Video Summary - The Cycle Is Back — What Devs Should Build in 2026

Business-Focused Summary (What to Learn/Build for Web3’s Next Cycle)

Market/Industry Signals (High Level)

The speaker argues that a “crypto market comeback” is underway and that it could increase hiring activity and dev opportunities over the next 3–4 months if price momentum continues.

They use crypto price moves as a proxy for ecosystem revival and funding flows:

Solana: +69% (last 3 months)
Salana (likely Solana): +60% (last 3 months)
Hyperliquid: ~2x (last 3 months)
Lighter: ~2.5x (last 3 months)
NEAR: ~2x (last 3 months)
Zcash: ~2.5x (last 3 months); ~5x from ~$300 bottoms (~4–5 months)
Backpack: ~+50% (last 3 months)

Operational implication: when crypto prices rise, the speaker observes more job interviews, and expects additional web3 hiring if momentum holds through the next quarter (~3–4 months).

Ecosystems to Watch (and Why They “Run” Next Cycle)

The speaker frames a 2026 learning/build path across multiple ecosystems:

Solana ecosystem (including dev tooling + smart contract frameworks)
Hyperliquid (perpetual futures + decentralized exchange architecture)
“Stocks on-chain” as “the alpha for this cycle” (institutional finance rails + tokenization + broader asset availability)

They also mention additional ecosystems/products to build on:

Lighter
Near
Zcash
Backpack (not a blockchain, but “products to build on top of”)

What to Learn (Playbook-Style Roadmap)

1) Core Fundamentals (First 1–2 Weeks): Cryptography + Blockchain Architecture

Learn cryptography basics (hashing, encryption algorithms used in blockchains).
Start with the Bitcoin whitepaper as the easiest onboarding mental model for:
- what blockchains are
- decentralization
Practical note: you can build without reading the whitepaper, but it’s framed as the best “architecture primer.”

2) Rust + Low-Level Build Capability (Prerequisite for Many Teams)

The speaker recommends Rust as the primary language for blockchain core/aux projects (including core clients and many supporting tools).

Rationale:

Rust enforces memory safety (less risk vs. C++).
C++ may feel easier but is more likely unsafe unless developers manage memory carefully.

Rust Syllabus (Structured in Depth)

Tooling & ecosystem
- cargo (dependency/project tooling)
- cargo create.io / registries equivalents (compared to npm)
Language concepts
- ownership/references (the main hurdle)
- enums + pattern matching
- Options/collections + basic types
- then advanced topics: traits, generics, lifetimes, iterators, closures, smart pointers, macros
Concurrency/async
- mostly relevant for runtime-level work; smart contracts are often single-threaded
- mentions Tokyo async runtime and multi-threading concepts (e.g., Arc/Mutex/channels)

3) Solana-Focused Development Skills (Framework + Integration)

Key items:

Solana accounts model
Anchor framework (widely used for Solana programs)
Integration tests for Solana projects
Solana jargon and data/program concepts (more advanced), including:
- PDAs
- Token program / Token-2022
- on-chain finance constructs: AMMs / DMMS / CLMMs / on-chain PS (described as math-heavy and harder on Solana than Ethereum)

AI/Efficiency Angle (Execution Reality)

Smart contract writing is said to be less of a differentiator now because AI can “one-shot” many contracts.

So the emphasis shifts to “systems” skills:

indexing
data pipelines
key management
private key custody models
database synchronization

4) Indexing + Data Replication (High-Value Operational Skill)

Concrete recommendation:

Pick a token (example: “random token”).
Index buys + sells from the chain.
Store results in Postgres.

Core emphasis: at scale, most companies eventually need to copy blockchain data locally for performance and product features (framed as “niche but important”).

5) Hyperliquid Learning Plan (Derivatives + Architecture)

Prerequisite: understand perpetual futures, including:

differences vs. spot exchanges
how funding rates enable synthetic leverage mechanics
why users can reach 20x–40x leverage on assets like BTC/ETH/SOL

Under-the-hood components mentioned:

HypeBFT (consensus)
Hypercore / Hypem (split responsibilities)
Hyperunit for deposit/withdraw across blockchains

Why it matters (positioning & adoption):

Hyperliquid is positioned as “mildly decentralized” while still enabling high leverage.
Popularity drivers:
- strong historical airdrops (early users allegedly received “double digit million dollars”)
- revenue scale: ~$1B/year exchange fees (as stated)

6) “Stocks on-Chain” (Institutional Alpha → New Dev Surface Area)

Thesis: regulators (SEC, compared to SEBI) have enabled stocks to be traded on-chain with underlying assets (dividends/voting), not just derivatives.

This creates a new “rail” enabling:

leverage (perpetuals/options)
more complex on-chain financial instruments
direct holding in decentralized wallets

Examples mentioned:

Backpack, Coinbase, Robinhood bringing US stocks on-chain
Wallet example: Phantom holding stocks like Shopify/Alibaba/Nvidia/Alphabet in a wallet

Execution/opportunity implication: A “SpaceX USDC perpetual” market becomes possible when stocks become real on-chain instruments.

Concrete Projects to Build (Actionable Recommendations)

Solana / Infra Projects

Token Trade Indexing → Postgres
- Ingest chain trades (buys/sells) for a selected token
- Build fast retrieval queries + dashboards/backend logic
Private Key Management System
- If building auth/custody-like flows, study private key custody

Crypto Infrastructure / Jargon Projects (Examples + Tech Focus)

MPC-based Private Key Management using Open-Source Components
- References a prior contributor story (Super 30 cohort; named Akash) who got a job in web3
- Approach: multi-party computation (MPC) + Solana-friendly tooling

“Stocks on-Chain” Execution Projects

Clone/Build a Stock Indexing + Trading Terminal
- Motivation: speed + correctness + indexing scale
- Mentioned market player: FOMO Axium
  - speaker claims $40M revenue/month, $600–700M/year
- Cloning challenges:
  - indexing stocks on-chain
  - routing user orders
  - achieving best prices

Token Launchpad and Consumer Apps

Token Launchpads
- Positioned as likely to “stay” until next alpha
- Examples:
  - Pump
  - Pawns (Robinhood CN release; treated as successful)
Stockf.xyz
- Described as “close to Pump” with an extra mechanic:
  - tokens can be paired with real tokens (example: pair token with SOL)
  - buyers receive ongoing rewards (speaker says “monthly/hourly” rewards in SOL-like form)

Additional Learning Emphasis: “5 Jargon Deep Dive”

Private key management
Multi-party computation (MPC)
Indexing (Solana called out as particularly difficult)
Perpetual futures (centralized vs decentralized)
Stocks on-chain (how US stocks get represented/traded on-chain)

Metrics / KPIs and Targets Mentioned (Business Execution Proxies)

Hiring expectation
- If crypto prices continue like this for 3–4 months, expect “a lot of jobs in web3.”
Ecosystem revenue figures
- Hyperliquid: ~$1B/year fees/revenue (as stated)
- Axium / FOMO Axium: ~$40M revenue/month, ~$600–700M/year
Token/instrument growth
- multiple ecosystems’ % changes in the last 3 months (used as a funding/demand proxy)
Leverage ranges (product capability metric)
- Hyperliquid: ~20x leverage example
- general discussion includes 20x–40x potential

Presenter / Source(s)

Haki Singh (speaker/author of the video content)

The Cycle Is Back — What Devs Should Build in 2026

Key takeaways