News linked to both this project and an event.
According to BeInCrypto, Grayscale released a crypto asset valuation ranking evaluated based on two metrics: "Token Holder Yield" and "Adjusted Earnings Yield". HYPE topped holder yields at 8.0%, with Lighter (LIT) following closely at 7.9%, and PancakeSwap (CAKE) ranking third at 2.6%, followed sequentially by AERO, UNI, RAY, PENDLE, AAVE, JUP, and CRV. In terms of adjusted earnings yield, CAKE led at 14.4%, with LIT at 14.1% and HYPE at 9.8%, followed sequentially by RAY, AAVE, JUP, SKY, UNI, AERO, and PENDLE. The report showed that five assets on the list had negative holder yields, including AAVE, JUP, and CRV, with CRV at -5.5% and JUP at -2.6%. Grayscale calculates holder yield as staking rewards plus buybacks minus new token issuance, so holders face dilution when new issuance exceeds total yields. While JUP's adjusted earnings yield stands at 3.5%, its holder yield remains negative.
Odaily News: Blockworks analyst Shaunda Devens posted on X that Polymarket's current FDV valuation of approximately $1.5 billion for Variational is somewhat overly optimistic. This pricing directly applies Hyperliquid and Lighter-level valuation-to-revenue multiples to a platform that still relies on points subsidies. By comparison, the median first-day "FDV / annualized revenue" ratio for recently launched Perp DEX tokens is only 6.3x (Variational is currently around 57x), and within the first month after TGE, trading volume typically drops sharply by a median of 54%.Shaunda added that if conservative assumptions based on historical precedents are adopted (using the median first-day "FDV/annualized revenue" ratio of 6.3x), Variational's fair valuation would be only $167 million, corresponding to a points price of $4.8–$5.4. Even using the highest recent ratio precedent (Lighter's approximately 21.1x), its valuation would still only be about $558 million, corresponding to a points price of $16–$18.However, Shaunda also explained: "To be clear, given that current market risk appetite is clearly in a Risk-on state, we do not believe Variational's valuation at TGE will fall to the extremely conservative range mentioned above. These historical multiples are listed to illustrate that current pre-market OTC pricing may be overly optimistic."
Lighter founder Vladimir Novakovski published an article on X this morning titled "Equity and Tokens."In the article, Novakovski clarified that all economic value generated by Lighter will belong to token holders.Lighter's original intention has always been to use venture capital to bootstrap the project until the moment of token issuance. Lighter is a U.S. company and exists as a single entity — the entity that issued equity in the years leading up to TGE is the same entity that issued tokens at TGE. Apart from converting to a token cap table at TGE, the equity cap table will have no further function in the future.More specifically, Lighter completed its final equity financing round a few months before TGE, which was oversubscribed by approximately 5 times, attracting over $300 million in capital interest against a $68 million allocation. At that time, all equity stakeholders (including early investors and former employees) were informed of the future plan — that their equity value would only be reflected as holdings on the token cap table — and were given the opportunity to sell their equity stakes. Anyone who disagreed with the philosophy that "all value belongs to the token" could easily exit at a higher valuation. Ultimately, less than 1% of equity holders chose to sell their shares, while the rest chose to stay, thereby supporting Lighter's commitment to "value accruing to the token."
According to Fortune, payments infrastructure startup Fun has announced a $72 million Series A funding round, co-led by Multicoin Capital and SignalFire, with participation from Infinity Ventures, Pharsalus Capital, and Justin Mateen, co-founder of Tinder. Fun primarily provides cryptocurrency and fiat deposit/withdrawal infrastructure for platforms such as Polymarket, Lighter, and Aave, processing over $18 billion in annual payments. The company plans to use the new funds to expand its team of approximately 30 people.