The cryptocurrency markets faced another week of decline as investor activity gradually decreased ahead of the holiday season.
Bitcoin (BTC) dropped more than 5% over the past week, hitting a weekly low of $84,398 on Thursday, before bouncing back to trade above $87,769 on Friday, according to TradingView data.
Crypto market volatility continues to jeopardize the sustainability of digital asset treasury (DAT) companies, as their future relies on mitigating the fluctuations of the multiple-to-net-asset-value (mNAV) “roller coaster,” which makes these firms vulnerable to the value shifts of the tokens they hold, as stated by Solmate CEO Marco Santori.
In the broader cryptocurrency landscape, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) concluded its four-year investigation into Aave, representing a considerable regulatory success for the sector.
Following this development, Stani Kulechov, founder of Aave, announced the 2026 “master plan” for the decentralized lending platform, aiming to secure $1 billion in value through real-world asset deposits by launching Aave v4, Horizon, and the Aave App.
DAT longevity hinges on avoiding “mNAV roller coaster”: Solmate CEO
The rise of digital asset treasury companies will be a defining story of 2025, but their survival will hinge on capital management and effective business strategies.
As noted by Solmate CEO Marco Santori, all DATs must manage the value of the underlying tokens they hold. This should not be challenging for revenue-generating firms, but pure-play DATs may face turbulence.
“The multiple-to-net-asset value is fundamental for the survival of these treasury companies. If they trade at a high mNAV, meaning their market cap exceeds the value of the coins on their balance sheet, they can sell stock profitably,” Santori explained on Cointelegraph’s Chain Reaction X show.
“Every dollar of stock they sell, they invest in the underlying coin, which boosts their net asset value. As long as they maintain the premium, this can continue. That is the pure play treasury model, and I believe it has a future.”
However, mNAV may decrease when interest in a DAT’s underlying token diminishes. Santori highlighted that lower token prices lead to reduced mNAVs.
“Often, treasury companies then find themselves stagnant because they can’t grow effectively. I aimed to avoid that situation for our investors. I wanted them to benefit from SOL and the growth of the Solana network without experiencing the mNAV roller coaster,” Santori added.
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Aave founder outlines 2026 “master plan” after end to SEC probe
Aave founder Stani Kulechov recently unveiled his decentralized protocol’s 2026 “master plan” after the US SEC dropped its four-year inquiry into the platform.
In a post to X on Tuesday, Kulechov stated that despite 2025 being the platform’s most successful year to date, he believes Aave is still in its early stages compared to what lies ahead.
Looking to 2026, the CEO elaborated a master plan focusing heavily on scaling the DeFi platform and achieving specific usage benchmarks, including $1 billion in real-world asset (RWA) deposits.
“Going into next year, our strategy consists of three main pillars: Aave v4, Horizon, and Aave App,” he stated.
Aave v4 is a significant upgrade intended to deliver major enhancements to the platform’s lending and borrowing pools, user interface, and liquidation parameters, among others.
In his post, Kulechov described v4 as the “backbone of all finance,” highlighting the tailored lending markets that its Hub and Spoke model will create.
In this framework, the hub functions as a single unified cross-chain liquidity pool that serves as the central location for all assets on the protocol, while the spokes represent highly customizable markets utilizing hub liquidity.
“This will enable Aave to manage trillions of dollars in assets, establishing it as the primary choice for institutions, fintech, or companies seeking access to Aave’s deep, reliable liquidity,” he continued, adding:
“By 2026, Aave will introduce new markets, new assets, and new integrations that have never been seen before in DeFi. We will persist in engaging with fintechs and collaborating closely with the DAO and our partners as we implement this progressive increase in TVL throughout the year.”
Regarding the next pillar, Horizon, Aave’s decentralized real-world asset market, the CEO expressed ambitions to onboard “numerous top financial institutions” to secure a central role in the RWA sector.
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Hyperliquid governance vote aims to permanently sideline $1 billion Assistance Fund
The Hyper Foundation has initiated a validator vote to formally declare HYPE tokens held in the Hyperliquid protocol’s Assistance Fund as permanently inaccessible, thus excluding them from the asset’s circulating and total supply.
According to the foundation, the Assistance Fund is a protocol-level mechanism integrated into the layer-1 network’s execution system. It automatically converts trading fees into HYPE tokens and routes them to a specified system address. Currently, the wallet contains approximately $1 billion in tokens.
This system address was created without control mechanisms, rendering the funds irretrievable without a hard fork. “By voting ‘Yes,’ validators acknowledge the Assistance Fund HYPE as burned,” the Hyper Foundation stated.
Native Markets, issuer of the Hyperliquid-native stablecoin USDH, reminded users that 50% of the stablecoin’s reserve yield is directed to the Assistance Fund and converted into HYPE tokens. “If this validator vote passes, these contributions will then be officially recognized as burned,” the company noted.
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ETHGas raises $12 million as Buterin revives gas futures debate
Ethereum blockspace trading platform ETHGas announced it has secured $12 million in a seed round led by Polychain Capital.
The funding announcement comes after Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently revisited the possibility of an on-chain “gas futures” market, claiming such a product could help users forecast expected fees and allow them to hedge against future costs.
ETHGas contends that Ethereum requires “a reimagining of the allocation of blockspace on the network” and asserts that its newly-launched trading platform is a move in that direction. The company stated that the market launched with $800 million in commitments from validators, builders, and other participants.
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Tokenized stocks may be onchain, but the SEC still wants the keys
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s Trading and Markets Division outlined how broker-dealers can hold tokenized stocks and bonds under existing customer protection rules, indicating that blockchain-based crypto asset securities will be incorporated into traditional securities safeguards rather than categorized as a separate entity.
The division announced that it would not oppose broker-dealers treating themselves as possessing crypto asset securities under current customer protection guidelines, provided they fulfill a specific set of operational, security, and governance criteria. This applies solely to crypto securities, including tokenized stocks and bonds.
Although this statement does not constitute a regulation, it clarifies how US regulators expect tokenized securities to integrate into existing market securities frameworks.
The guidance indicates that tokenized securities are not recognized as a new asset class with distinct rules, but rather are being aligned with current broker-dealer regulations, even when they settle on blockchain networks.
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DeFi market overview
Based on data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, most of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization concluded the week in decline.
Memecoin launchpad Pump.fun’s (PUMP) token saw the most significant drop in the top 100, plummeting 32%, followed by decentralized exchange Aster’s (ASTER) token, which fell over 27% over the past week.
Thank you for reading our summary of this week’s most significant DeFi developments. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights, and education on this rapidly evolving space.
