A Goldman Sachs executive is warning that the US economy is losing momentum after a sharp downward revision in job creation over the past few months.

On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revised down the job growth figures for June from 147,000 to 14,000, a 90% drop.

Figures for May were also revised down from 144,000 to 19,000, bringing the combined two-month downward revision to 258,000 jobs.

In a new CNBC interview, Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius says the jobs data suggest that the US economy is losing steam.

“Weeks ago, we wrote a report with the title ‘Stall Speed.’ We have only a little more than 1% growth in GDP in the first half and with this jobs number, I think that brings the picture to clearly stall speed image. 

I’m looking at an economy that is still growing but is growing very slowly. And the unemployment rate is drifting higher, gradually. But I do think that the downside risks in the labor market…. are definitely there.”

According to Hatzius, the Fed now has the green light to cut rates in the coming months to support the labor market.

“I think it makes it even more likely that they’re going to cut in September. We have had a series of 25 basis point cuts in September, October, December and to me that seems very likely.

And it could be more. 

It’s certainly a reasonable idea that we’re in the restrictive territory, but this sort of data suggests that maybe we should get back to neutral a little bit more quickly. We have that happening over a longer period of time, but you could accelerate the process.”

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The following is a guest post and opinion from Michael Egorov, Founder of Curve Finance.

As DeFi edges closer to mainstream finance, it must balance neutrality, security, and throughput. In 2025, that balance is increasingly defined by two competing architectural visions.

The evolution of DeFi has always hinged on one core question: what kind of infrastructure do we want to build the future of finance on? As the space matures and edges toward integration with global financial systems, the urgency of this question only intensifies.

In 2025, this decision is no longer purely technical. It’s a contest between two visions: Ethereum’s modular, decentralization-first stack and Solana’s high-performance, monolithic approach. The outcome will help determine what the next phase of blockchain-based finance looks like—and shape the architecture of tomorrow’s global financial systems.

In this article, I share my perspective on how both networks are positioning themselves for the future, and which is more likely to emerge ahead in the long run.

Ethereum: The Foundation of Serious DeFi

Ethereum is more than just a blockchain—it’s the bedrock of modern DeFi. It’s where secure, composable applications can thrive and where long-term financial infrastructure is being built. Institutional players turn to Ethereum when they want to tokenize assets with confidence, and capital flows here for security. The fact that over 55% of total value locked (TVL) across major chains resides on Ethereum attests to its dominance.

Unlike Solana’s one-size-fits-all Layer 1, Ethereum has embraced a modular scaling approach. Layer 1 remains the core foundation, while Layer 2s handle specific workloads such as micro-transactions or gaming, avoiding congestion on the main chain. This structure preserves decentralization while enabling scale. With the rollout of Proto-Danksharding in early 2025, Layer 2 transaction costs have dropped significantly—cementing Ethereum’s lead in modular architecture.

That said, Ethereum’s model has trade-offs. Its reliance on Layer 2s can introduce fragmentation. Some DeFi primitives need to live on Layer 1 for full composability. While isolated applications like order book DEXs can function on L2s, these solutions often feel like a temporary fix, not a long-term design. Truly integrated DeFi demands synchronous, on-chain composability—which works best when everything operates at the same base layer.

But Ethereum’s greatest strength is its uncompromising commitment to decentralization. It is one of the most politically neutral blockchains in existence—a key trait in an increasingly regulated environment. Speed and user experience can be optimized over time, but decentralization is a founding principle. Once compromised, it’s nearly impossible to restore.

Developer experience is another edge. Writing smart contracts on Ethereum is significantly simpler than on Solana, enabling developers to produce secure, well-tested code. This maturity is part of the reason why Ethereum developers are comfortable making contracts immutable—there’s confidence in the security. It’s no coincidence that nearly every major DeFi innovation originated on Ethereum. With over 1,388 deployed protocols compared to Solana’s 232, the numbers speak for themselves.

When security, composability, and developer confidence align, the entire ecosystem benefits.

Solana: Fast and Efficient, But Centralized

Solana addresses the same scaling challenge from a different angle. Its monolithic architecture keeps everything on a single Layer 1. This offers tangible benefits: extremely fast transactions, low fees, and a seamless user experience.

From a raw performance standpoint, Solana is compelling—capable of processing 3,000–4,000 transactions per second (TPS) today, with expectations of reaching over 1 million TPS through the upcoming Firedancer validator. These numbers, based on testnet results, are impressive compared to Ethereum’s average of 15–30 TPS.

However, this performance comes with trade-offs. Solana’s design includes a leader node that sequences transactions. While this improves throughput, it introduces centralization risks. The network is distributed, but not truly decentralized. That distinction matters—especially in a world where institutions prioritize political neutrality and censorship resistance.

Still, not every use case requires deep decentralization. For example, internal CBDCs or consumer-facing applications in gaming and fintech may benefit from Solana’s throughput and UX. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see state-adapted versions of Solana deployed in controlled environments.

Yet despite Solana’s momentum, Ethereum remains the platform of choice for what I call “serious money.”

Structural Soundness vs. Mass Adoption

The core DeFi debate in 2025—and beyond—centers on what the sector should optimize for: structural integrity or mass adoption? Should we build resilient, decentralized, and composable systems, even if they’re slower and more complex? Or prioritize scale and UX at the expense of core crypto values?

Chasing adoption without structural soundness is short-sighted. If protocols compromise on security or decentralization, regulators will inevitably impose the same constraints that burden traditional finance. At that point, the promise of DeFi would be lost.

That’s why institutional capital continues to favor Ethereum—and why I believe that preference will hold. Neutrality and security can’t be retrofitted; they must be built into the base layer from the start.

If we want DeFi to outlast the hype cycles and form the backbone of a new global financial order, Ethereum offers the most robust path forward. It gives us the best shot at building financial rails that are resilient, secure, and unco-optable.

Mentioned in this article

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) crossed $80 billion in assets under management on July 10, becoming the fastest exchange-traded fund (ETF) to reach the threshold in 374 trading days.

Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted on X that IBIT outperformed the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), which took 1,814 days to accumulate the same asset base, and surpassed comparable milestones for international-equity funds IEFA (2,034 days) and IEMG (2,089 days). 

The attached performance chart shows IBIT’s trajectory surpassing that of its peers well before its first anniversary. At $83 billion as of late July 11, IBIT ranks as the 21st-largest ETF in the United States.

Inflows surge alongside the milestone

US spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $1.18 billion on July 10, the third-largest daily haul recorded for these products, according to CoinShares head of research James Butterfill. 

Farside Investors data added that IBIT led with $448.5 million, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC at $324.3 million and Ark 21Shares’ ARKB at $268.7 million.

Furthermore, Farside data shows cumulative net inflows of $51.3 billion across the 12 US spot Bitcoin ETFs through July 11.

IBIT accounts for $53.45 billion of that total, followed by FBTC with $12.62 billion, Ark 21Shares’ ARKB with $3.02 billion, and Bitwise’s BITB with $2.29 billion. 

GBTC’s $23.38 billion in redemptions offsets a large share of industry inflows, yet still leaves the group’s net figure firmly positive.

Bitbo data show that the 12 US spot Bitcoin ETFs now hold 1.26 million BTC, worth approximately $149 billion, equivalent to 6% of the eventual 21 million supply. 

IBIT alone controls 706,008 BTC, roughly 56% of the cohort, valued at $83 billion. Fidelity’s FBTC sits a distant second at $24.4 billion, while Grayscale’s GBTC retains $21.7 billion after months of redemptions.

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Ethereum’s core developers are pushing for a major technical change that could reshape how quickly the network processes transactions.

On June 21, Barnabé Monnot, one of Ethereum’s core contributors, suggested a new proposal, EIP-7782, which would halve the block slot time from 12 seconds to 6 seconds.

According to him:

“Shorter slot times make Ethereum a better confirmation engine, which is arguably one of its main value propositions for apps and rollups settling on Ethereum L1. Everyone benefits directly.”

EIP-7782 benefits

He explained that the proposed changes would improve confirmation speed, reduce trading costs on decentralized platforms, and create better conditions for cross-chain protocols.

The proposal also includes adjustments to the timing of several core blockchain operations, such as attestation and aggregation windows.

Under EIP-7782, the block proposal slot would shrink from 4 seconds to 3. Attestations and aggregations would move even faster, cut from 4 seconds to 1.5 each.

Monnot has proposed that the EIP should headline Ethereum’s upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade. He said:

“There are multiple slot restructuring proposals already made for Glamsterdam (EIPs 7732 and 7886), focused more on scaling We want to use our Glamsterdam proposal as a place to highlight the value of shorter slot times, and progress the conversation towards their implementation.”

Meanwhile, this push for faster slot times aligns with the Ethereum Foundation’s broader goal of enhancing the network’s Layer 1 performance and refining user experience.

Considering this, Storm Slivkoff, a research partner at Paradigm, supports the proposal. He noted that reducing latency could be the most valuable upgrade included in Glamsterdam, especially as transaction fees drop below $0.10.

In such an environment, increasing block size yields diminishing returns. Instead, improving block quality becomes more critical.

Ethereum’s ecosystem growth

The proposal comes as Ethereum’s activity hits new highs amid rising institutional adoption.

According to GrowThePie data, more than 20 million active addresses interacted with the network last week, setting a record. However, most of that activity happened on layer-2 networks, such as the Coinbase-backed Base.

So, as Ethereum’s Layer-1 developers now propose making the core network faster and more efficient. If successful, the proposed slot time cut could improve performance where speed, cost, and usability matter most.

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Tesla (TSLA 8.19%) and its CEO Elon Musk recently achieved a big milestone — they launched the company’s first self-driving robotaxis for paying customers in Austin, Texas. It’s an initiative that Musk first discussed in 2016. While it looks more like a soft launch, it’s still a big step for Tesla, which plans to launch a fully autonomous robotaxi fleet. Many investors think that could be a massive new business for the company that will justify Tesla’s monster valuation.

Still, Tesla has a lot going on right now. Remember, the company’s core business is still electric vehicles (EVs), and that business is facing a critical event in just a few weeks’ time.

Q2 EV Deliveries to soon be announced

Tesla is expected to announce its second-quarter EV delivery figures in the first week of July. As many investors likely recall, first-quarter deliveries came in at roughly 337,000, its lowest quarterly number in over two years. Many investors have been concerned that Musk’s close ties to President Donald Trump and his period of leading Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have alienated a significant portion of Tesla’s potential customer base.

Image source: Getty Images.

While Musk has stepped down from his work with DOGE to refocus on his businesses, data thus far on Tesla’s sales in the second quarter has been less than encouraging. Monthly sales data from Europe showed that Tesla’s sales once again faltered in April in countries including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, Sweden, and France.

Other data suggests that its sales in China have struggled in the second quarter as well. Aside from politics and brand image, Tesla may also be struggling there as a result of increasing competition from competitors like BYD, which has grabbed a dominant market share in China. BYD’s EVs are cheaper and its newest tech can charge faster than Tesla’s. These factors, in my opinion, will pose a bigger problem for Tesla than its brand or political issues, which are likely to fade over time.

Wall Street analysts are modeling for second-quarter deliveries of roughly 400,000, which would be an improvement from the first quarter, but a 10% year-over-year decline. However, some analysts don’t expect investors to care much if Tesla misses estimates.

“The Tesla narrative has increasingly turned to AV/Robotaxi, with investors likely more focused on the planned June 22 Robotaxi launch and Tesla’s path to scaling AV than on 2Q deliveries/overall fundamentals,” wrote Barclays analyst Dan Levy in a recent research note. Levy is modeling for 375,000 Tesla EV deliveries in the second quarter.

Other analysts are more concerned.

In early June, Wells Fargo analyst Colin Langan posted a research note suggesting Tesla’s deliveries in the second quarter were down 21% year-over-year on a quarter-to-date basis. Langan has a sell rating on the stock and a price target that implies a downside of more than 60%.

It’s also worth noting that Tesla has become a battleground stock, with some analysts extremely negative and others like Wedbush’s Dan Ives very bullish.

Will anyone care if Tesla disappoints?

At this point, there have been many negative headlines about Tesla’s EV deliveries in the second quarter, but the stock is up close to 24% quarter to date as of June 20.

As Levy mentioned, most Tesla shareholders at this point appear to be focused on future initiatives like robotaxis and Optimus humanoid robots. If Tesla does underperform on EV deliveries, I think it could suggest that the core EV business has a real problem and is being undermined by more than just Musk’s politics, which would present a fundamental problem for the EV business.

The stock may not fall much, but then investors will be heavily dependent on the performance of the robotaxi fleet, and reliant upon the Optimus robot business to scale up quickly as well. With Tesla trading at 168 times forward earnings, that bet is only becoming riskier for investors.

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Crypto exchange Bybit has announced the development of its first decentralized exchange, Byreal, built on the Solana blockchain. The platform is expected to enter testnet on June 30, with a mainnet launch planned for the third quarter of 2025.

This marks a significant step for Bybit as it expands into decentralized finance (DeFi) infrastructure, aligning with broader market trends favoring transparency and decentralization.

Hybrid Trading Model and New Features

Bybit CEO Ben Zhou shared the update via social media, describing the new platform as a “hybrid model” that combines centralized exchange liquidity with “decentralized transparency.”

The announcement comes at a time when decentralized exchanges (DEXs) are steadily increasing their share of global spot trading volume, indicating a shift in user preference towards non-custodial solutions.

According to Zhou, Byreal incorporates features such as Request For Quote (RFQ) and Concentrated Liquidity Market Maker (CLMM) routing.

These mechanisms are designed to provide users with reduced slippage and more transparent trade execution, often associated with higher-frequency trading strategies on centralized platforms.

Bybit believes that such a setup allows for a more balanced and efficient market-making process within a decentralized framework. In addition to standard trading functions, Byreal will also support unique DeFi offerings, including a curated token launchpad and yield-generating vaults.

The platform plans to offer access to assets such as bbSOL, a liquid staking derivative on Solana. This broader suite of services positions Byreal to compete not just with DEXs like Raydium or Orca but also with token launch and yield platforms built on Ethereum and BNB Chain.

Lily Liu, president of the Solana Foundation, commented on the collaboration, emphasizing the potential for synergy between centralized and decentralized exchanges.

She stated that the combination of liquidity from centralized exchanges and the global accessibility of DEXs contributes to the broader vision of an open financial market on the internet.

Cex / Dex can work in harmony, and amplify one another.

The asset diversity and global availability of a dex, plus the liquidity of a cex.

Building internet capital markets means having asset and product venue diversity, all on the shared rails.

We are excited to collaborate!… https://t.co/1Q75QWxsdw

— Lily Liu (@calilyliu) June 15, 2025

Rising DEX Market Share and Solana’s Role

Bybit’s move comes during a noticeable uptick in DEX activity. In May 2025, DEXs accounted for over 20% of the global spot trading volume, according to data from DefiLlama. PancakeSwap currently leads the market with $132 billion in monthly volume, and the total trading volume across DEXs stands at $405.88 billion.

The growing popularity of these platforms signals increasing confidence in decentralized protocols for executing trades without intermediaries.

The Solana network has played a significant role in this trend. As of June, Solana-based DEXs hold roughly $77.43 billion in monthly volume, with majority concentrated on Raydium.

Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from TradingView

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