Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of key decentralized finance (DeFi) insights — a newsletter crafted to bring you some of the major developments over the last week.
This past week, the DeFi ecosystem saw several new developments related to the DeFi lending crisis as Celsius filed for bankruptcy. At a time when bears are more dominant in the current market, DeFi protocols with a revenue system can thrive.
Lido Finance has announced plans to offer its Ether (ETH) staking services across the entire L2 system. Aave plans to leverage Pocket’s distributed network of 44,000 nodes to access on-chain data from various blockchains, and gamers are plugging in DeFi through the Razer reward partnership.
The majority of the top 100 DeFi tokens traded in green, with many registering double-digit gains over the past week.
As the crypto winter drags on, savvy crypto investors have realized that one of the reliable sources of passive income that still exists can be found in protocols that generate revenue and share some of it with their respective communities.
Data from Token Terminal shows revenue positive platforms are primarily the nonfungible token (NFT) marketplaces like LooksRare and OpenSea.
In a Monday blog post, the Lido team noted that it would initially begin by supporting Ether staking via bridges to L2s using wrapped stETH (wstETH). Moving forward, it will eventually enable users to stake directly on the L2s “without the need to bridge their assets back” to the Ethereum mainnet.
In terms of partnered L2s, the team stated that before the announcement, it had already integrated its bridged staking services with Argent and Aztec. It added that the next collection of partnerships and integrations would be unveiled over the next few weeks.
Aave, an open source DeFi protocol, is teaming up with decentralized Web3 infrastructure provider Pocket Network to offer developers increased scalability and ease of use when building decentralized applications (DApps) on the Aave Protocol.
According to the statement on Tuesday, Aave will use Pocket’s distributed network of more than 44,000 nodes to access on-chain data from various blockchains to power decentralized applications. Developers building Aave-powered DApps may now access blockchain data from Pocket Network on demand following the new integration.
Gamers and customers of IT and gaming hardware firm Razer are set to plug into the world of DeFi through a new rewards swap program in partnership with Cake DeFi.
Razer remains a household favorite brand for gamers around the world, with its Razer Gold rewards program allowing gamers to earn and redeem Razer Silver points for a variety of hardware and digital rewards, including Steam games and discount vouchers.
Analytical data reveals that DeFi’s total value locked registered a near $5 billion rise from the past week, posting a value of $58.65 billion. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that DeFi’s top-100 tokens by market capitalization had a mixed week, with several tokens trading in red while a few others registered even double-digit gains.
Lido DAO (LDO) was the biggest gainer among the top 100 DeFi tokens with an 80% rise over the past week, followed by Fantom (FTM) with a 28% surge. Avalanche (AVAX) registered a 26% surge over the past week, while ThorChain (RUNE) saw a 21% rise in price over the past seven days.
Thanks for reading our summary of this week’s most impactful DeFi developments. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights and education in this dynamically advancing space.
Experts at TOKEN2049 agreed that Singapore’s progressive initiatives, such as the digital token payment guide, support industry growth. As a leading financial and fintech hub, Singapore prioritises incentives for companies, reinforcing its reputation for stability as a Web3 leader.
CatherineAlibaba has launched a new AI-powered video generator called Qwen 2.5, allowing users to create high-quality videos from text prompts in both Chinese and English. This tool enhances Alibaba's Tongyi Wanxiang portfolio and aims to serve various industries, simplifying video production by integrating audio and offering unlimited free usage.
AnaisAfter the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 50 basis points, gold and Bitcoin soared, but both underperformed the more than 10% weekly increase in the SOL token under the US blue-chip public chain Solana. The reason is that the bigwigs from China and the United States gathered at TOKEN 2049 and good news came frequently.
WeiliangThe Korea National Police Agency has conducted 515 undercover investigations into illegal deepfake pornography since September 2021, leading to the arrest of 1,415 individuals, including teenagers involved in distributing such content. In response to rising digital sex crimes, authorities have established a task force to address deepfake pornography and are evaluating Telegram's role in facilitating these offenses.
WeatherlyBybit has launched the world’s first Shariah-compliant Islamic Crypto Account for ethical trading, following Bybit Türkiye’s recognition by Turkey’s Capital Markets Board as a crypto asset service provider.
CatherineCaroline Ellison, former Alameda Research CEO, was sentenced to two years in a minimum-security prison for her role in the FTX collapse and must forfeit $11 billion. She is set to surrender on or after 7 November 2024, likely serving near Boston.
KikyoSweden's authorities are cracking down on unlicensed cryptocurrency exchanges involved in organised crime and money laundering. They are also targeting Bitcoin mining operations, uncovering 90 million SEK in unpaid taxes from 18 firms.
WeatherlyDiddy, awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges, is reportedly sharing a jail space with disgraced crypto figure Sam Bankman-Fried. The hip-hop mogul has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in court.
CatherineOpenAI has launched the Advanced Voice Mode for ChatGPT Plus and Teams users, allowing for more natural and dynamic conversations. The feature supports over 50 languages, includes multiple voice options, and is available for a monthly subscription fee, but it's currently not accessible in the EU and the UK.
JoySouth Korean police have arrested seven individuals in a raid on a “crypto-powered drug dealing” operation suspected of smuggling methamphetamine into the country from abroad. Authorities are expanding their investigation to uncover the drug distribution network's true nature.
Kikyo