Last week in the world of decentralized finance (DeFi) brought several exciting developments, including the launch of EigenLayer’s stage-1 mainnet on Ethereum. This protocol allows users to stake Lido’s stETH, RocketPool’s rETH, and Coinbase’s cbETH, with a capacity limit of 3200 for each pool. All pools quickly reached their capacity.
Aevo, an options automated market maker (AMM), opened its platform to the public, allowing anyone to trade ETH/BTC options and perpetuals. Additionally, Ambient Finance (formerly known as Crocswap) went live on Ethereum, enabling two-sided AMMs that combine concentrated and ambient constant-product liquidity for any pair of crypto assets.
DLN Exchange, a native cross-chain swap developed by deBridge, also went live. It offers direct asset exchanges without the need for asset wrapping, liquidity pools, or additional fees. DLN provides fast transfers with incentives and eliminates MEV (miner-extractable value), AMM fees, and slippage.
GMX launched V2 on the Avalanche Fuji Testnet and Arbitrum Goerli, allowing users to test the new version. Silo, a lending platform, introduced three new isolated Curve LP lending markets, enabling users to borrow against Curve LP tokens while farming Convex rewards.
The highly anticipated Uniswap V4 was announced, with an early implementation of the code released. The new version brings several enhancements, including Hooks, Flash Accounting, native ETH for pool operations, and governance updates.
Polygon Labs introduced Polygon 2.0, a set of upgrades aimed at improving scalability and unified liquidity through ZK technology. The team plans to share more details about the future of Polygon’s proof-of-stake mechanism, token evolution, and decentralized governance in the coming weeks.
Astar Network, a smart contract platform and parachain on Polkadot, revealed its plan for 2.0. The upgrade will introduce various changes, such as Astar Link, Tokenomics 2.0, new partnerships, and new governance features.
Celcius, a crypto lending platform, announced that starting July 1, it will convert all altcoins held by customers (except for “Custody and Withhold accounts”) into BTC and ETH. Coinbase now allows its global customers to earn 4% interest on USDC through its loyalty program funded with its own funds.
Balancer went live on Polygon’s zkEVM, enabling boosted and liquid-staked ETH pools. Band Protocol integrated with Axelar to facilitate data availability and interoperability between the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and Cosmos ecosystem. This integration allows dApps supported by Axelar to access Band’s data services.
Polkadot also launched OpenGov, a new governance system for the DOT community. DOT holders can apply to become part of the Polkadot Fellowship and participate in governance decisions. OpenEden partnered with Finblox to offer tokenized US Treasuries to markets in Southeast Asia, with integration of Chainlink to provide evidence of full backing.
BNB chain-based perpetual DEX, Level, expanded to Arbitrum, offering leveraged trading, staking, LP incentives, and more. Curvance, a lending protocol for Curve/Convex tokens, released detailed token distribution information. Ripple planned to release the Hinman document, which could shed light on the legal status of XRP and potentially impact the SEC’s case against Ripple, Coinbase, and Binance.
Unfortunately, crypto payment platform Wyre announced its winding down due to market conditions. Hashflow and Keep3r also experienced exploits, resulting in losses for users. Frax Finance unveiled plans to launch its own Ethereum Layer 2 chain called Frax Chain, which will use the frxUSD and frxETH tokens for transaction fees. OffChainLabs launched Xai, a gaming-focused Layer 3 solution on Arbitrum. Switzerland-based 21Shares introduced the 21Shares Lido DAO ETP, providing traditional investors with exposure to Lido DAO.
In conclusion, last week was filled with significant developments across the DeFi space, from protocol launches to platform enhancements and integrations. These advancements demonstrate the ongoing growth and innovation within the DeFi ecosystem, offering users new opportunities and improving the overall user experience.
