While most people are unplugging this week, I stayed plugged into the onchain world.

Here are 5 things that made this Friday’s Onchain Five.

Protocol On My Radar: Ondo Finance

Ondo is a dedicated L1 created for trading onchain stocks. I spent some time reading through their docs,, and they’ve built a system that addresses the issues of liquidity, slippage, and price deviation from original stock prices.

They’ve integrated with 10 chains, have a Total Value Locked (TVL) of over $1.5B, and already support dozens, if not hundreds, of stocks.

I can see a clear synergy between indexy.xyz (more on Indexy in a bit) and Ondo.

Interesting Read: Morpho Curators

In last week’s Onchain Five, I shared a great read about Morpho Vaults by its co founder, Merlin Egalité. This week, he explained another key element in the Morpho ecosystem, curators.

Read the full article here.

Great Listen: Social Arbitrage Investing

I recently added the My First Million podcast to my playlist, and their latest episode was particularly interesting. The guest is an investor with a distinctive approach that differs from traditional investing methodologies: Social Arbitrage investing.

While this isn’t directly related to crypto, it highlights a methodology that mirrors what I observe daily in the crypto space: trying to find alpha on social media and trade tokens faster than everyone else. It made me reflect on how many traders are pursuing this strategy in crypto, and how challenging it becomes when so many people are doing the same thing.

Anyway, I highly recommend this episode and the podcast in general.

Security: Trust Wallet Hack

Over $7M have been hacked on one of the most popular cyrpto wallets (200M users). Ouch.

If you use Trust Wallet browser extension, read this and follow the steps to update to the latest version.

The good needs is the have a process in place to refund affected users…

Indexy Token Pages and New Charts

This week we pushed one of the Indexy updates we have prepared for the holidays: New token pages and charts.

I made a quick video to walk you through it.

That’s it for today.

If you found this recap useful, why not sharing it with your friends?

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Until next time,

- Kaloh

Reminder: nothing in this newsletter is financial advice. Crypto is highly volatile and carries significant risk. Please make decisions carefully and based on your own research.

Welcome to another edition of the Onchain Five, where I share 5 things I found interesting over the past week. Mostly crypto stuff.

Let’s get into it.

1. Coinbase Introduces Multiple Products

At their System Update event, Coinbase shared a bunch of product updates, one of the biggest announcements they’ve done in a while.

• Stock trading: You can now buy stocks like Nvidia on Microsoft via tokenized stocks.

• The Base App is now open to everyone

• Prediction markets are now available, in a partnership with Kashi.

• Perpetual trading

• Token and stablecoins launchpads

• Coinbase for Business

• Coinbase Assistant, like Coinbase Bankr

Right after the event, Brian Armstrong, Coinbase CEO, shared this question which ignited plenty of discussions.

Are you in the creator coins or the self-custodial version of Coinbase?

I personally see both as winning options, despite strong drawbacks from the comments.

You can try the Base App using my referral link.

2. Grayscale shares Dawn of the Institutional Era Report

Grayscale just dropped their 2026 outlook, and they're calling it: the four-year cycle is dead, institutional era is here. Their bet is that regulatory clarity plus macro uncertainty equals sustained bull market, not another boom-bust.

One of my favorite parts of the report is this chart. Tokenized assets are at $35B while traditional markets are measured in hundreds of trillions. Grayscale thinks this goes 1,000x by 2030 as regulations solidify and institutions stop treating blockchain like radioactive waste.

The infrastructure is already here (ETH, SOL, BNB for rails; LINK for connectivity), and the wall between that microscopic orange bar and everything else is about to crack wide open.

Source: 2026 Digital Asset Outlook: Dawn of the Institutional Era

3. Understanding Morpho Vaults

As I keep researching and learning about the future of indexes, funds, and diversification for my work at indexy, one protocol that can’t be ignored is Morpho.

I found this article from Merlin Egalité (Morpho’s Co Founder), which goes deep into Vaults.

What Are Vaults? Think of vaults as ETFs that actually work how finance should: you deposit assets into a smart contract (not a fund manager's account), the vault auto-allocates across opportunities based on preset rules, and you keep full custody the entire time. No intermediaries, no redemption windows, no permission needed to withdraw. It's composable, programmable infrastructure that lets you deploy capital efficiently without trusting anyone with your keys. Traditional funds make you own shares in an entity that owns your assets, vaults let you own your assets while they work for you.

Source: Vaults: The Future of Noncustodial Finance

4. Rainbow gets Ready for their Airdrop

One of the most popular wallets have been preparing for the RNBW airdrop for a long time. They actually set up an scoring system in 2024, and have openly shared their plans a few months ago.

They also introduce a new legal framework, which as Mike Demarais shares in the tweet below, ensures token holders actually get paid in a potential acquisition of Rainbow in the future.

5. Product I’m Obsessed with: Whisper Flow

Going outside our blockchain bubble for this one. Whisper Flow is an app I can’t stop using… It lets you speak to anything.

Here is how I’ve been using it:

• Notes on the go

• Talking to my Cursor / coding environments

• Dictating the newsletter

That’s it for today, if you found this recap useful, why not sharing it with your friends?

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Until next time,

- Kaloh

Reminder: nothing in this newsletter is financial advice. Crypto is highly volatile and carries significant risk. Please make decisions carefully and based on your own research.

Welcome to the first edition of Onchain Five (a new weekly format). These are five things that caught my eye across the onchain and crypto world this week.

1. Aerodrome ve(3,3) Emission System

Kicking off the first Onchain Five is Aerodrome, a protocol that has quickly become a core part of the Base ecosystem. It’s shipping fast across liquidity and swap infrastructure, but for this piece I went deep into how its ve(3,3) emissions system works and why it matters. Below is a short overview, and the deeper breakdown I shared earlier is worth reading if you want the full context.

2. Farcaster’s New Focus Has Been Misunderstood

Dan Romero’s recent comments have sparked a lot of discussion in crypto social, but as someone who’s been actively building in this ecosystem, I think they’ve been widely misunderstood.

Farcaster social is not shutting down. The protocol is moving forward, and the Base App launch is around the corner, running on top of Farcaster. If you’ve been paying attention, the message is pretty clear: the wallet product is getting traction, and Farcaster is doubling down on it.

What this means is a stronger focus on making the wallet better, faster, and more deeply integrated. The social layer isn’t disappearing. It’s going to live alongside it.

This also isn’t really news. It’s been a consistent theme on Farcaster over the past few months.

Some people are pointing to the $180M funding round and framing this shift as a failure. That might make sense if they had already burned through that capital, but that’s not the case. They still have plenty of runway to operate in a very competitive space. They also have a clear advantage with their social graph and one of the strongest launchpads out there, Clanker.

PS: Sign up to Farcaster using my referral link.

3. Noice Launchpad and Their Cap Table Selection Feature

Noice, the microtransactions app that rose to fame in the Farcaster ecosystem and later turned into a launchpad, has started launching tokens. Their system includes liking a tweet to buy tokens, as well as a pre-sale feature.

What caught my attention was their cap table option. Basically, when a pre-sale is oversubscribed, the team can decide who gets in. This means getting into a pre-sale is no longer purely a matter of speed, which I think is a positive change overall.

Traders: What do you bring to the table?

4. Zora Integrates Solana

Zora is an onchain social and creator platform where accounts, posts and media are issued as coins that can be traded onchain, blending social content with market dynamics. They are called “creator coins” and “content coins”.

This week, Zora integrated Solana, which technically expands the creator base, but in reality probably brings in far more traders.

Stripe Launches Tempo Testnet

Stripe is a global payments company that provides payment infrastructure and financial tools for online businesses and merchants.

Stripe keeps pushing deeper into the crypto space. After acquiring Bridge and Privy and announcing a payments-focused L1 called Tempo, many thought it would go live much further down the line. Instead, Stripe surprised most estimates by closing the year with a live testnet, once again showing how quickly they execute.

Tempo is focused on stablecoin payments, and Stripe decided to build its own blockchain rather than run on top of an existing one. They also announced a 1.5% fee on stablecoin payments. Some are complaining about that, but it’s worth remembering this isn’t about sending money between users. It’s about offering payment gateways and stablecoin services to merchants globally, quickly.

Until next time,

- Kaloh

Reminder: nothing in this newsletter is financial advice. Crypto is highly volatile and carries significant risk. Please make decisions carefully and based on your own research.

It has been a while. As you might know, I’ve been busy building Indexy. Over the past few months I traveled to DevConnect in Buenos Aires and BaseCamp in Vermont, worked on index trading (now in closed beta), and we just passed 200,000 index views on the platform. A lot has been happening behind the scenes.

I missed writing, researching, and simply sharing what I was up to. So I’ve been thinking about how to post consistently again, and I think I’ve found the right format.

It’s simple, and hopefully valuable.

Every Friday, I’ll share a post with five things I learned during the week. These might be interesting apps, protocols, news, charts, digital collectibles, art, or anything else I found worth noting in the crypto space.

Then, ideally every week (but probably bi-weekly), I’ll share an overview of a protocol, app, or tool I’ve been using that I found interesting. These will be short by design. Simplifying is actually harder, and this format will force me to focus on the good stuff.

Everything will be free for now, since I turned off Premium when I stopped writing consistently. I might turn it back on in the future for more detailed posts, but first I need to find the rhythm again.

Let’s start with a protocol and ecosystem I’ve been studying for a bit now.

Aerodrome: Piloting liquidity, governance and emissions

Aerodrome has quickly become the breakout protocol on Base and honestly one of the fastest movers in the whole crypto ecosystem. They’re shipping nonstop: liquidity infra, swap infra, and more recently, a new token launcher, and even a Solana to Base bridge.

But for now, I want to focus on the core piece that made Aerodrome stand out, its liquidity engine and how the emissions system works.

If you aren’t familiar with liquidity pools or how liquidity provision works, I recommend reading this deep dive I wrote back in March.

Aerodrome is a decentralized exchange and liquidity engine built on Base. It uses a vote escrow model where users (known as pilots) lock $aero tokens (the native Aerodrome token) to receive voting power, known as veAERO. Liquidity pools receive emissions of new $aero every week (called Epochs), and veAERO holders decide how those emissions are allocated among them.

Protocols can offer bribes to incentivize voters to direct emissions toward their preferred pools. Anyone can offer bribes by depositing tokens into a specific pool’s bribe contract; voters who choose that pool during the epoch receive the bribe rewards proportional to their votes.

This creates a positive feedback loop. Liquidity providers earn trading fees and $aero emissions, while veAERO voters earn fees and bribes from the pools they support. The result is an incentive system that aligns traders, liquidity providers, and protocols. Aerodrome functions as a liquidity hub for the Base ecosystem, routing emissions to the pools that show the most demand or strategic value.

Aerodrome Stats

• Current Total Value Locked: ±$440M

• Cumulative Volume: ±$330B

• Cumulative Swap Fees: ±$306B

What are Aerodrome Challenges?

Even though Aerodrome has proven to be highly efficient and has become the clear liquidity hub on Base, the model comes with several challenges worth highlighting.

• It’s a bit complex for new users
  Locking, epochs, ve voting, emissions, and bribes can be hard to grasp at first, which may limit how quickly mainstream users feel comfortable participating.

• Ongoing sell pressure on $aero
  Rewards are paid in newly minted tokens, so the system depends on strong locking demand. If that demand slows, it can create steady sell pressure.

• Voting power can concentrate
  Large veAero holders can have outsized influence over emissions, which can make participation feel uneven for smaller voters.

• Liquidity can move around quickly
  Protocols may chase emissions and bribes, which can lead to liquidity shifting from pool to pool rather than building long-term depth.

What’s Next for Aerodrome

To wrap up this short overview, it’s worth looking at how Aerodrome is setting itself up for its next phase of growth.

Aerodrome has formed a direct partnership with Coinbase and powers the liquidity behind Coinbase’s onchain DEX product. In simple terms, this means anyone using Coinbase can swap any token onchain without waiting for a centralized listing. It is a massive distribution channel, though we haven’t seen its full impact yet since the DEX is still rolling out globally. As it expands to more regions and eventually supports additional networks beyond Base, this product could meaningfully rival centralized exchange volume. If that happens, Aerodrome’s role as the underlying liquidity layer becomes even more important.

Aerodrome has also begun expanding beyond its core liquidity infrastructure with two new offerings: a token launchpad and a Solana to Base bridge. Both have strong potential, but they deserve their own deep dives, so I’ll leave those for a future post.

Until next time,

- Kaloh

Reminder: nothing in this newsletter is financial advice. Crypto is highly volatile and carries significant risk. Please make decisions carefully and based on your own research.

I’m back in Europe after a week in the US, where I joined the Base Camp event hosted by Base / Coinbase. I felt like doing a mental recap of everything I saw and learned, and thought it might be useful to share it publicly.

So, what’s Base Camp? It is a gathering where founders, creators and developers meet to push the Base ecosystem forward.

Before the trip, all I knew was that it would take place in Burlington, Vermont. I missed the first Base Camp last year and had never been to Vermont before, so I had no idea what to expect. The 3-day event ended up being hosted in a beautiful spot in Stowe, a well-known ski destination. Everyone attending got a cabin or room in one of the local resorts, which made the setting pretty unique.

The event had a packed schedule with talks, workshops, and plenty of activities designed to touch grass and break the routine. We went mushroom picking, did yoga, joined a pickleball tournament, sang karaoke (turns out there are some really talented singers among us), played poker, enjoyed a whiskey tasting, and more. There were also plenty of cozy spots where you could sit down and get some work done.

Not bad huh?

From the Base Ecosystem

Base Network Token

Jesse Pollak opened the event with big news: the exploration of a Base token. This could end up being one of the biggest developments in crypto, and while it is clear it will not happen this year, the implications are massive. It would have a big effect on how the ecosystem operates, including how apps should be designed. I am still processing how it might impact both the broader Base ecosystem and my own onchain activity.

Considering that more than half of the top 20 coins by market cap are blockchains, Base has a real chance to break into the top 10 — maybe even the top 5 — once a token is live. It is definitely worth keeping close tabs on how this progresses.

Base App Roast

Every day, the Base team hosted a “roast” session where anyone could grab the mic and give unfiltered feedback on the Base App. I was honestly surprised by the quality of ideas, critiques, and struggles shared by users. It was a strong exercise in listening to direct feedback and openly discussing some of the biggest challenges.

The clearest takeaway was the risk of the “everything app” becoming the “nothing app.” If you try to do too many things at once, you often end up not doing any of them well. The sense I got from the team is that they plan to narrow the focus, prioritizing one main use case instead of trying to juggle social, trading, wallet, app store, and more all at the same time.

Personally, I do not have as strong opinions as many other users. I have not explored every feature, like trading, and I mostly use the Base App alongside Farcaster, so my experience has been more limited.

Spindle

I had the chance to see Spindle, an “ads” product founded by Antonio García Martínez, who led Facebook Ads and wrote Chaos Monkeys. He also used to publish here on Substack. I have been trying to get my hands on the product for a while, and finally got to see a live demo.

In short, Spindle is a platform for creating onchain ads that take advantage of blockchain features like smart contracts and transparency. Publishers can set rules for what they want to achieve, define a budget, and Spindle connects them with distributors such as Base App and BitGet to display the ads. These ads go beyond traditional Web2 formats because they can be directly tied to onchain actions, like making a deposit, minting an NFT, or interacting with a mini app (for example, one day creating or trading an index on Indexy could be delivered as a Spindle ad). The product is rounded out with a powerful dashboard and analytics suite to track performance.

Investors Round Table

The session featured Maria Shen from Electric Capital, Jakub Rusiecki from 1kx, and Jess and Josh from Seed Club.

It was especially interesting because it helped me reflect on and validate my own journey with Indexy. My main takeaway was that there is no single path to raising capital or finding success. Every entrepreneur and onchain creator has to carve out their own way, which makes the process both challenging and rewarding. If you look at the most successful protocols, chains, apps, and creators, none of their journeys look the same.

Another thing that stood out is that investors tend to care as much about motives, intentions, and backgrounds as they do about numbers or traction.

People and Products

Although the whole experience was very rewarding, my favorite part was to get to know and share ideas with other creators and founders. There is definitely a lot of talent in the Base ecosystem.

Here is a list of the people I met and the products I discovered in no particular order (apologies if I missed you, couldn’t find you after we chatted).

Seamless x Wes

Chatting with Wes was refreshing. He gave me a clearer picture of what true decentralization looks like in practice, how much I still need to learn about DeFi and what it takes to operate a decentralized protocol. Seamless let’s you lend, borrow, and earn on Base.

Clanker x Jack and MoonPapi

I had a few beers with Jack, the founder of Clanker. We talked about the ups and downs of building, what it takes to run a strong team, and the challenges of operating one of the most popular token launchers in the space.

Zapper x Seb

I got to share breakfast with Seb, the founder of Zapper. He has been building in DeFi for over six years and shared valuable lessons from that journey. He also gave me sharp feedback on Indexy: keep things simple.

Myosin x Bondy

Bondy reached out and shared a ton of ideas on how to make Indexy better. He has been following the project since day one and I felt lucky to hear his perspective. Bondy is part of Myosin, a Web3 marketing agency.

Talent Filipe & Juampi

I met Filipe and Juampi, both building at Talent Protocol. If you are a data geek like me, you should give Talent a try and check out your Builder Score.

Fxhash x Paul

I caught up with Paul, who I have known since the early Fxhash days back in 2021 and 2022. We had a great conversation about the process of tokenizing Fx and what is coming next for the platform.

Glider x Brian

I caught up with Brian from Glider, a powerful tool for automating trading and portfolio management. I have followed Glider since the early days and it has been exciting to watch it keep growing stronger.

Wasabi x Eren

Wasabi let’s you trade with leverage and earn yield from a long list of curated coins. I was glad to see you can already trade $i, the native Indexy token, based on user requests.

Noice x TK

I met Heet Tike, the cofounder of Noice, and got a sneak peek of what is coming next. He has an ambitious vision, and I really appreciated hearing his thoughts on Indexy.

Drawcaster by Thomas

I shared my room with Thomas, a mini app builder from Hungary who is working on Drawcaster. It is a fun game where you can earn rewards by guessing drawings… Give it a try on the Base App or Farcaster.

Ponder x Cojo

I briefly met Cojo, the mind behind Ponder, a mini app for polls, prediction markets which has multiple interesting use cases.

A0x x vbDaniel

I met Daniel, a founder from Chile, who is working on AI agents for specific use cases. One example is JesseXBT, an agent trained with Jesse Pollak’s social data.

BetrMint x Toady Hawk

I had a quick chat with Toady, who is building BetrMint, a tool designed to help founders, creators, and apps with creative token distribution.

What I wish we have seen more

Overall, the event was so well planned that I left positively surprised. The Base team set an extremely high bar. If I had to suggest one thing, it would be to give more spotlight to apps in different settings throughout Base Camp. With so many protocols, products, and creators in the ecosystem, the event felt like the perfect place to amplify what is already being built.

Until next time,

- Kaloh

It’s been a while...

Today I want to share what I’ve been working on, a few interesting things I’ve seen in the crypto streets lately, and what’s next for the newsletter now that I’m officially running a startup.

Indexy (1, 2) has taken up most of my time (150%) over the past 8 weeks, which is why you’ve seen fewer emails from me. What started as a simple table to track crypto markets has evolved into a product used by over 15,000 analysts, researchers, and degens. It’s powered by $i, our native token. I recently brought on two devs, and we’ve got an ambitious roadmap ahead. It’s a perfect mix of the stuff I care about—onchain, data, and markets.

Writing less has been the tradeoff, but diving into Indexy every day—seeing what analysts are tracking across chains, ecosystems, and categories—has kept me closer to the pulse of crypto than ever before.

Here’s what I’ve observed over the past few weeks:

Concepts like content coins, creator coins, artist coins, tokenized apps, tokenized stocks—even brand coins—are no longer just ideas. They’re real now, with thousands of users experimenting across platforms. The tech is getting better, and the overall experience is improving day by day. It hasn’t fully clicked for everyone yet—and that’s okay. There’s still pushback; I’ve felt it myself just by mentioning I launched a token for my app. Some creators and artists have faced similar resistance, while others just don’t see a strong reason to tokenize anything yet.

But at the end of the day, it won’t be the crypto natives who decide if this matters—it’ll be normies, and they can now explore these mechanics with just a few clicks.

Zora has kept pushing deeper into the coin model by linking content coins to creator coins, all of which route through the Zora token. This setup funnels volume into a single token and avoids the issue of standalone coins diluting each other’s value—everything a creator publishes ties back to their main coin. Following that direction, I activated my own coin, $kaloh, and I’ll keep using Zora from time to time—coining articles, charts, and other content like I’ve done in the past. The key with creator coins is setting expectations. $kaloh is just for fun—no strings attached. I enjoy testing new onchain features, and this is another experiment. It also opens up new ways to connect with readers, get discovered, and distribute content directly into wallets, DEXes, and a growing number of apps.

fxhash launched their own protocol recently, powered by $fxh, using a structure similar to Zora’s. The difference is fxhash remains focused on digital art (they’ve hinted at expanding into other areas like AI art). They’ve also announced they’ll no longer support Tezos and will focus fully on Base.

I wrote this article back in December with some predictions for their airdrop—I was definitely optimistic, but I still think $fxh is undervalued.

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The Base App is still in closed beta, but it’s already brought new energy to crypto social. It combines Farcaster’s social layer, Zora-style coin mechanics, a crypto wallet and mini apps into one platform. The goal is to be a super app that makes it easier for normies to try onchain mechanics. I’ve been testing it for over a month—Indexy is live and trending in the Finance category, alongside 100+ other mini apps. Some users have said the experience varies depending on the OS (Android feels a bit rougher than iOS), but overall, I expect it to improve quickly. I’ll keep using it alongside Farcaster.

The tokenization of everything is happening.

Meanwhile, NFTs have seen a spike in volume—especially among the so-called grail collections. CryptoPunks raised their floor to around $190,000 (up 100%) after 373 sales in the past 30 days. Fidenzas by Tyler Hobbs are also up 125%, with a current floor around $150,000 and 42 sales this month.

The excitement is real, but it’s mostly concentrated at the top. We’re not seeing a broad market rally—just a sharp, condensed surge in high-end collections.

On the newsletter plans moving forward…

I’ve been thinking about how to move forward with the newsletter now that Indexy is taking up most of my time. I want to set realistic expectations—for you as a reader and for me as a writer. Going forward, I’ll publish at least one public and one premium edition per month. I might write more, but that’s the baseline I’m committing to.

Until next time,

- Kaloh

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Disclaimer: As always, none of my content should be considered financial advice. This applies to all my articles and posts, and assets mentioned. Cryptocurrencies and digital assets are extremely risky and could lead to losing your investments. Always do your own research.

But over the past two years, that’s started to change. Fast.

One recent example that got me thinking: Circle’s IPO — a decentralized product going through a very centralized process. Meanwhile, more onchain apps are launching tokens in ways that feel far more open and aligned with their users.

Today, I want to share why tokens can make a lot of sense — when they’re paired with intent and purpose.

I’ll walk you through three apps I’ve been using daily — each one a great example of how to launch a token that adds real value.

In this deep dive:

• Why traditional IPOs still leave many out

• How tokenized apps are flipping the script

• Three success stories: $Noice, $Checkr, and $QR

• What tokenizing your app unlocks — for creators and for users

• Bonus: a small gift for subscribers (stick around till the end!)

What Circle’s IPO Got Me Thinking About

Last week, Circle — the company behind the popular stablecoin USDC — went public. By traditional metrics, the IPO was a big success: IPO price ±$30, and moved up to +$85 on launch day, netting +141% for investors.

Impressive, especially considering how IPOs have struggled in recent years. It will likely encourage more crypto companies to explore IPOs.

But watching the process, one thing stood out to me: despite the decentralized nature of USDC, the IPO process itself remained heavily gated and institutional. Large banking players and well-connected investors dominated participation — while everyday users of USDC had no path in.

It’s a good reminder that traditional IPOs, even when used by crypto-native companies, aren’t really designed for broad, community-driven participation.

Which got me thinking: how are tokenized apps approaching this differently?

Tokenized Apps Flipping the Script

One model that feels far more open and aligned with users is emerging inside onchain apps: tokens launched with clear purpose, tied to real products and communities.

I’m not saying tokenized apps replace IPOs — they serve different needs. But in some ways, this model enables forms of funding, participation, and growth that traditional models often miss.

More onchain apps are launching tokens today — and many are finding traction beyond pure speculation. Tokens are being introduced in ways that enhance the product, engage users, and help bootstrap sustainable communities.

The systems aren’t perfect — far from it — but they do open new possibilities. Let’s take a look at a few success stories.

The Onchain Attention Machine: $QR

QR is a website launched by Jake — who was a podcast guest a few months ago — that follows the Nouns daily auction model. Each day, the winner of the auction gets their website listed in a giant QR code — visible for 24 hours. That’s it.

What began as a simple experiment has gained serious traction, with recent auctions topping $3,000.

There’s a clever twist: visitors who scan the QR code and check out the winning site can earn $QR tokens — rewarding actual engagement, not just speculation.

0xJake launched the token openly. For more than a week, it traded at a ~$40K market cap, giving early participants plenty of time to get in. Over the next three months — driven by growing interest in the auctions, rising site traffic, the Farcaster mini-app, and a smart token distribution strategy — the market cap crossed $6M. It currently sits around $5.1M.

Crypto Mindshare Analytics: $Checkr

One of the most interesting metrics in crypto today is mindshare — a popular marketing concept that asks: how many people are talking about your product or brand?

Checkr tracks the Farcaster social feed — and now the X feed as well — to surface social stats on crypto tokens: trending, most discussed, rising in conversations, and more.

$Checkr uses its token to power a more flexible subscription model. If you hold over 50,000 $Checkr tokens, you get access to the premium version. The beauty of this model is that instead of paying a monthly fee, you’re holding an asset. If you ever decide to stop using Checkr, you can simply sell your tokens.

Tomu — a long-time reader of this newsletter — launched Checkr to his Farcaster and X audience of fewer than 10,000 followers at the time. Following a similar approach to $QR, it was an open launch where anyone could (and still can) participate without barriers. The token now sits at a $1.5M market cap and has over 16,000 holders.

Reward Social Interactions: $Noice

Last but not least, Noice is a Farcaster-native system that lets anyone pay — or get paid — for their social interactions. The most common use case is tipping ($1 to $0.01, depending on how generous you’re feeling 😉) for likes, recasts, comments, or follows. Others can do the same — so depending on your activity, you can earn through “microtransactions.”

$Noice quickly became one of the go-to tokens for tipping. The team then expanded the system to support tipping with any token — turning it into a flexible distribution layer for apps and projects across the ecosystem.

A team of four — originally from India and led by srijan.eth — has built one of the most successful onchain social apps to date. $Noice currently sits at an $11M market cap (after briefly breaking $15M), but more importantly, it has already processed over 50,000 microtransactions in less than a month.

There are many more apps innovating beyond pure speculation — and one of the easiest ways to track this segment is through Indexy and the community-built indexes there.

If you’re looking to get your feet wet, the Clanker Index, the Farcaster Product Index, or the DeFi Index are great places to start.

Benefits of Tokenized Apps

So what makes this model so interesting — and worth paying attention to? When done well, tokenized apps create value for both the builders and the users. Here’s how.

What’s in it for creators?

1. Make a better product
Done right, a token should improve the user experience — not complicate it. This is where many projects stumble: they tack on a token that adds friction, attracts the wrong crowd, or turns the app into a reward-claiming machine instead of a real product.

2. Marketing and exposure
Tokens spread. When executed well (see point 1), your token shows up across social feeds, trading dashboards, social apps, and wallet activity. I’ve discovered plenty of projects this way — a token pops up in a friend’s feed, or I see it trending, and that leads me to explore the app. Some of those impressions turn into actual users.

3. Revenue stream
Not everyone has the luxury of ignoring revenue. Most creators don’t have investor backing or endless runway. They build something useful… and then face the harsh reality of server costs, storage, bandwidth, and time.

Tokens offer a way to capture a tiny slice (typically 0.1%–1%) of the transaction volume. If your app gains traction, that alone can cover operational costs — or even fund future growth. It’s a similar dynamic to NFT royalties, though with smaller margins (sub-1% vs. the 5%–20% royalty era).

If you look at the examples above — $QR, $Checkr, and $Noice — all of them are likely dealing with significant ongoing costs. Tokens give these teams a viable way to bootstrap, fund, and sustain their work over time.

What’s in it for users?

1. Tokens that actually do something
The best tokenized apps give their token a clear purpose — baked into the product itself. That’s why the examples I shared work so well:

• $QR → Drive attention — or get paid for providing it

• $Checkr → Unlock premium analytics

• $Noice → Earn and reward social interactions — without breaking the bank

2. Earn while you use — with a twist
You’ve probably seen this in Web2: “Refer a friend and earn $50,” or airline loyalty points (though good luck actually redeeming them — I’ve tried).

The difference here? These tokens are liquid. You can use them, sell them, transfer them — and their value moves with the app’s success.

In $Noice and $Checkr, for example, you can both earn tokens through activity and use those tokens to access premium features. No lock-in. No opaque points system.

3. An option to invest — but not the whole point
Of course, speculation is part of crypto — and tokenized apps make that possible by default. But in the strongest examples, this is no longer the core value proposition.

The strongest tokenized apps are built around products people actually use — with speculation as an extra layer, not the core experience.

🎁 Small Gift for Subscribers

As you may know, I’ve been building Indexy (read my introductory post here), an analytics platform to track crypto markets with smart indices — a way to combine my passion for analytics, market intelligence, and helping people make sense of crypto markets.

In line with everything we’ve covered today, Indexy will be launching its own token — and I’m excited to experiment with some of the ideas we explored: improving the product experience, driving discovery, and creating sustainable ways to fund and grow the project.

If you are a premium member expect an email from me over the next days asking for your Base wallet - I would nerver ask you anything else, be aware of scams.

Until next time,
Kaloh

Disclaimer: As always, none of my content should be considered financial advice. This applies to all my articles and posts, and assets mentioned. Cryptocurrencies and digital assets are extremely risky and could lead to losing your investments. Always do your own research.

Stripe just rolled out support for stablecoin payments—and launched its own: USDB. That move came shortly after acquiring Bridge, a digital money transfer API startup, for $1.1B. It’s a clear signal: stablecoins are going mainstream.

The market agrees. The total stablecoin supply keeps hitting new all-time highs. USDC and USDT remain in the top 10 crypto assets by market cap—firmly embedded in the core of the ecosystem.

This isn’t just another financial trend. Stablecoins are changing how money works—globally.

Here is a recap of the main advantages of stablecoins

• You can move money across borders in seconds, nearly fee-free.

• Earn meaningful yield without needing a large balance.

• Skip the bureaucracy of banks and credit scores—just open a wallet.

• And for creators, traders, and crypto companies, they offer a way to hold value without riding every market swing.

Even legacy players like Visa and Mastercard are integrating them into credit and debit flows.

All signs point in the same direction: stablecoins aren’t just here to stay—they’re about to become a default payment option for millions of people. All exciting stuff—especially if you’re into finance or run a business.

But there’s a bigger story here. One that touches “onchain culture” and “consumer crypto” in a fundamental way.

Stablecoins are a Trojan Horse for Crypto Adoption

So what does it mean for actual exposure? Let’s put this into scale…

In 2024, Stripe processed $1.4 trillion in total payment volume, accounting for roughly 1.3% of global GDP. The platform powers over 1.3 million live websites, has been used by another 2.9 million, and serves half of the Fortune 100 and 78% of the Forbes AI 50. Now, stablecoin payments are starting to show up right alongside credit cards, PayPal, bank transfers, and other payment options at checkout. With Stripe’s massive reach, millions of people are about to see stablecoins for the first time.

Stripe launching USDB puts them in direct competition with Circle (USDC) and Tether (USDT). It’s safe to assume they’ll be pushing stablecoin payments hard.

How? Possibly through better rates for both merchants and consumers.

Imagine this: I could accept stablecoin payments for my newsletter here on Substack. Stripe takes a lower fee and automatically gives me 3–5% annual yield on the stablecoin balance in my account. Not bad. Now extend that to all Substack writers, all creators over the internet… All of eCommerce.

But beyond finance, to use stablecoins, you need a wallet. Custodial or not, users will have to interact with crypto infrastructure. And that’s where it gets interesting.

One of the biggest blockers for crypto and blockchain adoption has been the complexity of the tech. Wallets, gas fees, key management, fragmentation—it’s overwhelming. Once people receive or send stablecoins, two major frictions get resolved:

• Getting a crypto wallet

• Funding it

Once people have wallets, they’re inside the system. And once they’re in, all it takes is fun and useful onchain experiences—games, art, collectibles, or new ways to invest (DeFi). We’re still early here, but the past few years have brought real progress in consumer-facing blockchain apps.

Stablecoins Are the New Onboarding Ramp

Stablecoins aren’t just good for payments—they’re unlocking new opportunities across the onchain economy.

For content creators, SaaS tools, and businesses, stablecoin support from platforms like Stripe could finally enable recurring payments—something crypto has been missing for years. That shift could lead to more stable, sustainable business models across the ecosystem.

For app and experience builders, this should translate into more users with money to spend in your app.

Artists can expect a broader audience with blockchain-enabled payments—and one-click NFT buying, without the need for a 3-day tutorial.

Collectors, more liquidity is likely headed your way.

Things are moving fast and the potential is real—but that doesn’t mean there isn’t tension.

Where Stablecoins and Bitcoin Diverge

There is a tradeoff here—or maybe more of a vision misalignment—especially when you compare stablecoins to Bitcoin’s original purpose.

If you’ve read the Bitcoin whitepaper, one of its core intentions was to disrupt the traditional financial system by enabling peer-to-peer payments without intermediaries. It was a push for a new kind of money—independent, decentralized, and censorship-resistant.

Stablecoins, on the other hand, are a hybrid. Especially those pegged to fiat currencies like the US Dollar or the Euro, which are essentially extensions of the existing financial system—just ported onto the blockchain. They’re still tied to the same governing bodies and monetary policies they aim to mirror.

That said, stablecoins aren’t only pegged to fiat. They can also be backed by other assets like gold, stocks, or even baskets of goods. But the vast majority of current stablecoin usage is centered around fiat-backed versions.

So here’s the tension: for those who saw Bitcoin as a payment technology for a fully sovereign financial system, the mainstream adoption of stablecoins might feel like a step backward. But for the vision of Bitcoin as a long-term store of value—a kind of digital gold—it’s not necessarily in conflict.

In the big picture, stablecoin adoption is a huge win for blockchain-based infrastructure, especially Ethereum, which Stripe chose as the first network to support its stablecoin. (Other chains will likely follow.) But it doesn’t directly benefit Bitcoin—at least not in terms of its original vision for payments.

Until next time,

- Kaloh

You might have noticed a delay this past week—an atypical radio silence from my side. The truth is, I haven’t been able to sit down and write an issue, mainly because of two things.

The first was a power outage that hit Southern Europe earlier this week. It set me back for 24 hours—but realistically, it affected me for longer. As you may know, Spain, Portugal, and parts of France and Italy lost electricity for over 15 hours (depending on the region). That might not sound too bad at first, but the reality is the entire country was out—trains stopped, traffic lights were off, internet was down, and telecom networks were overwhelmed. Basically, everything went dark.

I used this time to do things I usually want to do but don’t find the time for—reading books I had lying around and catching up with family and friends, fully offline. While working wasn’t an option, it was actually refreshing. Sure, it created serious issues for people caught mid-travel, but overall, it reminded me: always keep some cash in your pocket. Apple Pay and crypto won’t help much when the power’s out.

As for the cause? Still unknown. Companies and government agencies are pointing fingers while we wait for an explanation. Cyberattack? Officially ruled out… kind of.

The second reason I’ve been quiet: I’ve been heads-down working on Indexy, a new way to track and understand crypto markets using smart indices. If you're curious, I wrote a piece a while back on why I'm building Indexy. The product has come a long way—thousands of index views, lots of visitors, and real-time metrics across 50+ chains. It’s helping bring structure to the chaos of crypto markets. If you’re on Farcaster, you can check out Indexy via the mobile mini-app (coming soon to Coinbase Wallet too).

That’s it from my side. But what’s been happening out there in the crypto streets? Quite a bit, actually. Let’s dive in.

Zora Airdrop and Content Coins

Zora—the platform where you can post anything onchain (memes, art, videos—you name it)—launched its $ZORA token last week through a major airdrop. I’ve mentioned Zora a few times before, as I often post articles and podcasts there.

Before the airdrop, Zora quietly shifted its whole system: moving from NFTs to tokens. The rollout took months, including experiments on an alternative platform before they made it official.

They’ve now landed on the term “content coins,” and the idea has strong ties to Base and Jesse Pollak (the creator and lead of Base). Jesse has been a vocal supporter—buying, sharing, and even launching a content coin signed by Base itself.

This shift is a bold one. Naturally, it’s drawn criticism and sparked a lot of debate. Content coins are polarizing. Here’s the breakdown:

• Each content coin has a fixed supply of 1,000,000 tokens.

• When you create a content coin, you instantly receive 10% of the supply and can buy more before the public.

• You earn trading fees (split with Zora).

• Unlike NFTs, all coins are liquid from day one—no “graduation” system like pump.fun.

It’s an abundance model, not one based on scarcity. Supporters want to “tokenize everything,” and the supply model reflects that. When Base launched two content coins, it frustrated traditional traders who are used to scarcity. Launching multiple tokens dilutes volume and price—so it’s a mindset shift.

Critics argue this model benefits Zora (volume = revenue) and devalues creators—especially compared to the scarcity-driven fine art world.

So, who are content coins for? At the moment, it seems ideal for people like me.

I’ve been exploring tokenized content for years—from article NFTs on OpenSea and hic et nunc (Tezos), to more recent platforms like Mirror, Paragraph, Pods, Zora, Rodeo, and subscriptions via HyperSub. Why? Because I’m a media creator. My goal is distribution—getting content seen by as many people as possible—not maximizing the price of a single edition. In that sense, content coins are a great fit.

Will I use them? Yes—I’ll keep experimenting.

Are they for everyone? Early signs suggest no. But brands, creators, and artists might find creative ways to use them depending on their goals.

It’s a complex topic with lots of moving parts. Most people don’t understand the difference between coins and NFTs, so the conversation is still very niche.

But here’s some good news: If you’ve received my airdrops or collected any of my articles or podcasts, you might be eligible for a $ZORA allocation. Check and claim here.

Speaking of airdrops…

I’m planning some surprises over the next few months... and for it to actually be a surprise, I’ll need your wallet address.

Submit your wallet

Note: Adding your email or social handles is optional, but it helps me see how active you’ve been across the newsletter and podcast, and remove bots.

Fxhash Protocol and Airdrop

Back in December, I wrote about fxhash’s announcement of an upcoming airdrop.

If you read that, you probably expected the airdrop by now. But the team has taken a cautious approach. While there’s no confirmed date, they said the airdrop announcement will come when development is 95% complete. Feels like we’re getting close.

They also shared updates about the future of fxhash. Like the rest of the NFT and generative art market, things have slowed down massively over the past year. But fxhash is going all-in on what they’re calling the fxhash protocol, powered by the $FXH token.

Details are still vague, and it feels like many design choices are still being figured out. My guess: we’ll see more interactions through tokens and fewer pure NFTs. That’s in line with current trends—coins are on the rise. fxhash is in a unique position to experiment with both.

Curious and excited to see where this goes. Maybe it’ll reignite some energy in the gen art movement.

Crypto Is Ready for New Chapters

This year’s been another rollercoaster for crypto. From Trump’s election win (which sparked extreme bullishness), to a brutal market dip, and now… some breathing room.

Global markets are still shaky—economic conflicts are straining international relationships, and both consumers and businesses are feeling the pressure. Despite that, Bitcoin is at $96K as I write this. ETH is lagging behind BTC, but development—especially around Base and Farcaster—is strong.

Since I’ve been working on the Indexy mini-app (which runs on Farcaster and has deep ties to Base), I’ve had a front-row seat. Most users are focused on ETH tokens, and I can see momentum building.

That said, there’s a creativity gap. A lot of projects are just clones of things that worked before (launchpads like Clanker/pump.fun) or casino-like games—sticky, addictive, but lacking new use cases. On the bright side, gaming is booming. The top games are putting up monster numbers. I think we’re close to seeing the first true breakout onchain game—think Axie Infinity v2, but sustainable this time.

Other ecosystems I’m watching: Abstract (from the Pudgy Penguins team), Monad, and ZK tech. I haven’t had time to dive deep yet, but expect a deep dive soon. If you have a preference, reply to this email or leave a comment—I read every message.

Where Are the NFTs?

Feels like there’s a real drop-off in NFT-driven projects. Many are calling NFTs a passing trend. But there’s a smaller crowd (myself included) who think a comeback is brewing. This could be accelerated by the newer rules, where Apple is forced to allow NFTs and external links into their apps.

Not the same old pattern though—not crazy launches that bring in millions or JPEGs flying on secondary markets. That playbook’s worn out. What’s more interesting is building NFT-driven experiences, especially now that L2s offer faster, cheaper interactions.

I don’t think art will be the main banner this time. I see “games” and “collectibles” leading the charge. Hope that makes sense. It’s a great time to experiment.

Wait, where is AI? Didn’t mention it much because it’s already everywhere—quietly powering most of what we use. No need to remind everyone. It’s baked in.

That’s it for today, folks. I’ll be back with some deep dives soon.

Until next time,
– Kaloh

Welcome to another edition of Hidden Gems — your weekly rundown of onchain things that caught my eye lately.

Before we dive in, a quick ask:
I’m planning some surprises over the next few months... and for it to actually be a surprise, I’ll need your wallet address.

Submit your wallet

Note: Adding your email or social handles is optional, but it helps me see how active you’ve been across the newsletter and podcast, and remove bots.

Alright, let’s jump into this week’s gems.

💎 Gem of the Week

Max Pain and Frens by XCOPY

If you’ve been around crypto art or NFTs for a while, XCOPY is a name you’ve definitely come across. One of the earliest artists to use NFTs as a medium for distributing his work, he’s built one of the strongest communities in the space. Over the years, he’s released countless pieces — from iconic 1/1s to multi-editions — and continues to stay relevant by designing interactive burn-and-claim mechanics.

This week, I’m highlighting Max Pain and Frens — not just because it's a classic, but because it serves as a great benchmark for understanding XCOPY’s market and the broader crypto art ecosystem.

Even in these hyper-volatile times, XCOPY is holding strong — in some cases, even gaining value.

Why this collection stands out for collectors looking for exposure to crypto art:

• Accessible floor: Sitting around 0.9 ETH

• Cultural icon: Arguably the most popular XCOPY work in existence

• High liquidity: Active demand and offers across years

• Burn mechanics: You can trade your Max Pain and Frens for other XCOPY editioned works (1/50, 1/100, 1/250, 1/500, etc.)

• Deflationary: Supply keeps shrinking as people burn for new drops

I’ve written about XCOPY several times over the years — most recently on March 6th, 2025, when I featured Max Pain and Frens in What Would I Collect with 2 ETH Today? It’s a pick that’s aged well.

📊 Chart of the Week

NFT Marketplaces Index

This week’s chart tracks the short-term movement of NFT marketplace tokens like Blur, Magic Eden, WAX, and LooksRare — giving us a clear snapshot of how this niche is behaving in real time. Over the past 7 days, the total market cap has hovered around $430M–$450M, with Blur making up more than half of the index. Magic Eden holds a strong second spot, while WAX and LooksRare trail behind.

This group is a useful barometer for where the NFT market might be heading — and what kind of confidence traders have in the infra layer of NFTs. It also sets the stage for the future: if long-rumored tokens from OpenSea, fxhash, or Zora ever drop, they could instantly reshape this landscape. Worth keeping an eye on.

✍️ Kaloh’s Newsletter

Scanning Eyes, Dropping Tokens: A Deep Dive into Worldcoin

In case you missed it, last week I shared a deep dive into one of the most talked-about projects in the “proof of humanity” space — Worldcoin — led by none other than Sam Altman (a hero to some, a villain to others).

If you’re a Farcaster user, you might enjoy the parallels with SocialFi protocols. Here’s a quick snippet from the piece:

Read the full deep dive below — it’s available to premium members only. A premium subscription gives you access to all future deep dives, the full archive of premium content, and helps support the time and energy I put into Kaloh’s Newsletter.

If you’ve been enjoying the free posts, consider upgrading here.

Subscribe now

📺 Content of the Week

Empire Podcast ft. With Santiago Roel Santos and Jason Yanowitz

First time I tuned into Empire — and it was worth it. Solid takes on investing, becoming a founder, and what crypto really needs to go mainstream.

Not for crypto tourists.

Topics: market crashes, altcoins, portfolio building, crypto M&A, Ripple moves.

🎙️ Kaloh’s Podcast

Next Episode… Wait.

Speaking of podcasts — a quick update on Kaloh’s Podcast.

You might’ve noticed I haven’t dropped a new episode in a few weeks. I decided to take a short break to focus properly on Indexy (you can try the Beta [here] and read more about it [here]).

Building Indexy solo has been pure joy — but also super demanding. Context switching between writing code, publishing a newsletter, and recording a podcast? It’s a recipe for three average outputs. And that’s not what I’m here for.

That said, I love having deep conversations with some of the smartest people in crypto — so the podcast will definitely be back. I can’t say exactly when, but it’s not going away.

In the meantime, here are a few favorite episodes in case you missed them:

That’s it for today…

If you found this useful, give it a like and share it with your onchain crew — it helps more than you think.

Share

Until next time,

- Kaloh

PS: Don’t forget to check in with your wallet address if you like surprises.

Submit your wallet

I’ve been building Indexy—an app to track the onchain world through custom crypto indices. It helps you follow narratives, monitor sectors like AI, L2s, or culture coins, and spot early trends. Think of it as a smarter way to cut through the noise.

The beta is live now—poke around, break things, and let me know what you think.

👉 Try Indexy’s Beta

AI agents are sneaking into our lives faster than we realize—first it’s chatbots, then they’re creating graphics, updating you on the markets, and even performing onchain tasks like buying and selling coins for you. But they’re also becoming increasingly annoying—and in some cases, dangerous. Especially on social media, where they often pose as humans and flood the feed with noise, spam, or worse.

As this trend grows, a project that once felt controversial is starting to feel more relevant: Worldcoin—founded by Sam Altman (yep, the OpenAI guy). I hadn’t really looked into it before, aside from the headlines about people getting coins in exchange for scanning their irises. So I decided to dive in.

What I found was much more ambitious than I expected: a full ecosystem with a blockchain, a crypto token, a mobile app, and a unique digital ID system. And as I explored further, I noticed something interesting—it shares a surprising number of similarities with one of my favorite crypto apps: Farcaster.

In this deep dive, we’ll cover:

• What is World?
  A breakdown of Worldcoin, World ID, World App, and World Chain

• First impressions from using the World App

• Inside the Worldcoin Grant Program

• Market analysis: How is Worldcoin doing?

• Worldcoin vs. Farcaster: Key differences and similarities

  • Technical analysis, strategies and user metrics

• What’s next for Worldcoin?

What’s World?

World, formerly known as Worldcoin, is a cryptocurrency project co-founded by Sam Altman, Max Novendstern, and Alex Blania in 2019. Developed by Tools for Humanity, World aims to create a global digital identity and financial network accessible to everyone.

Key Components of World

• World ID: A digital proof of personhood that allows users to verify they are unique humans online.

• World App: The first wallet designed for the World network, enabling users to store their World ID, manage digital assets, and access various applications.

• Worldcoin (WLD): The native cryptocurrency token of the World network, intended for utility and future governance.

• World Chain: A human-first blockchain built as part of the Optimism Superchain, designed to scale and support the World network.

What’s a World ID and How to Get Yours?

World ID is a privacy-preserving digital identity that enables users to prove they are unique humans online without revealing personal information. This system is particularly relevant in the age of AI, where distinguishing between humans and bots is increasingly challenging. ​

Obtaining a World ID:

1. Download the World App: Available on various app stores, the World App serves as the gateway to the World network.

2. Locate an Orb: Use the World App or the official website to find the nearest Orb device. These devices are available in multiple countries and locations.

3. Verify Your Identity: Visit the selected location and undergo the iris scanning process with the Orb. This biometric verification ensures that each World ID is unique and tied to a real person.

"The highest and most secure level of World ID verification is based on your unique iris pattern (it has nothing to do with your retina).

To fully verify a World ID, the Orb first generates an iris code to ensure uniqueness, then encrypts and divides it before sending the images to your phone and deleting them completely from the Orb itself.”

Taken from World.org

My Experience with the World App

The World App is a wallet where you can store your World ID, exchange digital assets, and install Mini Apps.

I couldn’t claim my $WDL airdrop because I haven’t verified my account through the Orb system yet. Still, I was able to explore the app, install some Mini Apps, and fund my account.

Right now, it feels like a wallet with a Mini App marketplace. Around 70% of the apps are about claiming airdrops. Others are basic features—like network settings—that probably should come by default.

And then… there was Farcade. A retro-style game hub with simple, casual games—kind of like early Facebook-era games. I first saw it on Farcaster (hence the “Far”-cade name). Honestly, it was the only thing I could meaningfully use without being verified.

A couple of interesting findings:

• The stats looked promising. While limited in functionality for unverified users, activity and design suggest momentum.

• I found 6 of my contacts already on World. That’s way above average. In most crypto apps, I’m lucky to see one or two. These 6 were spread across Germany (2), Argentina, Ecuador, and Spain—pretty diverse. It reinforces the idea that World has actual global traction.

🔒 The rest of this article is for Premium members.

Read more

Hi friends,

Before we dive into today’s issue, a quick word from our sponsor.

Well… not your typical sponsor. It’s actually me. I’ve been working on a new app called Indexy — a better way to track, invest, and reduce risk in the wonderfully chaotic world of crypto.

As the name suggests, Indexy uses indexes to give you a clear, organized view of crypto markets. This week, we added the Collectibles Index (including $Pengu and $Ape) and the Digital Art Index (including $Botto, $Rare) — so if you’re into digital art, PFPs, or any kind of tokenized culture, you’ll probably vibe with those.

👉 Try Indexy here — and let me know what you think. I’d love your feedback and ideas on how to make it a staple in your onchain routine.

📣 Interested in sharing your project to 17,000 onchain enthusiasts? Reply to this email or find my on X / Farcaster.

Welcome to another edition of the hidden gems. If you are new here, this is where I share interesting trends, apps, NFTs and content that caught my eye over the past week.

Let’s get into it…

💎 Gem of the Week

Progression by Jeff David

Generative artist and Art Blocks strategic advisor Jeff Davis just released a new collection called Progression. This was one of my only generative (coded) art mints of the year — and also my first Jeff Davis piece.

Jeff’s one of those artists who can create super minimal collections built around a single, focused idea. He usually approaches projects with clear design intent and strategy, often sharing deep details about how the algorithm works.

Here is my mint.

The project explores how colors interact when placed in different sequences — horizontal and vertical strips that shift your perception. Each color feels like a note in a song, building rhythm and tension. Some combinations blend smoothly and add depth, while others create sharp, jumpy contrasts that push and pull your eyes across the canvas.

It’s inspired by artists like Paul Klee (who saw color as music), Josef Albers (who studied how colors affect each other), Mark Rothko (master of mood through color), and Gene Davis (striped visual rhythms).

Learn more about Progression here and check the full collection on Art Blocks.

📰 News of the Week

OpenAI x Visa x Stablecoin Wallet x Worldcoin

This week brought some big news from OpenAI — and no, I’m not talking about their new 4o model that can recreate text in images or spit out Ghibli-style animations with scary precision.

I’m talking about stablecoins — and a wallet integration in partnership with Visa.

This is a major signal for the crypto space, highlighting the increasingly powerful combo of AI and blockchains. While we can only speculate on what this integration will do in the short term (besides transferring digital money), it likely ties into what I wrote a few months back in The Crypto AI Agent Market: Beyond Hype and Memes.

It’s also a moment where Worldcoin starts to make more sense. Their whole mission of verifying proof of human becomes more relevant by the day. We’ve seen a wave of smart bots — aka AI agents — flooding social platforms in recent months. As the models get more advanced, this starts to affect both user experience and platform security.

I haven’t personally used or seen Worldcoin integrations in action yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if “proof of human” becomes a must-have layer for every social internet app — not just in Web3.

Source: CoinDesk

✍️ Kaloh’s Newsletter

In case you missed it…

This month, I published three issues covering NFTs (where do non-fungible tokens stand in the current fungibles wave?), DeFi (how can you provide liquidity to decentralized protocols and earn fees?), and Digital Art (what would I collect with 2 ETH today?).

Two of these are for premium members only — consider grabbing a premium subscription to support the newsletter and unlock the second half of those deep dives.

Catch up on the issues below if you missed them in your inbox.

That’s it for this week hidden gems.

Until next time,

- Kaloh

Before we dive into this issue, I wanted to share something new I’ve been working on—Indexy. A new app designed to make tracking, investing, and learning about crypto markets easier and more effective.

Right now, keeping up with crypto feels outdated. With new sectors constantly emerging across different blockchains, tracking one coin at a time just doesn’t cut it anymore. We need better tools to follow trends, reduce risks, and get a clearer picture of the market.

Try out the Beta 👉 Indexy.xyz

Let's dive into one of the most innovative concepts in crypto: liquidity providing. In my opinion, earning fees by providing liquidity is one of the biggest breakthroughs in decentralized finance (DeFi). However, there's a catch: the barriers to entry are extremely high. The mechanics are complex, you need significant capital to be effective, it's easy to lose money if you're not careful, and the metrics shown by many protocols can be confusing.

In this article, I'll cover the basics of liquidity providing, compare DeFi to traditional finance (TradFi), and explain how one of the most popular DeFi protocols—Uniswap—works. This won't be a highly technical guide but rather an easy-to-understand intro, so you can decide if liquidity providing is worth your time and money.

Liquidity in Traditional Finance

Before diving into crypto, let’s quickly cover liquidity in traditional finance.

ATMs

Think about getting cash from an ATM. ATMs were first introduced in the late 1960s but really gained mainstream traction in the mid-1980s alongside debit and credit cards, making accessing your money easier. While digital banking took off, banks initially rewarded customers with solid returns for keeping money in savings accounts. But over time, things changed dramatically. Fees increased, banks imposed withdrawal limits, and interest rates dropped significantly. Nowadays, earning even 3% to 4% annually feels like a win, especially considering inflation. Essentially, your money loses value sitting in the bank.

Yet, ATMs remain useful. Banks maintain vast networks to ensure easy cash access, even though ATMs have drawbacks like security risks (ever had your card cloned?) and hefty fees.

Exchange Houses

Another traditional example is currency exchanges. When traveling or holding different currencies, someone profits by charging a spread between buy and sell rates. This mechanism, while simple, depends on centralized entities like banks or exchange houses.

Decentralizing Liquidity

In crypto, we want similar services but without centralized control. Decentralization means no banks or single companies oversee the process. Instead, liquidity pools step in.

But who ensures liquidity is always available so that protocols, apps, and users can smoothly swap currencies? The answer: anyone can. Unlike traditional finance, where banks and centralized entities provide liquidity, crypto allows anyone—individuals or institutions—to provide liquidity and earn fees in return. That’s right; by depositing your assets into a liquidity pool, you help maintain the decentralized financial ecosystem and receive fees for your service. Pretty neat, right?

I find this idea fascinating because it democratizes financial services. However, there's a catch—it's not as simple as it sounds. Creating a decentralized system that functions smoothly, without any central authority stepping in to correct errors or manage issues, requires complex dynamics. These decentralized protocols rely on automated mechanisms like smart contracts, which must account for various scenarios and market conditions. While significant progress has been made, challenges remain.

How Does Uniswap Work?

One of the earliest and most successful innovators in this space is Uniswap. Uniswap is a decentralized protocol that revolutionized asset swapping by introducing the concept of liquidity pools and liquidity providing. Instead of relying on centralized exchanges or intermediaries, Uniswap lets users trade directly through liquidity pools managed by smart contracts. So, how exactly does this work?

A liquidity pool holds two assets—let’s say ETH and USDC. When you exchange ETH for USDC, you interact with this pool. The price depends on the available liquidity, set by the market. Providers add liquidity (ETH and USDC) to these pools, enabling trades to happen instantly at market rates. Every time a trade occurs, a small fee is charged, and liquidity providers earn a share of these fees proportional to the liquidity they provide.

Example: If you want to swap ETH for USDC, you submit ETH and receive USDC at the current market rate. Behind the scenes, your ETH goes into the pool, and USDC comes out. A small fee is collected during this exchange. That fee funds the protocol and rewards liquidity providers for contributing their assets.

Why is Liquidity Providing Exciting?

It’s fully decentralized. The system operates without central authority, automatically balancing asset prices and rewarding those who provide liquidity. It’s revolutionary—but not without risks.

The main questions you should ask are:

1. Is it profitable?

2. What risks are involved?

I've experimented with liquidity providing over the past two years, becoming more serious about it recently. In upcoming articles, I'll try to answer this questions and provide a couple of strategies tailored to different risk appetites.

Until next time,

- Kaloh

Before we dive into this issue, I wanted to share something new I’ve been working on—Indexy. A new app designed to make tracking, investing, and learning about crypto markets easier and more effective.

Right now, keeping up with crypto feels outdated. With new sectors constantly emerging across different blockchains, tracking one coin at a time just doesn’t cut it anymore. We need better tools to follow trends, reduce risks, and get a clearer picture of the market.

Try out the Beta 👉 Indexy.xyz

Today, I want to tackle the topic of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) vs. Tokens, also called coins (fungibles). The appetite for NFTs is at an all-time low, and the "NFTs are dead" narrative keeps popping up. Multiple NFT marketplaces have shut down over the past year, with MakersPlace being the most recent casualty. Even successful NFT platforms like Foundation, Zora, fxhash, and SuperRare have shifted their strategies, moving away from the traditional NFT mint model in different ways.

Foundation introduced Rodeo, a new platform that moves away from scarcity by embracing an abundance model with editions, while still keeping its main marketplace running. Meanwhile, Zora went even further by introducing coins—1 billion tokens per creation—essentially moving away from NFTs altogether. Fxhash has outlined plans for an airdrop, in addition to the launch of $artist tokens (no clear release date at the time of this writing). And finally, SuperRare has invested heavily into tokens with their $RARE token and protocol improvements that use these tokens for different kinds of rewards (both for artists and collectors).

Although the top 1% of NFTs still sell for over five figures, and we occasionally see historical pieces go for seven figures, these cases are rare. The PFP (profile picture) meta is almost non-existent. The top projects that have survived are experimenting with new business models and distribution strategies, often moving away from NFTs. Instead, they’re exploring physical products, launching coins, or building new infrastructure. Pudgy Penguins is a prime example, with $Pengu, physical toys hitting major retail stores like Walmart and Target, and the launch of Abstract Chain.

So, while not much has been happening in the NFT space, Bitcoin has hit new all-time highs. The U.S. president launched a coin, showing massive support for crypto, and regulators have dropped lawsuits against some of the world's top crypto companies. Stablecoins have also gained clear adoption, with more people recognizing them as a more efficient way to handle money.

We've been in a bull market for over six months, and coins have been on fire. But NFTs? Not so much.

Wait a moment. We need to zoom out, because I think most of us (me included) have been guilty of recency bias when it comes to NFTs (art, collectibles, and everything in between). Things aren’t as bad as they sound for your JPEGs.

History of Fungibles

Fungible tokens have been around since the beginning of blockchain-powered cryptocurrencies, starting with Bitcoin (the first crypto coin).

Here is a timeline of relevant cryptocurrency events:

• First fungible token: Bitcoin (2008).

• Ethereum and the introduction of smart contracts (2015).

• ICO frenzy (2017).

• DeFi Summer (2020).

• Memecoins boom (2024-2025).

• Tokenized companies and real-world assets (RWA) (2024-?).

The new trend on the horizon is the tokenization of everything, a category called Real World Assets (RWA). Companies like Coinbase are leading the pack, showing intentions to tokenize their stock. In addition, apps like Robinhood have been exploring crypto heavily, and their CEO has discussed the idea of tokenized real estate as a possibility.

What’s interesting is that we can map all these events on the Bitcoin chart. We don’t really need to look elsewhere to track the history of fungibles and their traction over time. Their adoption curve is pretty close, if not exact, to Bitcoin’s price movements.

History of NFTs (Non-Fungibles)

Let’s now look at the same timeline for NFTs.

Read more

These opportunities are rare in prolonged downtrends, but they become obvious once hype and interest return. That’s why now is a great time to collect with a long-term mindset.

Today, I want to dive into this question: What would you collect with 2 ETH ($4,000–$5,500) today?

Some pre-analysis baselines:

1. There’s no single right or wrong answer—it depends on your perspective.

2. This is not for flippers. If you’re looking to buy and sell within weeks or months, this isn’t for you.

3. I can’t cover every artist. If you’ve been reading my newsletter or listening to my podcast, you’ll recognize familiar names—these are the projects I find interesting or believe hold value for various reasons. In addition, to build this list, I’ve gathered insights from collectors, artists, email replies, and discussions on X and Farcaster.

4. And, as always—this isn’t financial advice. Do your own research.

Methodology

I’ve created nine buckets, each staying within the $4,400 - $5,400 price range to remain close to the 2 ETH budget. Each bucket follows a specific theme, focusing on crypto art, generative art, or AI art.

The first five buckets are mono-thematic, meaning they focus on a single theme like AI art, generative art or crypto art. The last four buckets are multi-thematic, mixing different categories to increase diversity.

Read more

If you're new here, welcome to Hidden Gems! This is where I share onchain trends, apps, art, and content that caught my eye over the past week.

The past couple of weeks have been a rollercoaster (as usual in crypto). From the $Libra rug—somehow involving the Argentine President—to the SEC dropping major cases against top crypto companies (Coinbase & others) and a massive $1.4B (!) hack hitting ByBit.

We’re constantly hit with mixed signals—huge wins on the regulatory front, but also insane rug pulls and hacks.

With that note, let’s get to today’s Hidden Gems.

💎 Gem of the Week

Kaito AI

Kaito is a market intelligence platform that falls under InfoFi (information finance). It specializes in analyzing crypto social trends to highlight mindshare—mostly tracking influencers and trending topics. Their algorithm is fairly smart, and they’ve introduced an interesting innovation with the mindshare metric.

One of their key growth drivers was the Yaps system—essentially a points mechanism that rewarded users for activity. The twist? The more influence you had, the more Yaps you earned. This system helped Kaito gain traction quickly. They also offer a premium plan with advanced analytics, mainly targeting companies.

Kaito AI Airdrop

The airdrop happened two weeks ago, with allocations based on the number of Yaps earned. Yaps were distributed through an algorithm that analyzed social activity, mostly on X. Influencers with large followings racked up Yaps effortlessly—basically earning while brushing their teeth—while others had to farm them by engaging (replying, inviting friends, etc.).

To give you an idea, I have a decent following on X and received an airdrop worth around $700 on claim day. I didn’t farm Yaps, so this seemed fair.

The main controversy? Big accounts received massive allocations, ranging from $100K to $300K, sparking debates about fairness. But in the end, it was those same big accounts that created the buzz and drove Kaito’s success.

Kaito AI Market Performance

Kaito has rebounded nicely after the initial sell-off. Thanks to staking incentives (which you can join on their website), the token’s fully diluted valuation (FDV) has surged past $2B, more than doubling its airdrop day valuation.

Note: I sold half of my airdrop and staked the other half—this is usually my go-to strategy for airdrops, especially for projects with long-term potential. I did the same with Venice AI, and so far, I’m happy with the results.

📊 Market Update

Alt Season?

Markets are pulling back across the board—Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana are all in decline. However, some of the tokens and projects I’ve highlighted in the past, like Clanker, Bankr, Cookie, Bracky, and Moxie, are holding up well or even performing strongly.

Why? I think it’s because these projects have clear use cases and utility—something often lacking in memecoins or AI-themed tokens with little substance. This could be a sign that alt season (or at least a shift toward alternative assets outside of the major players) is gaining traction.

Historically, we’ve seen this pattern in past bull markets, but there’s no certainty it will play out the same way this time.

🛠 App of the Week

Zora Launches Coins

Zora announced a drastic shift, moving from NFTs to fungibles as the fundamental element. With this change, every creation on Zora is now effectively a coin with a 1 billion supply. Creators receive 10M coins from the supply and earn 1% on every transaction. Zora has also been experimenting with minting mechanics, becoming the first platform to integrate free mints (+ protocol fees).

Reactions have been mixed. Artists and collectors who valued the minting and scarcity model aren’t too excited. Meanwhile, others argue that people haven’t fully grasped the new model—it’s not meant for "high-end art" but rather for ideas, concepts, memes, and digital artifacts.

Personally, I think there are plenty of platforms for artists and collectors who prefer the old model, and innovation in this space should be appreciated. I’m curious to see where this goes.

If you’re interested in exploring some of the newly launched Zora coins, two on my radar are Test (the first coin launched under the upgrade, serving as a test) and Coins (which appears to be the unofficial coin of the new system, headlined by SpongeBob).

Indexy Update

Beta is Live!

You might have seen an earlier post about Indexy — a new market intelligence platform I started to make tracking crypto market verticals easier.

After some head-down, AI-assisted coding (plus a holiday break and a few sick days), I think it’s ready for a Beta release.

Beta v1 Highlights:

• Tracks 7 indices across ETH, Base, Solana, and more

• Covers infrastructure, AI agents, L2s, and niche segments like Farcaster & Clanker

There’s plenty of room for improvement and more indices coming soon, but for now, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Check it out 👉 https://indexy.xyz

Note: I’ll try to keep Indexy updates to a minimum in Kaloh’s Newsletter. If you want to follow Indexy’s development, join the platform as I’ll be sending product updates every other week.

🎙 Kaloh’s Podcast

Pindar Van Arman & Jason Goldberg

Two weeks ago, I released a podcast episode with AI artist and roboticist Pindar Van Arman. This is a must watch for anyone interested in the intersection of AI and creativity.

Last week, I caught up with Jason Goldberg, co-founder of Moxie Protocol—one of the few assets holding up well amid the current market downturn. They just launched their AI agents and new capabilities. Jason also shared the story behind his previous venture, FAB, an e-commerce platform that was once the fastest-growing company in the world.

Onchain Art

Botto First Generative Art Collection

Two weeks ago, I mentioned Botto’s first generative art collection, specifically algorithm 6120 was receiving a lot of attention. Although there were mixed opinion in social media, from collectors and aritsts alike, the piece sold to Bharat Krymo for 54 ETH in an auction.

For the first time, Botto is exploring generative art. Instead of relying solely on its AI-driven models (which mostly work with images), it introduced a new mechanism that allows it to create generative-coded art. In other words, instead of generating images directly, it produces code that generates images. Pretty neat, right?

✍️ Interesting Read

Bybit, Gnosis, and Cold Storage by Cassie Heart

Closing this Hidden Gems with a reading suggestion.

If you are interested in the recent ByBit hack and learning more about cold storage security, this is a must read: Bybit, Gnosis, and Cold Storage

Until next time,

- Kaloh

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Pods, and YouTube.

Join ±15,000 subscribers that get my newsletter and podcast in their inbox or upgrade to a premium membership👇

Subscribe now

I wanted to share something new I’ve been working on—Indexy. A new app designed to make tracking, investing, and learning about crypto markets easier and more effective.

Right now, keeping up with crypto feels outdated. With new sectors constantly emerging across different blockchains, tracking one coin at a time just doesn’t cut it anymore. We need better tools to follow trends, reduce risks, and get a clearer picture of the market.

I’ll be rolling out invites over the next weeks, days 👉 Join the wait list.

Episode Highlights:

Evolution of Moxie (00:03:02)
Jason outlines Moxie’s journey since launch.
Highlights its development and features.

Launch and Initial Strategy (00:04:32)
Moxie was incubated within Farcaster.
Focus on community-building before expansion.

Growth and Market Response (00:05:32)
Insights on Moxie’s growth.
Impact of market trends, including the election.

Creator Coins Functionality (00:08:48)
Capabilities and use cases of creator coins.
Their role within the Moxie ecosystem.

Personal AI Agents Introduction (00:11:20)
Introduction of AI agents.
Their role in assisting users with crypto and social tasks.

Tokenized Skill Marketplace (00:12:42)
Developers can create skills.
Earning through a tokenized marketplace.

Curation of Skills (00:13:29)
The process of curating skills.
Ensuring quality on the Moxie platform.

Scaling and Distribution of Agents (00:15:28)
Scaling AI agents.
Their privacy-focused design.

Potential Business Applications (00:17:16)
How businesses can use AI agents.
Leveraging Moxie's skills in enterprises.

Social Layer Growth in Crypto (00:18:18)
Growth of social components in crypto.
Role of platforms like Farcaster.

AI Agents and Signal Detection (00:20:28)
AI agents filtering market noise.
Enhancing signal detection in trading.

Integration with Wallets (00:23:53)
Moxie’s plans to integrate with wallets.
Enhancing user experience with Coinbase.

Experience with Previous Company, Fab (00:34:10)
Jason’s experience with Fab.
Challenges faced against Amazon.

The Rise of Fab (00:34:15)
Fab’s success as a design marketplace.
Rapid growth and expansion.

Challenges with Amazon (00:35:09)
Amazon’s impact on Fab.
Competition difficulties.

Spinout Success: Hem (00:36:56)
Overview of Hem’s spinout from Fab.
Achievements of the company.

Key Concepts and Technologies Discussed:

Creator Coins, Personal AI Agents, Social Alpha, Tokenized App Store, Social Finance (SoFi), Crypto and AI Integration

Tools and Websites:

Moxie Protocol, Farcaster, Base, ElizaOS, Nansen, Coinbase Wallet, ChatGPT, Amazon, Solana, Interface

About Jason Goldberg:

Jason Goldberg is an experienced entrepreneur, founder of Moxie Protocol, and CEO of Airstack. In the past, Jason cofounded FAB, an eCommerce once valued at +$1B and considered one of the fastest growing companies in the world.

Until next time,

- Kaloh

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Join ±15,000 subscribers that get my newsletter and podcast in their inbox or upgrade to a premium membership👇

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Episode Highlights:

Pindar Van Arman's Journey (00:02:15)

• 20-year career in AI art and robotics.

• Key milestones and achievements.

DARPA Grand Challenge Experience (00:02:52)

• Pindar’s participation in the DARPA Grand Challenge.

• Inspiration behind his painting robots.

Concept of AI Agents (00:05:57)

• Difference between AI agents and chatbots.

• Reference to Marvin Minsky’s theory.

AGI Predictions (00:12:29)

• Predictions for achieving Artificial General Intelligence.

• Implications of AGI for AI-generated art.

Decentralization in Art (00:17:33)

• Importance of decentralization for artists.

• Role of collectors in the digital art space.

• Discussion about AI art market analysis

Working with Major Art Institutions (00:21:55)

• Pindar’s experience with Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and SuperRare.

• Influence of major institutions in digital art.

Rejecting Gallery Offers (00:22:30)

• Reasons for turning down a restrictive gallery offer.

• Control over sales and artistic independence.

Value of Physical Artworks (00:26:28)

• Growing demand for physical pieces created by robots.

• How collectors view robot-generated paintings.

Robot Painting Process Explained (00:28:18)

• How robots use AI to paint.

• Learning from past painting actions.

Agents in Robot Decision Making (00:32:40)

• Two main agents controlling the painting process.

• Interaction between these agents in decision-making.

The Evolution of AI Tools (00:40:01)

• Rapid advancements in AI art tools.

• Changes in technology over the past two years.

AI Agents and Emotional Painting (00:40:41)

• How AI analyzes emotions in the painting process.

• Potential for AI to mimic human-like artistic expression.

The Challenge of Making a Living as an Artist (00:45:07)

• Struggles artists face in a competitive market.

• Financial challenges and sustainability in art careers.

Upcoming AI Art Exhibition (00:49:12)

• Nvidia-hosted exhibition featuring Pindar’s work.

• Major showcase for AI-generated art.

Influence of Harold Cohen (00:53:11)

• Impact of Harold Cohen on Pindar’s artistic approach.

• Lessons learned from pioneering AI artists.

Key Concepts and Technologies Discussed:

AI Agents, Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), Creativity in AI, Decentralization in Art, Artistic Freedom, Backlash Against AI Art, The Future of Work with AI, Painting Robots, Deep Learning in Art, Feedback Mechanisms in AI Art

Notable Mentions:

Marvin Minsky, DARPA Grand Challenge, Sotheby’s, Christie’s, SuperRare, Harold Cohen, Nvidia

About Pindar Van Arman:

Pindar Van Arman is an American artist and roboticist known for creating AI-powered painting robots. His work explores the intersection of artificial intelligence, robotics, and creativity, pushing the boundaries of machine-generated art. Van Arman's robots use deep learning and computational creativity to make autonomous artistic decisions, mimicking human painting techniques while introducing unique, unpredictable elements.

Until next time,

- Kaloh

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Today, I’m introducing Indexy, a new app designed to make tracking, investing, and learning about crypto markets easier and more effective.

Right now, keeping up with crypto feels outdated. With new sectors constantly emerging across different blockchains, tracking one coin at a time just doesn’t cut it anymore. We need better tools to follow trends, reduce risks, and get a clearer picture of the market.

That’s why I’m building Indexy—a simple, clean platform that helps you find the truth in crypto markets.

A classical example is the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), created by Charles Dow and Edward Jones in 1896. Both were statisticians and reporters who co-founded The Wall Street Journal. Before its inception, investors had little access to truthful and unbiased company financials. The DJIA originally represented twelve companies covering key market segments at the time.

Indexy applies this concept to crypto, allowing you to track different sectors and narratives instead of just individual tokens.

Why Indexy?

The crypto landscape isn’t just about Bitcoin and Ethereum anymore. New sectors have emerged and are here to stay: Blockchains, L2s, AI-driven finance, memecoins, onchain art, tokenized assets, decentralized social networks, and more. Keeping up manually is nearly impossible.

What is an Index?

In traditional investing, an index is a group of assets bundled together to track a specific market segment—like the S&P 500 for stocks. It provides a broader view of market trends and reduces risk by diversifying investments.

With Indexy, you can:

• Track the market using curated crypto indices

• Diversify smarter to reduce risk and exposure

• Discover projects across different sectors

Some key areas Indexy is tracking:

The number of tokens, projects, and narratives is expanding at a pace we couldn’t have imagined just a year ago.

• Art & Culture – Onchain creativity is booming with generative, AI and crypto native art

• AI & DeFAI – AI-powered finance and autonomous agents

• DeFi – Constant innovation in decentralized finance, with new investment primitices available.

• DeSo – The rise of decentralized social networks

• Memecoins – The wild and unpredictable side of crypto

• RWA – Real-world assets entering the blockchain

• Games & Experiences – Web3 gaming adoption

Featured Indices:

Here are a few indices I’ve been putting together (data might not be 100% accurate).

What’s Next?

I’m rolling out Indexy step by step, refining it based on what’s most useful to track. If you’re interested in early access, head over to Indexy.xyz and join the waiting list.

Join Indexy Waiting List

If an idea, index, or feature came to mind while reading this, I’d love to hear it. Hit reply and let me know what you’d find useful—your feedback will help shape Indexy!

More updates soon.

- Kaloh

PS: I’ll be sharing progress on X and Farcaster, so stay tuned.

I've used over 10 different wallets in the past four years. While I still use multiple ones for different reasons, Rainbow Wallet has been my go-to lately—and for good reason.

Here’s why I like it:

• Claimables – Automatically detects and lets you claim airdrops and rewards from onchain apps.

• Positions – Easily track your liquidity pools and staking positions.

• Rewards – Earn native Rainbow rewards just by using and transacting

One thing I appreciate is how fast Rainbow integrates new tokens and apps. If you’re deep in the trenches, you’ll notice how quickly things show up compared to other wallets.

Check it out, you can use my referral code—it’s a simple way to support the newsletter and podcast while exploring a solid wallet option.

👉 Interested in sharing your product, brand or content to 17,000 onchain enthusiasts? Reach out at hi@kaloh.xyz

Hi friends,

Welcome to all the new joiners!

This past week has been a busy one—I didn’t get around to writing until Friday. The good news? I’ve been deep in building a new app that I’m pretty excited about, and I’ll be sharing more details next week.

Also, the podcast lineup for the next few weeks is stacked—featuring one of the most accomplished AI artists of the past two decades and the founder of a crypto social protocol that keeps going green even when the overall market is down. Can’t wait to share these episodes with you.

As always, this series is all about hidden gems—a curated list of crypto culture and market trends that caught my eye this week.

Let’s dive in.

💎 Gem of the Week

Botto First Generative Art Collection

This one’s a bit different from the usual hidden gems, but I think it’s worth mentioning. Botto, the decentralized AI project I’ve talked about quite a few times, just released a new collection in partnership with Verse—and it marks a significant shift.

For the first time, Botto is exploring generative art. Instead of relying solely on its AI-driven models (which mostly work with images), it introduced a new mechanism that allows it to create generative-coded art. In other words, instead of generating images directly, it produces code that generates images. Pretty neat, right?

That said, not every piece had collectors dropping their jaws. Some of the results sparked fun reactions and laughs, particularly this one called algorithm 6120.

Personally, I’m a big fan of Botto and fully support experimentation. This feels like a first step in a new direction, and as always, context shapes perception—there’s value in everything, depending on how you look at it.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this one!

Leave a comment

🛠 App of the Week

Native by Derek Brown

I’ve been following an interesting project called Native, which emerged from the Farcaster ecosystem. It’s an agentic game with similarities to simulations, where you participate by owning an agent (called Dots). These agents can operate independently—transacting, buying, and selling—while aiming to accumulate $Native, the in-game currency.

The mechanics run deep, with plenty of intricate dynamics that are hard to sum up in a short recap. If you're curious, check out the official website and dive into this thread by Derek Brown, the founder of Native, for more details.

🎙 Kaloh’s Podcast

Kim Asendorf and Giancarlo Chaux

Over the past two weeks, I’ve shared two exciting conversations.

In the latest episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with Kim Asendorf, one of the most prolific and talented generative artists. Kim shared his journey, the ins and outs of his art practice, and the details behind his latest collection, PXL DEX.

Two weeks ago, I released an episode with Giancarlo Chaux, one of the most successful content creators in the crypto and NFT space. He has built an audience of over 100,000 subscribers across YouTube, X, and his newsletter. This episode is a must-listen for content creators and anyone interested in the media side of the industry from a creator’s perspective.

✍️ Kaloh’s Newsletter Deep Dives

Venice AI and Reception

Two weeks ago, I shared a deep dive on what I believe is one of the best AI x crypto products at the moment—Venice AI. The article covers why I think so, how to use it, how to claim your VVV airdrop, and more.

Note: The price of VVV has dropped significantly since the airdrop. There are several reasons for this, including insider trading by Aerodrome employees and Venice team members selling a sizable percentage of the supply (something I mentioned in the article).

Despite these controversial and questionable moves, I still believe their technology has strong potential, and my perspective on its value within the crypto and AI landscape remains unchanged.

Until next time,

- Kaloh