Live From DAS: Are Tokens Dead? | Roundup

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  March 27, 2026 at 08:00  |  31:15  |  Bell Curve
Speakers
Mike Ippolito — Co-founder, Blockworks
Myles O'Neil — Guest

Summary

Recorded at Digital Asset Summit 2026, the roundtable contrasts a maturing institutional crypto conference with a weak token market. The speakers debate why most tokens have underperformed despite progress in regulation, stablecoins, RWA tokenization, and institutional adoption. They outline what could revive tokens: clearer rules, better token structures, more mature products, strategic buyers, and a selective next cycle rather than broad beta. Specific names discussed include Canton, Hyperliquid, Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, Morpheus, Uniswap, and application-layer tokens.

  • DAS 2026 has an institutional tone, with banks, enterprises, and regulators engaged on stablecoins, tokenization, and market structure.
  • Tokens have broadly underperformed, with median token prices down sharply and crypto-native sentiment much worse than institutional sentiment.
  • Speakers attribute token weakness to regulatory constraints, poor disclosures, misaligned token/equity structures, excessive supply unlocks, and exchange/market-maker incentives.
  • They see improving token fundamentals from regulatory clarity, more mature products, better launch structures, and strategic buyers entering directly.
  • Canton is highlighted as an institution-friendly chain that may benefit at the expense of legacy L1s such as Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche.
  • Hyperliquid is cited as a rare performing token and a venue for merging TradFi/crypto trading, including synthetic oil, gold, and S&P 500 exposure.
  • The next token bull market is expected to be selective, driven by institutional capital and real revenue, with a smaller set of winners and a potential application-token era.
Ideas
Xavier 5:25
Canton benefits as institutional chain.
Xavier views Canton as a frontrunner for crypto's institutional future: it has a token and large institutions are comfortable using the chain and putting assets on it. New purpose-built infrastructure can overtake legacy chains, and Canton should continue to grow as institutions choose it over older L1s.
CANTON MED
Xavier 5:51
Ethereum and Solana face overtake risk.
Xavier argues new infrastructure is being built that can overtake legacy chains like Ethereum and Solana. If institutions and new activity migrate to newer, institution-friendly chains such as Canton, Ethereum and Solana face relative growth and adoption pressure.
SOL ETH MED
Xavier 5:57
Avalanche loses institutional share to Canton.
Xavier is cautious on Avalanche and other legacy L1s: they performed well historically but were overvalued in the 2021-22 infra era, growth has slowed, and institutions have little reason to choose Avalanche over purpose-built institutional chains like Canton unless incentives are involved. The L1 bidding game was won by large institutional chains.
AVAX MED
Myles O'Neil Guest 6:45
Hyperliquid is a standout performing token.
Myles highlights Hyperliquid as one of the few tokens actually performing and as the epicenter of the TradFi/crypto rails merge. He notes its traded products include synthetic oil via CLUSD, gold, and the S&P 500, reinforcing the blockchain-not-crypto use case.
HYPE MED
Mike Ippolito Co-founder, Blockworks 12:50
Morpheus's token-only structure advantages it.
Mike likes Morpheus's structure: it dissolved equity and operates with only a token under a PBC-type structure, which he says makes it highly advantaged versus peers. Because Morpheus has no equity, a strategic partner such as Apollo can only take a financial stake by buying the token, and strategics should become increasingly important buyers of token projects.
MOR MED
Mike Ippolito Co-founder, Blockworks 20:56
Token bull market may be starting.
Mike argues the token market may be entering a bull market because crypto company valuations are more attractive after a sharp reset, projects are 4-5 years more mature and weaker ones have been culled, private-market fundraising is very difficult, and regulatory clarity is approaching, which should let projects return value to tokenholders. He cautions investors must pick the right assets rather than buy the whole token complex.
Crypto tokens HIGH
Xavier 22:31
Institutional clarity will restart token bull.
Xavier expects the next token bull market to start when regulatory clarity arrives and sees this as an institutional bull cycle. Sentiment is very low, but sidelined institutional/TradFi capital wants token exposure and is waiting for assets it can trust to hold value long-term; tokens should come back, with the move likely beginning in 6-12 months.
Crypto tokens HIGH
Xavier 22:42
Strategic buyers support Uniswap token.
Xavier cites BlackRock buying Uniswap tokens directly and Apollo buying Morpheus tokens as evidence that large strategics are bypassing equity and buying tokens. He also notes DeFi protocols are pushing value into tokens rather than equity, which supports Uniswap's token value accrual.
UNI MED
Xavier 23:02
DeFi value shifts to tokens.
Xavier says DeFi protocols are shifting value accrual toward tokens rather than equity, reversing the old dual token/equity problem. This makes DeFi tokens more attractive because tokenholders can capture protocol value and institutional buyers are purchasing tokens directly.
DeFi tokens MED
Myles O'Neil Guest 27:47
Known, quality tokens get bids first.
Myles expects the next token cycle to reward quality rather than indiscriminate beta: the best-known tokens that satisfy regulatory clarity should get bids first, followed by mature projects that waited to launch with strong metrics; investors should not expect dartboard-style broad token rallies.
Large-cap crypto tokens MED
Xavier 29:05
Crypto app tokens enter growth era.
Xavier is optimistic on the application era: infrastructure is consolidating while crypto applications are still early, and he expects amazing app tokens to emerge and launch tokens over equity in the next bull cycle, providing early investment opportunities.
Crypto application tokens MED
Xavier 29:21
Only 50-100 tokens will win.
Xavier predicts the next cycle will not be broad token beta: only about 50-100 crypto token assets will do really well over the next 5-10 years. Investors who identify those winners now, or in the next 6-12 months, and hold them can do extremely well.
Top 50-100 crypto tokens MED
Mike Ippolito Co-founder, Blockworks 30:20
Real-revenue crypto tokens gain importance.
Mike expects crypto to enter a long internet-like grind higher where revenue-generating projects matter. Crypto investors now have the option to buy real businesses with revenue rather than speculative 1000x punts, and while speculative crypto will not disappear, real-revenue tokens should attract capital because they offer more durable, if smaller, upside.
Revenue-generating crypto tokens MED
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This Bell Curve video, published March 27, 2026, features Xavier, Myles O'Neil, Mike Ippolito discussing CANTON, SOL, ETH, AVAX, HYPE, MOR, Crypto tokens, UNI, DeFi tokens, Large-cap crypto tokens, Crypto application tokens, Top 50-100 crypto tokens, Revenue-generating crypto tokens. 13 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Xavier, Myles O'Neil, Mike Ippolito  · Tickers: CANTON, SOL, ETH, AVAX, HYPE, MOR, Crypto tokens, UNI, DeFi tokens, Large-cap crypto tokens, Crypto application tokens, Top 50-100 crypto tokens, Revenue-generating crypto tokens