How To Fix Crypto's Token Problem | Weekly Roundup
Summary
- Across Protocol (ACX) is pioneering a move to convert its DAO/token structure into a US C-Corp, offering to buy out token holders at a 25% premium or convert them to equity.
- Visa is currently processing over $6 billion in annualized direct stablecoin settlement, proving that traditional payment rails are co-opting crypto rather than being replaced by it.
- A massive valuation disconnect exists in crypto: protocols with real revenue are trading at sub-$300M market caps, while low-revenue narratives (like Ondo) trade at $2.5B+ fully diluted valuations.
- Kraken's recent acquisition of a Federal Reserve Master account and its partnership with NASDAQ signal a major competitive threat to Coinbase's US dominance.
- The CFTC is actively proposing new rulemaking processes to regulate and integrate prediction markets (like Polymarket and Kalshi) into the US financial system.
Trade Ideas
Across Protocol posted a temperature check proposal exploring the move from a DAO to a US C-Corp where token holders could exchange tokens for equity at a 1:1 ratio or redeem at a 25% premium. The market fundamentally values the cash flows and M&A potential of a traditional equity structure higher than a governance token. This creates a direct arbitrage opportunity and sets a precedent for repricing undervalued DeFi tokens that choose to privatize. LONG. The explicit buyout premium and the structural shift to a value-accruing equity model provide a hard floor and upside catalyst for the asset. The DAO vote could fail, or regulatory hurdles regarding KYC and securities conversion could stall the transition.
Ondo is a low revenue business that would not be valued at $2.5 billion in a public equity market. Crypto markets are currently pricing certain Real World Asset (RWA) tokens purely on narrative rather than fundamental cash flows. As the industry matures and begins valuing projects based on actual net revenue and take-rates, tokens with massive fully diluted valuations and low fee generation will face severe downward repricing. AVOID. The token is trading at a massive premium to its fundamental business value, making it highly vulnerable to a correction. The RWA narrative could continue to drive irrational retail bidding, or the team could announce a major structural change that accrues unexpected value to the token.
Aave is one of the only DAOs that has figured out how to make this work, with revenue going to the DAO, and it benefits from being a permissionless protocol that can operate across jurisdictions as a global money market layer. While many sub-scale DeFi apps will need to convert to equity to survive, base-layer financial protocols like Aave actually benefit from the token/DAO model. It allows them to bypass traditional corporate regulatory bottlenecks and scale globally as a monopolistic, borderless infrastructure layer. LONG. Aave is successfully executing the DAO model with real revenue accrual, giving it a unique moat against traditional fintechs. Regulatory crackdowns on permissionless money markets or smart contract vulnerabilities could impair the protocol.
Visa is doing over six billion of annualized direct stablecoin settlement on the network now, and Mastercard is launching a crypto partner program to catch up. The narrative that stablecoins will disrupt Visa and Mastercard is false. Instead, these legacy networks will integrate stablecoins as backend settlement rails to lower their own costs and aggressively grow their highly profitable B2B and non-bank transaction segments (Visa Direct and Mastercard Send). LONG. Visa and Mastercard are successfully co-opting blockchain technology to enhance their existing monopolies rather than being displaced by it. Native crypto payment apps could eventually build closed-loop merchant networks that bypass Visa/Mastercard entirely.
Kraken's product velocity has been better than Coinbase's, they just announced a deal with NASDAQ for tokenized stock registry, and they secured a Federal Reserve Master account. Coinbase is losing its institutional monopoly and product edge in the US market. Because Coinbase has historically tried to build everything in-house and compete directly with legacy players, they are being boxed out of major traditional finance partnerships, which will bleed their market share. AVOID. Coinbase needs a massive strategic acquisition to regain momentum, and until then, faster competitors are eating into their core business. Coinbase's Base Layer 2 network could generate enough on-chain revenue to offset exchange market share losses, or a massive retail bull market could lift all boats.
Robinhood behaves better, has a more interesting customer acquisition funnel, and is doing interesting things around capturing the customer lifecycle from their titanium card to IPO access. As the regulatory environment normalizes, retail users will prefer all-in-one financial super-apps over pure-play crypto exchanges. Robinhood's superior product development and broader suite of traditional financial services give it a structural advantage in acquiring and retaining retail capital. LONG. Robinhood's product velocity and diversified revenue streams make it a safer and faster-growing bet for retail financial dominance. A severe downturn in retail trading volumes across both equities and crypto would disproportionately hurt their transaction-based revenue.
Up Next
This Empire video, published March 13, 2026, features Santiago R. Santos, Rob Hadick discussing ACX, ONDO, AAVE, V, MA, COIN, HOOD. 6 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.
Speakers: Santiago R. Santos, Rob Hadick · Tickers: ACX, ONDO, AAVE, V, MA, COIN, HOOD