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Introduction.com Updates (Members):
Introduction.com x Silicon Valley Bank: Members Only Dinner (NYC):
The Introduction.com team is excited to announce our first IRL, members only, event in New York City.
A closed-door gathering of top founders, investors, and operators from across Web3, AI, and fintech.
Hosted in partnership with Silicon Valley Bank and Introduction.com, this event is designed for high-value connections and meaningful relationships.
No panels. No pitches. Just curated introductions, deep conversations, and access to the people shaping the next decade of innovation.
Attendance is strictly by invitation.
Super excited for this announcement, will be the first of many!
👶 New Member Announcements:
The Introduction.com team is super excited to announce the newest additions to our community this week!
(We’d love to see you up here one day🤠)
Apply Today
Chen Fang @ BitGo
Chen is the Chief Revenue Officer at BitGo, overseeing operations, product development, and GTM strategy. With over a decade of experience from co-founding the institutional portfolio platform Lumina (acquired by BitGo) to leadership roles at Microsoft and Zenefits, he brings deep institutional know-how and global scale to our community. We are excited to welcome him!
Follow Chen on X and LinkedIn!
Carmelo Giuliano @ Arcanum Ventures
Carmelo is the Co-Founder of Arcanum Ventures, a venture fund and incubator specializing in token economic system design and digital asset strategies. Beyond venture, he works with governments, Web2 companies, and Web3 startups on building sustainable token economies. We’re excited to welcome him to the Introduction.com community.
Adam Corrado @ Gelato
Adam is the Head of Business Development at Gelato, where he leads partnerships in rollups, L2 infrastructure, and wallet abstraction, helping shape the future of on-chain automation. With a career spanning both Web2 and Web3, Adam brings a strong mix of global partnerships, product growth, and ecosystem strategy to the community. Thrilled to have him on board!
Table of Contents
What We’re Looking at 👀
🌟 Big money moves. Bigger battles. 🚨 Legion closes a $5M raise redefining token fundraising while Loop secures heavyweight backing to build the autopay rails of Web3. Stripe powers MetaMask’s first-ever in-wallet stablecoin, LayerZero and Wormhole wage war over Stargate’s $4B cross-chain liquidity, and ETH ETFs are stealing Bitcoin’s spotlight as institutions rotate capital. Meanwhile, WLFI’s $40B token debut looms large ahead of its September 1 unlock — the moment that could crown a new cash cow or trigger one of Web3’s biggest unwinds yet. The future of digital money rails is being built right now, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.🌟
Money Moves(Funding/M&A): 🤑
From Introduction.com Members 💳️
Legion
Massive close for Legion as they secure $5M round.
Funding Flash 💰
The round was led by VanEck and Brevan Howard Digital, bringing its total funding to ~$7M.
Earlier backers include Cyber Fund, AllianceDAO, Delphi, and CoinGecko angels. The mix highlights the cross-ecosystem conviction in what’s being built.
The Deal 💼
The pitch is simple but powerful: bring IPO-grade standards to token sales and give retail access that institutions will trust.
The $5M will fuel Legion’s push to become the go-to venue for MiCA-compliant offerings, expanding licensing, deepening integrations, and onboarding the first wave of projects.
What Is Legion 👤
Legion is a token fundraising platform. Think Binance Launchpad, CoinList, or Pump.Fun.
The difference here is that Legion blends retail facing distribution with institutional level trust and transparency..
How it Works ⚙️
Legion combines automation, compliance, and investor alignment, giving projects the tools to curate their cap table with long-term supporters instead of simply filling it with anyone willing to buy in.
Step 1 — Configure the Raise
The project sets token allocations, vesting schedules, and compliance rules (KYC/AML) directly in Legion’s dashboard.
Step 2 — Build the Allowlist
Using Legion’s programmable allowlists, the team invites priority investors, community supporters, and strategic partners while excluding bots and bad actors.
Step 3 — Leverage the Legion Score
Legion’s built-in reputation layer ranks participants based on on-chain behavior, filtering out “mercenary dumpers” and highlighting long-term holders.
Step 4 — Execute the Distribution
Tokens are issued directly to qualified wallets, with vesting and restrictions enforced automatically via smart contracts.
Step 5 — Monitor and Manage
Post-launch, projects can track holder behavior, manage vesting schedules, and update allowlists dynamically without touching third-party tools.
One of a Kind 🦄
Most token fundraising platforms lean too far in one direction.
CoinList brings compliance, Binance brings reach, but Legion brings both, plus control over who participates and how they stay aligned.
Exchange launchpads (Binance Launchpad, OKX Jumpstart)
Pro - Massive Reach
Con - gas wars, mercenary farmers, and zero community alignment.
Compliance First Platforms (CoinList, Republic, INX)
Pro - Well Regulated
Con - Painfully slow KYC / Red Tape
Legion closes the gap:
MiCA-ready rails: full compliance with EU frameworks, enabling broad retail participation in a way CoinList and Republic can’t replicate yet.
Programmable reputation (Legion Score): projects filter for aligned backers, not just whoever clicks fastest, solving the churn that plagues Binance-style raises.
Curated cap tables: issuers design their investor base up front with allowlists, vesting, and eligibility baked in.
Embedded distribution: API-friendly fundraising that integrates directly into ecosystems, instead of siloing like most launchpads.
Why It Matters / Looking Ahead 🔮
Legion isn’t just another token launchpad, it’s redefining how projects raise and manage capital in Web3. By combining IPO-grade compliance, programmable reputation scoring, and embedded distribution, it closes the gaps competitors leave open. For issuers, that means token raises without gas wars, bots, or misaligned investors.
Looking ahead, Legion’s MiCA-ready rails position it to capture Europe’s emerging retail token market while maintaining institutional-grade trust. If adoption scales, it could become the default venue for compliant token offerings.
The future is Wall Street meets Web3 🚧
Industry Leaders 🤠
Loop
Loop Lands Strategic Backing 🏗️
Loop Crypto has raised fresh funding led by VanEck and Fabric Ventures, two powerhouse investors betting on the future of Web3 payments.
The deal underscores Loop’s growing importance as stablecoin autopay moves from niche infrastructure to the financial rails of tomorrow.
Opportunity Brings People Together 🤝
VanEck and Fabric came to Loop independently, drawn by the same opportunity: autopay rails purpose-built for crypto.
It’s a rare overlap where TradFi giants and Web3-native funds converge, signaling confidence that Loop’s tech will shape the next chapter of digital money movement.
What Loop Does ⚙️
Loop turns stablecoin payments into seamless autopay, giving merchants the ability to “pull” funds automatically. Think Stripe subscriptions but for crypto.
Users approve once, and recurring transactions flow directly on-chain without friction, wallets, or manual invoicing.
Standing Out in a Crowded Space 🚀
Most Web3 payment APIs handle pieces of the problem. Loop solves the entire recurring payments stack:
Superfluid & Sablier → Great for streaming token payments but miss recurring billing. No merchant-grade autopay or compliance rails.
Stripe Crypto Integrations → Optimized for one-off crypto checkouts, but lacks native wallet-to-wallet recurring settlement.
Push-Based Wallet APIs → Work fine for sending funds, but they require constant user action and aren’t suited for subscriptions or autopay.
Loop goes further:
Pull-Based Recurring Billing — Merchants initiate stablecoin payments automatically after a one-time approval.
Deep Ecosystem Integrations — Already live across 300+ platforms and merchants, making Loop an embedded layer, not just another API.
Optimized for Stablecoins — Purpose-built for predictable, dollar-denominated rails instead of volatile token streams.
The Raise & What’s Next 🤑🔮
Loop secured $8.5M in this round, bringing total funding to nearly $15M.
The capital will fuel deeper platform integrations, expand merchant onboarding, and cement Loop’s role as the autopay layer for Web3 commerce.
Events 📆
IRL:
Introduction.com x Silicon Valley Bank: Members only Soirée, NYC; 9/18 🗽
Korea Blockchain Week, Seoul Korea; 9/23 - 9/24 🇰🇷
Top Stories 📰
Stargate
Rail Wars: The Battle for Control Over Stargate
LayerZero and Wormhole are beefing over Stargate 💪
Wait, I had a line for this…
This isn’t interstellar, it’s interchain.
Call it Fast & Furious: Multichain Drift
This isn’t sci-fi, it’s DeFi
Never Mind.
A Battle for the Cross-Chain Rail ⚠️
Stargate, a $4B-throughput DeFi engine moving liquidity across 80+ chains, has become the center of a brewing turf war.
LayerZero kicked things off with a $110M STG→ZRO token swap, only for Wormhole to fire back with a $120M all-cash USDC bid.
Now, control over one of DeFi’s most critical liquidity rails is up for grabs.
Stargate Who 🚀
Stargate is a decentralized protocol that lets users move stablecoins and other assets seamlessly across different blockchains without using traditional bridges.
It matters because just like SWIFT connects banks globally, Stargate connects decentralized finance apps, powering over $4 billion in cross-chain liquidity.
The Weigh in 🤼
LayerZero and Wormhole are two rival cross-chain messaging protocols with very different visions for Web3’s future.
LayerZero is building a trust-minimized messaging layer that connects blockchains without relying on centralized bridges.
Each cross-chain message is verified by two independent parties, an oracle to fetch the data and a relayer to prove it, and both must agree for the transaction to pass.
Developers can even choose their own oracles and relayers, giving them granular control over security.
This modular architecture has made LayerZero the go-to for Ethereum-centric DeFi, NFT marketplaces, and cross-chain apps backed by a16z, Sequoia, and Coinbase Ventures.
Wormhole, meanwhile, takes a guardian-powered approach.
Instead of splitting verification across independent actors, Wormhole relies on a fixed network of 19 institutional validators, with 13 of 19 required to approve any cross-chain message.
This design makes Wormhole faster and easier to integrate but also less decentralized than LayerZero’s model.
It’s become deeply entrenched in ecosystems like Solana, Cosmos, and Aptos, where speed and developer simplicity dominate, backed heavily by Jump Crypto and other heavyweight supporters.
The Heat Up 🔥
Stargate sits at the heart of this clash. Whoever wins control effectively sets the default liquidity rails for a huge swath of DeFi.
LayerZero wants to make cross-chain messaging secure and customizable. Wormhole wants to make it frictionless and fast.
The winner doesn’t just get Stargate, they get to shape how value moves across the multi-chain future.
The Offers on the Table 💸
LayerZero’s Play
Acquire Stargate outright, dissolve the DAO, and migrate control fully under LayerZero’s umbrella
Swap every STG for ZRO at a fixed conversion rate of 1 STG = 0.08634 ZRO
Revenue model: 50% to veSTG holders and 50% allocated to ZRO buybacks, tightening LayerZero’s tokenomics and aligning incentives
Wormhole’s Counter
A clean $120M USDC all-cash offer — avoiding token exposure, price volatility, and long vesting timelines
Requested a five-day pause on DAO voting to give the community space to weigh both offers
Pitched itself as a liquidity-first alternative, positioning Stargate’s pools within Wormhole’s broader cross-chain network for faster integrations and deeper reach
The Community Speaks (on X) 💁
Confusion and hype ensued as the war raged on X.
LayerZero announces DAO approval:
“The Stargate DAO has approved our acquisition of Stargate (STG)… LayerZero is better money technology.”
— LayerZero (@LayerZero_Core)
Supporting that, they highlight community buy-in:
“StargateDAO members voted 95% in favor of the acquisition. Snapshot vote here: …”
— LayerZero (@LayerZero_Core)
Wormhole throws down the gauntlet:
“STG holders deserve better. The current bid undervalues the protocol’s assets… We’re prepared to submit a meaningfully higher offer.”
— Wormhole Foundation (@WormholeFdn)
“Why @Wormhole + Stargate? Combining Stargate’s unified liquidity pools with our broad ecosystem … creates a market‑dominant force… immediate and long‑term value for $STG holders.”
— Wormhole Foundation (@WormholeFdn)
Industry Buzz:
“Our first ever bidding war in crypto M&A. Wormhole submits a $120M all‑cash ($USDC) bid for Stargate. This is $10M (≈ 10%) higher…”
— @thattallguy on X
Analysts are chiming in:
“Wormhole has jumped into the bidding for Stargate, promising a bid above LayerZero’s $110 million offer. They want the vote delayed so the community can weigh both.”
— CoinDesk
“Wormhole’s $120M all‑cash offer ensures immediate liquidity and signals a new standard in DeFi acquisition.”
— Coinfomania
GeckoPulse summarizes the frenzy on X:
“Bidding wars! Wormhole attempts to delay LayerZero’s acquisition of Stargate Finance, wanting to launch their own counter‑offer above $110M!”
— GeckoPulse
KO ❓👊
LayerZero’s supporters are celebrating a decisive win, touting DAO approval and a token swap as a step toward long-term infrastructure dominance. Their narrative is all about control of the rails that power cross-chain liquidity and cementing LayerZero’s role as the backbone of Web3.
Wormhole’s backers, meanwhile, are pushing hard for immediate liquidity and a more aggressive growth strategy, casting doubt on whether Stargate’s community is getting the best deal.
Across X, analysts and industry voices are calling this crypto’s first real M&A bidding war, fueling hype, confusion, and plenty of chaos.
What to Watch 👀
Keep an eye on whether Wormhole returns with a sweeter offer or pivots toward a different strategic play.
This battle isn’t just about acquiring Stargate, it’s about who controls the underlying liquidity rails of Web3.
LayerZero’s governance-aligned integration strategy won this round, but Wormhole’s liquidity-first model still has momentum, and the fight for cross-chain dominance is far from over.
Stripe x MetaMask x M^0
Stablecoin Summer: Stripe Bridge’s the Gap for MetaMask 🌉
MetaMask just dropped MetaMask USD (mUSD), its first-ever branded stablecoin, issued directly inside its self-custodial wallet.
Powered by Stripe’s Bridge and M^0 Protocol, this is the first time in history a stablecoin has been minted, issued, and distributed entirely within a wallet interface.
No exchanges, no external rails, no extra steps.
Why This Matters 📺🚨
This isn’t just a product release, it’s a milestone for financial infrastructure.
MetaMask moves from being the world’s most popular wallet into becoming a native payments platform for 30M+ users.
Stripe evolves from “payment processor” to protocol-level money infrastructure, plugging into the foundation of Web3 settlements.
M^0 provides the liquidity layer ensuring mUSD is interoperable with other stablecoins, preventing it from becoming just another isolated token.
The Players Behind the Move 🎭
Stripe / Bridge
Stripe processes $1.4T annually, making it the most trusted payment network globally.
With Bridge, acquired in 2025, Stripe now enables white-label stablecoin issuance for partners at enterprise scale.
Bridge already powers Visa-linked stablecoin cards at 150M+ merchants and has handled $250B+ in stablecoin transaction volume.
MetaMask
30M+ monthly active users; 100M annually — by far the largest self-custodial wallet.
Controls direct distribution to the most crypto-native audience on the planet.
Embedding mUSD makes programmable stablecoins as easy as clicking “send.”
M^0 Protocol
Think “SWIFT for stablecoins” — a modular, decentralized liquidity network.
Powers $170M+ in circulating stablecoins and growing fast.
Ensures instant, composable liquidity so mUSD isn’t siloed but deeply integrated into DeFi rails from day one.
Why It’s Unparalleled 📐
MetaMask could have gone to Circle, Paxos, or Tether. But none offer what Stripe + M^0 bring together:
Regulated issuance + wallet-native distribution + interoperable liquidity.
The result: the first branded stablecoin fully embedded in a wallet with instant cross-chain usability.
Looking Ahead 🔮
This launch sets the stage for a wallet-stablecoin arms race. Expect Coinbase Wallet, Phantom, and Trust Wallet to follow suit.
If mUSD takes off, wallets could evolve into stablecoin super-apps: programmable payments, seamless merchant checkout, and instant settlement — all without touching banks.
For Stripe, this cements its role as the protocol powering digital money flows. For MetaMask, it locks in network effects across Web3. And for M^0, it proves its rails are becoming the backbone for on-chain dollars.
ETH vs BTC: Spot the Battle ⚔️
Breaking 🗞️
In July, Ethereum spot ETFs pulled in a record-breaking $5.4B in inflows, nearly matching Bitcoin’s ETF surge.
By August, the divergence began: BTC ETFs saw outflows, while ETH ETFs kept attracting fresh capital. This shift highlights a growing institutional preference for Ethereum over Bitcoin.
Meanwhile, public companies now hold ~2.3% of ETH’s circulating supply, showing ETH isn’t just being traded, it’s becoming a strategic corporate asset, especially for staking and DeFi participation.
What It Means (In Plain English) 📖
The driver here is regulatory clarity. The SEC’s evolving rules around liquid staking, in-kind ETF redemptions, and potential approval for staking-enabled ETFs make ETH a more usable, yield-generating institutional asset.
Ethereum is no longer just a speculative token, it’s becoming a functional investment vehicle. With staking rewards layered on top, ETH increasingly looks like the digital equivalent of a high-yield bond, offering both growth and income potential, something Bitcoin can’t match.
Looking Ahead 🔮
Ethereum ETF holdings and corporate reserves now account for nearly 8% of ETH’s total supply, reflecting deepening institutional conviction.
If regulatory clarity continues, expect more capital rotation away from Bitcoin and into Ethereum’s programmable rails powering DeFi, NFTs, and staking yield.
BTC Bank Rob
The Hiest 👽💰
On August 19, an individual (iykyk) was defrauded of 783 BTC (about $91 million) ‼️
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT uncovered the elaborate scam, flagging the transfer in near real-time. 
The stolen funds were immediately funneled through the Wasabi Wallet, a privacy tool used to obscure transaction traces, reminiscent of a digital bank robbery. 
How They Pulled It Off 🥷
The attacker gained the victim’s trust by masquerading as official support from both a hardware wallet and a crypto exchange, which led the victim to reveal wallet credentials. 
Once the attacker obtained access, the victim’s entire Bitcoin stash was transferred away instantly and laundered via Wasabi Wallet.
Social engineering and privacy tools can be weaponized in seconds. 
How to Protect Yourself: Wallet Defense 101 🦺
Treat all unsolicited contact as suspicious—especially if someone claims to be support. Never share credentials or private keys. 
Use offline or multi-factor verification methods. Contact support through official channels, never via links or calls from unknown sources.
Hold the bulk of crypto in cold storage (hardware wallets not connected to the internet), only using hot wallets for daily transactions.
Enable multi-signature or hardware-level confirmations. This adds a crucial safety net should one layer be compromised.
Scammers are evolving rapidly. But with layered security, healthy skepticism, and education, you drastically reduce the chances of a digital heist.
WLFI
WLFI: The $40B Cash Cow 🐂
World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token exploded onto the scene, debuting with an implied $40+ billion FDV as perpetuals lit up crypto markets.
But September 1 is D-Day: 20% of the token supply unlocks via the platform’s Lockbox. That’s when we find out if WLFI’s early valuation is real demand or leveraged fantasy.
Trump, the Big Stakeholders, and the Money Machine 💰
The Trump family sits at the center of this story. Through a controlled LLC, they hold 60% of WLFI’s equity, claim 75% of platform fee revenue, and directly control 22.5 billion tokens, worth over $9 billion at current perp pricing.
Big backers are already counting paper billions. If WLFI holds its ground through the unlock, this project could become one of the most lucrative token launches in recent history.
Why This Could Be Massive 🍆
WLFI isn’t just a token, it’s an ecosystem play designed to leverage brand power and capital flows. Its launch signals a new era where political loyalty, financial incentives, and Web3 infrastructure collide.
If the September unlock is absorbed without a price collapse, WLFI graduates from speculative gamble to billion-dollar yield engine, setting the stage for long-term institutional adoption.
All Eyes on September 1 🔍
This is the moment of truth. Perpetual futures are writing a $40B story today, but the spot markets and liquidity depth on September 1 will decide if WLFI is a cash cow or a cautionary tale.
Until then, insiders are sitting on billions in unrealized gains. For everyone else, it’s a waiting game with potentially historic upside…or an equally historic unwind.
Wrap Up ✌
✨ The rails of digital finance are shifting fast, and everyone’s jockeying for position. From Stripe embedding stablecoin infrastructure into MetaMask to LayerZero and Wormhole battling for Stargate’s $4B liquidity network, the foundations of Web3 are being rewritten in real time. Ethereum ETFs surge while Bitcoin stalls, WLFI’s $40B unlock looms, and platforms like Legion and Loop quietly build the pipes of tomorrow’s money movement. What feels like chaos now is really coordination: the next era of payments, capital markets, and digital ownership is coming together — and the winners are being decided today.✨
