Key Points
· Crypto enterprises' IPOs release massive value, despite challenges in market pricing.
· Token transparency framework aims to enhance market clarity and attract more institutional funds to the token market.
· Stock tokenization is reshaping financial markets, improving efficiency and expanding global capital access.
Mispriced Crypto IPOs
Coinbase's performance since its listing is a typical case, revealing the pricing dilemma of public markets for financial infrastructure frontier innovations. We witnessed COIN's journey from a 52% surge at opening, with its valuation briefly breaking $100 billion, to a deep pullback as market sentiment and crypto cycles fluctuated. Each market shift seemed to reprice Coinbase with a new valuation framework, confusing long-term value investors and builders.
Circle's IPO is another recent case: despite strong market demand for stablecoin exposure, Circle earned $1.7 billion less on its first day of listing, becoming one of the most underpriced IPOs in recent decades. This is not just a crypto industry peculiarity, but a structural pricing challenge faced by new-generation financial companies entering public markets.
The crypto industry needs a more adaptive price discovery mechanism that can bridge the gap between institutional demand and platform's true value during market cycle transitions.
New Valuation Framework
The crypto market still lacks a standardized disclosure system like S-1 files. The mispricing of crypto IPOs proves that when underwriters cannot map token economics to GAAP checklists, they either overestimate due to hype or underestimate out of fear. To fill this gap, Pantera Capital's Cosmo Jiang collaborated with Blockworks to launch the 'Token Transparency Report' - containing 40 metrics to transform protocol opacity into IPO-level clarity. The framework requires founders to:
· Calculate revenue for each actual entity
· Publish annotated internal wallet attributions
· Submit quarterly token holder reports (covering treasury, cash flow, and KPIs)
· Disclose market maker or CEX collaboration details to help investors assess liquidity risks before listing
How Does This System Enhance Valuation?
· Reduce Discount Rate: Clear circulation and unlock data bring the market closer to intrinsic value pricing
· Expand Buyer Base: Institutional investors previously blocked by "black box" protocols can now participate in certified projects
· Regulatory Alignment: SEC's crypto issuance guidelines released in April 2025 highly align with this framework, with most paperwork already completed when projects submit applications, accelerating approval and narrowing public-private valuation gaps
Ethereum's latest upgrade perfectly illustrates the difference between blockchain and traditional enterprises: each new block destroys part of ETH (similar to automatic stock buyback), while providing 3-5% yield for stakers (similar to stable dividends). The correct approach is to view "issuance minus destruction" as free cash flow, with a discounted valuation that reflects the on-chain ecosystem, not just the balance sheet. However, scarcity is just the first step; on-chain activity tells the complete story: real-time data like stablecoin cross-wallet flows, bridging activities, and DeFi collateral movements are the fundamental support for token prices.
A comprehensive valuation method should be based on traditional enterprise cash flow, with on-chain revenue (staking yield minus fee destruction) as a core verification element. Continuously monitoring staking yield rates, real-time traffic indicators, and scenario analysis can keep valuation methods up-to-date, which is the only way to attract traditional capital.
Stock Tokenization Optimizes Trading Experience
Pantera Capital supports the RWA (Real World Assets) tokenization field by investing in Ondo Finance. Recently, we jointly launched a $250 million fund to promote RWA development. With Robinhood announcing stock tokenization, this field is accelerating maturity. Last week, Robinhood introduced tokenized stocks on its platform, highlighting the core contradiction of this new financial technology: permissionless finance vs. permissioned finance, and DeFi's future role.
Permissionless tokenized stocks allow anyone to trade on public chains at any time, opening U.S. capital markets to global investors, but could also become a breeding ground for insider trading and manipulation. The KYC-based permissioned model maintains market fairness but restricts the core advantage of global access for tokenized stocks.
We believe tokenized stocks will reshape DeFi. DeFi's mission was to build open, programmable financial primitives, but previously mainly served crypto-native tokens. Tokenized stocks unlock new use cases. The structure of tokenized stocks will determine the next wave of users and liquidity:
· In the permissioned model, traditional institutions like Robinhood with user relationships dominate the frontend, while DeFi protocols can only compete for liquidity in the backend
· In the permissionless model, DeFi protocols can simultaneously control users and liquidity, creating a truly open global market
Hyperliquid's HIP-3 upgrade perfectly illustrates this vision: by staking protocol tokens to configure oracles, leverage, and funding parameters, anyone can create perpetual contract markets for tokenized stocks. Robinhood and Coinbase have launched stock perpetual contracts in the EU, but their model remains more closed and less composable than DeFi. By maintaining an open trajectory, DeFi will become the default venue for programmable, borderless financial engineering.
Bitcoin Market Cap Surpasses Google
In 2025, Bitcoin leaped to the fifth-largest global asset with a $2.128 trillion market cap, surpassing Google. Driven by institutional adoption, spot Bitcoin ETF approval, and clear regulation, Bitcoin broke through $106,000. This milestone proves that programmable currency has found a clear product-market fit.
Looking Forward
As Dan Morehead says, crypto investments offer returns unmatched by traditional markets. This is why traditional public markets and the crypto realm are accelerating financial and structural convergence:
· Digital asset treasuries and crypto IPOs provide crypto financial exposure to public markets
· Stablecoins and tokenization optimize traditional market structures using crypto technology
In ten years, crypto will no longer be a niche market discussed by tech enthusiasts, but a core technology supporting daily life.
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