Kraken has expanded access to perpetual futures (“perps”) for eligible retail traders in select regions, positioning the product as a simplified way for “everyday investors” to speculate on crypto prices or manage risk. First introduced by BitMEX in 2016, perps now account for the majority of derivatives activity, with Hyperliquid leading volumes. The launch comes as Kraken prepares for a potential 2026 IPO, rolling out perps with built-in protections like stop-loss functions and collateral in USD balances, alongside broader product expansion into tokenized stocks and an in-house Ethereum L2 called INK.
2025.09.12·links.tldrnewsletter.com·3 min read·TLDR Crypto Giza's Pulse is the first autonomous agent that optimizes Pendle Principal Token (PT) portfolios. The non-custodial agent automatically handles portfolio construction across PT markets, real-time rebalancing to higher yields, slippage forecasting, and maturity management, including rollovers and exits, eliminating the manual tracking and expiry anxiety associated with fixed yield strategies. Built in partnership with Pendle, Pulse represents an evolution toward "Swarm Finance" where protocols offer rewards to attract agent liquidity, agents capture boosted yields automatically, and fees flow to token buybacks, creating a competitive ecosystem for automated capital allocation. The platform plans to expand to additional chains and assets.
Coinbase's institutional crypto research report maintains a bullish outlook for early Q4 2025, driven by resilient liquidity, favorable macroeconomic conditions, and supportive regulatory dynamics, with Bitcoin positioned for outperformance as Federal Reserve rate cuts are expected in September and October. Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs) have evolved from early adoption into a competitive "player-versus-player" phase, with public DATs now holding over 1M BTC ($110B) and 4.9M ETH ($21.3B), though early mover premiums have dissipated as the market matures. The report conducts extensive statistical analysis debunking crypto seasonality myths, particularly the "September effect," using multiple methodologies, including Wilson confidence intervals, logistic regression, and out-of-sample predictions, to demonstrate that monthly calendar patterns are not statistically significant predictors of Bitcoin returns. Despite Bitcoin's historical weakness in six consecutive Septembers from 2017 to 2022, assuming each month has roughly the same odds as the long-term average outperforms all calendar-based trading approaches.
2025.09.12·links.tldrnewsletter.com·12 min read·TLDR Crypto There are nine different proposals for Hyperliquid's USDH stablecoin partnership, each offering distinct approaches to backing, yield allocation, and ecosystem integration. The proposals showcase varying risk profiles, from conservative T-Bills and cash backing to more complex structures like Ethena's delta-neutral strategies and Sky's diversified RWA portfolio, with most committing significant portions of yield revenue to the Hyperliquid ecosystem. Regulatory approaches differ substantially, with established players leveraging existing GENIUS Act compliance while newer entrants like Native Markets plan to use Stripe's Bridge infrastructure for regulatory coverage. The USDH proposal battle is under controversy for seemingly favoring Native Markets from the beginning and being yet another instance of decentralization theatre.
Prediction markets could solve the modern "Information Problem" - the shift from centralized, slow information flows to decentralized, instant but low-quality information that makes distinguishing truth from noise increasingly difficult. AI will exponentially worsen this crisis through indistinguishable deepfakes and personalized manipulation tools that could be weaponized by malicious actors to turn citizens against each other and enable authoritarian control. Prediction markets offer a solution by applying capitalism's price mechanism to information discovery, where real financial stakes incentivize accuracy and collective intelligence outperforms bias and manipulation, as demonstrated by Polymarket's superior accuracy in calling the 2024 US Presidential election before traditional media outlets. The vision extends beyond speculation to prediction markets becoming critical infrastructure for truth discovery, enabling better decision-making for individuals and corporations, rapid response to misinformation campaigns, and potentially revitalizing journalism through trading desks that profit from accuracy.
Crypto companies must adapt rather than copy web2 marketing playbooks, with different business models requiring distinct approaches: L1/L2s focus on Monthly Active Addresses and developer ecosystem growth, protocols track users/volume/TVL, while wallets and games use more traditional DAU and ARPU metrics. Core web2 metrics like Customer Acquisition Cost, Lifetime Value, and LTV:CAC ratios require crypto-specific adaptations to account for wallet-based customers, token incentives, and onchain value creation, while the marketing funnel stages present unique challenges, including restricted advertising access, complex attribution tracking between web2 and onchain actions, and distinguishing organic growth from airdrop farming. Crypto has unique advantages like onchain data transparency and instant verifiable rewards, but over-relying on incentivized metrics may mask a lack of product-market fit.
Upexi (UPXI) and BIT Mining (BTCM) both expanded their Solana treasuries, with Upexi adding 18,000 SOL for a total of 2M+ tokens ($456M) and BIT Mining nearly doubling to 44,000 SOL ($9.9M).
2025.09.12·links.tldrnewsletter.com·3 min read·TLDR Crypto Daily transactions on Starknet have spiked ~300% over the past month, according to Token Terminal data.
Aave has seen impressive growth in revenue over the past three years, with 2025 about to flip 2024's $90 million marker.
The x402 protocol, deployed on Solana, allows agents to use the network for pay-per-use services and agent-to-agent interactions.
The iPhone Air emphasizes thinness, lightness, and a polished, reflective design aimed at style over utility, contrasting with the sturdier Pro models. Apple executives acknowledged that users will face a tough choice between Air and Pro, hinted at secrecy around future foldables, and highlighted personalization features like the crossbody strap as central to the Air's identity.
Heinz's new “Looks Familiar” campaign uses a minimalist, playful approach to highlight how perfectly its ketchup pairs with French fries. The ads replace the Heinz logo with a French fry box, relying only on silhouette and typography to trigger instant brand recognition. This bold move reflects Heinz's confidence in its iconic design and taps into a growing advertising trend of dropping logos to create an interactive “guess-who” experience. By keeping things simple yet clever, Heinz reinforces its branding while refreshing how consumers engage with familiar products.
Adobe launched its first family of AI agents for the Adobe Experience Platform. Designed to automate marketing tasks like audience building, customer journey creation, and website optimization, the agents work alongside the new AEP Agent Orchestrator, which manages both Adobe's native agents and third-party solutions through natural language prompts while keeping humans involved in the process. Adobe plans to expand capabilities with the upcoming Experience Platform Agent Composer, allowing companies to customize agents according to their specific brand guidelines and policies.
At the World Design Congress in London, architect Indy Johar warned that climate change will radically reshape society, from infrastructure to inequality, and urged designers to confront this reality with radical new ideas. Speakers, including Johar, Leland Maschmeyer, Sarah McCullough, and others, argued that design must move beyond aesthetics to rewire society's desires, create joy in sustainability, and embrace responsibility for shaping a livable future, because, as Tori Tsui reminded, the world is at the mercy of designers' imagination.
Picasso's "Le Taureau" lithograph series demonstrates how creative mastery requires earning simplicity through iterative complexity, starting with detailed, realistic drawings and systematically reducing them to essential flowing lines. The eleven drawings from 1945 to 1946 reveal that elegant final abstractions are only possible after working through the full complexity of earlier iterations. Modern AI tools can disrupt this essential creative process by either making creators skip the raw material stage or overwhelming them with generated content before thoughtful reduction occurs.
Design teams face challenges when colleagues use AI tools to bypass UX processes, creating appealing but functionally flawed designs that may seem faster initially. Designers must shift from emphasizing speed advantages to communicating broader business value, translating design problems into terms stakeholders understand, like engineering rework costs and security risks. Building trust requires understanding what motivates teams to use AI shortcuts and demonstrating how proper UX prevents costly mistakes that damage user experience and business objectives.
2025.09.12·dataanddesign.substack.com·4 min read·TLDR Design Get a full-stack solution with Node.js, Prisma, React, and TypeScript. Your backend is real code that you can extend and optimize any way you want, without waiting on someone else's roadmap.
This first-principles digital toolkit helps teams design, implement, and govern agentic AI experiences.
FrameZero is a browser-based animation tool that enables users to sketch, animate, and share ideas quickly.
Accessibility must be built into Design Systems from the start, since flaws at the system level ripple across every product and compound over time. A structured audit of tokens, components, and patterns that prioritizes fixes by severity and effort would ensure a stable, inclusive foundation that reduces downstream issues and supports accessible, consistent design.
AI tools can quickly generate functional prototypes, but exceptional products require distinctly human skills like curiosity, intuition, taste, and intention that AI cannot replicate. While AI accelerates exploration and iteration, humans provide the emotional intelligence to sense what resonates with users and the discernment to refine ideas into meaningful experiences. Design systems become crucial frameworks that help teams maintain quality and consistency when leveraging AI, ensuring outputs align with brand identity and user needs.
Ikea launched a collaboration with Swedish designer Gustaf Westman in Seoul that features a 12-piece collection of whimsical, brightly colored tabletop accessories, including meatball trays, bouncy vases, and donut-shaped lamps. Westman's approach prioritizes fun over seriousness, creating what Ikea calls "humorous objects" that serve joy in an industry often focused on rigour and restraint.
Apple's Camera Control button is well-placed and convenient, but overly complex in its default state, with gestures and pressure menus that often interfere with photos.
Maryka Laudet and Quentin Camus, a Bristol-based duo who met in art school, formed “Plantopia” to merge illustration with an animation toolset.
Artist Yona Saura shares 15 essential tips for creating striking character art that stands out through simplicity rather than excessive detail.
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Metronome is launching a WEBINAR SERIES on Monetization Operating Models featuring practitioners from companies that are winning on pricing.
Replit has raised $250 million, achieving a $3 billion valuation with $150 million in annualized revenue. Prysm Capital led the round with Amex Ventures and Google's AI Futures Fund also participating alongside existing investors. Microsoft's recent Azure integration highlights Replit's growing popularity in the developer community.
Figure Technology raised $787.5 million in its IPO, valuing the blockchain lender at $5.29 billion. The company sold 31.5 million shares at $25 each, higher than its initial range, and will trade on Nasdaq under "FIGR." Figure specializes in blockchain-based home equity loans with faster processing times.
Klarna's shares surged 15% on its NYSE debut, opening at $52 and closing at $45.82. The IPO raised $1.37 billion, marking it the largest of 2025. Klarna targets U.S. growth, rivaling credit cards with its "pay-in-4" plan as regulatory scrutiny of buy-now-pay-later services increases.
Inbound conversion used to mean SDRs racing to respond within minutes, but AI agents are proving to be the perfect use case - they qualify instantly, respond 24/7, and buyers actually prefer them to pushy salespeople. Rho cut cost-per-meeting from $570 to $45, Demandbase booked 4x more meetings, and Hubspot's PLG motion finally converted browsers into buyers - all by replacing human SDRs with AI agents.
Zero-Waste GTM means eliminating all non-essential work from your go-to-market teams using AI, and some companies are claiming 90% revenue lifts without adding headcount - here's how the math actually works. When AI handles the 70% of tasks that aren't selling (data entry, follow-ups, and research), your best reps can take on twice as many deals, and here's where it gets interesting: those top performers close 10% better, get 10% higher prices, and move 10% faster - multiply those together and you get 1.1 x 1.1 x 1.1 = roughly 1.33x improvement per deal, times twice the deals, which equals nearly double the revenue.
Distribution determines survival in AI because features replicate in weeks while distribution compounds over years - Perplexity won through shareable outputs, Clay invented the job category "GTM Engineer," and Cluely turned outrage into free marketing. The framework splits into three paths that actually work: bundling into existing platforms where users already live, embedding invisibly at the moment of workflow intent, or creating unfair advantages competitors won't copy like provocative narratives. The 15 tactics range from designing outputs people want to share to pricing that grows revenue faster than costs - master three to five of these, and you will survive when GPT-5 makes everyone's features identical overnight.
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Refero 4.0 is a design research tool with 100k+ curated product screens, user flows, and UX patterns, searchable with AI for instant inspiration and reference.
Retool Agents lets you turn your APIs and business data into autonomous AI systems that execute workflows with human-like reasoning and decision-making.
Clear thinking requires four strengths that most people lack: self-accountability (taking responsibility instead of making excuses), self-knowledge (knowing where you're actually competent versus where you're just confident), self-control (managing impulses so you're not sabotaging your long-term goals), and self-confidence (the balance between earned competence and aspiration). These aren't abstract ideals, but muscles you train daily. Positive habits become automatic defaults that compound over time, while the right role models show you what's possible without you needing to compete with them directly.
Software design is beginning to look like conference rooms under fluorescent lights - functional but soulless - because teams optimize for efficiency over atmosphere. When AI can generate competent interfaces in seconds, one defensible position is creating an atmosphere that makes people choose your product, not because it works (everything works), but because it feels like somewhere they want to be.
OpenAI has published a paper explaining why AI models make up facts. It comes down to how we test them - models get points for guessing right but zero for saying "I don't know," so they learn to confidently invent answers rather than admit uncertainty. If a model doesn't know your birthday and guesses "September 10," it has a 1-in-365 chance of scoring, but admitting ignorance guarantees failure, which trains even advanced models like GPT-5 to hallucinate rather than be honest.
Growth follows the laws of experimentation, not templates - you throw things at customers, observe what sticks, then amplify the signal.
Exa raised $85 million in Series B funding, led by Benchmark, with participation from Lightspeed, Nvidia, and YCombinator, for its AI-focused search engine.
GV is actively investing in AI startups, even those competing with Alphabet, leveraging its independent decision-making model.
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Cybersecurity is a necessity, not a luxury. But other vendors only focus on the businesses with massive budgets and teams, ignoring the 99% without enterprise resources.
Researchers from ETH-Zurich have found a new attack that allows an attacker to leak cryptographic keys from an unmodified QEMU hypervisor process running on modern AMD or Intel CPUs. In the attack, a guest user can influence indirect branch prediction in a host user process to leak arbitrary memory at a rate of 32 bytes/second with a byte-level accuracy of 98.7%. AMD has released a security bulletin about the issue. Linux kernel developers have released patches to mitigate the problem.
Cornwell Quality Tools has disclosed a ransomware-driven data breach that impacts over 100,000 people. Hackers accessed sensitive information like Social Security numbers and financial data in December 2024. The Cactus group claimed responsibility and leaked corporate docs, though it's unclear if all of the data was released.
A cyber-attack on LNER's third-party supplier exposed customers' contact information and some journey records, but no payment or password data. LNER's train services remain unaffected. The company has advised vigilance against suspicious communications and stresses that the breach does not compromise sensitive banking details.
The SalesLoft Drift breach demonstrates the emerging threat of "fourth-party" risk, where organizations are compromised through their vendor's acquired company (Drift) rather than direct vendor relationships. Attackers exploited legacy OAuth tokens that had been dormant for 18 months since SalesLoft's 2024 acquisition of Drift, allowing access to hundreds of Salesforce instances and Google Workspace accounts. This incident highlights how M&A activities can inherit hidden security risks that extend organizations' attack surfaces far beyond what they can directly assess or control through traditional security measures.