Lightspeed
Podcast

Lightspeed

by Blockworks

84 episodes

Lightspeed is a podcast for those interested in how crypto can solve real problems and create products users love. It's a callback to the garage days of Silicon Valley, where builders pushed the limits of hardware and software to build world-changing products. We interview the projects and founders that will make this same impact today.
Investment Summary
Updated 1 day ago
Summary of insights from content in the last 30 days

Solana Infrastructure

Solana is evolving into an institutional-grade Internet Capital Market, targeting NASDAQ-level determinism and high-frequency trading optimization through technical upgrades like Alpenglow.

  • Jito (JTO): Accumulate as the protocol rolls out BAM architecture and the JTX retail interface to deepen network liquidity.
  • Meteora (MET): Strategic infrastructure play for capturing high-velocity fees from launchpad activity via DLMM pools.
  • Solana (SOL): Transitioning to an institutional major; monitor DEX volume and velocity of money over traditional TVL metrics.
  • Double Zero (00): Unique picks-and-shovels play utilizing a structural buyback model funded by high-frequency trading data revenue.

Tokenized Private Markets

Retail investors are gaining unprecedented access to late-stage unicorns through "Pre-stocks" on-chain, capturing wealth creation before potential 2026–2027 IPO windows.

  • SpaceX (SPACE): High-conviction anchor asset; monitor for arbitrage opportunities between private valuations and on-chain token prices.
  • AI Leaders: Direct exposure to OpenAI and Anthropic via tokenized shares allows for real-time price discovery of private equity.
  • Real World Assets: Institutional focus is shifting toward tokenized money market funds and T-Bill backed yields for 2025.

Decentralized Finance & Yield

Resilience and diversification are the current priorities as protocols integrate traditional assets like Gold to stabilize synthetic yields.

  • Hyperliquid (HYPE): Leading the expansion of on-chain perpetuals into traditional commodities like Gold and Oil.
  • Ethena (USDE): Strengthening its peg and yield sustainability by integrating tokenized gold and T-Bills into its collateral mix.
  • Aave (AAVE): High-conviction core lending play after demonstrating resilience during record-breaking market stress tests.

AI-generated summary. Not investment advice. Learn more.

Ask about LightspeedAnswers are grounded in this source's posts from the last 30 days.

Recent Posts

84 posts
Inside Jito’s New Solana Plugin Strategy | Eric & Hayden

Accumulate JTO as the protocol rolls out its BAM architecture and Maker Prioritization Plugin, which incentivizes validators and deepens network liquidity. Monitor SOL for long-term growth as it transitions from bug fixes to high-frequency trading optimization, aiming for NASDAQ-level determinism. Look for investment opportunities in Real World Assets (RWAs), specifically platforms offering "Pre-stocks" like SpaceX or OpenAI to retail investors. Keep an eye on the upcoming JTX product launch from the Jito team, which is expected to provide a high-performance user interface for retail traders. Watch for the expansion of 50ms price updates to Perpetual DEXs like Phoenix, which will significantly improve execution and reduce liquidation risks for active traders.

Solana Was Too Late to Perps

Solana Was Too Late to Perps

9 days agoLightspeedBlockworks
Podcast55 min 21 sec

Investors should prioritize Solana (SOL) as it transitions into a leader for Real World Assets (RWA) and tokenized equities, moving beyond its reputation as a meme coin hub. To capitalize on Solana’s infrastructure upgrades, monitor Jito (JTO) and the emerging protocol Bulk, which offers validators a 12.5% fee share to solve current trading latency issues. While Jupiter (JUP) remains a dominant player in Solana's perpetual futures, Hyperliquid is currently the high-conviction "gold standard" for decentralized perps and continues to capture significant retail volume. Avoid Pump.fun (POMP) for now, as the token trades at a steep discount due to transparency concerns despite its new programmatic buyback-and-burn model. Look for "Asset Conversion to Equity" models, like those seen in Pumpcade (ACE), which allow retail investors to convert tokens into company equity to ensure long-term value accrual.

LPing Is Trading: Rethinking DeFi Strategies | Dann & Miir

Investors should consider Meteora (MET) as a strategic infrastructure play to capture high-velocity trading fees across the Solana ecosystem, particularly from launchpads like Pump.fun. Instead of passive holding, adopt the "Buy → LP → Sell" playbook by providing liquidity in DLMM pools to earn sustainable USDC fees during market volatility. For range-bound assets like SOL, utilize concentrated liquidity positions to "print fees" and effectively dollar-cost average into or out of positions. Monitor the "long-tail" asset market, including AI tokens and Pre-Stocks, where lower initial liquidity creates high-yield fee opportunities for early liquidity providers. Be aware that active liquidity provision requires monitoring price ranges to mitigate the risk of being "sold out" of winning assets during sharp directional breakouts.

Tokenizing Private Markets: Inside the Rise of PreStocks | Xavier Ekkel

Retail investors can now gain direct exposure to high-growth "unicorns" like SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic by trading tokenized private shares on the Solana (SOL) blockchain via the PreStocks platform. These assets allow you to capture the wealth creation phase of companies staying private longer, with SpaceX identified as a high-conviction "anchor" asset ahead of a potential 2026–2027 IPO. For those seeking AI exposure, monitoring the price gap between "stale" official funding valuations and real-time on-chain tokens for Anthropic offers a unique arbitrage opportunity. Investors should utilize decentralized exchanges like Meteora or Raydium for smaller trades, but must remain cautious of "premiums" over private valuations caused by low liquidity. While these tokens offer an exit strategy post-IPO, be mindful of the typical six-month lockup period before tokens convert into public stock equivalents.

The KelpDAO Hack and DeFi’s Stress Test | Ian Unsworth

Investors should exercise extreme caution with rsETH (KelpDAO) due to recent security breaches, prioritizing safer liquid restaking alternatives or direct ETH holdings. Aave (AAVE) has proven its resilience after surviving record outflows, making it a high-conviction play for those seeking a stable, core DeFi lending protocol. Consider diversifying stablecoin exposure into USDE (Ethena), which is strengthening its peg by integrating tokenized gold and T-Bills to provide more sustainable yields. Double Zero (00) offers a unique "picks and shovels" opportunity in the Solana ecosystem, utilizing a structural token buyback model funded by high-frequency trading revenue. Finally, look for growth in decentralized platforms like Hyperliquid that are successfully bridging traditional commodities like Gold and Oil into on-chain perpetual trading.

DoubleZero Edge: Democratizing the Speed Advantage | Austin Federa

Investors should prioritize Solana (SOL) as it solidifies its position alongside BTC and ETH as an "institutional major," supported by upcoming technical upgrades like Alpenglow and MCP that improve transaction speed and fairness. Small-to-mid-sized traders can now level the playing field against institutional giants by utilizing the DoubleZero (00) Edge protocol to access high-frequency data feeds previously reserved for firms like Galaxy. This infrastructure shift creates immediate arbitrage opportunities for those monitoring price discrepancies across venues like Coinbase, Binance, and Jupiter. For long-term growth, focus on the "plumbing" of the ecosystem by investing in Real World Assets (RWAs) and decentralized perpetual platforms like Hyperliquid. Node operators should consider joining the DoubleZero network to benefit from a new revenue-sharing model that replaces traditional block reward fees with data sales income.

How Institutions Are Moving Onchain | Catherine Gu

Accumulate Solana (SOL) as it transitions from a retail-focused network to a primary institutional "Internet Capital Market" similar to an on-chain NASDAQ. Monitor DEX volume and velocity of money rather than just TVL to gauge the network's health as it targets hundreds of billions in stablecoin growth. Position for the 2025 rollout of tokenized money market funds and tokenized deposits, which are expected to be the primary entry points for massive institutional capital. Watch for the launch of the "Trading Module" in the next 6–9 months, which will enable high-conviction secondary market trading for institutional assets. Prioritize Solana over Ethereum for large-scale finance plays to avoid the liquidity fragmentation currently affecting the EVM and Layer 2 ecosystems.

Titan's Solution to Onchain Pricing | defipancakes

Investors should monitor Solana (SOL) as the ecosystem matures from meme coins toward high-volume stablecoin swaps and institutional-grade financial products. Consider utilizing the Titan exchange and its new Dart router to capture "positive slippage" and tighter spreads on SOL/USDC trades compared to centralized platforms. For exposure to the high-growth leveraged trading sector, watch Jupiter (JUP) as the dominant front-end, while keeping an eye on specialized challengers like Phoenix and Bulk. You can now access tokenized private equity for companies like SpaceX and OpenAI directly on-chain through professional market makers like AlphaQ. Given recent social engineering exploits, prioritize protocols that integrate with the Solana Foundation’s new Stride security program and offer 24/7 threat monitoring.

The Institutional Shift Driving Crypto Forward

Institutional adoption is accelerating as BlackRock and Fidelity integrate blockchain into traditional finance, making infrastructure and settlement tools high-conviction plays. Robinhood (HOOD) is a top pick for investors seeking a "full-stack" leader that is merging traditional equities with on-chain capabilities like 24/5 settlement and stablecoins. Within the Solana (SOL) ecosystem, the foundation's aggressive product-led growth strategy makes it a primary competitor for retail-facing applications and neobanks. Helium (HNT) offers a unique opportunity in the DePIN sector, where high data-offloading revenue and programmatic token halvings could create significant deflationary price pressure. Investors should prioritize projects that adopt standardized transparency filings and focus on Real World Assets (RWAs), as these are most likely to attract sustained institutional capital.