What is the Business Model of a Blockchain with Castle Labs

In this episode of Galaxy Grid, the hosts are joined by Ankush J. from Castle Labs to explore why selling cheap block space is increasingly becoming a dead business model for layer-1 and layer-2 blockchains. Ankush breaks down his research on the verticalization of blockchains, explaining how the Hyperliquid model successfully places applications at the center of value accrual, why L2s like Arbitrum are beginning to look more like SaaS providers, and how chains like Mega ETH are pivoting to build their own native applications to tap directly into user fees. Next, the crew dives into the recent blowup of Neutral’s synthetic dollar (NUSD), dissecting how a locked-token basis trade likely ran out of margin and exposed the severe risks of DeFi "transparency theater". Finally, they review Tether's new KPMG audit opinion—officially putting the long-running "Tether truther" narrative to rest—and examine the summer market lull alongside suppressed volatility across major crypto assets. Keep in touch: ▸ Follow us on Twitter: https://x.com/galaxyhq & https://x.com/glxyresearch ▸ Read our research at https://www.galaxy.com/research ▸ Subscribe to receive Galaxy Research's weekly newsletter: https://www.galaxy.com/subscribe-to-r... This video, and the information contained herein, has been provided to you by Galaxy Digital Holdings LP and its affiliates (“Galaxy Digital”) solely for informational purposes. View the full disclaimer at https://www.galaxy.com/galaxy-digital...