.@3janexyz is probably one of the most interesting DeFi protocols in the market today. Building on the synthetic dollar model that Ethena pioneered, the protocol is now trying to scale a new real-world yield source onchain: asset-backed financing. Through first partnerships with U.S. fintech lenders, 3Jane recently brought consumer and SMB credit into DeFi, pushing yields on its USD3 token to as high as 15%. But what actually is asset-backed financing? What are the challenges of bringing it onchain? How does 3Jane try to solve these challenges? And are investors ready to deploy into the new product? We answer all of these questions in the article below, with exclusive insights from: -> @_yakovsky, Founder @ 3Jane -> @mr_optimax, Founder @ @anemoycapital -> @stevenwisbrun_ , Co-Founder & CIO @ @M1Capital_ Please, enjoy the read!

Last week, we hosted our biggest Summit yet. - 180 attendees - 300 more on the waitlist - and lots of love for the Blockstories merch Amsterdam has one of the most interesting ecosystems in Europe right now. We'll be 100% back next year. Thanks to everyone who joined us!

Benedikt Rütter, Director of Institutional Sales, on stage at the @block_stories Horizon Amsterdam Summit. 🇳🇱 The topic: where digital assets infrastructure goes next. 160 senior leaders from banking, asset management & fintech in one room.

🇳🇱 Our first time in Amsterdam turned out to be our biggest event ever! 180 professionals from banking, private banking, asset management, and policy joined us to discuss what the next 12 to 18 months in digital assets will look like. "Dank u wel" to everyone who attended!

In the article below, we at @block_stories shed light on @Morpho Midnight, which seemed surprisingly underdiscussed in the days following the whitepaper publication. Supported by insights from @merlinegalite, we explain why the protocol’s upcoming launch matters for the institutional adoption of crypto lending, what key features its architecture introduces, and how Morpho might try to bootstrap these new markets. We also spoke with a few chads who know a thing or two about fixed-term infrastructure to gather more perspectives: -> @functionzero from @Wildcat elaborated on the historic bottlenecks holding back fixed-term lending, what has changed since, and how Midnight fits into this evolution. -> David Vatchev, Head of Tokenization at @Fasanara Capital, shared his perspective on the practical unlocks that fixed-rate lending brings to institutional players. -> @NCortosao from @Zharta shared his thoughts on what is still missing beyond the core infrastructure layer for fixed-rate lending to take off. I hope you like it! Especially you @tomwanhh

mayday mayday we had another banger

Just chillin' in Amsterdam and reading our brand new Field Report on Institutional Crypto Lending. And I can already hear some of you saying, "What the heck is a Field Report?" Well, this is how Google's Gemini defines it: "A field report is a document that details on-site observations, data collection, or activities outside of a traditional lab. It bridges the gap between theory and practical application by summarizing real-world events, conditions, or behaviors so decision-makers can draw conclusions." So instead of solely looking at raw data, having our analysts interpret it, and letting them present their conclusions, we wanted to try something new. That's why we spoke with 10 practitioners across the crypto lending landscape and asked them for their views on the current state of institutional crypto lending. The result is a 15 page deep dive that distills their key insights and explains: - Why institutions still account for only ~6-10% of onchain lending activity - How firms like BitGo, Sygnum, and Anchorage are now unlocking institutional access to onchain markets - Where today’s infrastructure still falls short for institutional participants - Why fixed-rate infrastructure and RWA collateral may define the next phase of growth We hope that institutional players entering the space will find it useful and that it delivers on its goal of informing those firms' approach to this growing vertical. P.S. For those joining us at our Amsterdam Summit at ABN AMRO’s HQ in the evening, we’ll have a limited number of printed copies of the report available. See you later! 🫡

.@whop is one of the first major non-crypto-companies that decided to launch a stablecoin-linked card program. This matters because, as of today, most crypto card payment volume comes from crypto-native players such as @ether_fi and @gnosispay. Given this, we wanted to understand why Whop decided to work together with @raincards to set up their card program: - How does it fit in Whop's existing "crypto capabilities"? - What concrete benefits does it bring compared to traditional, fiat-based card programs? - And from what other companies can we expect similar moves going forward? The article below answers all of this, with additional insights form @rooqster (Rain's co-founder & CEO) and @chuk_xyz (the man to ask when it comes to stablecoins). Have a good read!

Spain has quietly become one of Europe's most active digital asset markets. Our General Counsel provided insights on what's happening on the ground for @block_stories' latest ecosystem report ⬇️

In Spain, chefs serve tapas 🇪🇸 Last week, we joined @block_stories Horizon 2026 Summer Series in Madrid to walk a packed room through internet-native asset management. Thanks to everyone who came out and tasted what's being served onchain.

We at @block_stories had the feeling that State Street's debut on @solana was more important that most discussions around Accelerate USA & Consensus implied. In the article below we explain why it matters, including great insights from: - @jorgeschnura, President at @keyrock Asset Management, who commented on where SWEEP fit in the emerging market for onchain cash management - @nickducoff, Head of Institutional Growth at the @SolanaFndn, who shed light on which use cases will be most strategically important to Solana’s ecosystem growth in the next 12 months

🔴 EXCLUSIVE @block_stories: The EUR stablecoin consortium Qivalis could soon grow to as many as 37 members. Last week, Blockstories revealed that the European banking consortium Qivalis, aiming to issue a euro-denominated stablecoin in H2 2026, was set to be joined by at least 19 more banks, with an official announcement expected in early summer. According to our information, 6 more banks have since also expressed their commitment to joining the consortium. This would bring the number of members to 37. Could this finally be the project that allows the euro stablecoin market to truly take off? So far, the main challenge has been liquidity. And the potential distribution brought by 37 major European banks could be a game changer. We’ll share more information about what’s happening behind the scenes of Europe’s stablecoin consortium on Thursday in our Institutional Briefing, our weekly newsletter. 👉 To subscribe and receive the full insights, see the link in the first comment.

🔴 Exclusive @block_stories: 19 additional European banks set to join the @qivaliseu stablecoin consortium, aiming to issue a euro stablecoin in H2 2026👇 👉 According to our information, 19 banks across 12 European countries have formally “committed” to join the euro stablecoin banking consortium. The list reviewed by Blockstories includes the French banks Crédit Mutuel and Groupe BPCE, the third-largest banking group in France, which launched its retail crypto offering in December via its subsidiary Hexarq. ABN AMRO, Helaba, Nordea Bank, and Erste Group are also among the new entrants. Spain makes a notable entry as well, with five participants: Bankinter and Abanca, alongside the three MiCA-authorized CASPs Cecabank, Banco Sabadell, and Kutxabank. With this additional group, the consortium would bring together more than 30 participating European banks, with existing members including BNP Paribas, UniCredit, ING, DekaBank, DZ Bank, and BBVA. This marks an important step, as the consortium aims to create a common infrastructure that banks can build on, rather than having many competing instruments, and to ensure broad distribution. Today, Qivalis is still in the process of obtaining an e-money institution license from the Dutch Central Bank, while it will issue the euro stablecoin as a standalone company, with a launch planned for H2 2026. Full article in the first comment👇

𝐌𝐢𝐂𝐀 & 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 — 𝐚 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 🇪🇺 One of MiCA’s core promises was to institutionalize crypto in Europe and attract institutional capital. MiCA clearly has its flaws - but on that front, it’s delivering. cc @block_stories @Louis_Tellier

I’ll admit that “Will Aave Win?” is a very broad question. After writing the piece below, I’m not even sure whether it’s the right question to ask. “Win” what? Lending market share? In that case,@aave is already winning, controlling roughly 58% of the lending market across major chains. But the lending market is broad, and its composition is changing. It’s not just retail investors anymore who are looping their favorite tokens for leveraged exposure (a use case that made Aave the Goliath it is today). It's increasingly institutions, fintechs, and asset managers who use these markets to deliver the one thing their customers want: yield. And in that market, Aave has serious competition from modular lending platforms such as @Morpho, which are slowly but surely establishing themselves as default infrastructure for onchain asset management solutions. Coinbase, Bitwise, and Société Générale are all building on top of Morpho. But arguably, this isn’t — and shouldn’t be — Aave’s core market anyway, although its recent V4 upgrade has opened it up to broader institutional participation. Long story short: the lending market is experiencing quite turbulent and transformative times right now. Which is also why it is key to understand how leaders in this market are navigating these shifts. So, we at @block_stories have taken a closer look at the biggest recent changes around Aave. Together with @StaniKulechov from Aave Labs and @AElkrief from @upshift_fi, we shed light on: --> Aave’s big V4 upgrade, what improvements it brings, and how it positions the protocol against rising competition in the lending market --> The recent internal disputes at the Aave DAO, and how the recently passed “Aave Will Win” framework aims to resolve some of the key problems once and for all --> Which business lines of its growing product suite Aave will focus on most in the coming months, and why Find it all in the article below!

Remember last year? When Ethena's USDe supply grew by staggering $9 billion in just three months? With $14.8 billion it was the third-largest stablecoin in all of crypto. Sky was the limit. But a lot has changed since then. Over the last six months, USDe supply has fallen by 60% to $5.8 billion, while major competitors such as Tether, Circle, and Sky have continued to grow. Now, @ethena is reacting by proposing a major overhaul of USDe's reserve composition — a proposal that seems to have been in the making for quite some time. In our latest @block_stories briefing, we cover how Ethena got to where it is today and what the new proposal aims to change. We also spoke with @tomwanhh from @EntropyAdvisors and @SebVentures from @SteakhouseFi, who shared their perspectives on the impact of Ethena's proposed changes on USDe's growth trajectory. Find it all in the article below.