Shares in Serve Robotics (SERV -2.76%) rose by 15.7% in the week through Friday morning, driven higher by the initiation of coverage by Wedbush Securities, whose analyst Dan Ives slapped a $15 price target on the stock and gave it an “outperform” rating. Given that the price target represents a 33% premium to the stock price at the time of writing, it’s not too late to buy in if you have confidence in the analyst’s expectations.

Serve Robotics’ expansion plan

While it’s never a good idea to slavishly follow Wall Street analysts, there’s certainly a case for the stock based on the growth potential for its last-mile delivery of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven robots. Last-mile deliveries to residential addresses can be costly and inefficient, and it makes perfect logistical and commercial sense to have them carried out by robots; hence Serve’s contract with Uber Eats.

Management has already launched the service in Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, and Atlanta, and expects to scale these locations while launching additional ones in Chicago and ultimately reaching 2,000 robots in service by the end of the year.

Where next for Serve Robotics?

The Wall Street consensus predicts sales to surge by $35 million in 2026 and then $71 million in 2027, driven by the rollout. That’s fair enough, but before investing in the stock, consider that this is a competitive field. Unlike Tesla and its robotaxi rollout, Serve simply doesn’t have a dominant market position in the type of vehicle/robot used in service. That might put pressure on its ability to grow margins in the future.

Lee Samaha has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Serve Robotics, Tesla, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

American economist Paul Krugman, who won the Nobel Prize in 2008, believes that stablecoins do not have any practical utility. In a May 30 blog post entitled ‘Digital Corruption Takes Over DC,’ Krugman opined that “stablecoins don’t serve any clearly useful function,” adding:

“They [stablecoins] can’t be used to make ordinary purchases, and there’s nothing you can do with them that can’t be done more cheaply and more easily with debit cards, Venmo, Zelle, wire transfers, etc.”

Therefore, Krugman questioned why anyone would not just use U.S. dollars instead of using tokens that are “supposedly backed by dollars.”

According to Krugman, stablecoins offer one feature that traditional modes of payment do not: anonymity. The anonymity associated with stablecoin deposits is a “valuable feature” for miscreants looking to commit crimes, from money laundering and extortion to the purchase of illegal drugs, he wrote, adding:

“In other words, the only economic reason for stablecoins is to facilitate criminal activity.”

Krugman calls stablecoin issuers ‘teched-up versions of antebellum banks’

In 1861, the U.S. federal government printed paper currency for the first time to fund the Civil War. Prior to that, gold and silver were the only official forms of money.

Before the federal government started printing paper currency, several private and unregulated banks, called antebellum banks, issued their own paper notes to ease daily transactions. Users could exchange these antebellum bank notes for gold or silver at any time. However, according to Krugman, most of these antebellum banks were “wildcat banks” that were set up with the sole purpose of defrauding users, leading to devastating bank runs in the 1930s.

According to Krugman, stablecoins are the modern-day version of antebellum notes, with the only difference being that these currencies served a purpose: filling the role of currency issuers in the absence of federal notes. Therefore, Krugman likens stablecoin issuers to the antebellum banks of the 19th century. He wrote:

“So, like antebellum bank notes, which were privately issued currencies supported by the claim that they were backed by gold and silver, stablecoins are privately issued tokens supported by the claim that they are backed by dollars.”

He went on to write that just as the 2008 financial crisis was triggered by ‘shadow banks’ that “evaded precautionary regulation,” stablecoins are “a new kind of shadow bank.”

Krugman says GENIUS Act backers have a vested interest

Krugman opined that lawmakers who are backing the U.S. stablecoin bill, dubbed the GENIUS Act, have a vested interest in passing the legislation. According to him, some of these lawmakers are “probably” aware of how stablecoins can facilitate crime. However, he added:

“…it’s difficult to get someone to understand something when their campaign contributions and, in some cases, their personal wealth depends on their not understanding it.”

Stablecoin issuers have repeatedly tried to assure users that their tokens are largely backed by U.S. Treasury bills. However, Krugman explained that the practice poses a significant risk to the U.S. economy.

This is because, like a bank run, if there is a rush of users trying to redeem their stablecoins for U.S. dollars at the same time, it would force issuers into a “fire sale” of treasury bills. This, in turn, would raise interest rates and turn into a “run on government debt,” threatening the financial stability of the entire economy. He noted:

“The fundamental point is that the growth and legitimation of stablecoins poses new risks to overall financial stability — all in the name of making it easier for criminals to do their business.”

He concluded that the consideration of the GENIUS Act indicates that Washington, DC, has turned into a town that “if not entirely controlled by the digital Mob, has at least been largely bought and paid for.”

Coin Metrics co-founder calls Krugman ‘misinformed’

Nic Carter, co-founder of blockchain data aggregator Coin Metrics and general partner at Castle Island Ventures, a crypto and blockchain-focused venture capital firm, believes Krugman’s view on stablecoins is wrong. In a post on X on Sunday, he wrote:

“for a “nobel” winning economist he [Krugman] is remarkably misinformed about the subject matter.”

Carter noted that the more than 100 million people who use stablecoins would “beg to differ” from Krugman’s claim that stablecoins do not have any utility.

Carter was not alone in criticizing Krugman’s claims. Responding to Carter’s post, Paul “Teddy” Fusaro, president of crypto asset manager Bitwise Asset Management, noted that calling Krugman “remarkably misinformed” is “remarkably generous” on Carter’s part.

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Sonic, the first chain extension built on Solana, launched its Mobius mainnet today (February 27).

The blockchain solution aims to extend Solana’s capabilities, enhance scalability, and provide a dedicated layer for high-volume decentralized applications (dApps).

Mobius Goes Live

According to a document shared with CryptoPotato, the Mobius mainnet will enable Sonic to serve as a seamless extension of Solana, allowing developers to easily migrate existing applications and benefit from the chain’s powerful features.

Some of these include the use of SOL for gas fees and full interoperability with Solana’s accounts via an Interoperability API. In addition, Sonic is compatible with key ecosystem protocols like Metaplex, Pyth, and Hyperlane, offering developers a powerful set of tools.

Mobius embodies the goal of creating a cohesive Solana ecosystem, aligning with the network’s evolving vision for 2025 and beyond. Leveraging the HyperGrid framework, Solana’s pioneering scaling technology, Sonic boosts customization and scalability while maintaining full compatibility with Solana’s mainnet.

The launch of Mobius capitalizes on Sonic’s current momentum, including a $1 million Hackathon encouraging developers to build dApps on Sonic’s layer-2. By connecting EVM and SVM environments, the solution provides cross-chain projects with access to Solana’s liquidity and network benefits.

It is worth mentioning that Sonic offers transaction fees that are 50% lower than Solana. It eliminates block space competition to ensure smoother performance for DeFi, GameFi, and social dApps. Last but not least, HyperGrid enables Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) developers to write applications in familiar languages, with execution and settlement occurring on Solana.

‘The Beginning of a New Era for Web3’

Speaking on the aforementioned initiative was Chris Zhu, co-founder and CEO of Sonic SVM. He claimed his entity has demonstrated “remarkable traction” during the testnet phase, with countless games and dApps deployed and over 8 million users onboarded.

“The launch of Mobius Mainnet – named after the infinite continuity of the Möbius strip – marks the beginning of a new era for Web3 applications on the SVM.

This milestone represents the collaborative effort of not just our team, but a cohort of partners across the Solana ecosystem – from infrastructure providers and dApp builders to the Solana Foundation and community leaders like Superteam. We’re incredibly excited to see these collective efforts come to life with Mobius, and we can’t wait to showcase the innovative projects emerging from our ecosystem,” he added.