Projects to Watch(September 29th - October 5th)

Litecoin - $LTC - Link 

Description: a fast, low-cost cryptocurrency designed for everyday payments. Created by Charlie Lee, it’s known as the “silver to Bitcoin’s gold,” offering quicker transactions, lower fees, and proven reliability across the crypto ecosystem.

Catalyst: SEC’s decision on Canary Capital’s spot LTC ETF was delayed by the U.S. shutdown but seen as temporary. With 96% odds for approval by end-2025 and filings from Grayscale, CoinShares, and VanEck pending, analysts expect an ETF rally like Bitcoin’s. Buy $115–$118 for 10–20% upside to $135+, with $400M+ inflow potential.

1- Stacks

Introduction: Stacks is a Bitcoin Layer 2 that enables smart contracts and decentralized apps (dApps) to use Bitcoin as a secure base layer. It allows developers to build applications that leverage Bitcoin's security and finality while adding functionality like smart contracts, digital assets, and decentralized identity.

Catalyst: Stacks, alongside Rootstock and Core, is a pioneering Bitcoin layer, renowned for its vibrant ecosystem and diverse protocols. As the perpetual futures decentralized exchange (perp DEX) narrative gains momentum in the crypto industry, Velar, a native Stacks protocol, has been diligently building and is well-positioned to capitalize on this growing trend.

Moreover, the recent removal of the sBTC cap, Stacks’ self-custodial Bitcoin derivative, solidifies its position as the premier Bitcoin-backed asset on a fully expressive Bitcoin layer. With transactions as secure as Bitcoin’s, sBTC enhances Stacks’ role as a leading platform for scalable, secure, and innovative decentralized applications.

2- StarkNet

Introduction: StarkNet is a decentralized, permissionless Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum that uses zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-STARKs) to enable fast, low-cost, and secure transactions while maintaining Ethereum's security. It allows developers to build scalable dApps by processing transactions off-chain and submitting compact proofs to Ethereum.

Catalyst: StarkNet is neither a Bitcoin sidechain nor a Layer 2 solution, yet it has recently shifted its focus toward BTCFi, backed by significant upgrades and incentive programs to fuel this movement.

StarkNet has recently enabled Bitcoin staking directly on its blockchain, allowing Bitcoin holders to earn rewards alongside STRK stakers. Beyond that, it has integrated key infrastructure providers from the Bitcoin ecosystem and launched a dedicated BTCFi incentive program worth 100M STRK.

Despite this bold pivot, with over $280M raised from top-tier VCs, StarkNet is far from a lightweight contender.

3- Sats Terminal

Introduction: Sats Terminal is a Bitcoin-focused trading and financial platform (satsterminal.com) that aggregates decentralized exchanges for efficient swaps of Bitcoin tokens (like Runes and BRC-20), offers yield generation on BTC holdings, and is expanding into Bitcoin-backed lending to unlock liquidity without selling assets.

Catalyst: Sats Terminal has recently raised $1.7 million in April 2025 from investors including Coinbase Ventures, Draper Associates.... And it currently stays relatively under the radar from the community.

Sats Terminal simplifies Bitcoin-native financial tools with a universal DEX aggregator for optimal trading of tokens like Runes, Alkanes, and Spark. It offers seamless swaps, auto-compounding yield aggregation with projects like $DOG and $BILLY, and Bitcoin-backed loans to unlock liquidity without selling.

With these deliverables, Sats Terminal is one of the hidden gems of BTCFi that users should keep an eye on.

1- DoubleZero

Introduction: A decentralized network designed to power high-performance, permissionless distributed systems - dubbed “a new internet for finance.” The mainnet-beta is live with 400+ validators (25% of Solana’s stake) across 70+ high-speed fiber links, achieving 82% lower latency and 750+ Gbps bandwidth.

Catalysts:

2- Keel

Introduction: The onchain capital allocation arm of the Sky ecosystem (formerly MakerDAO) built natively on Solana, managing up to $2.5B in dynamic liquidity for stablecoin savings, RWAs, and DeFi growth. Operates transparently with onchain assets, audits, and real-time risk monitoring.

Catalysts:

1- StakeStone

Introduction: StakeStone is an omnichain liquidity protocol in DeFi that enables liquid staking for ETH and BTC. Users stake assets to receive yield-bearing tokens like STONE (for ETH) or STONEBTC (for BTC), which earn rewards while remaining usable across blockchains via LayerZero tech—solving liquidity fragmentation and boosting capital efficiency.

Catalyst: StakeStone has recently launched the USD1 Vault on LiquidityPad, offering real yield from the USD1 stablecoin, powered by CIAN Protocol and backed by World Liberty Financial. This connects TradFi and DeFi, with the first commercial mint via BitGo custody drawing APAC LPs and institutions like Arcane Group.

The native $STO token surged 74.2% in the past week, signaling strong market interest.

StakeStone has raised a total of $32M from tier 1 VCs including YZi Labs and Polychain.

2- CoW DAO

Introduction: CoW DAO is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that governs the CoW Protocol, a DeFi platform on Ethereum focused on secure, efficient trading. It protects users from risks like MEV attacks through intent-based batch auctions, peer-to-peer matching, and tools like MEV Blocker and CoW AMM. 

Catalyst: CoW DAO has recently goes live on BNB Chain briging CoW Swap is bringing gasless trading, better prices, and MEV protection to BNB. 

Cow has raised a total $23M from Delphi Ventures and Blockchain Capital. 

3- 币安人生

Introduction: 币安人生 (Binance Life) is a community-driven memecoin on the BNB Smart Chain (BSC), inspired by the "life" and culture of the Binance exchange. 币安人生 is the first chinese memecoin on Four.

Catalyst: Launched just days ago, 币安人生 (Binance Life) has skyrocketed to a market cap exceeding $60 million, riding the wave of the vibrant Chinese community, the largest within the BNB Chain ecosystem. 

As the first Chinese memecoin to gain significant traction on major platforms and has received a CTO grant from Four, this token is worth keeping an eye on.

Not NFA and always DYOR when it comes to memecoins.

1- Lighter

Introduction: High-performance decentralized perpetual futures exchange using custom ZK circuits for low latency and transparent onchain matching. Recently launched mainnet surpassed $1B TVL with 188K+ users after 8 months of private beta.

Catalysts:

2- BaseVol

Introduction: Options trading platform on Base focusing on 0DTE options with a gamified, retail-friendly UI. Built by ex-TradFi veterans (Morgan Stanley, UBS, BoA), BaseVol aims to become the “Morgan Stanley onchain” - merging TradFi structure with DeFi transparency.

Catalysts:

1- Drip: Drip.Trade is the premier native NFT exchange built on Hyperliquid's HyperEVM. Launched in beta in February 2025, it rewards early adopters through airdrops to key Hyperliquid communities and reserves significant token supply for ongoing incentives, fostering organic growth in the ecosystem's meme, game, and collectible NFT scenes.

2- Rysk Finance: Rysk Finance is a cutting-edge DeFi protocol on HyperEVM, serving as the volatility yield layer that allows anyone to earn upfront USD yields on assets like ETH, BTC, and other volatiles through rebuilt on-chain covered calls as a liquid primitive. As a core builder in Hyperliquid's bootstrapped DeFi scene, Rysk benefits from integrated order books, validator incentives, and cross-environment liquidity, with recent highlights in ecosystem growth reports.