# investor protection

A surge in scrutiny of political memecoins is colliding with a renewed push for user protection and on-chain infrastructure. Reports of nearly one million investors losing $3.8 billion while a promoter earned $636 million, alongside a 97% price collapse, are sharpening calls for ethics standards. At the same time, moves like Ondo Finance's tokenization of a U.S.-listed S&P 500 ETF and Micron stock signal maturing rails that could expand decentralized finance beyond speculation.

With the EU's MiCA framework tightening compliance, market share is migrating to licensed venues and self-custody, while faith in grand predictive charts wanes. At the same time, institutional capital is moving into DeFi, with Kraken pursuing a significant stake in Aave, underscoring a convergence between regulated finance and decentralized protocols. A prominent P2P loss highlights the urgency of robust user protection and counterparty diligence.