gm, Defiers!

These were the biggest news in web3 today:

Robinhood launched its own chain last week as serious infrastructure for tokenized stocks. A week in, the thing driving activity is memecoins.

Robinhood Chain's onchain metrics surged this week as Pump.fun added trading for its tokens, prediction market World said it will migrate from Solana, and a CASHCAT meme frenzy took off — with CEO Vlad Tenev reversing course to call the RWA-focused chain "great for memes." The largest single inflow, though, was a quiet stablecoin deposit.

The gap between the pitch and the early traction is the story. Robinhood sold Robinhood Chain as the compliant home for tokenized equities, but the fastest on-ramp to a new chain is still speculation. Whether Tenev leans in or steers back toward the RWA thesis will decide what the network is actually for.

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WATCH

Building Paragon: A Perps Market on Hyperliquid

This week's build session goes inside Paragon, a new perpetuals market launching on Hyperliquid. Camila Russo sits down with the team to walk through the design live.

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BLOCKCHAINS

Robinhood Chain Metrics Surge as the Network Leans Into Memecoins

Robinhood Chain's onchain activity surged a week after launch as Pump.fun wired in trading for its tokens, prediction market World said it would migrate from Solana, and a CASHCAT meme frenzy built. CEO Vlad Tenev reversed course to call the RWA-focused chain "great for memes." The biggest single inflow, though, was an Ethena stablecoin deposit.

	TICKER	VALUE	24H
	Robinhood Chain Metrics Surge as the Network Leans Into Memecoins Robinhood Chain's onchain activity surged this week as a memecoin frenzy, a Pump.fun integration, and a Solana app's defection converged on the week-old network — though its largest single inflow was a stablecoin deposit. thedefiant.io

Why this matters: A new chain's first traction almost always comes from speculation, whatever it was pitched for. The question is whether Robinhood embraces the meme flow or steers back to RWAs.

MARKETS

Paradigm Raises $1.2 Billion for Fourth Venture Fund

Paradigm raised $1.2 billion for its fourth venture fund, its largest yet, with a mandate spanning crypto, AI, and robotics. The widened scope pushes one of crypto's marquee funds beyond pure digital-asset investing and into the frontier-tech themes increasingly braided with it.

Why this matters: A $1.2B raise is a top-of-cycle confidence signal — and the AI-and-robotics mandate hints crypto's biggest funds see the next returns at the seams between the sectors.

TRADFI AND FINTECH

Dinari, tZERO Partner on Tokenized US Stock Framework

Dinari, an issuer of tokenized US equities, and tZERO are partnering on an operating framework that would let broker-dealers offer tokenized US stocks. The tie-up pairs a token issuer with a licensed market-infrastructure firm, aiming to give regulated brokers a compliant path onchain.

Why this matters: Tokenized equities have had issuers and exchanges but few broker-dealer on-ramps. A ready-made compliance framework is what turns the pilots into products advisors can actually sell.

CEFI

Strike Launches Bitcoin Loans With No Price Liquidations

Strike, the bitcoin firm run by Jack Mallers, launched bitcoin-backed loans with no price-triggered liquidations for the life of the loan, stripping out the usual LTV warning and liquidation trigger. Strike calls them "volatility-proof loans."

Why this matters: Removing liquidations shifts the price risk onto Strike's balance sheet. It's a bet on Strike's hedging and funding, and a real draw for holders burned by margin calls.

REGULATION

SEC Adds Three Crypto Rules to 2026 Regulatory Agenda

The SEC listed three crypto-focused rulemakings on its 2026 agenda, targeting proposed rules as soon as July, per the agency's own Agency Rule List. It's the first time the commission has scheduled formal crypto rulemaking, a shift from governing the sector through enforcement.

Why this matters: Scheduled rulemaking is the shift the industry asked for. Written rules the SEC can be held to beat case-by-case enforcement — until the drafts show how strict they are.