

Coinbase's Ethereum layer-2 network Base is preparing to launch 1:1-backed tokenized equities, with creator Jesse Pollak describing the rollout as imminent as the platform pivots from social applications toward financial infrastructure. "Imminent — dotting i's and crossing t's, but should be very soon," Pollak said in a Tuesday post on X, responding to a question about the timeline for launching tokenized equities on Base. The Coinbase-backed L2's lead developer acknowledged that Robinhood Chain, the recently launched Ethereum layer-2, had gotten tokenized equities in an EVM environment right, adding that Base was behind on that front. The tokenized equities will be fully backed and held in regulated custody, offering on-chain transfer and redemption rights along with automatic dividend pass-through, according to Pollak's earlier statements. Users will be able to access tokenized shares of US companies including Apple and Tesla, expanding the real-world asset infrastructure on Base. The launch follows the SEC's approval of Nasdaq's tokenized securities rule earlier this year, which provided a clearer regulatory pathway for such products. The move marks a strategic shift for Base, which Pollak recently said made a "wrong bet" by prioritizing creator, content and messaging applications. The network is now focused on trading, payments, AI agents and tokenized assets. The pivot toward financial use cases has also influenced market expectations around a potential Base token launch — prediction markets now price a 12.5% probability of Base launching a token by Dec. 31, 2026, up from 10% a day earlier, according to Vera data. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

**Hut 8's second 15-year lease at its Texas campus shows how bitcoin miners are repurposing power assets into AI infrastructure at a scale that rivals hyperscaler buildouts.** Hut 8 signed a second 15-year lease worth $9.8 billion for 352 megawatts of AI capacity at its Beacon Point campus in Texas, fully commercializing the 1-gigawatt site and bringing total contracted AI data center capacity across its portfolio to 949 MW. "The real test of our power-first approach is what our partners are willing to commit against it," Asher Genoot, chief executive officer of Hut 8, said. "Our tenant at Beacon Point chose to double its footprint at the site, the strongest validation an asset can receive." The new agreement, with the same unnamed investment-grade tenant that signed the first phase, brings that customer's total contracted footprint at the campus to 704 MW — double its prior commitment. Campus-level base-term contract value reaches $19.6 billion over 15 years, rising to as much as $50.2 billion if three five-year renewal options per lease are exercised. Across Hut 8's broader portfolio, aggregate base-term contract value stands at $26.6 billion, with average annual net operating income exceeding $1.75 billion. The deal underscores a broader shift among former bitcoin miners toward AI infrastructure. Hut 8, which began as a cryptocurrency miner, has repositioned power assets and data center expertise developed during the crypto boom to serve AI customers. The company said all contracted capacity is leased to, or backstopped by, investment-grade counterparties. Technology companies have committed hundreds of billions of dollars toward data centers packed with advanced chips from Nvidia and others, pushing competition beyond semiconductors into power availability, transmission access and construction-ready sites — making electricity one of the industry's primary constraints. **How Hut 8's Power-First Model Works** Hut 8's Beacon Point campus, located in Nueces County, Texas, is secured by a 1,000 MW utility interconnection agreement with AEP Texas. The company said it redesigned the first data hall around Nvidia's architecture, increasing capacity by 57% within the same land and utility footprint — a move that led the existing tenant to double its contracted capacity at the site. The second phase will support development of another 352 MW AI factory designed around Nvidia's DSX reference architecture for large-scale AI infrastructure. Hut 8 expects to begin delivering the first Phase 2 data hall in the second quarter of 2028. The second lease is expected to contribute $9.8 billion in cumulative net operating income over the base term, or approximately $655 million annually once stabilized. Including both phases, the full Beacon Point campus is projected to generate $1.31 billion in average annual NOI. **What the Pivot Means for Investors** Hut 8 is one of several publicly listed miners redirecting resources toward high-performance computing infrastructure. The company in December secured a Google-backed partnership with Anthropic and Fluidstack to build up to 2.3 GW of AI data center capacity in the U.S. Rival Bitfarms last year announced plans to wind down mining operations entirely to focus on high-performance computing, while TeraWulf, IREN and Cipher Mining all signed multi-year contracts with Alphabet and Microsoft. Hut 8 shares rose about 14% on Monday, extending a rally that had nearly doubled the stock this year. The deal validates the thesis that bitcoin mining infrastructure — power access, land and cooling systems — can be repurposed for AI compute workloads, potentially driving a re-rating of publicly listed mining stocks as traditional tech and AI investors enter the sector. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

ENS DAO approved an eight-member Security Council with two-year veto power to cancel malicious governance proposals during the timelock period, following a series of high-profile DAO exploits including the $20 million BonkDAO treasury drain. "The council acts as an emergency brake for cases where a malicious proposal has already passed a DAO vote but has not yet executed," ENS said in its announcement. The group requires five of eight signatures to block a queued transaction. The council operates under a 5-of-8 multisig structure, up from the outgoing council's 4-of-8 threshold. Its authority is limited to canceling pending transactions inside the two-day governance timelock — it cannot move treasury funds, create proposals, or replace canceled transactions with alternative actions. The mandate covers attacks involving stolen governance credentials, vote buying, flash loans, and other methods used to gain voting power outside ordinary market participation. Controversial policy decisions alone do not give the council grounds to intervene. The move adds a final security check after voting closes but before onchain execution takes effect. ENS cited the July 2025 BonkDAO attack, where a malicious proposal drained roughly $20 million worth of BONK from the treasury, as well as the 2022 Beanstalk exploit and the 2023 Tornado Cash governance takeover, as examples of threats the council is designed to address. The new council's term runs until July 16, 2028, after which ENS DAO must approve an extension through another governance vote. **Council composition and selection** The eight members were chosen through a ranked-choice election under governance proposal EP 6.50. They include ENS founder Nick Johnson, Hudson Jameson, Pablo Sabbatella, Colton Liberacki, Kevin Gaspar, Alex Van de Sande, Griff Green, and Alex Netto. Candidates needed a record in ENS governance or professional experience in smart contract security, incident response, governance design, or multisig operations. Members must follow a public charter, sign appointment agreements with the ENS Foundation, and complete identity and background checks. ENS said the framework includes a process for removing council members who knowingly operate outside their approved authority. **How the veto mechanism works** Successful proposals do not execute immediately after voting closes. They enter a two-day timelock period, giving the community time to inspect queued transactions. The council can intervene during that window only when a proposal meets defined emergency conditions set out in the council charter. The outgoing council's cancellation authority expires on July 24. ENS activated the replacement before the previous authority ended to avoid leaving the DAO without an emergency cancellation mechanism during the transition. **Implications for DAO governance security** The ENS model addresses a structural weakness exposed by recent DAO attacks. In the BonkDAO case, the attacker acquired enough voting power to pass a malicious proposal while low participation left the treasury exposed to governance capture. The Beanstalk exploit used a flash loan to temporarily gain voting power. The Tornado Cash attack involved a proposal that appeared legitimate during review but changed behavior after approval. ENS said stronger delegation and voter participation can make some governance attacks more expensive, but those measures cannot fully address compromised credentials, coordinated token purchases, bribery, or proposals containing hidden malicious code. The Security Council adds a separate review window after voting ends — a safeguard that BonkDAO, Beanstalk, and Tornado Cash all lacked. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.