July 8, 2025

🔮 Trump's Bill, Robinhood Tokenizes, DeFi Lending and Fees Rebound, Futures Volume

Top Stories

DeFi Fees Rebound to $577M as Protocols Mature and Monetize

Monthly DeFi fees have surged to approximately $577 million, marking a 58% rebound from April’s $366 million low and signaling renewed interest in onchain financial services. The rise reflects both higher transaction volumes and the growing maturity of key protocols like PancakeSwap, which has generated $275 million in fees through trading, farming, and gamified mechanisms. Platforms such as Uniswap, Aave, and MakerDAO continue to leverage peer-to-peer models and protocol-specific fee structures to capture value across swaps, lending, and staking. Pump.fun’s rise in fee rankings underscores how frequent low-value transactions, driven by memecoin trading, contribute to revenue at scale. The data points to a shift toward sustainable, decentralized monetization strategies—reducing reliance on intermediaries and reinforcing DeFi’s long-term viability.

Source: The Block

ETH/BTC Futures Volume Ratio Nears Parity as Ethereum Sentiment Rebounds

The ETH/BTC futures volume ratio has surged to 98%, up from just 42% in October 2024, signaling a dramatic reversal in market sentiment toward Ethereum. The October low marked peak skepticism, as traders questioned Ethereum’s long-term viability amid high fees, rising Layer 1 competition, and lagging ETF momentum. Now, renewed confidence is reflected in derivatives markets, driven by scaling progress, rising onchain activity, and Ethereum’s entrenched developer ecosystem. As Bitcoin’s dominance narrative stabilizes, investors are moving down the risk curve toward Ethereum, anticipating greater upside.

Robinhood Mints 213 Tokenized Stocks on Arbitrum for Just $5

Robinhood has deployed 213 tokenized U.S. equities—including Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft—on Arbitrum, paying just $5 in gas fees, or roughly three cents per stock. The assets, while blockchain-based, remain restricted within a white-listed environment, limiting transfers to DeFi wallets. The move comes ahead of Robinhood’s planned rollout of tokenized equity trading for EU users and mirrors similar initiatives by Kraken and Bybit using Backed Finance’s xStocks. In parallel, Robinhood is developing its own Arbitrum-based Layer 2 network and expanding into crypto staking and perpetual futures across U.S. and EU markets, signaling a broader strategic pivot into onchain finance.

DeFi Lending Nears $69B, But Borrowers Remain Cautious

DeFi lending deposits are surging back toward 2021 highs, hitting nearly $69 billion -- but outstanding loans remain stalled at around $28 billion, highlighting a growing divergence between lender enthusiasm and borrower caution. While protocols like Aave dominate with 40% market share and rising yield-seeking deposits, borrowing demand hasn’t caught up, reflecting a more risk-averse market environment. Traders are increasingly favoring on-chain perps platforms like Hyperliquid for leveraged exposure, bypassing traditional lending entirely. Meanwhile, new challengers such as Spark, Morpho, Venus, and Sonne are fragmenting the market, even as Compound fades. The collapse of major CeFi lenders like Celsius and BlockFi left a $46 billion liquidity hole that DeFi hasn’t fully absorbed -- suggesting plenty of dry powder remains on the sidelines until macro conditions or risk appetite shift decisively.

Source: Artemis

Regulation

Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Passes Senate -- But Without Crypto Tax Breaks

President Trump’s sweeping reconciliation bill narrowly passed the Senate on Tuesday, but crypto advocates were dealt a blow as key tax provisions for miners, stakers, and retail users were left out. Spearheaded by Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), the last-minute push aimed to include amendments that would have delayed taxation on staking and mining rewards, allowed mark-to-market accounting for companies holding crypto, and granted a de minimis exemption for small retail transactions. Despite a flurry of eleventh-hour lobbying and Lummis’ pledge to introduce the amendment during the Senate’s vote-a-rama, the effort missed the cutoff before Vice President J.D. Vance cast the tie-breaking vote. While some called it a “missed opportunity,” Lummis’ office remained optimistic, noting growing support within the Senate Finance Committee and ongoing talks with Chair Mike Crapo (R-ID) to revisit the tax fixes in future legislation.

More From the Exchange in Green Tights

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev clarified that its newly launched OpenAI and SpaceX "stock tokens" are blockchain-based derivatives designed to track company valuations -- not actual equity. Speaking at a crypto event in Cannes, Tenev positioned the tokens as “a seed for something much bigger,” with long-term ambitions to bring more private companies into the tokenization fold. The launch drew pushback from OpenAI, which stated it had not and urged investors to consult official filings. “We have not issued any security or approved any asset purporting to represent OpenAI stock,” a company spokesperson said, adding that Robinhood’s move “risks misleading consumers with synthetic exposure to assets we have no connection to.”

Ripple Follows Circle in Pursuit of U.S. Bank Charter

Ripple has officially applied for a national bank charter from the OCC, joining Circle in a growing race among stablecoin issuers to align with anticipated federal regulation. CEO Brad Garlinghouse confirmed the move Wednesday, emphasizing Ripple’s “compliance roots” and noting the added trust that federal and state oversight could bring to its RLUSD stablecoin. This follows Circle’s own bid to form a federally regulated trust bank and signals increasing urgency ahead of potential requirements under the GENIUS Act. Ripple’s Standard Custody unit also filed for a Federal Reserve master account, seeking direct access to hold RLUSD reserves and streamline asset processing.

Judge Lets Celsius $4B Lawsuit Against Tether Move Forward

A U.S. bankruptcy judge has ruled that Celsius can proceed with its $4 billion lawsuit against Tether, alleging improper liquidation of 39,500 BTC held as collateral during its 2022 collapse. Celsius claims Tether violated a contractual 10-hour grace period when it sold the collateral to recover an $812 million loan, a move the judge said wasn’t justified solely by Celsius’s insolvency or verbal CEO approval. While parts of Tether’s motion to dismiss were granted, the ruling underscores how U.S. courts may assert jurisdiction in crypto disputes even when foreign entities are involved. Celsius has already returned $2.5 billion to creditors since January 2024, but this high-stakes case could set new precedents for offshore firms navigating U.S. legal exposure.

Other Domestic Regulation Updates

Other International Regulation Updates

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Important Legal Notices

This reflects the views MJL Capital LLC (“MJL”), but it should in no way be construed to represent financial or investment advice. Nothing in this correspondence is intended to constitute or form part of, and should not be construed as, an issue for sale or subscription of, or solicitation of any offer or invitation to subscribe for, underwrite, or otherwise acquire or dispose of any security, including any interest in any private investment fund managed by MJL. Any such offer may only be made pursuant to a formal confidential private placement memorandum of any such fund, which may be furnished to potential investors upon request and which will contain important information to be considered in connection with any such investment, including risk factors associated with making any investment in any such fund. Further, nothing in this correspondence is, or is intended to be treated as, investment or tax advice. Each recipient should consult their own legal, tax and other professional advisors in connection with investment decisions.

Domenic Salvo

Domenic Salvo is a Managing Partner at MJL Capital, helping lead Portfolio Research and Investor Relations.

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