Got back from Cannes last week — some reflections after a few chats with the team: 🔥 Despite the 37°C heat, the setup was surprisingly smooth: Everything was within 10min walking distance — plenty of good food, better convos, and zero sketchy moments (unlike last year in Brussels). (PSA: Morning runs in this heat, even with a stunning view, are not it.) 🧠 The vibe? Sharp minds, clearer thinking: A shift towards Web2.5 realism: less ideology, more practicality. Infra analogies = broadband era → apps as new growth engines. Apps finally focused on UX + stickiness — not just “philosophy” talk anymore. Revenue-first thinking is finally mainstream. 🪙 Tokenomics evolving: Foundations now exploring buy-backs over burns — a mature move. But most still unclear on what’s actually bought vs. just announcing the announcements Smart foundations understand the value of meaningful + yield farming with covered puts strategies. Tokens ≠ product. Time to decouple the two and redesign better structures. 🧨 RH announcement was the hot topic: Surprisingly few people understood how innovative it actually is. Shows how much of crypto is still an echo chamber unless you’re close to the source. Reliable oracles and MD feeds are more relevant than ever, when trading 24/7 🧠 Gamblers still gonna gamble: Memefi may be dead but addiction persists. It's affecting sleep, relationships, even life direction — it’s real. A crypto rehab might genuinely be the next vertical. 📉 VC mood check: Bleak. Everyone watching HyperEVM and secondary OTCs. Few HyperEVM projects are launching fully liquid on day 1 = classic 1+3 yr investing feels outdated. People whispering about post-quantum crypto 4–5 yrs out and can't afford such long term views — wild shift in timelines. 🔄 Founders turning creative: Reverse acquisitions, PIPEs, SPAC-like structures. Many aiming to get backing from major foundations → market-buy their tokens → speedrun to IPO-level exits. Feels frothy already. Likely to overcrowd fast. 🧮 DeFi meets structured products: Some top-tier projects doing serious financial engineering — securitisation, debt recycling, fee-gen mechanisms. Feels like early days on the structured desk — complex optionality and real revenue models. Most original product I discussed, allows to issue on-chain zero coupon bonds that convert emissions into locked stable coins and strategic liquidity positions, without tons of incentives handed out for mercenary TVL. Smart money moving into tradfi style ideas 💡 vs pure infra alt bets. TL;DR: We came back excited. The space feels more grounded. Founders are maturing fast. And the shift from hype to substance is very real.