Jul 24, 2025 08:39:29 PM

Vanta Orlin

Injective (INJ): The RWA-AI DeFi Power Play Most Are Still Sleeping On

CIG | Digital Assets Desk | Mid-2025 Thesis Brief

1. Injective Summit 2025: Real Product, Real Capital, Zero Noise

CIG analysts attended the Injective Summit at Hall des Lumières, NYC—an unmistakable signal spike.

This wasn’t a hypefest. It was filled with legit builders, sharp funds, and regulators in quiet observation mode. Panels featured tradable RWA models, AI trading agents, and live EVM deployments. The mayor of NYC backed Web3 on stage. If you were in the room, you felt it: this chain is not running the old playbook.

2. Injective: Engineered for Finance from the Base Layer

Core FeatureWhy It Matters in 2025Purpose-built L1 for financeBuilt-in order books and instant finality = no Layer-2 patchwork.EVM + CosmWasm natively supportedSolidity devs port seamlessly. Cross-VM contracts just work.Tokenomics with teeth6M INJ burned. Weekly auctions. Fixed supply. Scarcity is protocolized.AI-native execution layerOn-chain inference = autonomous agents rebalancing without oracles.


This is not another modular thesis on PowerPoint. Injective is closer to an on-chain CME + Bloomberg Terminal.

3. RWAs Are Live, Not Theoretical

Injective isn’t pitching RWA—they’re clearing it.

  • SharpLink ($1.3B ETH treasury) → tokenized in July under Injective’s iAssets framework. Fully composable, yield-bearing, and live.
  • Public market synthetics: NVDA, gold, euro pairs—already tradable on-chain via Injective-native order books.
  • No reliance on wrapped derivatives or half-custodied rails. This is RWA done right.

4. Institutional Alignment: Quiet But Deep

  • Canary Capital filed the first U.S. ETF to include staked INJ yield. It’s not just spot, it’s yield-forward.
  • Council members include Google Cloud, Galaxy, Jump, and BitGo. This isn’t just optics—it’s infra, custody, and market depth.
  • NYDFS, VanEck, Citi, and Gemini execs shared a panel. Nobody fakes that kind of presence.

TradFi is watching, testing, and getting ready to deploy when regulators give the greenlight.

5. User Metrics: Catching Fire Quietly

  • 80k DAUs on test-net in 3 weeks via zero-gas onboarding and account abstraction.
  • First dApps in lending, synthetics, and AI agents already live. More are waiting for EVM main-net.
  • TVL is modest (~$36M), but burn rate scales directly with usage. INJ’s design tightens float per block.

6. Valuation Mispricing: Still in Side-Chain Territory

MetricNow (Mid-2025)Conservative Growth CaseMarket Cap$1.3B$10B+ (AVAX parity) → $100 INJActive Wallets80k (test-net)250k+ (main-net parity w/ Solana)Supply DynamicsFixed + Burn-OnlyAccelerates as TVL + trading rise


At $14, INJ is priced like a science experiment. But the underlying engine looks more like a composable, burn-fueled Nasdaq.

7. CIG Positioning Strategy (Not Investment Advice)

  • Accumulation range: $10–$15 (prior to EVM & ETF decision points).
  • Catalysts:
  1. Main-net EVM activation
  2. ETF ruling window → Nov 18, 2025
  • Exit stack: $40 / $60 / $80+ for rotation into undervalued AI+RWA verticals.

This isn’t a hype cycle trade. This is a long-game asymmetric bet with real throughput, real rails, and institutional air cover.

8. Risks (That Actually Matter)

  • U.S. macro: liquidity contraction, delayed cuts.
  • EVM main-net bugs or onboarding friction.
  • ETF rejection pushes TradFi timelines out a cycle.

Final Signal

Injective isn’t perfect—but it’s shippable, scarce, and clearing real world markets right now. It blends the right primitives (RWA + AI + DeFi), has a non-fragile tech stack, and enough institutional credibility to break through regulatory walls.

INJ is not a narrative—it’s an actual signal. Most just aren’t tuned in yet.

Prepared by the CIG Digital Asset Desk.

All content is strictly informational and does not constitute financial advice.