My timeline probably looks like I run two different accounts: One day I’m digging through perp DEX APIs, Python scripts and funding data. The next I’m comparing crypto cards, cashback and payment infrastructure. Basically: Perp DEX Herzig - Arcus / Lighter / Variational - APIs & docs - Python - funding / OI / volume - trading infrastructure Fintech Herzig - Krak / Plasma / other crypto cards - cashback - issuers - payment rails - card infrastructure They look like two completely different rabbit holes. But to me, they’re increasingly the same story. On one side, crypto is building better infrastructure for trading. On the other, it’s building better infrastructure for actually using money. Trading. Payments. Cards. Stablecoins. APIs. Different products, same direction: crypto infrastructure slowly becoming financial infrastructure. That intersection is probably what I’m most interested in exploring. Still Python dev in the middle of it all 🐍

Took a couple of days off Twitter. Needed to disconnect for a bit. Back now. This week’s plan: > Starting to farm @risextrade properly > Moving all my capital from @arcus_xyz over to RiseX > Pushing harder on @TxFlow_L1 – this is currently my main perp DEX > Continuing to farm @variational_io and @Lighter_xyz as usual Not planning to stop on any of these until TGE. I still think these projects will give solid rewards. How’s your week looking?

My circle looks like this: Pushed the limits to fit all of you in

I’ve slowed down my active farming on @arcus_xyz and am mostly just holding my positions now. The result? Just 0.21 points this week. Yeah, that looks pretty terrible. But farming isn’t free. Trading fees, capital requirements and the opportunity cost of keeping funds on one venue all add up. At some point, I have to ask myself: is it really worth it? Maybe that capital would be better deployed on Lighter, Variational, TxFlow or even RiseX. I’m not writing Arcus off. I’m just questioning whether actively farming it still makes sense at the current cost. Points are nice. Capital efficiency matters more. Where would you allocate that capital right now?

Nice to see @TxFlow_L1 improving its mobile experience! Version 1.6 brings fiat deposits, Points, and more trading features. One thing I especially appreciate: The Arcus app isn’t available in my country, while TxFlow works here without any issues. Accessibility matters more than people think. gFlow

One trader did $20M in volume on @variational_io and earned 88.85 points. Another did just $1M and earned 122. That’s a ~27× difference in points per $1M. Welcome to Week 44. 150,000 points were distributed across 32,382 accounts. I collected 22 public farmer reports this week. Together, these traders reported: > ~1,592 VAR points > ~$63,671 at $40/pt OTC > Equivalent to ~1.06% of the weekly points pool Full Week 44 breakdown (points | volume): > @Brokelays: 232.56 | $20M > @Ryuzaki_SEI: 211 | $7.1M > @Cllmax93: ~190 | N/A > @Frajerhejt: 175 | ~$5M > @zzyxbt: 170.10 | N/A > @givenoxbt: 122 | $1M > @me_cool_off: 102 | N/A > @CryptoYieldGuy: 88.85 | $20M > @onchainmonk: 67.11 | $2M > @Alexey_Stark: 64 | $950K > @chivasxbt: 54.78 | $11.43M > @Rencrypta: ~45.47 | N/A > @matyv_7: 26.3 | $2.5M > @SyedAli44285003: ~12 | ~$2M > @Steveee_stonks: 6 | $1.5M > @Absoluto92: 5.5 | $450K > @sharkcryptottm: 4.96 | N/A > @Zyak1991: 4.4 | $300K > @SkyIsTheTaker: 3.9 | $432K > @Zeus00nn: 3.63 | $296K > @0xRiim: 1.32 | $108K > @mystcapital: 0.89 | $100K The interesting part isn’t who earned the most. It’s how. Giveno earned 122 points on $1M with ~$550K OI. Ryuzaki earned 211 points on $7.1M with ~$1.8M OI and 48h average holds. Meanwhile, Steve pushed $1.5M mostly through swaps and earned just 6 points. Volume alone clearly isn’t enough. OI, holding time and market selection appear to be major factors. But there’s another important lesson. @Brokelays earned 232+ points, yet reported negative trading PnL. Points efficiency ≠ trading profitability. And a special congratulations to @linenmito! 🏆 90,358 lifetime VAR points, #2 on the leaderboard, ~$4B cumulative volume and ~$800K reported PnL across 10+ months. Huge achievement! I couldn’t find confirmed Week 44 allocations from some previous contributors, including @0xTimberJ, @0xpostrich, @VictorTopDefiG, @HyperliquidEco, @LekimXBT and a few others. Hopefully they’ve been exploring other perp DEXs like Arcus, TxFlow or Lighter. My takeaway: The competition isn’t simply about who can generate the most volume anymore. It’s about who can allocate capital more efficiently, maintain OI and minimize costs. And with the trading API still anticipated, the next phase could become even more competitive. Note: Figures are self-reported. Some totals include referral points. The $40 OTC valuation is illustrative, not guaranteed proceeds. Lifetime points are excluded. What did your Week 44 look like?

I think one of the most interesting things @TxFlow_L1 could release next is its public API. The API Reference is still marked as “Coming Soon.” And as a Python developer, I’m really looking forward to it. Just imagine what builders could create: > Trading bots and automated strategies > Delta-neutral tools across TxFlow and other perp DEXs > Wallet analytics and trader activity dashboards > Funding rate monitors and arbitrage scanners > Real-time market data and liquidity analysis > Points farming efficiency trackers And I can already imagine @0xTimberJ making his tool even better by adding TxFlow support. Personally, I’d love to build a tool that compares an individual trader’s activity with the entire exchange. Volume, OI, fees, holding time, market share, and eventually points earned. It could even help us understand which trading behaviors are actually rewarded. Of course, all of this depends on what endpoints and data TxFlow makes available. I’ve been building similar tools around other perp DEXs, and I’d love to integrate TxFlow into Zig Analytics too. A good API doesn’t just help developers. It gives an entire ecosystem a reason to build. Really curious to see what the team ships.

Week 2 in @arcus_xyz : Yeah, that looks terrible. I generated $10k in trading volume and OI around $1,000 in positions for like 16-24 hours through this week.

This is what recognition looks like gFlow @TxFlow_L1

Arcus trading volume dropped 13.9% this week. But something much more interesting happened underneath. Open Interest jumped 68.6%. I was checking the latest 7D data on Zig Analytics, and @arcus_xyz stood out. Oct 6 → Oct 12: > Volume: −13.9% > Open Interest: +68.6% > TVL: +31.1% > Market Share: −0.1 pp At first glance, declining volume doesn’t look particularly exciting. But volume tells us how much trading happened. OI tells us how much exposure remains open. And right now, those two metrics are moving in opposite directions. For comparison: > Extended: OI +0.8% > Variational: OI −7.2% > Arcus: OI +68.6% That’s a pretty interesting divergence. Especially after the launch of Arcus Points and the recent expansion of trader access. And there’s another thing I’ve noticed from my own farming experience. Focusing on maintaining open interest has worked significantly better for my points than simply generating trading volume. Of course, Arcus hasn’t disclosed the exact points formula, so I wouldn’t treat that as a universal rule. But combined with the latest data, it makes me wonder: Are traders starting to prioritize holding positions over chasing volume? One week isn’t enough to confirm a trend. But if OI and TVL keep growing while volume cools down, that’s a development worth watching. Volume shows activity. OI shows how much exposure stays in the market. And right now, Arcus looks particularly interesting through that second lens. Data: Zig Analytics | Oct 6–12, 2026

I was excited about TxFlow Points Season 1. Then I read the documentation. And honestly, I have more questions than before. @TxFlow_L1 plans to distribute up to: > 1.25M Trader Points weekly > 437.5K Referral Points weekly The referral pool is separate, which means influencers with large audiences can potentially earn additional points through referrals. Meanwhile, traders without referrals can’t access those rewards. Does that really create a level playing field? It also raises another question: could referral incentives encourage more multi-account farming despite the anti-Sybil rules? And there’s a second major concern. > Exact scoring weights aren’t public > Weekly allocations aren’t final > No clear Season 1 end date or even an estimated quarter in the docs How are traders supposed to evaluate farming costs without knowing when allocations become final? I genuinely want TxFlow to succeed, and I’m still interested in testing it. But I’d like to see more clarity before committing significant volume. Transparency matters just as much as incentives. Curious to hear how the TxFlow team views these concerns.

29,000+ traders just got access to Arcus. I think the next few weeks could look very different for @arcus_xyz And not just because of the new invite system. Think about the timing. Arcus has just launched Season 1 Points, with 250K points distributed every week. Now thousands of previously waitlisted traders can finally access perps. Here’s what changed: > 29K+ waitlisted users unlocked > invite codes now automatically link referrals > $1M in personal or direct referral perp volume earns 1 invite > previously spent codes receive a 2× bonus allocation > referral links can automatically distribute available invites But the interesting part isn’t the invite mechanics. It’s what happens when a gated trading venue suddenly opens its doors to thousands of potential traders. Three things I’m watching: 1. Trading volume and OI How many of those 29K actually become active? Even a relatively small conversion rate could meaningfully change trading activity. 2. Competition for points Season 1 distributes a fixed 250K points per week. More eligible activity means potentially tougher competition for that same weekly pool. Being active early may become more valuable if participation keeps growing. 3. Liquidity and market quality More traders could mean deeper markets and better execution. But more users alone don’t guarantee better liquidity. That’s what I’d like to measure. I’ve already been testing Arcus myself, and this feels like an important moment for the platform. Until now, access was one of the biggest limitations. Now we’ll get a much clearer picture of actual demand. 29,000 new invitations to trade are interesting. How many turn into real, sustained activity is the number that matters.