Every cycle teaches you something different.

This week, I kept coming back to how progress always hides in the quiet work of storage.

Whether it is power, data, or capital, stability depends on the systems that know how to hold before they move.

Battery storage has become the real engine of renewable energy. It is not just about capturing sunlight or wind, but about making those resources usable on demand. The real innovation is not in generation but in pacing, in learning to save energy so it can be released at the right moment.

AI infrastructure is building its own kind of storage, not in power but in potential. Every chip, data center, and fiber line is a bet that future productivity will justify today’s excess. It may look speculative, but overbuilding has always been how the next wave of efficiency is prepared.

Bank tokenization is changing how value is stored and moved. Instead of waiting days for transfers or relying on closed ledgers, money is being taught to move like information, instantly, securely, and with clear records of ownership. The result is not a new currency but a smarter vault.

Stablecoin oversight is the final layer in that same story. As regulators define caps and reserve standards, they are not slowing innovation; they are anchoring it. The more predictable the rules, the more trust the system earns.

Each of these ideas points to the same truth: lasting progress comes from control, not motion.

The stories below show how energy, technology, and finance are all learning that lesson at the same time.

California now has 13 gigawatts of battery storage capacity, regularly supplying about 25 percent of peak electricity. The state plans another 8.6 gigawatts by 2027, and global storage capacity is set to rise 67 percent this year with a tenfold jump by 2035. This is shifting batteries from backup gear to core grid infrastructure.

Takeaway for allocators
Battery storage is becoming the backbone of modern grids, cutting gas generation and reshaping energy economics worldwide. Treat storage exposure like regulated infrastructure, with revenue tied to peak shaving, ancillary services, and capacity markets.

U.S. Bancorp created a new digital assets group focused on tokenization, crypto custody, stablecoins, and faster payments. The bank framed the move as a response to corporate clients seeking cheaper cross-border transfers and more programmable liquidity tools. It signals a shift from experimentation to institutional adoption within traditional finance.

Takeaway for founders
Banks are formalizing digital rails. For founders, this means new opportunities to integrate with compliant APIs, tighter diligence on treasury flows, and faster paths to regulated settlement. Building for bank-grade standards is quickly becoming a competitive advantage, not a constraint.

AI capital spending may look like a bubble, but Kedrosky argues it mirrors past infrastructure surges where overshoot built future value. The twist is that leaders now cite Perez to justify the spend, so discipline softens and capex risks becoming the goal rather than the means.

Takeaway for allocators
Treat AI infrastructure like long-duration, boom prone utility exposure. Underwrite utilization and power constraints, vendor concentration, and stranded asset risk, and demand payback paths tied to real workloads, not narrative momentum.

The Bank of England proposed limits of ten to twenty thousand pounds per person on sterling stablecoins, with oversight split between the BoE and FCA. The cap would remain until regulators are confident these assets pose no systemic threat. It reflects a growing intent to treat stablecoins as regulated cash equivalents within national payment systems.

Takeaway for founders
Stablecoins are being pulled into the framework of traditional money. Founders building settlement or custody products should plan for liquidity rules, reserve audits, and counterparty visibility. The compliant path is narrowing, but it also creates clearer guardrails for scaling trusted digital cash infrastructure.

The Deal Box Innovation Forum is making its way to Hawaii. 🌺 Thanks to your feedback, we’re now locking in the venue, dates, and agenda.

Full details will be shared soon.

Thanks for reading the latest Dispatch. If you made it this far, you’re part of the shift. 🌊

See you next week, with more plays worth tracking.

— Thomas