Aster’s rapid rise has sparked renewed interest in protocols offering similar trading tools—and one platform in particular is capitalizing on the moment. HumidiFi, a Solana-based dark-pool DEX, has seen a major surge in use over the past few days, even outperforming Orca and Meteora as traders look for deeper liquidity and more private executions.

HumidiFi Breaks Into Solana’s Top 3 Protocols

Riding the momentum created by Aster, HumidiFi has climbed into the top three Solana protocols, thanks to soaring demand for dark-pool trading—an execution style often used by institutional traders to avoid slippage, front-running, and visible on-chain footprints.

Unlike public DEXs or concentrated liquidity pools, dark pools (or proprietary market-maker pools) hide trade intentions and reduce exposure to bots and whale-tracking activity. This privacy advantage is quickly gaining traction.

Over the past week alone, HumidiFi recorded $8.55 billion in trading volume, with a record-breaking $1.91 billion in daily volume on September 25, its highest ever.

The protocol has also moved in tandem with ZeroFi and SolFi, although both have slowed recently—ZeroFi in particular is hovering near all-time low volume.

A Rising Giant in Solana’s Trading Ecosystem

During high-traffic periods on Solana, HumidiFi has ranked among the top-performing DEXs—handling up to 15% of all on-chain trading volume despite not having a public retail front-end.

HumidiFi operates as a closed, single market-maker pool. It’s not permissionless, but its liquidity depth, tight spreads, and low slippage make it appealing for high-volume traders. It is especially popular for SOL/USDC trading, one of Solana’s most active pairs.

Dark Pools: A Defense Against Sandwich Attacks

Solana’s ecosystem has increasingly turned to dark-pool infrastructure to protect traders from MEV exploits like sandwich attacks. Bot-driven front-running still extracts millions—more than $4 million in just 10 days—on the network.

While Raydium remains the top retail DEX on Solana, big traders and whales prefer the privacy and reduced slippage of HumidiFi and Aster-style pools. These private pools avoid on-chain broadcasting of trade intentions, making it much harder for bots or speculators to counter-trade.

Even though dark pools are hidden from public view, they still process massive volumes, proving that private liquidity is becoming a core part of Solana’s trading landscape.

Dark Pools Are Fueling Jupiter’s Growth

The surge in dark-pool activity has also boosted Jupiter, Solana’s leading liquidity aggregator and perpetuals platform. Jupiter lets users route orders through various AMMs, including the dark pools that don’t have public interfaces.

In many cases, Jupiter’s activity reflects HumidiFi’s impact behind the scenes.
On the busiest days:

• HumidiFi accounts for up to 80% of all SOL/USDC routing on Jupiter
• SolFi and other smaller dark pools add additional flow

Even with persistent meme-token traffic, HumidiFi is the primary source of large SOL/USDC orders inside Jupiter’s routing engine.

Dark-Pool Activity Climbs as SOL Rebounds

Dark-pool trading surged when SOL briefly dipped below $200, as sophisticated traders sought efficient, low-slippage execution. SOL has since recovered to $208.22, supported by a rise in overall liquidity.

USDC inflows have been a key factor:

• Total stablecoin supply on Solana: 13.79B USDC-equivalent (+7.15% in a week)
• USDC supply alone: 9.65B (+10% over the past month)

Growing liquidity naturally increases demand for SOL/USDC trading—HumidiFi’s primary strength.

Conclusion

HumidiFi’s ascent mirrors a broader shift inside Solana’s ecosystem. As demand grows for safer, more private execution with minimal slippage, dark-pool trading is moving from a niche tool to a mainstream necessity.

Following Aster’s breakout, HumidiFi is now proving that privacy-focused DEX models can compete with—and even surpass—traditional public trading venues.

Michael Saylor’s company, Strategy, is taking its Bitcoin playbook to Europe. The firm announced plans to launch a euro-denominated stock offering, marking another aggressive step in its long-running mission to accumulate as much Bitcoin as possible.

On Monday, Strategy filed for the issuance of 3.5 million perpetual shares under the ticker STRE, targeting qualified investors across the European Union and the United Kingdom.

A Euro-Based Offering to Fuel Bitcoin Purchases

The purpose of the new share offering is straightforward:
Raise euros → Buy more Bitcoin → Support operations.

The perpetual shares come with a 10% annual cumulative dividend on a face value of €100, paid out quarterly starting December 31.

The offering is strictly limited to qualified EU and UK investors—not retail buyers. Strategy continues to position itself as the dominant Bitcoin-focused public company, now holding 641,205 BTC, acquired at a combined cost of roughly $47.49 billion.

Earlier in November, the company added another 397 BTC, staying true to the accumulation strategy it has followed since mid-2020. Saylor’s key model remains consistent: issue equity and debt → use the capital to expand its Bitcoin treasury.

A Model That Sparked an Industry Trend

Strategy’s blueprint has inspired a wave of imitators—firms that have raised billions to build their own crypto treasuries. Despite this rising competition, Saylor reaffirmed that the company has no intention of pursuing mergers or acquisitions, even when they appear financially attractive.

Instead, he emphasized that Strategy remains committed to its core approach:
sell digital credit, raise capital, and systematically buy Bitcoin.

Some analysts, however, are cautious. As more crypto treasury firms emerge, they warn that consolidation may eventually be necessary for long-term sector stability.

Major Financial Institutions Back the Offering

Big-name financial players are involved in running Strategy’s European share sale, including:

• Barclays
• Morgan Stanley
• Moelis
• TD Securities

The STRE share issuance represents Strategy’s latest attempt to diversify its capital-raising channels beyond traditional U.S. dollar–denominated securities.

And with Bitcoin currently trading above $104,000, the company’s holdings now reflect massive unrealized profits compared to its average purchase price.

A Company Redefining Corporate Crypto Strategy

Strategy continues to reshape how companies think about treasury management and capital allocation in the digital age. Its move into Europe reinforces its determination to access new capital markets—and convert that capital into even more Bitcoin.

QCP Group, a Singapore-based digital asset trading and investment firm, is rapidly scaling up its international presence after a year of significant growth. The company announced Wednesday that it has increased its workforce by 50% year-over-year and opened five new offices across Asia, the Middle East, and the United States.

QCP now employs 157 people worldwide, up from about 105 a year ago.

New Offices Across Multiple Regions

As part of its global expansion strategy, QCP has opened offices in:

• New York
• Abu Dhabi
• Kuala Lumpur
• Ho Chi Minh City

The company has also moved its Singapore headquarters into a larger space in Prudential Tower to accommodate its growing team.

QCP says the expansion is driven by rising institutional demand for digital asset trading, derivatives, and treasury solutions. Of the firm’s 157 employees, 119 are based in Singapore, reinforcing the country’s role as QCP’s primary operational base.

Regulatory Milestones Strengthen Middle East Presence

The opening of the Abu Dhabi office follows QCP’s approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), where the company secured a Financial Services Permission (FSP) earlier this year.

This license allows QCP to provide regulated digital asset services—an important milestone as the firm deepens its footprint in the Middle East’s fast-growing crypto sector.

QCP also holds a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license in Singapore, giving it the ability to offer regulated digital payment token services locally.

Strategic Growth in Southeast Asia and the U.S.

The new Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City offices expand QCP’s reach in Southeast Asia—one of the most rapidly growing regions for digital asset adoption.

Meanwhile, the company’s new office in New York, the world’s largest financial market, marks a major step in its U.S. expansion strategy.

From Regional Player to Global Derivatives Leader

Founded in 2017, QCP has grown into one of Asia’s most active players in crypto derivatives and structured products, serving hedge funds, corporates, trading desks, and high-net-worth clients.

With its expanded global team, the firm says it plans to accelerate product development and provide deeper coverage across international time zones.

QCP’s rapid growth comes as institutional interest in digital assets continues to surge worldwide—positioning the firm to compete across the world’s top financial hubs.