As the GameFi sector enters its next phase of evolution, the traditional model of relying on a single blockbuster title to sustain an ecosystem is facing rigorous challenges. Today, the high-profile Web3 gaming project RuneSoul set the market ablaze by officially announcing the closing of a $30 million strategic investment round.

This massive capital injection is more than just “fueling the tank”; it serves as a clarion call for the expansion of the RuneSoul ecosystem. Official sources state that the funds will be primarily allocated toward a comprehensive strategic pivot and infrastructure overhaul. RuneSoul is transcending its identity as a standalone 3A ARPG blockchain game to become a full-scale Web3 Gaming Aggregator & Launchpad.

Breaking GameFi Silos: The “Super Connector” of the Industry

The Web3 gaming industry has long struggled with a “supply-demand mismatch”: talented developers often lack Web3 publishing expertise, while token holders and large-scale guilds are starved for high-quality, sustainable content.

RuneSoul’s transformation aims to fill this market vacuum by positioning itself as a definitive Connector:

Supply Side: Providing traditional game studios and Web3 developers with low-barrier “blockchain-integration” gateways, solving technical hurdles and complex economic model design.

Demand Side: Aggregating global players, top-tier guilds, and distribution channels to tackle the challenges of fragmented traffic and skyrocketing user acquisition costs.

A One-Stop Full-Stack Solution: Building an Ecological Moat

Unlike standard launchpads that offer limited “listing” or “NFT sale” functions, RuneSoul’s “Web3 Gaming Full Lifecycle Solution” is far more ambitious and execution-focused. 9The platform will deliver core services across five key dimensions:

Issuance: Facilitating initial asset offerings (INO/IDO) based on proven tokenomic models.

Growth & Incentive: Leveraging SocialFi mechanisms for viral growth and precision user matching, supported by multi-tiered incentive systems for player retention.

Asset Management: Offering secure, user-friendly built-in wallets and a marketplace to bridge asset barriers between different games.

On-chain Data: Tracking real-time behavior to provide developer user-personas and investor decision-making tools.

Settlement System: An efficient on-chain settlement layer ensuring all revenues are transparent and settled instantly.

From GameFi 4.0 to Industry Infrastructure

At its inception, RuneSoul introduced the concept of GameFi 4.0, emphasizing the deep integration of gameplay and social utility. With this $30M infusion, RuneSoul is now scaling this philosophy from a “single game” to an “entire ecosystem.”

This pivot leverages RuneSoul’s track record—including the successful launch of $RST, high-fidelity graphics, and a robust community—to incubate a new wave of high-quality titles.

“If Steam is the lighthouse of Web2 gaming, RuneSoul aspires to be the gateway for Web3 gaming,” stated the core team. This $30 million investment is not only a validation of RuneSoul’s past performance but a high-stakes bet on its “platform-centric” future.

DeFi Technologies Inc./ Key word(s): Expansion

DeFi Technologies Issues Year-End CEO Letter to Shareholders

30.12.2025 / 13:35 CET/CEST

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

TORONTO, Dec. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — DeFi Technologies Inc. (the “Company” or “DeFi Technologies“) (Nasdaq: DEFT) (CBOE CA: DEFI) (GR: R9B), a financial technology company bridging the gap between traditional capital markets and decentralized finance (“DeFi”), today issued a Year-End Letter to Shareholders from its Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman, Johan Wattenström.

Dear Shareholders,

As we close 2025, I want to anchor this letter around the core thesis that guides everything we do.

DeFi Technologies aims to be the global leading provider of asset management services and investment products worldwide with a scalable, vertically integrated platform of investment vehicles and capital markets infrastructure aimed at disrupting traditional, over-regulated, and inefficient markets for investments, primary, and secondary markets. The legacy system is captured by obsolete infrastructure, bloated with inefficient and expensive middlemen who impose misguided regulation, affecting investors and entrepreneurs alike.

We are building in both centralized and decentralized finance, positioning ourselves for the convergence of these paradigms over time. Many politicians and bureaucrats remain a destructive force, but they cannot stop the fast paced evolutionary pressure of free markets, which are shaping an objectively better path for payments, storage of value, and frictionless capital markets.

We plan to announce a series of internally incubated innovations across these fields, lowering costs, increasing value added and scalability, enabling unparalleled customer value.

We are focused on creating, protecting, and returning long term shareholder value, and we remain disciplined through market volatility as we build a world class company. Day to day price moves are noise. We are focused on the real signal: execution.

That is not rhetoric – it is a blueprint. And in 2025, we advanced that blueprint meaningfully across products, geography, institutional infrastructure, and balance sheet strength.

2025: Laying the Foundation for Scale

Valour reached 102 ETPs and built the most diversified regulated digital asset shelf globally

Valour’s growth to more than 100 listed ETPs is not just a product milestone. It reflects a simple strategic goal: to give investors optionality and the choice to allocate to the world’s top digital assets in a regulated, exchange-traded format, using the same brokerage and custody rails they already trust.

These are not only spot Bitcoin and Ether products. Our lineup spans many of the most important networks and themes shaping digital assets, giving investors a way to express views across the sector without wallets, without private keys, and without unregulated venues. Valour now offers the most diverse regulated digital asset ETP lineups globally, and that breadth is a durable competitive advantage.

Just as important, we operate this platform with a level of capital efficiency that we believe is unmatched. We do not simply list products and collect a management fee. We have monetized the entire issuance stack end to end:

• Innovation and product structuring
• Listing and distribution into regulated markets
• Trading the inflows and outflows of our products
• Market making and liquidity provisioning
• Staking and yield generation on underlying assets, where applicable, utilizing our own tech stack and infrastructure

This is the difference between being a wrapper and being a platform. When you monetize across issuance, trading, liquidity, and yield, you create multiple revenue streams from the same underlying growth engine. That is why we believe we are building one of the most capital-efficient asset management businesses in the world.

Geographic expansion moved from “potential” to “operating reality”

We have been building DeFi Technologies to be global, not local. In 2025, we validated that direction with meaningful progress across key markets and listings.

We advanced our footprint through:

• London Stock Exchange
• SIX Swiss Exchange
• B3 – Brazil Stock Exchange, including listings that established a strategic beachhead in LATAM

Brazil matters because it is not just another listing. It is a proof point that we can bring our platform into new regulatory environments, connect to local market infrastructure, and build distribution pathways beyond our historical base.

Looking forward, we expect additional locations and distribution channels to come online in 2026, with particular focus on expanding our presence across Europe and LATAM, and bringing new regions into the platform, including Africa and the Middle East, as we build the rails, partnerships, and market access needed to scale.

Stillman Digital continued to strengthen the institutional layer of our platform

While Valour is the distribution engine for investment products, Stillman Digital is a critical part of the institutional stack that allows DeFi Technologies to monetize flows, deepen liquidity, and build durable relationships with sophisticated counterparties.

In 2025, Stillman continued to scale its institutional execution capabilities and broaden its footprint. That matters because institutional activity is not only about trading. It is about infrastructure:

• Execution quality and reliability
• Liquidity access and block workflows
• Market intelligence and feedback loops that inform product design and distribution
• Connectivity that expands what we can offer beyond a single wrapper

This is vertical integration in action. Not just issuing products, but strengthening the plumbing that makes those products more competitive and more scalable.

We are advancing second-generation products built for larger pools of capital

We are proud of what we have built with ETPs, but we are equally focused on what comes next.

The next phase involves second-generation products that are more institutionally compatible and better suited to large allocators and stricter mandates, which will accelerate Valour’s AUM growth and, in return, our core revenues. Besides significantly broadening our distribution, our next-generation products are designed to add more value through active strategies and engineered portfolios. This includes:

• UCITS style fund structures
• Actively managed certificates and exchange traded notes
• Tokenization to serve the native crypto community
• Hedge fund structure to serve institutions and fund of funds
• Additional institutionally focused vehicles designed to broaden distribution and increase the durability of AUM

This evolution is not a departure from our strategy; it is the strategy. If we believe in convergence, then we must build the wrappers and rails that allow capital to move between paradigms safely, efficiently, and at scale.

We strengthened the balance sheet to increase the momentum of execution, broaden our bandwidth, and be able to facilitate larger trades and potential acquisitions

2025 also strengthened our ability to act, not react.

We raised $100 million in a capital raise that materially improved our strategic flexibility. We also ended Q3 2025 with $165.7 million in cash, cash equivalents, and digital asset treasury assets, plus $44 million in venture investments, and no debt.

That balance sheet strength is not there for comfort. It is there for compounding.

As outlined in our investor communications, we intend to deploy capital in ways that reinforce the platform:

• Optimizing treasury and liquidity deployment
• Supporting DeFi Alpha and market making activities, where they improve product competitiveness and monetization
• Seeding and scaling products and vehicles where capital unlocks institutional flows
• Funding expansion into new regions and distribution channels
• Pursuing selective strategic opportunities that deepen vertical integration or accelerate capability

In short, we aim to earn high returns on liquidity by putting it to work across the system, not leaving it idle.

The Valuation Gap and Our Focus Going Forward

It is worth stepping back and acknowledging what many shareholders, and we as management, have been saying plainly.

We are building in a nascent industry that is volatile and evolving rapidly. Over the course of the year, we made deliberate pivots in response to shifting market conditions, regulatory developments, and broader macro factors. Many market participants and analysts expected a more supportive backdrop for Bitcoin and the broader crypto market in 2025, and we shared that view.

Even with that context, the current market valuation implies a level of skepticism that we believe is disconnected from the profitability, balance sheet strength, and platform we have built. Put simply, the market is not assigning a fair market value to our core operating assets that are generating real revenue and earnings power.

Based on current inputs as of December 29, 2025: Market cap is approximately $285.8 million. (Nasdaq.com)

• Less $165.7 million of cash, cash equivalent and digital asset treasury as of September 30, 2025
• Less $44.0 million of private venture investments at fair value as of September 30, 2025.
• The implied value for the core operating units, including Valour, Stillman, and Reflexivity, is approximately $76.1 million

Against approximately $80 million in revenue and $39 million in operating income through the first three quarters, and no debt, that implied operating value does not reflect what we believe has been built.

As Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer put it:

“The market is effectively pricing the company as if it were a distressed asset rather than a profitable, capital rich, structurally advantaged gateway to digital assets.”

We hear that. And we agree the disconnect is real.

Markets can stay mispriced longer than anyone would like, especially in a sector where narratives can shift quickly and where many participants still do not fully understand how a vertically integrated digital asset platform monetizes across multiple layers.

Our response is not to argue with the market. Our response is to keep executing, provide clearer visibility into what gives us our edge, and earn trust through consistent delivery.

In 2026, we will work tirelessly to close the gap between what we are building and what the market is pricing by:

• Continuing to scale AUM and monetization with discipline
• Expanding geographically so our distribution is broader and less concentrated
• Accelerating second-generation institutional product rollout
• Deepening institutional execution and infrastructure through Stillman
• Maintaining transparency and credibility through consistent communication and measurable delivery
• Productifying Our Technology: Valour Custody and Market Infrastructure
  • Launch “Valour Custody” as a standalone business lineMake our internal custody platform available externally for retail and institutional clients, and as the back end infrastructure for third party wallets and financial services.
  • Expand into decentralized market servicesRoll out new market infrastructure offerings, including dark pool style execution venues, as an extension of our broader platform.
  • Why this mattersThese initiatives deepen vertical integration, reduce reliance on legacy intermediaries, and create a new revenue stream by monetizing our technology stack.

Trust and credibility are earned through performance and execution, not words. We intend to earn it back the only way that matters: by building a world class company and compounding shareholder value.

2026: The Next Phase of Growth

We remain an early-stage growth company, and that is exactly why the opportunity is compelling.

Multiple, Reinforcing Paths to Growth

• Product expansion and AUM growth through ValourBroaden regulated access to the world’s leading digital assets, expand distribution, and scale AUM across an increasingly diversified ETP lineup.
• Institutional execution and infrastructure expansion through Stillman DigitalDeepen institutional client coverage, expand execution capabilities, and strengthen market structure and liquidity infrastructure.
• Research and analytics expansion through ReflexivityScale research, data, and market intelligence that supports product development, distribution, and institutional engagement.
• Capital markets and treasury monetization through DeFi Alpha and disciplined liquidity deploymentPut capital to work across treasury and trading strategies with a focus on risk management, liquidity efficiency, and durable returns.
• Product and service innovation and expansionProductify our internal capabilities into external offerings, including custody and broader market infrastructure services, to create new revenue lines beyond management, trading and staking fees.
• Strategic acquisitions and investmentsPursue selective M&A and venture investments that expand capability, accelerate distribution, deepen vertical integration, or add complementary revenue streams.
• New region expansion as additional markets come onlineExpand footprint and distribution across Europe, LATAM, Africa, and the Middle East, using a repeatable market entry playbook to bring new regions onto the platform.

Our mission remains clear. We will continue to incubate innovations that lower costs, increase value added, and improve scalability. We will keep building for the convergence of traditional capital markets and decentralized finance, and we will not be distracted by short term volatility. The rest is noise. Focus on the signal.

To our shareholders, thank you for your patience, support, and conviction. We do not take your trust for granted, and we are committed to earning it every day through execution. To our partners, thank you for building with us and for expanding what our platform can deliver. And to our team, thank you for the relentless work behind the scenes. This progress is the result of your discipline, creativity, and persistence.

I look forward to sharing more details in the coming weeks.

Sincerely,

Johan WattenströmChief Executive Officer and Chairman

DeFi Technologies Inc.

About DeFi Technologies

DeFi Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: DEFT) (CBOE CA: DEFI) (GR: R9B) is a financial technology company bridging the gap between traditional capital markets and decentralized finance (“DeFi”). As the first Nasdaq-listed digital asset manager of its kind, DeFi Technologies offers equity investors diversified exposure to the broader decentralized economy through its integrated and scalable business model. This includes Valour, which offers access to one hundred of the world’s most innovative digital assets via regulated ETPs; Stillman Digital, a digital asset prime brokerage focused on institutional-grade execution and custody; Reflexivity Research, which provides leading research into the digital asset space; and DeFi Alpha, the Company’s internal arbitrage and trading business line. With deep expertise across capital markets and emerging technologies, DeFi Technologies is building the institutional gateway to the future of finance. Follow DeFi Technologies on LinkedIn and X/Twitter, and for more details, visit https://defi.tech/ 

DeFi Technologies Subsidiaries

About ValourValour Inc. and Valour Digital Securities Limited (together, “Valour“) issues exchange traded products (“ETPs”) that enable retail and institutional investors to access digital assets in a simple and secure way via their traditional bank account. Valour is part of the asset management business line of DeFi Technologies. For more information about Valour, to subscribe, or to receive updates, visit https://valour.com.

About Stillman DigitalStillman Digital is a leading digital asset liquidity provider that offers limitless liquidity solutions for businesses, focusing on industry-leading trade execution, settlement, and technology. For more information, please visit https://www.stillmandigital.com

About Reflexivity ResearchReflexivity Research LLC is a leading research firm specializing in the creation of high-quality, in-depth research reports for the bitcoin and digital asset industry, empowering investors with valuable insights. For more information please visit https://www.reflexivityresearch.com/ 

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking information: This press release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to the development of second generation products; geographic expansion of the Company and its products; anticipated use of capital; development and launch of new business lines; the regulatory environment with respect to the growth and adoption of decentralized finance; the pursuit by the Company and its subsidiaries of business opportunities; and the merits or potential returns of any such opportunities. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company, as the case may be, to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but is not limited the acceptance of Valour exchange traded products by exchanges; growth and development of decentralised finance and digital asset sector; rules and regulations with respect to decentralised finance and digital assets; fluctuation in digital asset prices; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

THE CBOE CANADA EXCHANGE DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE

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30.12.2025 CET/CEST Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by EQS News – a service of EQS Group.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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2252794 30.12.2025 CET/CEST

TORONTO, Dec. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — DeFi Technologies Inc. (the “Company” or “DeFi Technologies“) (Nasdaq: DEFT) (CBOE CA: DEFI) (GR: R9B), a financial technology company bridging the gap between traditional capital markets and decentralized finance  (“DeFi”), today issued a Year-End Letter to Shareholders from its Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman, Johan Wattenström.

Dear Shareholders,

As we close 2025, I want to anchor this letter around the core thesis that guides everything we do.

DeFi Technologies aims to be the global leading provider of asset management services and investment products worldwide with a scalable, vertically integrated platform of investment vehicles and capital markets infrastructure aimed at disrupting traditional, over-regulated, and inefficient markets for investments, primary, and secondary markets. The legacy system is captured by obsolete infrastructure, bloated with inefficient and expensive middlemen who impose misguided regulation, affecting investors and entrepreneurs alike.

We are building in both centralized and decentralized finance, positioning ourselves for the convergence of these paradigms over time. Many politicians and bureaucrats remain a destructive force, but they cannot stop the fast paced evolutionary pressure of free markets, which are shaping an objectively better path for payments, storage of value, and frictionless capital markets.

We plan to announce a series of internally incubated innovations across these fields, lowering costs, increasing value added and scalability, enabling unparalleled customer value.

We are focused on creating, protecting, and returning long term shareholder value, and we remain disciplined through market volatility as we build a world class company. Day to day price moves are noise. We are focused on the real signal: execution.

That is not rhetoric – it is a blueprint. And in 2025, we advanced that blueprint meaningfully across products, geography, institutional infrastructure, and balance sheet strength.

2025: Laying the Foundation for Scale

Valour reached 102 ETPs and built the most diversified regulated digital asset shelf globally

Valour’s growth to more than 100 listed ETPs is not just a product milestone. It reflects a simple strategic goal: to give investors optionality and the choice to allocate to the world’s top digital assets in a regulated, exchange-traded format, using the same brokerage and custody rails they already trust.

These are not only spot Bitcoin and Ether products. Our lineup spans many of the most important networks and themes shaping digital assets, giving investors a way to express views across the sector without wallets, without private keys, and without unregulated venues. Valour now offers the most diverse regulated digital asset ETP lineups globally, and that breadth is a durable competitive advantage.

Just as important, we operate this platform with a level of capital efficiency that we believe is unmatched. We do not simply list products and collect a management fee. We have monetized the entire issuance stack end to end:

• Innovation and product structuring
• Listing and distribution into regulated markets
• Trading the inflows and outflows of our products
• Market making and liquidity provisioning
• Staking and yield generation on underlying assets, where applicable, utilizing our own tech stack and infrastructure

This is the difference between being a wrapper and being a platform. When you monetize across issuance, trading, liquidity, and yield, you create multiple revenue streams from the same underlying growth engine. That is why we believe we are building one of the most capital-efficient asset management businesses in the world.

Geographic expansion moved from “potential” to “operating reality”

We have been building DeFi Technologies to be global, not local. In 2025, we validated that direction with meaningful progress across key markets and listings.

We advanced our footprint through:

• London Stock Exchange
• SIX Swiss Exchange
• B3 – Brazil Stock Exchange, including listings that established a strategic beachhead in LATAM

Brazil matters because it is not just another listing. It is a proof point that we can bring our platform into new regulatory environments, connect to local market infrastructure, and build distribution pathways beyond our historical base.

Looking forward, we expect additional locations and distribution channels to come online in 2026, with particular focus on expanding our presence across Europe and LATAM, and bringing new regions into the platform, including Africa and the Middle East, as we build the rails, partnerships, and market access needed to scale.

Stillman Digital continued to strengthen the institutional layer of our platform

While Valour is the distribution engine for investment products, Stillman Digital is a critical part of the institutional stack that allows DeFi Technologies to monetize flows, deepen liquidity, and build durable relationships with sophisticated counterparties.

In 2025, Stillman continued to scale its institutional execution capabilities and broaden its footprint. That matters because institutional activity is not only about trading. It is about infrastructure:

• Execution quality and reliability
• Liquidity access and block workflows
• Market intelligence and feedback loops that inform product design and distribution
• Connectivity that expands what we can offer beyond a single wrapper

This is vertical integration in action. Not just issuing products, but strengthening the plumbing that makes those products more competitive and more scalable.

We are advancing second-generation products built for larger pools of capital

We are proud of what we have built with ETPs, but we are equally focused on what comes next.

The next phase involves second-generation products that are more institutionally compatible and better suited to large allocators and stricter mandates, which will accelerate Valour’s AUM growth and, in return, our core revenues. Besides significantly broadening our distribution, our next-generation products are designed to add more value through active strategies and engineered portfolios. This includes:

• UCITS style fund structures
• Actively managed certificates and exchange traded notes
• Tokenization to serve the native crypto community
• Hedge fund structure to serve institutions and fund of funds
• Additional institutionally focused vehicles designed to broaden distribution and increase the durability of AUM

This evolution is not a departure from our strategy; it is the strategy. If we believe in convergence, then we must build the wrappers and rails that allow capital to move between paradigms safely, efficiently, and at scale.

We strengthened the balance sheet to increase the momentum of execution, broaden our bandwidth, and be able to facilitate larger trades and potential acquisitions

2025 also strengthened our ability to act, not react.

We raised $100 million in a capital raise that materially improved our strategic flexibility. We also ended Q3 2025 with $165.7 million in cash, cash equivalents, and digital asset treasury assets, plus $44 million in venture investments, and no debt.

That balance sheet strength is not there for comfort. It is there for compounding.

As outlined in our investor communications, we intend to deploy capital in ways that reinforce the platform:

• Optimizing treasury and liquidity deployment
• Supporting DeFi Alpha and market making activities, where they improve product competitiveness and monetization
• Seeding and scaling products and vehicles where capital unlocks institutional flows
• Funding expansion into new regions and distribution channels
• Pursuing selective strategic opportunities that deepen vertical integration or accelerate capability

In short, we aim to earn high returns on liquidity by putting it to work across the system, not leaving it idle.

The Valuation Gap and Our Focus Going Forward

It is worth stepping back and acknowledging what many shareholders, and we as management, have been saying plainly.

We are building in a nascent industry that is volatile and evolving rapidly. Over the course of the year, we made deliberate pivots in response to shifting market conditions, regulatory developments, and broader macro factors. Many market participants and analysts expected a more supportive backdrop for Bitcoin and the broader crypto market in 2025, and we shared that view.

Even with that context, the current market valuation implies a level of skepticism that we believe is disconnected from the profitability, balance sheet strength, and platform we have built. Put simply, the market is not assigning a fair market value to our core operating assets that are generating real revenue and earnings power.

Based on current inputs as of December 29, 2025: Market cap is approximately $285.8 million. (Nasdaq.com)

• Less $165.7 million of cash, cash equivalent and digital asset treasury as of September 30, 2025
• Less $44.0 million of private venture investments at fair value as of September 30, 2025.
• The implied value for the core operating units, including Valour, Stillman, and Reflexivity, is approximately $76.1 million

Against approximately $80 million in revenue and $39 million in operating income through the first three quarters, and no debt, that implied operating value does not reflect what we believe has been built.

As Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer put it:

“The market is effectively pricing the company as if it were a distressed asset rather than a profitable, capital rich, structurally advantaged gateway to digital assets.”

We hear that. And we agree the disconnect is real.

Markets can stay mispriced longer than anyone would like, especially in a sector where narratives can shift quickly and where many participants still do not fully understand how a vertically integrated digital asset platform monetizes across multiple layers.

Our response is not to argue with the market. Our response is to keep executing, provide clearer visibility into what gives us our edge, and earn trust through consistent delivery.

In 2026, we will work tirelessly to close the gap between what we are building and what the market is pricing by:

• Continuing to scale AUM and monetization with discipline
• Expanding geographically so our distribution is broader and less concentrated
• Accelerating second-generation institutional product rollout
• Deepening institutional execution and infrastructure through Stillman
• Maintaining transparency and credibility through consistent communication and measurable delivery
• Productifying Our Technology: Valour Custody and Market Infrastructure
  • Launch “Valour Custody” as a standalone business line
    Make our internal custody platform available externally for retail and institutional clients, and as the back end infrastructure for third party wallets and financial services.
  • Expand into decentralized market services
    Roll out new market infrastructure offerings, including dark pool style execution venues, as an extension of our broader platform.
  • Why this matters
    These initiatives deepen vertical integration, reduce reliance on legacy intermediaries, and create a new revenue stream by monetizing our technology stack.

Trust and credibility are earned through performance and execution, not words. We intend to earn it back the only way that matters: by building a world class company and compounding shareholder value.

2026: The Next Phase of Growth

We remain an early-stage growth company, and that is exactly why the opportunity is compelling.

Multiple, Reinforcing Paths to Growth

• Product expansion and AUM growth through Valour
  Broaden regulated access to the world’s leading digital assets, expand distribution, and scale AUM across an increasingly diversified ETP lineup.
• Institutional execution and infrastructure expansion through Stillman Digital
  Deepen institutional client coverage, expand execution capabilities, and strengthen market structure and liquidity infrastructure.
• Research and analytics expansion through Reflexivity
  Scale research, data, and market intelligence that supports product development, distribution, and institutional engagement.
• Capital markets and treasury monetization through DeFi Alpha and disciplined liquidity deployment
  Put capital to work across treasury and trading strategies with a focus on risk management, liquidity efficiency, and durable returns.
• Product and service innovation and expansion
  Productify our internal capabilities into external offerings, including custody and broader market infrastructure services, to create new revenue lines beyond management, trading and staking fees.
• Strategic acquisitions and investments
  Pursue selective M&A and venture investments that expand capability, accelerate distribution, deepen vertical integration, or add complementary revenue streams.
• New region expansion as additional markets come online
  Expand footprint and distribution across Europe, LATAM, Africa, and the Middle East, using a repeatable market entry playbook to bring new regions onto the platform.

Our mission remains clear. We will continue to incubate innovations that lower costs, increase value added, and improve scalability. We will keep building for the convergence of traditional capital markets and decentralized finance, and we will not be distracted by short term volatility. The rest is noise. Focus on the signal.

To our shareholders, thank you for your patience, support, and conviction. We do not take your trust for granted, and we are committed to earning it every day through execution. To our partners, thank you for building with us and for expanding what our platform can deliver. And to our team, thank you for the relentless work behind the scenes. This progress is the result of your discipline, creativity, and persistence.

I look forward to sharing more details in the coming weeks.

Sincerely,
Johan Wattenström
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman
DeFi Technologies Inc.

About DeFi Technologies
DeFi Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: DEFT) (CBOE CA: DEFI) (GR: R9B) is a financial technology company bridging the gap between traditional capital markets and decentralized finance (“DeFi”). As the first Nasdaq-listed digital asset manager of its kind, DeFi Technologies offers equity investors diversified exposure to the broader decentralized economy through its integrated and scalable business model. This includes Valour, which offers access to one hundred of the world’s most innovative digital assets via regulated ETPs; Stillman Digital, a digital asset prime brokerage focused on institutional-grade execution and custody; Reflexivity Research, which provides leading research into the digital asset space; and DeFi Alpha, the Company’s internal arbitrage and trading business line. With deep expertise across capital markets and emerging technologies, DeFi Technologies is building the institutional gateway to the future of finance. Follow DeFi Technologies on LinkedIn and X/Twitter, and for more details, visit https://defi.tech/ 

DeFi Technologies Subsidiaries

About Valour
Valour Inc. and Valour Digital Securities Limited (together, “Valour“) issues exchange traded products (“ETPs”) that enable retail and institutional investors to access digital assets in a simple and secure way via their traditional bank account. Valour is part of the asset management business line of DeFi Technologies. For more information about Valour, to subscribe, or to receive updates, visit https://valour.com.

About Stillman Digital
Stillman Digital is a leading digital asset liquidity provider that offers limitless liquidity solutions for businesses, focusing on industry-leading trade execution, settlement, and technology. For more information, please visit https://www.stillmandigital.com

About Reflexivity Research
Reflexivity Research LLC is a leading research firm specializing in the creation of high-quality, in-depth research reports for the bitcoin and digital asset industry, empowering investors with valuable insights. For more information please visit https://www.reflexivityresearch.com/ 

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking information:
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As of December 30, 2025, Ethereum still leads the decentralized finance (DeFi) world. Nearly 60% of all DeFi value is locked on Ethereum and its ecosystem. This shows that most money in DeFi still flows through Ethereum. At the same time, Solana is gaining traction with faster networks and rising activity.

In the background, Big Tech is moving into crypto. A major tech company has plans to launch a crypto wallet in 2026, which could open the door for millions of new users.

This moment feels big for crypto. The old guard still holds strength. New challengers are pushing hard. And big companies are getting involved. This article explores what all of this means for Ethereum, Solana, and the future of DeFi.

Ethereum’s DeFi Dominance and Solana’s Rise

Ethereum still controls a large part of decentralized finance (DeFi) even as market conditions shift. As of late 2025, the Ethereum network holds roughly 68% of total DeFi value locked (TVL) across public blockchains, with more than $69 billion locked into its smart contracts despite volatile ETH prices. This strong share shows that many protocols and users still trust Ethereum’s security and deep liquidity. Its role goes beyond DeFi alone, as the chain also serves as the settlement hub for over $191 billion in stablecoins, a backbone for many financial activities on the chain.

This dominance comes from Ethereum’s early advantage and vast ecosystem. Major protocols like Uniswap, Aave, and Maker remain leaders in their niches, and institutional players such as Bitmine and Fasanara Capital have boosted holdings in ETH, underlining confidence in its long-term use. Even as price pressures persist, the structural usage of Ethereum for complex financial products keeps it central to the broader DeFi landscape.

At the same time, Solana is emerging as a significant force. Its TVL has climbed steadily and now represents a notable portion of DeFi growth outside Ethereum. Robust technical design, high throughput, and ultra-low fees have encouraged new activity and adoption, especially for high-frequency trading and fast settlement apps. Protocols like Raydium and Jupiter now rival similar platforms on Ethereum in user activity and revenue generation.

Solana’s growth in DeFi is real and measurable through several key trends. By September 2025, Solana’s DeFi TVL surged to roughly $12.2 billion, marking a significant increase from previous years and pushing the network to new participation highs. This climb shows that users are moving capital into Solana protocols, not just for speculation but for active financial use cases.

A major reason behind this momentum is Solana’s technical performance. It can handle thousands of transactions per second at near-zero fees, making it attractive for traders and developers alike. This speed drives higher engagement on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and other financial apps. Data shows Solana’s decentralized exchange volume often surpasses that of Ethereum’s L1 alone, especially during peak activity windows.

Solana’s ecosystem also benefits from vibrant developer activity and expanding revenue generation across its application layer. Tools like Jupiter, Raydium, and Jito contribute to a diversified DeFi environment. In some sectors, these platforms outpace Ethereum alternatives in user counts and trading volume, proving that Solana’s appeal is broadening.

Still, Solana faces challenges. Reports indicate the network saw a downturn in application revenue in mid-2025, highlighting that rapid growth can also lead to temporary performance swings. However, ecosystem improvements and ongoing upgrades aim to bolster long-term stability and use case depth.

Big technology companies are now predicted to enter the cryptocurrency wallet market within the next year. Experts suggest that by 2026, at least one major tech firm could launch or integrate a crypto wallet into its platform, broadening access to blockchain assets and services. This development could help billions of users interact with digital currencies in everyday apps.

These moves are not just speculative. Venture capital leaders are signalling that mainstream tech ecosystems are preparing for deeper crypto adoption. Big brands already have large existing user bases, security infrastructure, and platform reach, all elements that could accelerate everyday crypto use. Integrating wallets into widely used apps could reduce friction for new users, helping them hold, send, and spend digital assets without needing standalone crypto software.

Many companies have already laid the groundwork for blockchain engagement. For example, messaging apps and financial services have incorporated wallet features, and payment partners are easing the buying process for cryptocurrencies. These steps hint at broader acceptance and normalization of digital finance.

If Big Tech enters the wallet space, it could boost crypto adoption by making on-chain interaction a common part of digital life. This “mainstreaming” may not only benefit Ethereum and Solana ecosystems but also push regulatory and institutional frameworks toward clearer structures, encouraging further investment in blockchain innovation.

Challenges Facing Ethereum and Solana

Despite strong positioning, both Ethereum and Solana face significant hurdles. For Ethereum, technical upgrades such as validator method shifts tied to upcoming ZK-proof systems create execution risks. Critics warn that the next stage of scaling could strain validator networks if not implemented carefully. These challenges reflect the balancing act between growth and reliability for a protocol that underpins so much of DeFi.

Solana, on its side, recorded a marked decline in application revenue in mid-2025 even as TVL rose. This drop suggests that raw usage statistics don’t always translate to strong economic output for developers and platforms. Sustained ecosystem health depends on both user activity and revenue capture.

Furthermore, competition among Layer-1 and Layer-2 ecosystems remains fierce. If established DeFi hubs do not innovate efficiently, they could lose share to newer networks that solve current pain points like gas fees or transaction speed.

Still, these challenges are part of crypto’s broader evolution as developers, institutions, and users refine what on-chain finance means for the next decade.

Conclusion: Signals to Watch in 2026

Ethereum remains the dominant force in DeFi as 2025 closes, with Solana rising fast in areas like TVL growth and trading volume. Both ecosystems show unique strengths that will shape the next phase of decentralized finance. Mainstream tech’s move into crypto wallets by 2026 could dramatically expand user access and adoption. 

At the same time, technical upgrades and ecosystem resilience will determine how well these networks retain or grow market share. Watch for stablecoin settlement trends, institutional flows, and regulatory developments, as these will also steer global crypto dynamics. The future of DeFi is likely to be multi-chain, deeply integrated with traditional finance, and increasingly built for real-world use cases.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Disclaimer

The content shared by Meyka AI PTY LTD is solely for research and informational purposes. Meyka is not a financial advisory service, and the information provided should not be considered investment or trading advice.

The decentralized finance (DeFi) industry is constantly changing, particularly in developer engagement and market trends. Santiment’s latest data indicates that many well-known platforms like Aave and Uniswap are moving from a phase of rapid growth towards a more stable focus on maintaining their existing protocols. It appears that development efforts are concentrating more on established platforms, particularly those supplying important infrastructure, such as Chainlink.

As DeFi advances, the importance of adhering to regulations and creating products centered around user needs becomes significant. Fintech startups can take important insights from these developments as they look to navigate the DeFi landscape.

What is Chainlink’s Role in DeFi?

Chainlink has taken a prominent lead in the DeFi sector, significantly outpacing other projects in terms of development engagement. This decentralized oracle network is essential for providing accurate data feeds that facilitate the integration of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) and bolster the security of smart contracts. Chainlink’s firm grasp on the oracle market—around 60-70%—highlights its role as a foundational element for crypto banking.

The consequences of Chainlink’s leadership are critical for fintech startups. Utilizing Chainlink’s technology can enhance the trustworthiness of financial products, making them more appealing to heavy-hitting institutional investors. Additionally, as regulatory frameworks like the EU’s MiCA become more prevalent, startups that utilize Chainlink’s infrastructure may find themselves in a stronger position to manage compliance requirements.

How are Mid-Tier Projects Currently Shining?

In the face of all sorts of market fluctuations, mid-tier DeFi projects like DeFiChain and DeepBook remain popular among developers, thanks mainly to their consistent innovation and community focus. These projects not only gain traction due to their technological offerings, but also their focus on niche sectors and specialized solutions.

For example, DeFiChain has shown a commitment to ongoing development and community involvement, resulting in higher activity in developer engagement rankings. DeepBook has also benefitted from its quick order book and its place within the Sui ecosystem, making it appealing for developers seeking to create decentralized applications (dApps) and trading utilities.

The strategies of these mid-tier projects provide practical models for fintech startups. Emphasizing community involvement and user needs can lead to the creation of successful products that genuinely resonate with potential users.

What are Established Platforms Doing in 2025?

With 2025 on the horizon, established DeFi platforms are likely to pivot towards fine-tuning their current offerings rather than pushing for rapid expansion. Platforms like Lido, Aave, and Uniswap are focusing on enhancing user experience, bolstering security features, and adapting to the evolving financial market demands.

For instance, Lido is concentrating on its liquid staking models, reflecting the increasing demand for more fluid staking solutions. Likewise, Aave’s development of flash loan capabilities and its multi-chain functions illustrate its intent on providing users with various financial tools.

Fintech startups should also consider using these principles in their framework. Concentrating on user experience, security, and adaptability will be vital in remaining relevant in the ever-changing finance industry.

What Should Fintech Startups Take Away from This?

The insights gained from the current DeFi development state carry substantial implications for fintech startups. Here are some important points to reflect on:

1. Regulatory Compliance is Key: Startups need to be ready for regulatory frameworks like MiCA so they can draw in institutional investment. This entails constructing compliant models centered on transparency and risk mitigation.

2. Interoperability for the Win: The ability to seamlessly integrate various platforms can enhance user experience. By constructing aggregators that fuse several services together, fintechs can attract a wider customer base.

3. Hybridization is the Future: Blending the efficiency of DeFi with the security of traditional finance can yield strong financial products. Startups should explore how blockchain solutions can enhance transparency and drive down costs.

4. AI is a Valuable Tool: Embracing AI for fraud detection, personalization, and task automation can drastically improve user experience. Financial startups should consider how best to leverage AI in conjunction with DeFi protocols.

5. User-Centric Development: Prioritizing mobile-first products, tokenization, and embedded finance can attract a broad customer base. By focusing on real user needs, fintechs can craft products that resonate with the target demographic.

In summary, the shifting state of DeFi development presents both hurdles and opportunities for fintech startups. Learning from both established platforms and mid-tier projects can help startups find their footing in this competitive environment. The keys to thriving will be innovation, regulatory alignment, and user-centered designs.