%), and ZKsync Era posted the fastest run of all — up 365% to $975M.
The pattern: while Ethereum's RWA base shrank, value rotated hard into Solana, Stellar and the fast L2s. The map of tokenized assets is being redrawn — and not in Ethereum's favor.
Drift Becomes Velocity Ahead of Private Beta Rollout
Drift Protocol has officially rebranded to Velocity, marking a new phase in its development focused on performance, security, and refined trading infrastructure.
According to the announcement, the rebrand separates the project’s previous iteration from its future direction, with Velocity described as the exchange the team has been building toward.
Alongside the rebrand, Velocity confirmed plans to roll out a private beta in the coming days, initially available to selected partners and traders, as part of preparations for a full relaunch as a Solana-based perps exchange.
👉 x.com/VelocityDEX/status/2072334490949574677?s=20
Drift Protocol has officially rebranded to Velocity, marking a new phase in its development focused on performance, security, and refined trading infrastructure.
The team said the new name reflects the core nature of perpetual trading, where execution speed and directional precision are critical. Velocity is positioned as the next evolution of the platform, featuring a cleaner architecture and improved security foundation.
According to the announcement, the rebrand separates the project’s previous iteration from its future direction, with Velocity described as the exchange the team has been building toward.
Alongside the rebrand, Velocity confirmed plans to roll out a private beta in the coming days, initially available to selected partners and traders, as part of preparations for a full relaunch as a Solana-based perps exchange.
👉 x.com/VelocityDEX/status/2072334490949574677?s=20
World Goes Live as Solana’s Onchain Prediction Market
World has officially launched on Solana as a fully onchain prediction market, now live inside Phantom with Chainlink powering its oracle infrastructure. The platform lets users trade event contracts tied to crypto prices and the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup directly from their Solana wallets.
World also uses Phantom’s CASH stablecoin as its settlement asset, enabling fast and automatic redemptions of winning positions. Phantom said the integration gives World immediate access to its large user base across iOS, Android, and desktop.
Chainlink is handling market data and resolution through Data Streams and the Chainlink Runtime Environment, with the goal of reducing the human-driven resolution issues common in legacy prediction markets.
The launch marks World’s first major distribution push, with more frontend partnerships planned throughout July.
👉 x.com/world_xyz/status/2072306098837635377?s=20
World has officially launched on Solana as a fully onchain prediction market, now live inside Phantom with Chainlink powering its oracle infrastructure. The platform lets users trade event contracts tied to crypto prices and the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup directly from their Solana wallets.
At launch, World focuses on short-duration Bitcoin up/down markets and football-based predictions, with more markets across sports, geopolitics, and macro expected in the coming weeks. The team says all trading, settlement, and redemptions happen onchain, with no custodial wrapper or off-chain fund movement.
World also uses Phantom’s CASH stablecoin as its settlement asset, enabling fast and automatic redemptions of winning positions. Phantom said the integration gives World immediate access to its large user base across iOS, Android, and desktop.
Chainlink is handling market data and resolution through Data Streams and the Chainlink Runtime Environment, with the goal of reducing the human-driven resolution issues common in legacy prediction markets.
The launch marks World’s first major distribution push, with more frontend partnerships planned throughout July.
👉 x.com/world_xyz/status/2072306098837635377?s=20