Name: Lighter’s Token Launch, Erebor Raises $350M & Walmart's Crypto Strategy
Uploaded: 2026-01-09T13:01:14+00:00
Duration: 2967 s

Speakers

Rob Hadick — General Partner, Dragonfly

Jason Yanowitz — Co-Founder, Blockworks

Summary

The hosts return for a 2026 weekly roundup, with Rob Hadick of Dragonfly discussing stablecoins, DeFi, perp DEXs, and crypto venture trends. They cover Lighter's token launch, Hyperliquid competition, Walmart's OnePay crypto strategy, Erebor's raise, Clarity Act politics, and MSCI's decision on digital asset treasuries. Rob is constructive on stablecoins, DeFi, Lighter, DoubleZero, and Walmart's fintech roadmap, while warning there will be no broad alt rally and questioning legacy banking-core vendors. The episode closes with institutional adoption signals like Morgan Stanley's Bitcoin ETF and content recommendations.

Rob Hadick is bullish on 2026 stablecoin adoption, including domestic everyday use.
Dragonfly is long DeFi and specific projects like Lighter and DoubleZero.
Lighter is seen as Hyperliquid's best competitor, while Hyperliquid remains a strong incumbent.
Walmart's OnePay crypto rollout is viewed as a major fintech monetization opportunity.
The hosts discuss Clarity Act uncertainty and community-bank concerns over stablecoins.
Fiserv and FIS are viewed skeptically for building new tech-first banking cores.
MSCI's DAT index decision supports MicroStrategy; institutional crypto adoption continues.
The crypto-native market is quiet while institutional inbound is strong.

Ideas

Rob Hadick General Partner, Dragonfly 0:03

Stablecoin adoption will surge in 2026.

2026 will be a huge year for stablecoin adoption, not just in cross-border, treasury management, or card use cases, but in domestic everyday life. More stablecoins in wallets and integrations like Walmart create network effects and ballooning adoption.

Rob Hadick General Partner, Dragonfly 3:17

No broad alt rally; be selective.

2026 will be a year of haves and have-nots with ongoing dispersion and bifurcation. There will not be a broad alt rally, but projects with product-market fit and real usage should do well.

Rob Hadick General Partner, Dragonfly 5:22

Lighter is best Hyperliquid competitor; long.

Dragonfly is a large shareholder and Lighter has been doing very well. It launched its token quietly and traded well post-TGE, holding up in volume and open interest. It is the best competitor to Hyperliquid so far, with strong infrastructure and team, and a much smaller market cap than Hyperliquid.

Rob Hadick General Partner, Dragonfly 5:28

Long DeFi; constructive on funding.

Dragonfly is generally long a lot of DeFi and is more constructive than most on DeFi funding right now. DeFi continues to come along and do well.

Rob Hadick General Partner, Dragonfly 5:48

DoubleZero KPIs grow despite weak token.

DoubleZero's token has not performed well, but the amount of Solana stake running through DoubleZero continues to drive up, and its KPIs are strong even if the token lags. Dragonfly remains long-term bullish.

Rob Hadick General Partner, Dragonfly 11:12

Hyperliquid's head start sustains business.

Hyperliquid has a huge head start, a tremendous business, and a tremendous exchange. Despite Lighter emerging as a strong competitor, Dragonfly continues to think Hyperliquid will do really well.

Jason Yanowitz Co-Founder, Blockworks 11:53

World App's top wallet rank underappreciated.

World App is the number one wallet by monthly active users, ahead of Base, MetaMask, and Phantom, with a Tinder identity integration and payments and currency conversion features. The adoption is impressive and potentially underappreciated.

Rob Hadick General Partner, Dragonfly 14:14

Walmart fintech strategy expands monetization.

Walmart is the biggest touchpoint for middle-class and rural America and has long sought to expand financial services. OnePay's crypto trading is top-of-funnel for deeper, non-custodial wallet monetization, stablecoins, and remittances, with much better unit economics than third-party banking-as-a-service providers.

Rob Hadick General Partner, Dragonfly 33:17

Stablecoins pressure community banks; consolidation inevitable.

Stablecoins and digitization are inevitable competitive pressures on community banks. The US has 5,000 banks but likely only needs 500, and the reduction will happen even without stablecoins. Community banks should adopt stablecoins to compete, but the sector faces consolidation.

Rob Hadick General Partner, Dragonfly 35:37

Legacy banking cores unlikely to win.

Legacy banking-core providers Fiserv and FIS are unlikely to successfully build new tech-first, digitally native banking cores for community banks. Startups are attacking the space and Dragonfly is not bullish on FIS or Fiserv for this opportunity.

Jason Yanowitz Co-Founder, Blockworks 39:21

MSCI keeps DATs, lifting MicroStrategy.

MSCI will allow digital asset treasuries to remain in its indices rather than excluding them. This is a big deal for MicroStrategy because it is in all the indices today and avoids index-exclusion risk; the stock rallied 6% on the news.

Rob Hadick General Partner, Dragonfly 39:47

Institutional crypto acceptance favors Bitcoin.

Institutional acceptance and excitement around crypto is accelerating, with Morgan Stanley launching a Bitcoin ETF and MSCI keeping DATs in indices. The winds are blowing in the same direction even though token prices and crypto-native sentiment are quiet.

Lighter’s Token Launch, Erebor Raises $350M & Walmart's Crypto Strategy

Summary

Ideas

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