1kx
1kx is an early-stage fund that helps founders bootstrap token networks.
News Heat Trend
Related news
1kX Report: Blockchain Revenue Expected to Drop 28% Year-on-Year in 2026, Real Economy Revenue Surpasses Infrastructure for the First Time
The report is based on on-chain data from 2,621 protocols and financial reports from 104 listed companies, annualizing data from January to September 2026. DeFi and financial business accounted for approximately $65 billion, representing 66%. In the third quarter, revenue from the real economy reached about $5.3 billion, surpassing blockchain infrastructure revenue of approximately $5.1 billion for the first time. Prediction market fees exceeded $1.5 billion, roughly 19 times that of the same period last year, with the majority concentrated in Kalshi and Polymarket.
based
Drop
Kalshi
Polymarket
1kx: Blockchain Industry Revenue Projected to Reach $100 Billion in 2026, with 283 Protocols Returning Value to Token Holders in Q3
investment firm 1kx has released its annual blockchain revenue report, projecting that total blockchain industry revenue will reach $100 billion in 2026, a year-over-year decline of approximately 28% due to the drop in crypto asset prices.The report notes that institutional and real-economy-related businesses currently contribute about 30% of blockchain industry revenue. In Q3 2026, real-economy-related business revenue surpassed blockchain infrastructure revenue for the first time. Meanwhile, publicly listed companies' share of total blockchain industry revenue has risen from 7% in 2022 to 16%.Additionally, a record 283 protocols returned value to token holders in Q3 through mechanisms such as token buybacks, burns, or fee sharing.
Meanwhile
Reach
Reach
Predicate Completes $8 Million Series A Funding, Led by Blockchain Capital
on-chain compliance platform Predicate has completed an $8 million Series A funding round, led by Blockchain Capital, with participation from Paxos, 1kx, and Tribe Capital. Predicate primarily provides pre-transaction compliance review and risk control for stablecoins, tokenized assets, and other on-chain financial products, supporting the restriction of high-risk addresses and sanctioned transactions.
Paxos
Predicate
ether.fi makes mump2p mandatory for all 12 node operators, Optimum software goes live on Ethereum mainnet
Odaily reports: Optimum has announced that its block propagation software mump2p has officially launched on the Ethereum mainnet. ether.fi previously offered the software as an optional feature, but has now mandated its adoption across all 12 of its node operators. Currently, a total of 16 node operators are running mump2p in production environments, collectively managing approximately 22,000 validator keys and over 1.4 million staked ETH, accounting for more than 3% of Ethereum's total staked supply. Partners include Blockdaemon, Everstake, P2P.org, Stakefish, and Bitcoin Suisse.mump2p operates as a sidecar gateway, rather than replacing Ethereum's default GossipSub, it layers on top of libp2p and uses random linear network coding technology. Optimum claims that mump2p achieves block arrival speeds 2.42 times faster than GossipSub, with arrival time variance reduced by approximately 7.88 times. Optimum is led by MIT professor Muriel Médard and launched its private testnet in June 2025. The company previously completed an $11 million seed round led by 1kx and plans to expand to other high-throughput blockchains beyond Ethereum.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin Suisse
Blockdaemon
Ethereum
Everstake
Galaxy Blitz
1kx: Crypto Industry H1 2026 Revenue Down 23% YoY, with Stablecoins, RWA and Other Counter-Cyclical Sectors Growing
Odaily News: According to data from crypto investment firm 1kx, total revenue in the global crypto industry for H1 2026 fell to $47 billion, down 23% year-over-year, a decrease of approximately $14 billion compared to the same period last year. The firm stated that the revenue decline is consistent with bear market cycle characteristics, as traditional crypto revenue streams such as exchanges, brokerage services, wallets, staking, and mining remain highly dependent on asset prices and trading volumes.1kx pointed out that this round of revenue decline primarily stems from two major areas. On one hand, finance-related revenue saw a noticeable decline. Revenue from centralized exchanges (CEX), derivatives platforms, and market makers decreased by $5.2 billion year-over-year; on-chain DeFi revenue dropped by $1.8 billion, down 32% YoY; and ETF and fund management fee revenue fell by $1.1 billion. On the other hand, blockchain infrastructure revenue continued to weaken. Staking and mining reward revenue decreased by $6.2 billion, while on-chain transaction fees and MEV revenue nearly halved. Currently, blockchain infrastructure revenue accounts for just 25% of total crypto industry revenue, hitting an all-time low.However, not all sectors have been affected by the cycle. Low-cyclicality businesses such as stablecoins, real-world asset (RWA) issuance, prediction markets, and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) grew 14% against the trend in H1, reaching $12 billion in revenue and rising to 26% of total industry revenue. Among them: stablecoin and RWA issuer revenue increased by $700 million; stablecoin payment cards and payment businesses grew by approximately $100 million; prediction market fee revenue surged about 10-fold, adding roughly $300 million; DePIN fee revenue nearly doubled; and on-chain middleware revenue grew about 70%, primarily driven by Chainlink.1kx stated that although DeFi and financial business revenue declined in absolute terms, they still hold the largest share of the industry, rising to 64%. Consumer on-chain application revenue performed relatively more steadily, declining approximately 20% year-over-year. For comparison, at the lowest point of the previous crypto bear market cycle (H2 2022), industry semi-annual revenue was approximately $28 billion, while the current bear market period has maintained $47 billion in revenue during the same timeframe, with roughly a quarter coming from emerging businesses that continued to grow during the bear market.1kx noted that its revenue accounting methodology includes trackable on-chain transaction fee revenue, staking yields and other income, as well as off-chain revenue publicly disclosed by Coinbase or estimated for platforms such as Binance. The composition of these three revenue categories has remained largely stable compared to last year.
ALLO
Binance
Chainlink
Coinbase
RWA Inc.
Xend Finance
Crypto card issuer Kulipa suddenly collapses, Ready, Solflare and multiple other crypto card projects forced to halt
According to The Defiant, Paris-based startup Kulipa suddenly ceased operations due to solvency issues, causing the simultaneous disruption of card projects for approximately 20 crypto wallets and fintech companies it served. Self-custody wallet Ready (formerly Argent) and Solana wallet Solflare were both affected, with user card services immediately disabled. Since both wallets utilize a self-custody architecture, funds are deducted from user wallets only at the time of spending, so user assets remained unaffected. Notably, Kulipa completed a $6.2 million seed funding round co-led by Flourish Ventures and 1kx in April this year, only about 4 months prior to its collapse.
Argent
based
Defiant
Kulipa
Solana
Solflare
1kx: Q2 On-Chain Fees Down 33% YoY, Token Allocation Maintains Stability Against the Trend
According to crypto VC firm 1kx (@1kxnetwork), total on-chain fees in Q2 2026 decreased 33% year-over-year, exhibiting typical bear market characteristics. Among them, DEX fees saw the largest decline, down 57% year-over-year, a decrease of approximately $625 million, with Meteora, Raydium, and PancakeSwap being the main drags; blockchain and MEV fees decreased by $40 million (-40%); Pump.fun drove Launchpad-type fees down 57%. In terms of highlights, perpetual contracts and prediction markets grew counter-trend by 22%, led by edgeX and Hyperliquid, with Polymarket's single-quarter fees approaching $100 million; lending and asset management sectors continued compound growth, with Morpho, USDai, and Maple Finance each contributing between $9 million and $19 million; Canton Network added $179 million in L1 fees, and both it and Polymarket entered the Fee Top 20 for the first time.
Canton Network
Chain
edgeX
Hyperliquid
Maple Finance
Meteora
KOR completes $7.5 million Series A funding at a post-money valuation of $100 million
Odaily Reports, qinbafrank posted on the X platform stating that KorProtocol announced the completion of a $7.5 million Series A funding round, co-led by 1kx and Blockchain Capital, at a post-money valuation of $100 million. Other participants include Republic, Animoca, Solana, Avalanche, and others. Through its three core engines — Verify, Route, and Settle — KOR transforms creative assets into on-chain assets that are verifiable, matchable, and automatically settled. The Verify engine allows creators to register their works on-chain, recording provenance, ownership, and licensing terms. The Route engine uses data and AI to match creators, assets, labels, brands, platforms, and agencies. The Settle engine enables instant automatic revenue sharing via smart contracts and USDC on the Base chain, supporting complex split rules and recurring income. KOR currently has over 1 million registered users, more than $2 million in revenue, over 285,000 NFTs, and over 1,000 IP partners, and has collaborated with deadmau5 and "Black Mirror." Following the funding, KOR will continue to expand its IP supply, deepen partnerships, and advance network expansion.
AINFT
Avalanche
Base
Circle
Mirror
Mirror
KOR Protocol Completes $7.5 Million Series A Financing, Valuation $100 Million
According to The Block, entertainment sector on-chain clearinghouse KOR Protocol announced the completion of a $7.5 million Series A funding round at a $100 million valuation. Investors include 1kx, Blockchain Capital, as well as previous investors such as Republic Crypto, Sfermion, Alumni Ventures, and SevenX.
Block
KOR Protocol
Republic
Republic
The Block
EarnOS Secures $6 Million Pre-A Funding Round with Participation from Coinbase Ventures and Others
EarnOS, a blockchain-based digital advertising startup, has announced the completion of a $6 million Pre-A funding round, led by 1kx with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Circle Ventures, and Social Graph Ventures. Additionally, EarnOS has secured a four-year, $12.5 million non-dilutive strategic investment from Verona (formerly XION) to support application verification, user onboarding, and reward distribution systems. The company also announced a brand restructuring, noting that its L1 network will provide underlying support for EarnOS, enabling large-scale user authentication and task incentive mechanisms. (The Block)
based
Block
Circle
Coinbase
EarnOS
The Block