Blockworks

USDT is the means of exchange for roughly 80% of Venezuela's oil sales, one economist estimates. The crippling effects of US sanctions left Venezuela little choice but to embrace stablecoins. With state approval, banks now sell the USDT earned from oil sales to local businesses, which use them to pay both domestic and international suppliers. Read more from The Breakdown newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eTU4Aypk

After a lull in late 2025, Strategy is back to buying BTC — but its accumulation may be more episodic going forward. In 2024 through early 2025, Strategy funded itself cheaply via convertible debt: That playbook works best when MSTR trades at a premium to Bitcoin NAV (mNAV > 1). However, by mid-to-late 2025, that premium compressed and flipped to a discount (mNAV < 1), making equity-linked financing harder to place. Read more from the 0xResearch newsletter: https://lnkd.in/efGFYwmv

Ranger’s ICO begins today and will run through Jan. 10; it's selling 39% of the total RNGR supply. The ICO marks an important milestone for MetaDAO: It’s the first token sale on the platform to include a project with existing pre-ICO investors. Ranger will guarantee point holders access via a dedicated allocation bucket, directly addressing the oversubscription dynamic from past MetaDAO ICOs. Read more from the 0xResearch newsletter: https://lnkd.in/e2j4EEtb

In December, average ETH open interest rose approximately 63%, reversing November’s contraction and climbing steadily as price action stabilized. The combination of falling volumes and rising OI suggest that exposure was rebuilt quietly and deliberately. It points to longer-horizon or relative-value positioning rather than aggressive leverage-chasing. Read more from the 0xResearch newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eDVqvcrh

Alright, alright, alright: Good news rarely makes headlines, and 2025 was a better year than it seemed. Human Progress collates good-news stories from last year: everything from the astonishing decline of poverty in India to the return of puffins to the UK. Only 20% of Americans say they are satisfied with America, but 81% of them say they are satisfied with their own lives. Read more from The Breakdown newsletter: https://lnkd.in/euBwbVA4

In a choppy week for crypto, DePIN and Gaming sectors had gains of 13.1% and 12.6%, while L2s lagged. DePIN strength was driven by FIL and RENDER, which rose 22% and 13% on the week and together account for 49% of the index. Gaming followed a similar pattern, with IMX up 11%, doing most of the heavy lifting for the sector. Read more from the 0xResearch newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eWkavc64

As we step into the new year, prediction markets, stablecoins and RWAs have emerged as the clear winners. Canton is a blockchain built specifically for financial institutions, designed to enable secure, interoperable and privacy preserving transactions. The scale of RWA activity on the network is already notable: As of Q4 2025, Canton has processed $6 trillion in real-world assets and currently handles about $350 billion/day in US treasury activity. Read more from the 0xResearch newsletter: https://lnkd.in/ehS5T5Fe

A hallmark of great technology: If people are eager to use it when it’s not very good. In the 90s, the world's first webcam — a stream of a coffee pot at Cambridge University — became a cult hit worldwide, watched by millions. Will crypto have a watershed attention moment in 2026? Read more from The Breakdown newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eRkH6WaK

In crypto (and most of life), it's not failure that defines us — it's our resilience. : Happy New Years from The Breakdown newsletter: https://lnkd.in/evNk9ki2