Four Pillars Research

: : [Crypto/Issue] A Six-Month Review of Cap: From Stablecoin to Credit MarketWritten by c4lvin- The core challenges that lingered at Cap six months ago, namely its heavy reliance on self-delegation and low capital utilization, have now been resolved to a meaningful degree. EtherFi and Bedrock have each stepped into independent underwriter roles backed by ETH and BTC collateral, moving the system away from self-delegation, and reserve utilization, which sat at just 5.3% in December 2025, climbed to roughly 60% by the end of the first quarter of 2026. The 100 million dollar revolving credit facility extended to Susquehanna Crypto also signaled that institutional borrowing has begun to move beyond the pilot stage.- The number of registered underwriters grew from 12 to 22 and borrowers from 18 to 30, yet it remains unconfirmed whether an independent credit market, in which different underwriters price different borrowers differently, is actually functioning. It is still untested in practice how far operators' real strategies and legal agreements can be publicly verified, and whether the slashing and repayment paths will work as intended in the event of a large default.- In terms of metrics, the borrowing utilization rate and the composition of yield sources now matter more than total value locked. TVL stands at around 250 million dollars, below its previous peak, but borrowed capital has grown substantially compared with before. The yield on stcUSD has also fallen from about 8.6% in December 2025 to the low 5% range today, yet its relative standing against comparable products has actually improved.📱 X Post🌎 Full Article (Website)FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : [Investment/Comment] They Sold MSTR Again, But I Stopped Shorting MSTRWritten by 100yStrategy sold MSTR again, but today’s announcement could mark a major turning point.🌎 Full Comment (X / Website)FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : [Crypto/Report] Lido: The Most Important Protocol on EthereumWritten by r2jamong, Jay, and FP Validated- Understanding Lido lets you understand the changes in the Ethereum staking market and DeFi infrastructure. This article covers how Lido popularized liquid staking by solving the high barrier to entry and the liquidity problem of early Ethereum staking, and how a protocol once criticized as a symbol of centralization risk is evolving into core staking infrastructure aligned with Ethereum's direction of decentralization.- Lido's history runs alongside the process by which the Ethereum staking market matured through experiment and crisis. Having grown by solving the early user experience problems, Lido went through several risks and learned from them, evolving into more sophisticated staking infrastructure.- Although Lido protocol's market share has declined significantly since its 2023 peak, its staked ETH has remained relatively resilient, staying near historical highs. This means not so much a weakening of Lido's competitiveness as the rapid maturing of the Ethereum staking market. The differentiation of the staking service itself is leveling off, and today's staking market is no longer a simple competition over share among protocols. It should be seen as a market differentiated by target user segment. Lido too is now expanding from a single liquid staking product into a platform on which various staking demands can sit.- Lido protocol's decentralization is not a finished state but a process of continually coordinating different trust models and interests. Lido has gradually differentiated its modules, governance, and operating entities, distributing power and accountability more widely.- Lido's next task is to be redefined as institutional onchain/DeFi infrastructure suited to a changing Ethereum era. As market demand and Ethereum itself change rapidly, Lido's future depends on how safely it can absorb and productize the market's changes. This is why Lido is

: : [Conference] We are Hosting “ASA Conference 2026” on 1st, OctoberAsia is not a single market.Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Southeast Asia, the UAE, and other markets are each developing their own approach to stablecoins, tokenization, digital money, and financial infrastructure.In 2025, ASA Conference brought together 700+ builders, issuers, institutions, infrastructure providers, researchers, and policymakers in Seoul. Across 17 sessions, teams including Ant Group, Ethena, Wyoming Stable Token, Canton, and Securitize shared insights.This year’s conference goes deeper by moving from the big picture to the market level. ASA Conference 2026 will look at each market on its own terms, examining the issuers, distributors, institutions, use cases, and infrastructure.If you are building, investing, regulating, researching, or operating in stablecoins, tokenization, payments, or digital financial infrastructure across Asia, ASA Conference 2026 is designed for you.Join us in Seoul on October 1, 2026.“Understand the Diverse Asia."*Organizer: Asia Stablecoin Alliance*Co-Hosts: Four Pillars, LayerZero*Event by: The Blurb🌎 Luma Link📱 X PostFP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : [Newletter] License Is All You Need (Week 27, 2026)🗞 Major News- [Asia] SBI Holdings Acquires Bitbank for About $288.6 Million- [Institution] European Parliament Approves Digital Euro Bill and Begins Trilogue Negotiations📊 Data Spotlight- Korean Exchanges Facing a Volume Plunge. Is It Really a Crisis?- Ethereum Decentralization Through the Lens of New EIP Author Share, and a Warning Signal from 2026✍️ Four Pillars Weekly- How Distributed Trust Absorbs Shocks: Lessons from the KelpDAO Incident and stETH's Resilience- What Should Exist on HyperEVM? - Code is Not Law: Legal Context Protocol🌎 Full NewsletterFP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : [Investment/Comment] STRC Has No Reason to Trade at $100Written by 100yStrategy set STRC’s dividend rate at 11.50% based on a $100 price. But STRC’s price is determined by the market. The $100 per share claim on remaining assets does not seem very meaningful in a worst-case scenario, and the long-term sustainability of dividend rate adjustments and payments is questionable.🌎 Full Comment (X / Website)FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : [Tech/Issue] Code is Not Law: Legal Context ProtocolWritten by c4lvin- On June 24, a consortium that includes the American Arbitration Association and Integra Ledger unveiled the Legal Context Protocol. The standard begins from a single concern: as transactions in which agents pay and accept terms on behalf of people grow, the layer that records which terms applied, under which jurisdiction's law a deal took place, and what procedure to follow when something goes wrong has been left empty.- LCP is not a standard that proposes new technology, but one that standardizes where terms are placed. It asks every service to put a JSON file containing the address of its terms document at a fixed path, then layers hash verification, signed consent, and dispute resolution links on top of that as optional steps in a four-tier structure. LCP does not require blockchain; it works with any web server that supports HTTPS.- The interesting part is that, instead of settling agent transactions on-chain, LCP routes them back to the existing human legal system. The standard does not require any particular chain, but the upper tiers that build toward verification, signing, and storage rely on methods such as hashing and content addressing, which blockchains can provide in a more trustworthy form. Many of the chains that joined as founding contributors have long aimed at real-world assets and payments, and among them Sui is positioned to connect its own storage and encryption stack directly to those upper tiers.📱 X Post🌎 Full Article (Website)FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : [Asia/Comment] This July is an Important Moment for Korea RWA MarketWritten by HeechangThe FSC has signaled it will publish its tokenized-securities guidelines in July 2026, ahead of the framework taking full effect.🌎 Full Comment (X / Website)FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : [Data/Comment] Ethereum Decentralization Through the Lens of New EIP Author Share, and a Warning Signal from 2026Written by JayUsing the new EIP author ratio as a proxy, this article explores the openness and decentralization of Ethereum's development process.🌎 Full Comment (X / Website)FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : [Crypto/Issue] What Should Exist on HyperEVM?Written by Ponyo- HyperEVM should be evaluated as the smart contract layer that lets applications read and use HyperCore’s trading, collateral, positions, and risk.- The right way to judge a HyperEVM app is to ask two questions. Why does it need EVM, and why does it need Hyperliquid?- Basic apps such as swaps, lending, and asset wrappers are necessary, but the real differentiation comes from products that cannot work the same way without HyperCore.- The long-term end state is an integrated account where one balance can move across trading, borrowing, yield, hedging, and payments.📱 X Post🌎 Full Article (Website)FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : [Crypto/Issue] How Distributed Trust Absorbs Shocks: Lessons from the KelpDAO Incident and stETH's ResilienceWritten by c4lvin- In April 2026, ~$292 million worth of assets were stolen from KelpDAO. The incident marked the collapse of a structure that had concentrated trust at a single point. Over the same period, Lido's staking token stETH, which sat outside the direct path of the damage, felt the shock of the incident but recovered quickly.- stETH was not a target of the theft, but as the broader market turned to risk aversion, its exchange ratio against ETH drifted by as much as roughly -59 basis points, and execution costs widened temporarily. Even so, trading remained possible throughout the stress period. The direct foundation for this absorption lay in liquidity spread across many venues and in onchain data that could be verified in real time.- Behind the depth and trust that stETH came to hold lies Lido's design, which avoids placing trust at a single point through measures such as validator decentralization, halting mechanisms that cannot move funds, exit rights at the governance level, and onchain treasury operations. This incident illustrated how a structure that concentrates trust and one that distributes it diverge when faced with the same shock.📱 X Post🌎 Full Article (Website)FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : [Asia/Comment] Korea, Taxation, and DAT.Written by SteveExploring the unintended consequences that South Korea’s digital asset taxation regime may have on domestic Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) companies.🌎 Full Comment (X / Website)FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : [Crypto/Comment] BitMine Can’t Own the Ethereum NetworkWritten by RejamongDue to Ethereum’s unique network structure, BitMine cannot accumulate ETH indefinitely in the same way Strategy accumulates BTC. So how should the Ethereum community view BitMine’s growing influence over the Ethereum network?🌎 Full Comment (X / Website)FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : [Data/Comment] Korean Exchanges Facing a Volume Plunge. Is It Really a Crisis?Written by HeunBy May 2026, Upbit’s trading volume had fallen to just 4% of the combined trading value of KOSPI and KOSDAQ, down from a massive 130% in December 2024. Since Korean crypto exchanges make most of their revenue from trading fees, this kind of sharp drop in volume can be seen as a serious warning sign for the exchange business.🌎 Full Comment (X / Website)FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : [Newletter] MSTR and COIN (Week 26, 2026)🗞 Major News- [Crypto] Are MSTR and STRC Okay? Crypto Assets as Financial Products- [Institution] Coinbase’s Tokenized Stocks: Are They Really Tokenized Stocks?📊 Data Spotlight- ALT DATs, Are They Still Alive?✍️ Four Pillars Weekly- A Look at Built-In Privacy on General-Purpose Chains- Neutrl and the Fund Era of Stablecoin Yield- Korean Stocks Now Trade 24/7: Markets.xyz and the Retail Opportunity - SPCX, SPACE, SPX?: The Gap Between the Everything Exchange and Korean CEXs- Collector Crypt Has No Collectors- Monad Six Months After Launch- Monthly EIP - May 2026 (ft. The Staking Issuance Debate and the Responsibility of Scale)🌎 Full NewsletterFP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)