i visualized the current landscape based on @Eli5defi thesis

my take here is the same, gen 1 lending is dead and 10/10 failed it spectacularly

the old age lending ideology is dying (or rather dead now)

if you need 150% collateral to borrow $100 its called negative credit creation.

you're not accessing new capital, rather you're inefficiently unlocking existing capital while locking up more. this model serves exactly one use case and that is recursive leverage for speculation

$17B liquidated in 24 hours. 1.6M accounts wiped.

accepting this accelerates progress.

in gen 2 defi we see 4 parallel evolutions happening simultaneously:

1) privacy layer: hedge funds can't operate when competitors see entire loan book liquidation points leverage ratios in real-time

@Arcium building confidential computing on solana.

@CantonNetwork created the network of networks for institutions.

2) cross-chain interoperability: abandoning wrapped assets for native messaging. @LayerZero_Core v2 and @chainlink CCIP replacing vulnerable multisig bridges

@lifiprotocol aggregating 30+ dexs 15+ bridges. $55B lifetime volume. any lending protocol becomes cross-chain instantly.

@SenjaLabs on kaia leveraging layerzero for omnichain lending. integrated into LINE mini dapps. defi lending inside web2 messaging app.

3) consumer abstraction: ERC-4337 account abstraction with passkeys. 70% consumer adoption. biometric wallet creation. gas sponsorship via paymasters.

@allscaleio raised $5M from YZi Labs. invoice financing for SMEs. settled $5M invoices first month.

@AviciMoney offering credit lines against crypto collateral. non-custodial visa card. spend against assets without selling

@ether_fi cash lets you borrow USDC against weETH while collateral earns staking rewards. yield offsets borrowing cost. potentially self-repaying credit line

4) reputation-based undercollateralized lending: only way to achieve capital efficiency and displace tradfi. soulbound tokens as non-transferable reputation badges. verified credit scores loan repayment history.

@ethos_network on base creating web of trust. vouching system where you stake reputation for others. social slashing if borrower defaults. credibility score unlocks undercollateralized loans because social cost of default acts as deterrent

@fluentxyz connect creating portable "prints" aggregating behavior across chains. strong solana repayment history proves trustworthiness to ethereum protocol instantly. solves cold start problem

@maplefinance $1B+ AUM in syrupUSDC. undercollateralized on-chain but secured by off-chain legal agreements. hybrid bridging code and law

@goldfinch_fi connecting crypto capital to emerging market fintechs. post-defaults launched goldfinch prime focusing SEC-compliant private credit funds

@0xfluid hit $3.4B TVL. combining lending vaults dex into single liquidity layer. enables higher LTV ratios through deeper instant liquidation liquidity

https://x.com/arndxt_xo/status/2011943746364150057

replaying it like the…

curve wars
ohm forks
tomb finance
ve tokens
oracle
gamblefi
gamefi
deai
defai
ai agent launchpad
creator coin
robotics
rwa
memecoin
infofi
meme launchpad
stablecoin
perp dex
neobank
neo finance
metadao icos
privacy

short term pumpamentals
long term detrimental

https://x.com/arndxt_xo/status/2012022288313696734?s=46&t=hr2fbvcHJGpvp_SbDstdzg

Early Alpha

https://x.com/0xvietnguyen/status/2012160924778696758

The ultimate guide to Articles on X

https://x.com/xcreators/status/2011957172821737574

Dune Dashboards are free ALPHA.

Here are 10 you need to be using daily.

🧵

https://x.com/Flowslikeosmo/status/1993695249949196358

Lmao you really can’t make this shit up

- Signal alignment with Hyperliquid
- Announce intention to buy but never buy $HYPE
- Finally buys
- Gets exposed for having delta neutral position
- Claims it’s an LP who did it to hedge his position
- Offers “KOLs” 5K+ monthly for X badge (don’t ever forget the sell-outs)
- Announces testnet metrics (washed)
- Proceeds to raise funds
- Own LPs deposits to raise fomo
- Extend raise (Insiders buy on polymarket and make 5-6 figure)
- Cancels extension (after they sell polymarket bets)
- Doesn’t refund users yet
- Announces launch on Solana

Extract.exe complete

Anything else I missed?

https://x.com/kirbyongeo/status/2012345842519376289

InfoFi Is Dead. These 10 Agencies Still Pay Creators

https://x.com/Deebs_DeFi/status/2012079772570956125

HOW 2 ARBITRAGE -> Polymarket

https://x.com/securezer0/status/2012249398903009595

Building a crypto card aggregator:

To compare cards like:

- Bybit
- Solcard
- CopperX
- Kast card

Thank you, Nairolf, for this idea.

I'm stealing your ideas.

https://x.com/Param_eth/status/2011119372119716182

One-liner summary of pre-token PERP DEXes

https://x.com/arndxt_xo/status/2012739479933706670

: : [Issue] How Effective is Polymarket FDV Prediction Market?


https://x.com/FourPillarsFP/status/2012077911613063257

Best airdrops to farm in 2026 - Perp DEX sector.🪂👇

https://x.com/CryptoGideon_/status/2012964412622287022

i will present a bit of a contrarian take, polygon is NOT DEAD and it is becoming the open money stack.

@0xPolygon just spent $250M to stop being a blockchain and become a payments company

they acquired @Coinme and @0xsequence.

> coinme brings money-transmitter licenses (regulated fiat on/off ramps)
> sequence brings embedded wallets and one-click cross-chain orchestration. abstracts wallets swaps gas completely
calling it the open money stack.

blockchain rails + compliant fiat access + invisible onchain UX. this is vertical integration playbook

in 2025 polygon processed $1.4B payments services volume from @stripe, @blindpay and other merchants.

payments app transfers $7.7B total.

$364M jan → $1.43B dec

what polygon realized:
- being L2 scaling layer is commodity business.
- ZK tech is open source.
- sequencer fees compress toward zero. every chain offers similar speed and cost
- actual moat is owning the full payments stack from fiat in → blockchain settlement → fiat out with regulatory compliance and UX abstraction

stripe did $1T+ volume 2024.
polygon doing $1.4B on just merchant base payments. capturing even 1% of stripe's flow would be $10B. that's the TAM they're chasing

my read on polygon:
- this works if merchants actually want blockchain settlement
- stablecoins are faster and cheaper than card networks for cross-border
- instant settlement vs T+2
- lower fees than 2.9% interchange

but merchants are conservative. stripe works.

why change? polygon needs to prove 10x better not 10% better to overcome switching costs also commoditization risk. if every L2 does this polygon's early mover advantage disappears. arbitrum optimism base all have distribution and could replicate stack

my concerns as follows:

- if payments volume continues $57M → $239M trajectory and margins improve this validates thesis. if growth stagnates after acquisition that's concerning
- also wondering about tokenomics, where does $POL fit in payments stack. if token doesn't accrue value from payments growth then what's point
- stripe doesn't have token. successful payments companies monetize through basis points on flow.
- polygon's challenge: build sustainable business model not just revenue line

honestly respect the conviction. pivoting from L2 to payments company

most L2s still optimizing for TVL and transaction counts. polygon optimizing for regulated fiat settlement volume

one strategy is futures-focused. other is present-focused. we'll know which was right by end of 2026

market still values polygon as L2. should be valued as payments infrastructure if execution continues

if those deliver polygon rebuilt itself. if they don't this will be an expensive mistake

https://x.com/arndxt_xo/status/2013126488384770197

Master list of Tokenization and RWA projects on Solana

https://x.com/arndxt_xo/status/2013648141686579245

Viral post analyzer

https://willitgoviral.xyz/

I genuinely think this changes everything if even 1% of their GMV touches this protocol

we've just hit $1M in ACTUAL ECOMMERCE payments settled onchain

real merchants selling real stuff settled in USDC on @base

thinking about x402 as well...THIS is what we should've been building the whole time. I don't think the market has priced this in at all

to put into perspective that's 5,400 actual transactions with refunds, voids, escrow

@Shopify + @coinbase went from basically zero mid-2025 to over a million settled by January.

what honestly kills me is this solves the actual problem:
- you need authorization before capture (so merchants don't get rugged), - you need refund mechanisms
- you need to abstract away wallets so normies don't have to think about gas.

I've watched so many crypto payments projects fail because they didn't understand this

Base is basically becoming the settlement layer for actual commerce.

watching the onchcain ecommerce scene, payments and x402 stuff because I think these are those things we look back on in two years and go oh yeah that was obvious

https://x.com/arndxt_xo/status/2014164654894018993