Midweek With Max Recap: Meme Coins, Dubai Deployments, and Hair Economics
When Hair? Now.
This week’s Midweek with Max packed updates from every corner of the Hemi ecosystem, starting with a strong showing at Token2049. Hemi’s presence was everywhere, from sponsor-backed side events to stage time during the main conference. One moment that stood out was a viral image of the Burj Khalifa with “BTC + ETH = Hemi” projected across it. It was fake, but it fooled a surprising number of people. The image sparked conversation, drove attention to the brand, and became a talking point in DMs and group chats for days.
Another tradition solidified during the week: the Liquidity Brunch. Originally launched at ConsensusHK, this low-key gathering with drinks and dev talk has turned into a recurring community favorite. It offers Hemi builders and supporters a space to casually connect. With preparations already underway for Bitcoin 2025 and a speaking slot locked in at Permissionless in New York this June, Hemi continues to move deeper into the center of conversations about how Bitcoin and Ethereum can coexist.
HairToken also took the spotlight. What started as a joke about Max’s hair turned into a live token on Hemi. Deployed via the Atlas platform, HairToken is now the first meme coin in the Hemi ecosystem. Community demand sparked the launch, and now there are plans for further integration and liquidity. A VUSD/HAIR pool is already live, and there are efforts to create more trading pairs, including one with MaxToken. The team behind Hair is pushing for a decentralized future, where the community fully takes over the token’s direction.
On the engineering side, Max recapped the Dubai trip and what it means for the protocol. Meetings with audit firms focused on Bitcoin scripting and zero-knowledge tools opened new conversations. Several potential deployments are in discussion. The most engaging technical event was the Liquidity Brunch, where engineers debated real use cases for the Hemi Virtual Machine (hVM). Based on those discussions, the team is putting together a grant and bounty program targeting new dApps. These will focus on areas like Bitcoin lending, non-custodial staking, and cross-chain accelerators that can let users pay BTC fees in ETH or Hemi tokens.
The Pectra upgrade is going live in phases. Infrastructure updates are happening now, with full L2 functionality—like account abstraction—coming in the next week. The engineering team is also refining BFG to be stateless, improving the popminer tool, and introducing more diagnostics and control for developers.
NFTs are back on the radar, too. Hemi Hatchlings are ready to migrate from testnet to mainnet once the upgrade work is complete. More marketplaces are expected to onboard soon. While no names were shared, integration talks are ongoing. In terms of token timing, the TGE date is still internal but approaching. The current market looks favorable, and the remaining work revolves around mechanics: getting tokenomics locked in, confirming exchange integration schedules, and finalizing listings.
Mainnet point rewards will likely end their first season around TGE. The structure is designed to reward liquidity, not just participation. That means users who bring more capital into the network earn more points. There may be ways for smaller contributors to gain through new activities in later seasons, but the current design focuses on growing TVL and usage.
On the mining front, the new algorithm will roll out soon after the Pectra upgrade finishes. It’s designed to target four pop miners per keystone and adjust incentives automatically. The average number of publications per keystone today is around 10 to 15, with spikes to 20. Rewards are tied to keystones, with a 400-block delay between mining and payout. Testnet Bitcoin functionality is still limited due to Bitcoin Testnet3’s instability, but the team is working on switching to Testnet4 or adjusting tunnel parameters to make development easier.
Everything is moving, from protocol upgrades to community infrastructure. The vibe is scrappy and open. If you’re not following along yet, now’s the time. Subscribe to the Hemi newsletter for exclusive content, protocol updates, and early access to new DeFi strategies. That’s also where you’ll find the best alpha—none of it lives on Twitter or Telegram.
If you’re asking “When Hair?”, the answer is now. And apparently, it comes with karaoke.
Hemi Dev Team