Kartik Swaminathan

Dec 20

Prediction markets have had an immense 2025 and are gearing up for prime time during 2026. I still can't believe a quarter - and rising - of all stablecoin supply on Polygon is tied up in Polymarket. Looking forward to the impact on Solana as Kalshi ramps up and Polymarket expands to new chains....Read more

Prediction markets have had an immense 2025 and are gearing up for prime time during 2026. I still can't believe a quarter - and rising - of all stablecoin supply on Polygon is tied up in Polymarket. Looking forward to the impact on Solana as Kalshi ramps up and Polymarket expands to new chains... h/t The Block

Dec 19

I'm excited to buy Coinbase and Kraken as I am Robinhood (when there's a dip - i totally missed it so far). Cyclicals are great when you know how to catch the bottom. But they're better when they're on the pathway to outright transformation. By no means do I believe in some kind of epic supercy...Read more

I'm excited to buy Coinbase and Kraken as I am Robinhood (when there's a dip - i totally missed it so far). Cyclicals are great when you know how to catch the bottom. But they're better when they're on the pathway to outright transformation. By no means do I believe in some kind of epic supercycle in crypto - unless its proven of course. But, starting with Coinbase, it's already is on the way from its own internal strategy. Tokenized stocks (RWAs and tokenization being my mega theme of the decade), growing recurring revenues from subscriptions and a greater focus on B2B services is definitely an exciting mix for the long term. Kraken is obviously all-in on tokenized stocks, given the recent acquisition of Backed, which we've been tracking closely for a while. I'll be reading the prospectus and reports when Kraken (eventually) lists while it feels like I need to start DCA'ing into Coinbase now. Absolutely not financial advice - do your own research. I'm no longer a regulated professional.

Dec 19

RWAs have transformed dramatically since last cycle for so many reasons. 1) The pragmatists realised that treasury backed stablecoins would be a killer proposition while rates were high. 2) The (extreme in my view 😂) optimists thought that real estate tokenization is something that everyone wante...Read more

RWAs have transformed dramatically since last cycle for so many reasons. 1) The pragmatists realised that treasury backed stablecoins would be a killer proposition while rates were high. 2) The (extreme in my view 😂) optimists thought that real estate tokenization is something that everyone wanted. Now interest rates are on a downward trajectory (partly on political will regardless of whether you agree from a macro perspective) while real estate doesn't appear to have taken off. The question is why bother and the answer - above else - is yield. Forget about democratisation/access to a wider audience - Web 2 fintechs will handle that, albeit at a cost. Yield through innovative products on chain - enabled by the new paradigm of composability and permissionlessness - is what sets apart crypto and why you see massive convergence. Don't believe me. Check out Stripe, Robinhood, Coinbase and Kraken. No, wait, don't even bother with those guys. How about you listen to BlackRock? What about watching what JPM is up to? When you do the maths, that's $1.3 trillion dollars worth of marker value from the entities listed above pointed at tokenization. Let's look further downstream: Market makers are scrambling to access US licenses - e.g. GSR's recent acquisition in the US to serve this emerging market. Offline conversations with others confirms the same thing. The entire vertical stack is aligning toward something you've missed. So forget about YESTERDAY. Do the work to understand how this is absolutely game-changing TODAY. Because TOMORROW will be completely different. Welcome to the new paradigm in 2026. 😎

Dec 17

Even MetaMask now has social login. What exactly is the excuse for poor UX/UI in 2025 let alone 2026?

Dec 16

DeFi brings institutional strategies on chain and gives any retail investor unprecedented access. That's a lot of rope. Unfortunately it's also enough for people to get into some serious knots. But I maintain that this is a feature not a bug. People should walk in knowing the risks and fully a...Read more

DeFi brings institutional strategies on chain and gives any retail investor unprecedented access. That's a lot of rope. Unfortunately it's also enough for people to get into some serious knots. But I maintain that this is a feature not a bug. People should walk in knowing the risks and fully appreciating the downside. And in the right hands its usually gamechanging.