Mike Dudas

Tokenized Equities

Tokenized stocks are emerging as a growth market across lending and trading, with protocols competing on product breadth and collateral utility. Kamino’s rising deposits and new stock-backed borrowing are notable, though adoption and market durability remain unproven.

• KMNO: Kamino led tokenized-equity lending, with about $47.6M of $74.2M in deposits shown by September 2026; investors see a multi-year opportunity.
• HYPE and ENA: Hyperliquid is adding equities, commodities, and pre-IPO stocks; Ethena is extending basis trades to equity perps, with cited 11%+ annualized basis and roughly 30% monthly OI growth.
• MU and SNDK: Backpack now allows USD borrowing against these stocks, an early step toward broader brokerage-stock collateral.

Trading And Retail

Trading activity and retail-facing chains are drawing attention, but bullish activity signals compete with questions about durable advantages and infrastructure concentration.

• HYPE: Open interest hit a record $18B, supporting the growth case; concerns include validator concentration among roughly two dozen operators in Tokyo.
• PUMP: Pump-related venues generated $9.75M in fees during Aug. 31–Sept. 6, while $4.76M in tokens were bought back and burned; stockmemes may extend engagement.
• HOOD: Robinhood’s chain is praised for developer momentum, retail-friendly UX, and potential tokenized assets, though enthusiasm is not yet proof of lasting adoption.

Solana Ecosystem

Solana retains strong ecosystem support and active governance, while critics point to competition in RWAs, perps, and retail onboarding. The debate centers on whether activity can translate into durable market share.

• SOL: Governance passed the Constitution and Double Disinflation proposals, while the Resource and Inclusion Fees proposal failed; sources disagree sharply on Solana’s competitive outlook.
• SOL and PUMP: Pump activity is generating substantial fees and token burns on Solana, but critics question the ecosystem’s moat against emerging chains.