The Trilemma of the New Crypto Economy: The Intersection of Energy, Cutting-Edge Technology, and Stablecoins
Original Article Title: Energy, Frontier, Stablecoin
Original Article Authors: @ManoppoMarco, @primitivecrypto Investors
Original Article Translation: zhouzhou, BlockBeats
Editor's Note: This article explores the current status and future direction of the cryptocurrency industry, suggesting that innovation in the crypto space has become flat, with new technologies and projects failing to bring breakthroughs. The author believes that true innovation should combine the core features of crypto, such as incentive mechanisms, asset liquidity, and seamless transfer, to address macro issues. By integrating energy, frontier technology, and stablecoin, the crypto industry can be propelled to a higher level of development.
The following is the original content (slightly reorganized for clarity):

This is the first part of an exploratory paper series that I will be writing in the coming weeks.
Is the crypto industry getting boring... or growing? Over the past few months, Crypto Twitter's mood has been mixed, with both excitement and fatigue, mainly due to two reasons:
· The trench is dead.
· The institutions are here to take your lunch money.

The former means that the rebellious, cypherpunk-style innovation is no longer as prevalent in the crypto industry as it was in the past. Since DeFi unlocked our imagination in 2019, there has been no real 0 to 1 innovation in our field. Of course, blockchain has become faster, and we are all working hard to help traditional finance save 30 basis points through asset tokenization (which is a trillion-dollar opportunity!), but it can also be said that the original spirit of crypto is slowly fading away.
The latter means that the current crypto space is filled with MBA graduates and professional protocol hoppers (I swear I will make PPH a real term), who now dominate our field. These professionals, hey, I bet some senior managers of big protocols haven't even tried issuing their own coin on PumpFun.
Overall, observing all this has made me start thinking about which possible new verticals we can explore to get my CT friends excited again.
Frankly, I don't think what's happening in the crypto industry is bad or boring; it's just the natural progression of business and tech cycles within a maturing vertical.
But hey, maybe I'm too pragmatic. So, what's new?
New virtual machines, new blockchains, and new Ponzi economics will continue to attract funding, especially in the early stages. Because crypto is still the world's best capital market. Ask any Web2 VC friend of yours how things are on their end, and you might think we're no longer in a bear market.
But these optimizations have become somewhat boring; even though they still bring returns to early investors, they haven't unlocked new mechanisms or driven new business models that propel our industry forward.
Therefore, this article is an attempt to imagine things that could drive the industry forward.
My assumption is that the answer lies in the combination of the following three intersections:
· Energy
· Cutting-edge Technology
· Stablecoins
Let's dissect these three concepts.
Triumvirate
The original meaning of "Triumvirate" was the rule of three men—referring to the informal alliance of Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus in 60 BC. If you think I'm a bit old-fashioned, go with your gut.
I believe that crypto is fundamentally a macro asset. The technological and capital market value that crypto provides is most effective when combined with macro trends. Digitalization was the earliest trend that brought crypto into our world. In an increasingly digital world, there has to be a native way to exchange value -> hence crypto.
Now, the world is undergoing several macro trends:
· Energy: Demand for more energy
· Cutting-edge Technology: Demand for technological advancement
· Stablecoins: Demand for seamless value transfer
These three constitute the crypto Triumvirate. By properly combining these three verticals, crypto can be propelled to the next level.
I'll be the first to admit that, taken individually, this concept is not groundbreaking. Some funds have already started focusing on the convergence of crypto and energy, such as @uraniumdigital_ and @daylightenergy_'s recent funding rounds; while some have explored the combination of crypto and cutting-edge technology, like @openmind_agi and @Spacecoin_xyz.
The key is, when you combine these three elements, what kind of product and incentive mechanism flywheel can you ignite.

· A DeFi project without asset issuance? Boring.
· A stablecoin without real-world use case? Oversaturated.
· Cutting-edge technology without a crypto flywheel? Pointless.
In Summary
How to leverage the best attributes of crypto: incentive mechanisms, populism, and seamless asset creation/transfer, and combine them with the most interesting problems of our generation — not just for the sake of a forced narrative, but because the nature of crypto can truly create a better product and incentive flywheel for the problem you are solving.
I once read a saying, stripped of everything, there are only two ways to make money:
· You create value and convert it into money
· You facilitate the flow of funds and charge a fee
I believe that crypto, if done right, will embody both methods (1) and (2) simultaneously.
In the second part, I will explore the first-generation existing mechanisms/business models of these tripartite political projects and consider what might happen when they are combined.
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Mixin has launched USTD-margined perpetual contracts, bringing derivative trading into the chat scene.
The privacy-focused crypto wallet Mixin announced today the launch of its U-based perpetual contract (a derivative priced in USDT). Unlike traditional exchanges, Mixin has taken a new approach by "liberating" derivative trading from isolated matching engines and embedding it into the instant messaging environment.
Users can directly open positions within the app with leverage of up to 200x, while sharing positions, discussing strategies, and copy trading within private communities. Trading, social interaction, and asset management are integrated into the same interface.
Based on its non-custodial architecture, Mixin has eliminated friction from the traditional onboarding process, allowing users to participate in perpetual contract trading without identity verification.
The trading process has been streamlined into five steps:
· Choose the trading asset
· Select long or short
· Input position size and leverage
· Confirm order details
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Mixin has directly integrated social features into the derivative trading environment. Users can create private trading communities and interact around real-time positions:
· End-to-end encrypted private groups supporting up to 1024 members
· End-to-end encrypted voice communication
· One-click position sharing
· One-click trade copying
On the execution side, Mixin aggregates liquidity from multiple sources and accesses decentralized protocol and external market liquidity through a unified trading interface.
By combining social interaction with trade execution, Mixin enables users to collaborate, share, and execute trading strategies instantly within the same environment.
Mixin has also introduced a referral incentive system based on trading behavior:
· Users can join with an invite code
· Up to 60% of trading fees as referral rewards
· Incentive mechanism designed for long-term, sustainable earnings
This model aims to drive user-driven network expansion and organic growth.
Mixin's derivative transactions are built on top of its existing self-custody wallet infrastructure, with core features including:
· Separation of transaction account and asset storage
· User full control over assets
· Platform does not custody user funds
· Built-in privacy mechanisms to reduce data exposure
The system aims to strike a balance between transaction efficiency, asset security, and privacy protection.
Against the background of perpetual contracts becoming a mainstream trading tool, Mixin is exploring a different development direction by lowering barriers, enhancing social and privacy attributes.
The platform does not only view transactions as execution actions but positions them as a networked activity: transactions have social attributes, strategies can be shared, and relationships between individuals also become part of the financial system.
Mixin's design is based on a user-initiated, user-controlled model. The platform neither custodies assets nor executes transactions on behalf of users.
This model aligns with a statement issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 13, 2026, titled "Staff Statement on Whether Partial User Interface Used in Preparing Cryptocurrency Securities Transactions May Require Broker-Dealer Registration."
The statement indicates that, under the premise where transactions are entirely initiated and controlled by users, non-custodial service providers that offer neutral interfaces may not need to register as broker-dealers or exchanges.
Mixin is a decentralized, self-custodial privacy wallet designed to provide secure and efficient digital asset management services.
Its core capabilities include:
· Aggregation: integrating multi-chain assets and routing between different transaction paths to simplify user operations
· High liquidity access: connecting to various liquidity sources, including decentralized protocols and external markets
· Decentralization: achieving full user control over assets without relying on custodial intermediaries
· Privacy protection: safeguarding assets and data through MPC, CryptoNote, and end-to-end encrypted communication
Mixin has been in operation for over 8 years, supporting over 40 blockchains and more than 10,000 assets, with a global user base exceeding 10 million and an on-chain self-custodied asset scale of over $1 billion.

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