Aave founder downplays Kamino amid discussion with key Solana figures

 Stani Kulechov said Kamino is a "copycat" of Aave's old tech with a "half baked" user interface.

The founder of Aave downplayed Solana’s Kamino during an argument with the president of the Solana Foundation and the co-founder of Solana Labs about decentralized money markets on X.

Alex Svanevik, founder of Nansen, questioned the absence of Aave on Solana, which currently boasts Kamino as its largest money market protocol.

According to DefiLlama data, Aave is available in 13 blockchains as of press time and has amassed nearly $19.6 billion in total value locked (TVL).

Kyle Samani, partner at venture capital fund Multicoin Capital, commented Kamino, which is also a money market. 

Svanevik replied that Aave’s TVL is nearly 10x larger than Kamino’s, and users would prefer the former if they could use it on Solana. Kamino is the third-largest application on Solana, with over $2.3 billion in TVL.

Lily Liu, president of the Solana Foundation, said:

“But kamino is a better product

Plus metrics today are not metrics tomorrow.”

Considering her role as one of the most important figures in the Solana ecosystem, Liu’s reply offended some enthusiasts.

Mats Olsen, co-founder of Dune, suggested that opening Solana to Aave would be more appropriate than comparing applications. Svanevik agreed with Olsen’s reply.

Stani Kulechov, founder of Aave’s mother group Avara, commented on Liu’s response:

“The state of Solana DeFi:

– Copycat Aave’s old tech

– Slap a half baked UI

– Restrict also UK users from using it

– Solana foundation president calls it a better product

Expect people to buy the bluff.”

Liu explained her potential bias as the Solana Foundation cheers for “homegrown” applications. She also called Kulechov’s answer an “outburst” to his followers.

Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana Labs, joined the discussion comparing the applications’ revenue instead of TVL. 

Although Aave has over eight times Kamino’s TVL, the Solana-based money market registered $52 million in annualized revenue compared to Aave’s $126.3 million. 

Yakovenko added:

“TVL is a cost of you can’t squeeze revenue out of it.”

Kulechov stated that the revenue difference occurs because Kamino takes a “bigger cut” from users’ fees. He compared the USD Coin (USDC) Reserve Factor of both platforms, with Kamino taking 5% more than Aave.

The Aave founder added:

“I guess there isn’t enough competition yet on Solana and users are paying price for that.”

While Aave has the largest liquidity in the money market sector, recently processing $210 million in liquidations after the Feb. 2 crash, Kamino added tools to its interface to help us leverage their borrowing positions.

Strategy acquires another 7,633 Bitcoin amid downturn, Metaplanet eyes 10,000 BTC stash by year-end

Strategy acquired an additional 7,633 BTC and elevated its unrealized profit to over $17 billion on Feb. 9.

Meanwhile, Metaplanet reported that 85% of its 2024 net income was attributed to Bitcoin (BTC) holdings, with nearly $36 million in unrealized profits.

The firm said it intends to increase its Bitcoin stash to 10,000 BTC by the end of 2025 and 25,000 BTC by the end of 2026.

Strategy boosts its Bitcoin treasury

On Feb. 10, Strategy announced the addition of 7,633 BTC to its treasury, which amounts to 478,740 BTC as of press time. Its year-to-date Bitcoin yield reached 4.1%. 

According to Bitcoin Treasuries data, Strategy now holds nearly 12x more Bitcoin than Marathon Digital, the second-largest BTC holder among publicly listed companies,

Considering the firm’s average cost per BTC of $62,691, its unrealized profit is over $17 billion based on Bitcoin’s price at $97,405.80 as of press time.

Bitcoin-driven growth

As of Feb. 10, Metaplanet’s Bitcoin stash stood at 1,762 BTC, acquired through internally generated capital and structured financial instruments. 

In April 2024, Metaplanet formally transitioned from a hotel-focused business to a Bitcoin Treasury Company. Last year, the firm raised over $150 million to acquire BTC.

By year-end, its Bitcoin holdings were 14x higher than its market capitalization in April 2024, positioning it as Asia’s largest public BTC holder and one of the top 15 globally.

Metaplanet is the only Bitcoin-proxy investment in Japan, which has been a key factor in driving significant growth in the company’s metrics. 

Metaplanet now operates two revenue-generating businesses, adding the Bitcoin Income Generation to its hotel operations. The Bitcoin Income Generation allocates approximately 5% of raised funds to monetize Bitcoin volatility through option strategies.

Additionally, the company plans to reform its Tokyo-based hotel to be a Bitcoin-themed location in an effort to bridge the two industries.

Since adopting Bitcoin, Metaplanet has recorded a 500% increase in the number of its shareholders, while its market cap has grown over 100x. Additionally, its stock trading volume in 2024 was up 430x  compared to 2023.

Earnings

Metaplanet reported a net income of ¥6.397 billion for the fiscal year, worth $42.1 million. This is its first operating profit since 2017. 

Furthermore, Metaplanet’s total assets surged to ¥30,325 million, a 1,720% increase over FY 2023. The company emphasized that future capital raises will be directed toward Bitcoin accumulation rather than covering operating expenses.

The “BTC Yield” also grew by nearly 310% last year. This performance indicator represents the quarterly change in the ratio between Metaplanet’s BTC holdings and its Fully Diluted outstanding shares.

The firm aims to grow its stash to 21,000 BTC by the end of 2026. Metaplanet announced over $26 million in bond issuance on Feb. 10 to fulfill this goal, with the money earmarked to acquire more BTC. The Japanese firm intends to finish 2025 with 10,000 BTC in its treasury.

The firm is also aiming to maximize BTC per share, shifting away from fiat-based financial strategies. It has committed to maintaining a sustainable operating profit while expanding its Bitcoin holdings.

North Carolina introduced legislation for a Bitcoin reserve

 Under the bill, the state treasurer will be allowed to invest in cryptocurrencies that have a market cap higher than $750 billion.

North Carolina lawmakers have introduced a bill allowing the state treasurer to invest up to 10% in Bitcoin (BTC) and other qualifying digital assets.

House Bill 92, sponsored by Representative Destin Hall and Representatives Mark Brody and Steve Ross, qualifies any crypto with a market cap of over $750 billion during the 12 months preceding the potential investment as a qualifying digital asset.

Notably, only Bitcoin fits comfortably this requirement, as the threshold is over 2x higher than Ethereum’s (ETH) current $323 million market cap.

Additionally, the investment must happen through a regulated exchange-traded product (ETP).

Under the bill, North Carolina’s State Treasurer can invest in crypto through the General Fund, Highway Fund, and the 24 special funds under its supervision.

The Governor and Council of State will oversee the implementation of digital asset investments, and third-party investment managers handling digital assets must have at least $100 million in assets under management.

20 US states

North Carolina is the 20th US state to introduce Bitcoin reserve legislation. Last week, lawmakers in Montana and Florida introduced bills to establish Bitcoin reserves, adding to the growing number of US states integrating digital assets into their financial strategies. 

Montana’s House Bill 429 proposes a special revenue account for investments in precious metals, stablecoins, and digital assets, requiring a minimum market capitalization of $750 billion. 

The bill also mandates that these assets be held by a qualified custodian or via an exchange-traded fund (ETF). Up to $50 million from the state’s general fund can be allocated to this investment.

In Florida, a similar bill seeks to authorize the state’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to invest in Bitcoin, allocating up to 10% of public funds to the asset. The legislation positions Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation, citing its historical appreciation and increasing acceptance among sovereign nations and investment firms. 

It also includes provisions for state agencies to accept Bitcoin payments while requiring conversion into US dollars for general revenue fund contributions.

Lawmakers in Maryland, Iowa, and Kentucky have also introduced bills to integrate Bitcoin (BTC) as a strategic reserve asset. 

Kentucky House Bill 376, led by Representative TJ Roberts, would allow Bitcoin investments up to 10% of excess state funds, permit digital asset payments, and prohibit central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

Maryland’s House Bill 1389, introduced by Representative Caylin Young, proposes a Maryland Bitcoin Reserve Fund, which gambling violation penalties would uniquely fund. 

Meanwhile, Iowa’s House File 246, from Representative Taylor Collins, would enable the State Treasurer to invest in Bitcoin, stablecoins, and precious metals, with a 5% cap on public fund allocations.

Analysts’ rankings show Litecoin leading altcoin ETF approval race, while XRP trails

 Despite receiving the lowest odds, the chances of a XRP ETF approval reached 65% with triggers for a potential increase.

Bloomberg ETF analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart have released their latest approval odds for spot altcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in 2025, with XRP receiving the lowest probability.

According to the latest estimates, Litecoin (LTC) leads with a 90% probability of approval, followed by Dogecoin (DOGE) at 75% and Solana (SOL) at 70% — XRP trails the others with a 65% chance of approval.

Balchunas highlighted:

“Keep in mind all of this stuff (except Litecoin which was always high) was <5% prior to election. So these are really good odds relatively speaking, and will likely grow the more we see these go through the typical process.”

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently acknowledged the 19b-4 forms of Litecoin ETF, boosting their approval odds. Balchunas recently stated that LTC products check “all the boxes,” seeing no reason for the SEC to withdraw the filings.

Additionally, the analysts believe Litecoin is likely to be considered a commodity since its a fork of Bitcoin that carries the same proof-of-work consensus algorithm and did not conduct any pre-sales. 

The same goes for DOGE, which the analysts believe will also be considered a commodity, likely for the same reason as LTC and Bitcoin (BTC). Meanwhile, the SEC labeled SOL and XRP as securities in different lawsuits.

This is probably why DOGE ETFs have 5% higher odds of approval than Solana despite the SEC not acknowledging DOGE funds’ 19b-4 forms as of press time.

Significant changes

However, the analysts noted that Commissioner Hester Peirce’s Crypto Task Force could review the SEC’s classification of XRP and SOL as securities by the end of 2025. This could significantly change the odds of the ETFs related to these cryptos being approved.

Regarding the SEC’s attention to filings, Seyffart said that both XRP and DOGE ETFs will likely be acknowledged this week.

Meanwhile, Balchunas said that while their current analysis only includes 1933 Act filings, similar to BlackRock’s IBIT Bitcoin ETF, alternative structures such as 40 Act futures-based ETFs or Cayman-subsidiary funds could also emerge.

Seyffart and Balchunas have already predicted a “wave of crypto ETFs” this year due to a more favorable regulatory landscape in the US under the current administration.

With increasing pressure on the SEC to provide regulatory clarity and growing institutional demand for crypto investment products, 2025 could mark a significant turning point for spot altcoin ETFs.