Hey there, PoI readers! 💫

It's your favorite crypto connoisseur, Mochi, back with another fresh serving of tech and Web3 news you didn't know you needed. Today we've got Hyperliquid storming Capitol Hill, the Trump family turning Mar-a-Lago into a crypto summit, Senator Warren playing defense for your tax dollars, and AI models duking it out over smart contract security — with a surprise winner. 🏆 It's a packed edition, so grab your coffee, get comfortable, and let's dive into the chaos that is the world of digital assets!

INTEL BRIEF

🟧 Hyperliquid has launched a Washington, DC-based advocacy organization called the Hyperliquid Policy Center to push DeFi-friendly legislation in the US Congress, funded by 1 million HYPE tokens from the Hyper Foundation.

🟧 The Trump family's crypto platform, World Liberty, hosted an exclusive forum at Mar-a-Lago bringing together crypto executives, Wall Street giants, and US regulators — and announced a tokenization deal tied to a Trump-branded Maldives resort.

🟧 Senator Elizabeth Warren has sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Fed Chair Jerome Powell, urging them not to use taxpayer money to bail out the crypto industry amid Bitcoin's significant price decline.

🟧 OpenAI launched a new benchmark called EVMbench to test how well AI models can detect, patch, and exploit smart contract vulnerabilities — and Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.6 took the top spot.

Hyperliquid Just Hired a Lobbyist and Washington Will Never Be the Same

You know DeFi has leveled up when it starts sending suits to Washington. Hyperliquid, the layer-1 blockchain and perpetual futures exchange that's been quietly eating the crypto world's lunch, has officially launched the Hyperliquid Policy Center — a brand-new advocacy organization aimed at making sure US policymakers don't accidentally legislate DeFi into oblivion.

Leading the charge is Jake Chervinsky, a crypto legal veteran who previously served as policy chief at the Blockchain Association and legal head at crypto venture fund Variant. Joining him are Salah Ghazzal (formerly Variant's policy lead) and policy counsel Brad Bourque, a former associate at Sullivan & Cromwell — yes, the same law firm famously tied to the FTX saga. No pressure, Brad.

The center's mission? To carve out "a clear, regulated path for decentralized finance to thrive in the United States," with a particular focus on perpetual derivatives and blockchain-based financial infrastructure — which, conveniently, happen to be exactly what Hyperliquid specializes in. Funny how that works.

Funding the launch is the Hyper Foundation, which is tossing in 1 million Hyperliquid tokens to get the lobbying engine running. Hyperliquid co-founder Jeff Yan called this a "critical time in policy discussions," noting the platform had "lacked a unified voice" in Washington until now.

The urgency isn't just posturing. Congress is currently wrestling with crypto market structure legislation, but the bill remains stalled in the Senate over disagreements around stablecoin provisions. With traditional finance firms increasingly dipping their toes into blockchain, Chervinsky warned that if the US doesn't move fast, other nations will happily claim the throne.

America — lead, follow, or get rekt.

Hyperliquid launched the Hyperliquid Policy Center in Washington, DC to advocate for DeFi-friendly US policy, with a focus on perpetual derivatives and blockchain infrastructure.

Jake Chervinsky, a seasoned crypto lawyer, has been named founder and CEO, backed by a team of former policy and legal veterans.

The Hyper Foundation is funding the launch with 1 million HYPE tokens, as Congress remains deadlocked on broader crypto legislation.

Billionaires Senators and Crypto Bros All Walked Into Mar-a-Lago

The Trump family's crypto platform, World Liberty, hosted its inaugural World Liberty Forum at Mar-a-Lago — and the guest list read like someone mashed a crypto conference, a Senate hearing, and a Goldman Sachs board meeting into one very fancy room.

In attendance? Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (whom President Trump pardoned last year, in case you forgot), Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, and the heads of both the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange. Oh, and a couple of Republican senators, because why not.

Perhaps the most eyebrow-raising moment came from Solomon himself — a well-known crypto skeptic — who reportedly told the room he now owns "a little Bitcoin, very little." Baby steps, David. Baby steps.

Eric Trump also reportedly couldn't resist pointing out the irony of the evening, noting that some of the same institutions once believed to have shut the Trump family out of traditional banking were now sitting front row at their crypto party. Poetic, speculated to be intentional, definitely awkward for someone in that room.

Also spotted: CFTC Chair Mike Selig, the head of the agency currently pushing to regulate the crypto industry. Nothing like breaking bread with the people you're supposed to be overseeing.

On the business side, World Liberty announced a partnership with tokenization firm Securitize, with plans to tokenize loan revenue interests in a Trump-branded luxury resort in the Maldives — 100 villas, set for completion in 2030. The offering promises investors "a fixed yield and loan revenue streams" from the resort, though it's limited to accredited investors in the US.

Sun, sand, and tokenized real estate. Crypto really does have everything now.

World Liberty's Mar-a-Lago forum brought together crypto executives, Wall Street CEOs, and US regulators in what's speculated to be a major signal of crypto's mainstream arrival.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, a long-time crypto skeptic, reportedly admitted to owning "a little Bitcoin" — a notable shift in tone from TradFi's old guard.

World Liberty partnered with Securitize to tokenize revenue interests in a Trump-branded Maldives resort, offering accredited investors fixed yields and potential profit sharing upon future sale.

Elizabeth Warren Is Coming for Anyone Who Wants to Bail Out Crypto Billionaires

Mar-a-Lago, Senator Elizabeth Warren was across the country writing what is speculated to be the ultimate party-pooper letter. The Senate Banking Committee ranking member reportedly fired off correspondence to both Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Fed Chair Jerome Powell, with one very clear message: don't you dare bail out crypto billionaires with taxpayer money.

The timing? Chef's kiss. The letter landed on the same day World Liberty Financial — the Trump family's crypto venture — was hosting its glitzy inaugural forum at Mar-a-Lago. Warren reportedly warned that any government bailout would be "deeply unpopular" and could "directly enrich President Trump and his family's cryptocurrency company." Subtle, it was not.

The letter was also sparked by a somewhat bewildering exchange at a Financial Stability Oversight Council hearing on February 4th, where Congressman Brad Sherman asked Bessent point-blank whether Treasury has the authority to bail out Bitcoin — or instruct banks to buy Trumpcoin. Bessent, reportedly looking bemused, asked for clarification before noting that banks "could hold many assets" within the context of diversification. He did, however, confirm that "we are retaining seized Bitcoin" — clarifying it's a government asset, not tax money.

Warren wasn't buying it, calling Bessent's response a "deflection" and stating it was "deeply unclear" what, if any, government intervention plans exist amid Bitcoin's more than 50% drop from its all-time high, which hit a local low on February 6th.

The Fed confirmed receiving the letter. Then said absolutely nothing else. Iconic.

Senator Warren urged Treasury and the Fed not to bail out crypto billionaires with taxpayer funds, warning it could directly benefit the Trump family's World Liberty Financial.

Bitcoin has fallen over 50% from its all-time high, prompting concerns over potential — though unconfirmed — government intervention in the market.

Treasury Secretary Bessent confirmed the US is retaining seized Bitcoin as a government asset, though Warren characterized his broader response to bailout questions as a deliberate deflection.

Claude Just Beat OpenAI at OpenAIs Own Smart Contract Security Game

OpenAI has pitted AI agents against each other to see who's best at sniffing out — and theoretically exploiting — smart contract vulnerabilities. Move over, gladiators. This is EVMbench.

Released in collaboration with investment firm Paradigm and security firm OtterSec, the "EVMbench: Evaluating AI Agents on Smart Contract Security" paper tested AI models across 120 smart contract vulnerabilities drawn from 40 real-world audits. The benchmark measured how much value each AI could theoretically detect or exploit — essentially asking, "how good of a crypto heist planner are you?" For science, of course.

And the winner? Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.6, which topped the leaderboard with an average "detect award" of $37,824, edging out OpenAI's own OC-GPT-5.2 at $31,623 and Google's Gemini 3 Pro at $25,112. Awkward for OpenAI to host a competition and not win it, but respect for the transparency.

The stakes here aren't trivial. Attackers stole $3.4 billion in crypto funds in 2025 — a marginal but still deeply uncomfortable increase from 2024. With smart contracts securing billions in assets, OpenAI stressed the growing importance of evaluating AI in "economically meaningful environments."

Meanwhile, Dragonfly managing partner Haseeb Qureshi offered a spicy take on X, arguing that smart contracts were never really built for human intuition — which is why signing large transactions still feels "terrifying." His thesis? AI agents acting as self-driving wallets may be the missing complement crypto has always needed, comparing the pairing to GPS and smartphones, or TCP/IP and browsers.

Crypto + AI. The crossover episode nobody predicted but everyone apparently needed.

Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.6 topped OpenAI's EVMbench, detecting a theoretical average of $37,824 in smart contract vulnerabilities, beating out OpenAI and Google's models.

The benchmark tested 120 real-world smart contract flaws, as $3.4 billion in crypto was stolen in 2025, highlighting the urgent need for AI-assisted security.

Industry voices are increasingly speculating that AI agents acting as self-driving wallets could become crypto's killer complement — similar to how browsers unlocked the internet.

And that's a wrap, my lovely PoI readers! I hope today's edition left you feeling informed, entertained, and maybe just a little bit smarter about the wild world of crypto and tech. Whether it's lobbyists, luxury resorts, Senate letters, or AI showdowns — there's never a dull moment in this space. Remember to stay curious, stay skeptical, and always DYOR (do your own research, folks). Until next time, this is Mochi, signing off with a virtual high-five!

P.S. Don't forget to share your thoughts, questions, and favorite crypto puns with us. very voice matters in the PoI community! 📣❤️ Share the newsletter

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