Appold Market Watch - Week ending 15 August 2025
Market Update & Industry News - Week ending 15 August 2025
🔷 Digital asset exchange, Bullish (Ticker: BLSH), debuted on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with an initial public offering (IPO) priced at $37 per share. Bullish’s stock rose to $118 before closing at $68 on its first day, raising $1.1 billion and securing a near $10 billion valuation.
Appold view: Following Circle’s monumental IPO surge, Bullish has mirrored this trajectory with a similarly oversubscribed offering. These IPOs underscore the strong appetite from both institutional and retail investors for exposure to the digital asset sector. The premium valuations of these investment vehicles suggest that, while demand for participation in this growth market is high, the supply of such opportunities remains limited, with many investors unable to gain direct access to the underlying digital assets they wish to hold.
🔷 Circle, issuer of the USDC stablecoin, unveiled plans to launch Arc, an EVM-compatible layer‑1 blockchain designed as a “full‑stack platform for the internet financial system.” Arc will use USDC as the native gas token and includes features for enterprise stablecoin settlements, FX, sub-second finality, and optional privacy controls.
Appold view: This announcement carries significant implications. By launching an EVM-compatible Layer-1, Circle challenges the long-held belief that Ethereum will remain the foundation of blockchain finance, while making clear it still intends to interface with Ethereum’s ecosystem. It also marks a strategic shift, with stablecoin issuers seeking to control their full operating stack and reduce reliance on external networks or intermediaries.
🔷 Do Kwon, founder of Terra and Terraform Labs, has pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud in a New York court relating to the collapse of TerraUSD and Luna. He has agreed to forfeit $19 million and faces up to 12 years in prison; U.S. prosecutors will seek his deportation following sentencing.
Appold view: This plea deal highlights the growing accountability of bad actors within the blockchain sector, with courts now possessing the tools and understanding needed to identify, assess, and prosecute wrongdoing in the digital asset space.
🔷 The Uniswap Foundation has proposed forming DUNI, a Wyoming-registered limited liability company (LLC), to preserve on-chain governance by UNI token‑holders while enabling off-chain legal and operational engagement. The move may mark an LLC-style moment for decentralised organisations.
Appold view: LLCs have been described as “the single greatest discovery of modern times.” Extending a similar liability framework to DAOs, such as through Wyoming's Decentralised Unincorporated Nonprofit Association (DUNA), could provide DeFi with the regulatory clarity and legal protections necessary to drive broader adoption and institutional acceptance.
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