What Happens When Public Companies Launch Tokens?
Squiffs _ & Olivia Capozzalo
November 12, 2025
gm, Defiers!
Today’s big story:
- An ARC token may represent the opportunity to learn more about how the modern market processes valuations
In other news:
- Lighter raises $68 million
- Ethereum active validator count drops
- SoFi relaunches crypto trading
- Is the end goal for a digital asset just getting listed? [SPONSORED]
Read more below! But first, please give our sponsors some love; they make this newsletter possible.
Stable Gain puts your stablecoins to work through professionally managed strategies. Deposit USDT/USDC, mint sbUSD, and earn up to 20% rewards. Withdraw anytime with zero lockup periods.
Building a lasting DeFi ecosystem is about more than chasing TVL; it’s about architecting a system that people can use to conduct business. After the initial gold rush, Avalanche is focused on a calculated new beginning, building a sustainable financial future for institutions.
Camila Russo explores this shift with Ava Labs’ Luigi D’Onorio DeMeo and the founders of BENQI, Euler Finance, and LFJ. They unpack the strategy, the tech, and the mission to build an ecosystem that is designed for the long term.
We’re back! Here’s what you need to know in web3 today
📈 Markets in the Past 24 Hours
| TICKER | VALUE | 24H | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Bitcoin | $103,766 | -0.19 % |
 | Ethereum | $3,490.69 | -0.19 % |
 | XRP | $2.41 | -1.62 % |
 | BNB | $965.09 | -1.49 % |
 | Solana | $158.72 | -1.99 % |
Today’s Big Story
Token vs Stock: Why Should investors Own ARC in Addition to CRCL?
With DeFi entering its institutional era, analysts continue to ponder which entity will be the first to shepherd both an investable native token, and public stock.
Uniswap and Ripple have been considered frontrunners, but there’s a possibility Circle beats both to the punch, after the stablecoin issuer teased the idea of a native token for its upcoming Arc Layer 1 blockchain in its latest quarterly report.
The $22 billion company kept it simple in the report, saying:
“Circle is exploring the possibility of launching a native token on the Arc network which could foster network participation to drive adoption, further align the interests of Arc stakeholders and support the long-term growth and success of the Arc network.”
The news comes just two weeks after the Arc testnet launch, where more than 100 different “major” companies are helping to design and test the chain, according to Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire.
Token Valuations
An ARC token could represent the opportunity to learn more about how the modern market processes valuations. Traditionally, DeFi projects and companies don’t issue public stock, but rather a token.
Critics often dub our DeFi tokens as “worthless,” with zero inherent value, despite their multi-billion dollar valuations. More often than not, the vaguely arbitrary valuations we assign to these tokens are not a result of the value of the token itself, but the perceived valuation of the underlying company or project compared to the rest of the market.
They’re priced as company shares, despite not actually being so…and that’s fine really, unless locked investors and team members are consistently crushing the price with token unlocks.
However, the impending launch of an ARC token, or Uniswap or Ripple shares, would leave investors with multiple investment avenues.
Stock vs. Token
In 2021, owning crypto tokens might have been more appealing to speculative investors. But in today’s market, it’s clear that market participants feel much more comfortable in the stock market than they do altcoins, especially after 10/10.
So if Uniswap and Ripple go public, how many UNI and XRP holders will look to rotate to the stock? And if Circle launches an ARC token, why should investors own ARC in addition to CRCL?
In a world where companies offer both stock and tokens, the tokens will need to offer something completely different — and indisputably better — than stock dividends if they expect investors to continue to bear the risk that comes with holding an altcoin.
While the opportunity to make more money is surely appealing to the teams behind these products, investors may be forced to face unexpected volatility as they reconsider the best way to maintain exposure to their favorite companies.
Squiffs, resident degen at The Defiant
Forwarded this newsletter? Subscribe for daily insights and curated news from The Defiant team, Monday-Saturday. It’s free.
🎬WATCH
Inside the PYUSD's takeover of PayPal with May Zabaneh, VP Crypto
In the latest episode of The Defiant podcast, PayPal's VP of Blockchain, Crypto and Digital Currencies, May Zabaneh, breaks down PayPal’s move into stablecoins with PYUSD and why it matters for financial inclusion. The discussion covers the role merchants play in crypto acceptance, how DeFi and traditional finance are converging, and why interoperability will be essential in the next phase of digital payments.
The Next $100B DeFi Market: Real DNS Domains [SPONSORED]
Domains are one of the largest untapped asset classes on the internet — 360M+ names, most of them not even hosting a site. They’re traded like real estate, through slow, trust-based, broker-intermediated systems with fees as high as 30%.
D3 wants to bring this market on-chain. Unlike competitors, they're going for real DNS domains (.com, .ai, .xyz), not synthetic names. They're building as an Ethereum L2, and fully ICANN + DNS compliant, which means their domains have true rights ownership, leasing, fractionalization, collateralization, and even revenue shares.
Top News in the Past 24 Hours
- Lighter Rises to Top Perp DEX by Volume, Reveals $68M Raise Lighter, a decentralized exchange (DEX) and blockchain platform, has raised $68 million in a new funding round led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital. Why it matters: The funding round announcement came as Lighter pushed to the top of perpetual swaps-focused DEXs, outpacing rivals Hyperliquid and Aster.
- Ethereum Sees First Sustained Validator Exit Since Proof-of-Stake ShiftEthereum’s daily active validator count has fallen about 10% since July to a level not seen since April 2024, marking the first decline of this size since the network became proof-of-stake. Why it matters: The decline could reflect validator consolidation after Pectra, or validators cashing out after ETH’s new all-time highs this summer.
- SoFi Relaunches Crypto Trading Following Regulatory Greenlight SoFi Technologies, a publicly traded United States-based neobank, is relaunching crypto trading almost two years after pausing it. Why it matters: The move appears to make SoFi the first U.S. nationally chartered bank where retail customers can buy, sell and hold crypto alongside their regular banking services.
Trending on The Defiant
- Ethereum Sees First Sustained Validator Exit Since Proof-of-Stake Shift
- Bitcoin Holds $104,000 as Government Shutdown Deal Heads to House Vote
- Threshold Network Upgrades tBTC Bridge to Link Institutional Bitcoin with DeFi
- Institutional Sentiment is Turning Bearish on Crypto: Sygnum
- Monad Faces Community Backlash After Unveiling Tokenomics
- UNI Soars as Uniswap Labs and Foundation Propose Fee Switch Activation
That’s it for today — if you enjoyed this newsletter, tell your friends! https://thedefiant.io/subscribe
