Blockworks

The Solana memecoin launchpad pump.fun released a mobile app this morning. The move represents the viral platform’s first major update since it disabled livestreams in November. It’s also further confirmation that apps users can play with on their phones are becoming table stakes for crypto projects. Read more from the Lightspeed newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eAY8_-Jd

President Trump yesterday said his team is off to the races with reciprocal tariffs. The timeline is a bit uncertain, but commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick said the studies may be completed by early April. Read more from the Forward Guidance newsletter: https://lnkd.in/e9wcFJ-q

We've wrapped another week of the Forward Guidance newsletter (https://lnkd.in/e8_6_vx9). One highlight some of the traditional finance folk on LinkedIn might find particularly interesting comes from an adviser survey I dug into: CoinShares CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti said he was perhaps most struck by a belief 62% of advisers hold: Recommending bitcoin doesn’t align with their obligation to act in their client’s best interest. “This highlights a significant perception gap between regulatory approval, client demand and advisers' fiduciary concerns,” he told me.   Then there was the 55% who said recommending digital assets would harm their reputation with colleagues. This, Mognetti explained, “underscores the cultural and institutional barriers that still exist within traditional financial circles.” Food for thought as institutional crypto adoption continues — you've heard this before, I know, but it's still very early. https://lnkd.in/e3734VbK

Some highlights from this week's Forward Guidance newsletter editions. There'll be plenty more hitting subscriber inboxes each weekday at 3pm ET. Subscribe for free here: https://lnkd.in/e8_6_vx9

Coinbase reported its quarterly results, piquing the interest of crypto and TradFi investors alike. Oppenheimer analysts say COIN is a gateway for customers to access Web3 given its “leading and focused position in crypto, which benefits the company as onchain becomes the new online.” Read more from the Forward Guidance newsletter: https://lnkd.in/emA58A8Z

You don’t need to understand it to use it. That’s Empire co-host Santiago Santos’ ideal situation in building Inversion Chain. Confused? Think about the 1990s. Businesses used “.com” and — outside of the somewhat ridiculous Homes com commercial we saw during the Super Bowl — dot com isn’t really used anymore. Read more in the Empire newsletter: https://lnkd.in/dG2fTGaq

Token buybacks and valuation metrics take center stage again. The fat protocol thesis is no longer; now is the era of the fat app thesis. https://lnkd.in/eJ2FJVzV

Blockworks Roundtable: Up Next 📅 Feb 20 | 12 PM ET Christopher Blodgett - Binance.US Roger Bayston - Franklin Templeton Liat Shetret - Elliptic Casey Wagner - Blockworks Institutional crypto is moving — new policies, clearer regulations, real momentum. Join us: https://lnkd.in/egcMQ4gG

Outside of L1s, this was also a big week for token announcements. OpenSea teased SEA and a new platform, and Doodle’s plans to launch its own token. Does this mean NFTs are back? Read more from the Empire newsletter: https://lnkd.in/ezfZ9qQi

When it comes to crypto adoption, we’ve repeatedly heard how much room there is to run. The need for “more education” is another phrase we hear ad nauseam. A recent CoinShares survey of financial advisers confirmed some of this, with some additional surprising takeaways. Read more from the Forward Guidance newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eQAVJgMT