RS_SHANTO

✈️🧳 A thread (but not really because Square doesn’t do threads, but pretend with me).

Real story:

September 2025. Korea Blockchain Week. I’m jetlagged, caffeinated, and sitting in a venue in Seoul watching dancers in matching outfits perform on a stage that says $FOGO Bytedance Fogo Fest 2025.

It’s hype. The energy is immaculate. This is the birth of a new L1.

Then @therealchaseeb from Solana Mobile replies to the video with three words that change history:

“You mean BOGO Fest?”

And suddenly Fogo is no longer just a high-performance SVM chain with sub-40ms latency and Firedancer under the hood.

It’s BOGO. Buy One Get One. The chain that gives you two blocks for the price of one.

The comments section LOST it.

“Bogo fest i like.”

“This is the least cringe thing I’ve seen from them.”

Someone immediately started drafting the $FOGO whitepaper, I just know it.

And this THIS is why I’m still here.

@Fogo Official has Wall Street cred. Citadel. Jump. Morgan Stanley. $13.5M raised. SVM optimized until it screams.

But they also let a typo become lore.

They let the community run with the bit. They let “BOGO” sit in the replies and breathe. They don’t take themselves so seriously that they forget crypto is supposed to be fun.

You can have ultra-low latency AND inside jokes about dance performances. You can have institutional capital AND a fisherman staring at your bags. These things are not mutually exclusive.

So here’s to Fogo.

The fastest chain that also somehow became a fishing simulator AND a BOGO meme.

I flew 15 hours. I watched the dancers. I saw the typo.

0 regrets. 🕺

#fogo #BOGOFest #IBoughtTheTicket

🧢 Wipes sweat off forehead. Adjusts red bandana. Stares directly into your soul.

Okay who gave Tonico El Pescador access to my portfolio?

I open @Fogo Disc yesterday. I just want to check if my airdrop eligibility passed. INSTEAD I get aggressively interrogated by a man who looks like he wrestles marlins for fun and smells like saltwater and victory.

“What you gonna do with all that FISH?”

BRO. I DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW I GOT HERE.

One minute I’m farming points like a degens. Next minute @Fogo Official drops the first ever onchain game and suddenly I’m a fisherman? I didn’t sign up for maritime labor. I signed up for 40ms block times and Firedancer validation.

But here we are.

The meta flipped so fast I got whiplash. We went from “wen mainnet” to “wen rod upgrade.” Everyone in Discord is now a self-proclaimed Captain. People are naming their boats. There’s a guy roleplaying as Tonico in VC. I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP.

And the worst part?

The game is actually fun. 🎣

You cast. You reel. You stack FISH. No lag. No “transaction failed” popup. No paying $50 in gas just to watch a JPEG swim away. This is what happens when you build an SVM L1 with ex-Citadel quants and Jump traders—they turn mainnet stress tests into a fishing derby and somehow it SLAPS.

So yeah Tonico. I have 10,000 FISH.

What am I gonna do with it?

I’m gonna catch more. Obviously.

Now if you‘ll excuse me, my boat leaves at dawn. Something about “multi-local consensus” or whatever.🧢🐟

#fogo #NotASeaCaptain #JustHereForTheFISH

"Zero-fee USDT transfers." It's Plasma's headline feature. It's on every blog post, every tweet, every Binance Square article. It's the bait. And like all good bait, it comes with an invisible hook.

Here's what the marketing material doesn't put in the big font: The free lane is centralized. Like, explicitly, openly, we-are-not-even-hiding-it centralized. At least for now .

The Plasma team looked at the blockchain trilemma—scalability, security, decentralization—and said, "What if we just... didn't do one of those for a bit?" The "economy lane" for zero-fee transfers runs on a permissioned validator set. Trusted participants. Vetted entities. People who have signed contracts and have reputations to lose. It's less "decentralized money" and more "an exclusive country club where everyone knows the handshake."

And you know what? It's actually the most honest thing a crypto project has said all year.

Every other chain pretends their fee spikes are "market dynamics" and their congestion is "organic growth." Plasma just admits: "Look, we're bootstrapping this thing. The free transfers are running on training wheels. We'll take them off later. For now, don't abuse it or we'll notice."

Because here's the other thing they don't advertise on the billboards: Anti-spam rules. Minimum balances. Frequency limits . You can't just spin up 10,000 wallets and drain the free lane for fun. There are velvet ropes. There is a bouncer. His name is probably something like "Validator Node #7" and he works for a regulated financial institution.

This is the part that makes traditional crypto maxis spit out their kombucha. A chain that is:

· EVM-compatible ✅

· Sub-second finality ✅

· Zero-fee USDT ✅

· Actually decentralized at launch ❌

And the market responded by depositing $1 billion in 30 minutes .

Turns out, when you ask normal people—not ideology warriors, but actual businesses sending actual money—whether they care about "permissionless validator entry" or "predictable settlement," they pick the second one every time. They don't want to run a node. They want their invoice paid.

So Plasma's free lane is centralized. It's also fast, free, and processing real volume for real merchants. The training wheels are on, but the bike is moving. And unlike every other blockchain that crashed into a tree trying to prove how decentralized it was on day one, Plasma is just... riding.

The roadmap says the lane will decentralize over time. Phase 1: trusted validators. Phase 2: horizontal scaling. Phase 3: open participation . By then, the free lane will be so boring and reliable that no one will remember the screaming matches about "true decentralization." They'll just remember that sending money cost zero dollars and took one second.

And that's the quiet, almost subversive genius of it. Plasma isn't trying to win a philosophical debate. It's trying to win a market. And the market, it turns out, is totally fine with velvet ropes—as long as they lead to a faster exit.

So go ahead, call it centralized. Call it permissioned. Call it "blockchain for the people or a gift to venture capital" . Meanwhile, Plasma's free lane is processing payments, whales are locked up until 2026, and the team is building something that might actually outlive the word "wen."

The revolution won't be perfectly decentralized. It'll just be really, really cheap.

@Plasma #plasma $XPL

Why Plasma's US Investors Are Basically In Crypto Jail (And Why It's Actually Genius)

Let's play a game. You're an American crypto investor. You've been watching Plasma's rise with growing interest—the billion-dollar raises, the zero-fee USDT transfers, the Bitcoin bridge. You want in. You're ready to ape. You click "Participate." And then you read the fine print, and your soul leaves your body.

Congratulations. Your tokens are now in federal custody until July 28, 2026.

That's not an exaggeration. That's the actual date. July 28, 2026 . You will have witnessed approximately 47 different "Next Big Things" in crypto come and go, three bear markets, two bull runs, and possibly the heat death of the universe before you can touch your XPL.

Meanwhile, your non-American counterpart? He clicks "Buy," the tokens land in his wallet, and he's selling into the volatility within minutes. You're both investors in the same project, living in the same timeline, but you are separated by an invisible wall of regulatory compliance that might as well be made of titanium and spite.

Here's where it gets funny. The Plasma team isn't doing this to be cruel. They're doing it because U.S. securities laws are a minefield, and the penalty for accidentally stepping on one is a federal felony . The Wang family's WLFI project—you know, the one backed by a former president—didn't even dare to sell to Americans . So Plasma's approach is essentially: "Fine. You can buy. But we're locking your money in a time capsule and throwing away the key for a full calendar year. You'll thank us later when you're not being deposed."

This creates a beautiful, absurd hierarchy of Plasma investors:

· Tier 1: Non-US holders. Free birds. Sell when you want. No parental supervision.
· Tier 2: US holders. You are in crypto jail. Your tokens are behind glass. You can look at them on the explorer. Maybe whisper sweet nothings. But you cannot touch.
· Tier 3: The team, investors, and ecosystem participants. All locked for three years . These people are not in jail. They are in maximum-security solitary confinement, and they threw away the key themselves.

And this is the twist that makes it almost beautiful. The team, the VCs, the ecosystem funds—they're all sitting in the same boat, equally unable to dump on you. Framework Ventures? Locked. Founders Fund? Locked. Bitfinex? Locked. Everyone who put money in before mainnet is staring at the same "Unlock Date: T+1095 days" notification .

It's a hostage situation, but everyone is holding themselves hostage. The message is clear: "We cannot rug you because we have physically and contractually prevented ourselves from moving." It's like a bank where the tellers have handcuffed themselves to the vault door. Inefficient? Yes. Reassuring? Also yes.

The result is a token distribution model that looks less like a standard crypto launch and more like a multi-year trust exercise. The median contribution in the pre-TGE was roughly $12,000 per wallet . That's not degenerate degen money. That's "I did my research and I'm willing to wait" money. That's the opposite of "wen moon."

So here's to the American XPL holders, staring at their locked tokens, counting the days until July 2026. You are the unsung martyrs of regulatory compliance. You are the proof that Plasma is playing the long game. And in a year and a half, when everyone else has panic-sold and you're finally free, you get to say the most powerful words in investing:

"I never sold."

@Plasma #plasma $XPL

Avviso: Il seguente documento è stato presumibilmente scoperto appuntato sotto un contenitore di yogurt scaduto nella sala break di una grande azienda di VC. Vanar non è menzionato per nome, ma le descrizioni sono... specifiche.

A: Comitato per gli Investimenti

DA: Associato Junior che non ha dormito da 72 ore

RE: Quel Progetto Blockchain AI che Facciamo Finta di Comprendere

DATA: [REDACTED]

OGGETTO: Memo di Validazione della Tesi - Progetto "Dinosauro Intelligente" (Nome in codice: Vanar)

Team,

Dopo il nostro quarto incontro generale in cui il Partner Dave l'ha ripetutamente chiamato "quel blockchain canadese" (non è canadese), ho preparato questo riassunto semplificato della tesi. Ho rimosso tutto il gergo tecnico per garantire la comprensione. Questo è stato approvato dal Legale, a condizione che nessuno lo stampi.

Subject: A Field Test of Vanar's Flagship App Using the Most Demanding Focus Group Imaginable: A 58-Year-Old Man Who Still Uses Internet Explorer

Last weekend, I committed an act of borderline technological terrorism. I sat my father down in front of my laptop and said, "Dad, I need you to test this app for me. It's called MyNeutron."

He looked at me the way he did when I tried to explain NFTs in 2021—that unique blend of confusion, mild concern, and the quiet realization that his child has joined a cult. But he humored me. What happened next was both completely unexpected and deeply informative about Vanar's consumer strategy.

The Setup: "So It's Like... A Squeegee for Files?"

I gave him the pitch: "Dad, this app uses AI to compress files so small they can live on a blockchain forever. You can upload anything—old family videos, tax documents, that weird recipe for pickled eggs you like—and it stores a permanent, unchangeable version."

He squinted. "So it's like Dropbox, but with extra steps?"

"No, it's like... okay, imagine you have a giant inflatable pool toy. This app sucks all the air out, folds it into the size of a credit card, and then builds a permanent vault for it. When you want the toy again, it reinflates it perfectly."

"...So it's a squeegee for files?"

"Yes, Dad. It's a digital squeegee. Now please just try it."

The Experiment: Compression of the Household

He started small. A grocery list. Then his fishing license. Then a blurry photo of our dog from 2007.

"Huh," he said. "It made that picture tiny. And it says here it's... on the 'chain' now? Is that like a cloud?"

"Kind of. It's permanent. Nobody can delete it or change it. That photo of Rusty is now immortalized in the semantic memory layer of an AI-native Layer 1 blockchain."

He stared at me. He stared at the screen. He uploaded his entire tax folder from 2018.

Three hours later, I found him trying to compress a banana.

What I Learned About Vanar's Consumer Play

My father, a man who still prints directions from MapQuest, used MyNeutron for four straight hours. He didn't care about decentralization, consensus mechanisms, or the $VANRY token. He cared about one thing: the app did something useful, quickly, for free.

This is Vanar's secret weapon. While we're all doomscrolling Discord debating validator rewards, normal people are over here compressing banana photos because it actually works and solves a real problem.

The "Oh God, Now I Have to Explain Tokenomics to My Dad" Moment

Eventually, he asked the question I dreaded: "So how do they make money if it's free?"

I took a breath. "Well, Dad, there's this token called VANRY. For basic users, it's free. But power users—people who need to compress terabytes of data or use the AI to analyze their documents—will pay subscriptions. And part of that subscription fee burns the token, which creates scarcity and—"

"So it's like Costco," he interrupted. "Free samples to get you in the door, then you buy the membership."

I opened my mouth. I closed it. He was absolutely right.

The Verdict

My father now has a MyNeutron account. He's compressed 47 files. He asks me weekly if the "digital squeegee" has added any new features. He has absolutely no idea what a blockchain is and, at this point, I'm afraid to tell him.

Vanar's consumer strategy isn't about converting crypto skeptics into Web3 true believers overnight. It's about building something genuinely useful, putting it in people's hands, and letting the technology fade into the background. My dad doesn't care about semantic compression protocols—he cares that his 2007 dog photo is safe forever.

Maybe that's enough. Maybe that's the whole point.

Current status: I'm expecting a call any day now that he's tried to compress the actual, physical family television. Wish me luck.

@Vanarchain #vanar $VANRY

Una Guida sul Campo alla Crisi di Identità di Plasma

Immagina di entrare in un ristorante. È nuovissimo. Il cartello all'esterno dice: "SERVIAMO TUTTI. VELOCEMENTE. GRATIS. GIUSTO."

Ti siedi. Il cameriere ti porge un menu. Ci sono due sezioni.

Sezione A: La Corsia Economica.

· Trasferimenti gratuiti di USDT.

· Zero commissioni.

· Puoi pagare il tuo amico in un altro paese e non costa nulla.

· Condizioni: Devi avere un saldo minimo. Non puoi fare spam. Potresti aspettare... qualche secondo in più. Nessun problema.

Sezione B: La Tabella dei Validatori.

· Devi mettere in stake un sacco di XPL.

Sai come quando chiedi ai tuoi genitori venti dollari e loro ti squarciano e dicono: "A cosa ti servono venti dollari?" e poi devi spiegare tutte le tue scelte di vita? È così che la maggior parte dei progetti crypto raccoglie fondi. Pregano. Si umiliano. Pubblicano un "documento di visione" con 47 diagrammi che sono in realtà solo frecce che puntano a nuvole etichettate "sinergia."

Plasma ha fatto qualcos'altro.

Il 13 giugno 2025, il team è sostanzialmente entrato nel soggiorno, ha guardato il divano dove si trovava l'intera industria delle criptovalute e ha detto con nonchalance: "Ehi, qualcuno ha 500 milioni di dollari in giro? Abbiamo bisogno di soldi per il gas."

Ok, domanda seria: se un agente AI effettua una transazione, chi paga la tassa del gas?

Questa non è una domanda filosofica da fumatori. Sta realmente accadendo. Ora abbiamo agenti AI autonomi che possono scambiare token, gestire portafogli ed eseguire strategie DeFi. Ma fino a molto recentemente, questi gremlins digitali non avevano un modo affidabile per pagarsi senza un babysitter umano che tenesse loro la mano e cliccasse "approva."

Entra Vanar, da sinistra, indossando un cappello di stagnola che funziona davvero.

La Situazione Plena: Noah AI e l'Arco dell'Astrazione dell'Account

Guarda, non so come ci siano riusciti, ma Vanar in qualche modo ha convinto Shelby American, sai, le persone che costruiscono auto così rumorose da violare le ordinanze sul rumore in tre stati, a lanciare un progetto metaverso chiamato "Shelbyverse." E ho bisogno che tu capisca quanto sia divertente questo.

Immagina questo: c'è una sala riunioni da qualche parte a Las Vegas. Da un lato, i dirigenti di Vanar in felpe eleganti che spiegano blockchain nativi dell'IA e compressione semantica. Dall'altro lato, i ragazzi di Shelby che hanno passato 40 anni a capire come mettere 800 cavalli in qualcosa che è tecnicamente legale su strada. Qualcuno in quella stanza ha detto: "Mettiamo la Shelby Cobra in Roblox," e in qualche modo nessuno ha riso.