Vester Updates

If you’ve been around for a while, our core agents should feel familiar. But it’s worth a quick refresh on what each one does, and why they matter:

• On-Chain Analyst: Examines on-chain activity such as network growth, transactions, and exchange flows to spot trends that drive price action.

• News Agent: Scans headlines, X/Twitter, and sentiment in real time. Highlights catalysts, narrative shifts, and crowd psychology to explain why markets just moved and who’s driving the chatter.

• Quant Agent: Are things looking pricey? Where is support? The Quant crunches the numbers and uses predictive machine learning to identify technical patterns and opportunities in the market.

All three agents are live and improving. We’ve spent the past few weeks tightening their speed, accuracy, and handoffs. If you haven’t checked them out recently, now’s a good time to take another look - and let us know what’s working and what needs to be better.

Market Updates

Crypto News

Crypto markets pushed higher this week, with total capitalization climbing to $3.92 trillion. Bitcoin rose 1.9% to ~$114K, while Ethereum posted a more modest gain, closing near $4.3K. Most majors followed the trend, with BNB and XRP ticking up slightly, and Solana continuing to outperform with a 3.6% weekly jump.

Sector performance was led by DeFi and Layer-1s. The GMCI DeFi Index surged 11% to 102.20, its strongest move in recent weeks, while the GMCI Layer-1 Index rose 11.5% to 220.30 on the back of ecosystem momentum.

Tether Launches Regulated U.S. Stablecoin

Tether announced plans this week to launch USAT, a fully regulated stablecoin designed specifically for the U.S. market. It will be issued by Anchorage Digital, a federally regulated crypto bank, with Cantor Fitzgerald overseeing reserves. Bo Hines, a former White House digital asset advisor, will lead the new U.S. division.

Tether currently dominates the global stablecoin landscape, with over $110 billion in USDT circulation and a footprint that spans offshore exchanges, emerging markets, and DeFi. But despite its scale, it has historically operated with limited transparency and outside formal U.S. regulatory oversight, a fact that has drawn persistent scrutiny from lawmakers and institutions.

USAT marks a shift in posture. Built to comply with the GENIUS Act, the token will be backed by high-quality liquid assets, subject to routine audits, and fully integrated into a compliant operating structure. It's Tether’s first attempt to engage directly with U.S. regulators, financial institutions, and enterprise users on their terms.

Rather than replacing USDT, USAT introduces a parallel track, one token for global crypto markets, another for the regulated capital stack. That separation may help Tether defend its dominance abroad while unlocking access to U.S. institutional flows that previously skewed toward USDC and similar offerings.

The launch won’t change the market overnight, but it creates a path for Tether to compete in spaces where it’s historically been excluded, and signals just how quickly regulatory alignment is becoming table stakes.

Gemini IPOs

Gemini, the crypto exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, made its public debut this week on the Nasdaq under the ticker $GMNI. The IPO priced at $28 per share, raising $425 million and valuing the company at roughly $3.3 billion. Shares opened around $37, briefly topped $45, and closed the week near $32, a solid 14 percent gain from the initial offering price.

The offering was oversubscribed despite a trimmed float, reflecting renewed interest in crypto infrastructure plays after a two-year lull in digital asset listings. Gemini’s regulatory posture was likely a factor in investor demand. The company is a New York Trust-chartered exchange, offers qualified custody services, and operates across all 50 U.S. states. Positioning itself as one of the more compliant and institutionally friendly venues in the space.

Its product suite spans spot trading, custody, staking, derivatives, and stablecoins (GUSD), with an emphasis on security and risk controls. The company reported $283 million in losses for the first half of 2025, up from $159 million in 2024, but revenue has grown as institutional flows and B2B services expanded. You can see the pure financial results below.

The IPO arrives at a moment of cautious optimism for crypto markets. ETF approvals, regulatory clarity around stablecoins, and stronger capital flows have helped reframe the narrative for crypto-native businesses. Gemini’s successful debut adds to that shift, offering a fresh valuation benchmark for the exchange category and suggesting public market investors are once again willing to underwrite long-term infrastructure plays.

AVAX Unlock Looms as Toyota and Treasury Deals Build Momentum

AVAX is trading around $29.50, up more than 20 percent on the week following a string of ecosystem announcements. The most immediate catalyst is a scheduled token unlock on September 24, with 9.5 million AVAX set to be released into circulation.

The event represents just over 2.5 percent of the current supply and includes allocations to the Avalanche Foundation, strategic partners, and the core team.

Unlocks like this have historically been a source of short-term volatility, depending on how much of the new supply enters active circulation. This one lands at a more complex moment, with the Avalanche Foundation also announcing plans to raise $1 billion through two U.S.-based treasury vehicles.

These firms would purchase AVAX directly from the Foundation at a discount and manage it as part of long-term capital deployments. The structure is designed to absorb supply over time, but execution will matter.

Meanwhile, Avalanche continues to build enterprise traction. Toyota has selected Avalanche as the base layer for its new Mobility Orchestration Network - a blockchain-based system for vehicle financing, insurance, registration, and shared data infrastructure.

The network will use subnets and cross-chain messaging to connect automakers, regulators, and service providers. It's one of the most ambitious real-world integrations Avalanche has taken on. This integration anchors Avalanche's value not in speculation, but in providing foundational, real-world utility to one of the world's largest industries.

UAE Developer Takes Crypto for Real Estate

For anyone who's ever dealt with the slow, costly, and nerve-wracking process of wiring large sums of money across borders to buy property, a new development in the UAE's real estate market will sound like the future arriving ahead of schedule.

RAK Properties, one of the Emirates' largest developers, has officially opened its doors to crypto investors. Through a strategic partnership with the regulated fintech firm Hubpay, the developer is now accepting Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the stablecoin USDT as payment for its real estate portfolio.

The partnership directly tackles two of the biggest historic hurdles for using crypto in high-value transactions:

1. Volatility: The most common objection to using crypto for payment is its price instability. This system smartly sidesteps that issue entirely. At the exact moment of sale, the buyer's crypto is instantly converted into stable Emirati dirhams. This means the price is locked in for both parties - the buyer knows exactly what they're paying, and RAK Properties knows exactly what it's receiving, eliminating all risk of a market swing mid-transaction.

2. Cross-Border Friction: The traditional method of buying international property is famously cumbersome. It involves days of waiting for bank wires to clear, unpredictable fees skimmed by intermediary banks, and the constant risk of compliance holds and endless paperwork. This new system dismantles those barriers. A buyer in another country can now execute a multi-million dollar real estate transaction with the speed and efficiency of a simple digital transfer.

This isn't a theoretical proof-of-concept. It is a live, fully operational payment system available today across RAK Properties' entire active portfolio, that's 12 different residential and commercial projects in the rapidly growing emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.

What truly sets this apart from earlier, piecemeal attempts at crypto-for-real-estate deals is the infrastructure. Before, such transactions often relied on clunky, high-touch OTC (Over-the-Counter) workarounds that required armies of lawyers and manual custody solutions. This new model is different; it's a regulated, scalable, and replicable payments rail.

Token of the Week

Hivemapper is a decentralized mapping network where users earn HONEY tokens by capturing street-level imagery. Think Google Maps, but built by drivers using dashcams instead of a centralized fleet.

As contributors map new roads or update existing ones, they’re rewarded in real time. The data is stitched into a global, constantly updating map that’s already covered over 4 million kilometers - often in places where traditional mapping services fall short.

The real-world angle is simple. Logistics firms, autonomous vehicle developers, and routing apps all rely on fresh, accurate map data. Hivemapper gives them an open alternative, and gives contributors a share of the value.

HONEY is currently trading around $0.015, down over 90% from its early 2024 highs. The token has seen little price recovery, but contributor activity remains steady and the project continues expanding geographic coverage.

It’s still early, and participation depends on hardware availability and route density. But it’s a clean example of token incentives powering infrastructure that people already use.

Closing Thoughts

Ultimately, Gemini's public offering serves as the clearest data point yet for a trend we've been highlighting for months: the market's definitive pivot from speculative fervor toward a more pragmatic and sustainable phase of development.

As we've discussed, the capital re-entering the digital asset space is different. It's no longer satisfied with compelling narratives alone; it now demands operational resilience, transparent governance, and a clear path to regulatory compliance.

The projects gaining traction are those that function as core infrastructure - the protocols, platforms, and on-ramps that provide essential, repeatable services to the ecosystem. This brings us back to a familiar conclusion: these are not bets on explosive, short-term growth but rather methodical investments in the long-term viability of the market itself.

For the investor, this new landscape requires a similar maturation of strategy, where the emphasis must shift from timing momentum to vetting the builders of essential, long-lasting infrastructure.

That is where Vester thrives.

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