Last week was filled with exciting developments in the world of decentralized finance (DeFi). From the launch of new protocols to major upgrades and expansions, here’s a recap of what happened in the DeFi space.
GMX V2 Beta Goes Live on Arbitrum and Avalanche
The highly anticipated GMX V2 beta version was launched on both Arbitrum and Avalanche. This upgrade brings several improvements, including new markets, multiple collateral types, enhanced user experience, low-fee swaps for traders, and new incentives for liquidity providers (LPs).
Term Finance Introduces Fixed-Rate Lending
Term Finance, a fixed-rate lending protocol, went live on Ethereum. The platform uses a recurring auction process to provide certainty to borrowers and lenders. This innovative approach aims to bring stability to the lending market in DeFi.
f(x) Protocol Enables Leveraged ETH
Built by AladdinDAO, the f(x) Protocol allows users to supply ETH or stETH to mint fETH (stable ETH) or xETH (leveraged long ETH token). This protocol offers a unique way for users to gain exposure to leveraged ETH positions.
Pika v4 Fully Launched on OP Mainnet
After a month-long beta phase, the perpetual decentralized exchange (DEX) Pika v4 was fully launched on the OP mainnet. The platform also introduced a reward program to incentivize LPs, traders, and PIKA token stakers.
Arkeo Testnet Goes Live
Backed by ShapeShift, Arkeo has launched its testnet to the public. Arkeo is a blockchain data provider similar to Infura and Alchemy, offering essential infrastructure services to developers building on various blockchains.
MakerDAO Implements Enhanced DSR
MakerDAO passed an executive vote and implemented an Enhanced Dai Saving Rate (DSR). This 8% DSR can now be accessed on the Spark protocol, providing Dai holders with an attractive option to earn passive income on their holdings.
Other Notable Updates
Several other notable updates occurred in the DeFi space. Here are some highlights:
– Arbitrum BOLD: Offchainlabs introduced Bounded Liquidity Delay (BOLD), a new protocol that enhances decentralization and enables permissionless validation for Arbitrum chains.
– Gnosis Chain: Gnosis Chain completed its version of the Shapella upgrade, allowing withdrawals on staked GNO.
– PancakeSwap Revenue Sharing Pool: PancakeSwap launched a revenue sharing pool, enabling Fixed-Term CAKE stakers to earn additional real yield from the trading fee revenues generated by PancakeSwaps v3 trading pairs.
– Trader Joe and Wombat Expansions: Trader Joe expanded to Ethereum, while Wombat went live on Ethereum, offering stable swaps, bridging, and single-sided staking.
– Clearpool on Polygon zkEVM: Clearpool, an institutional lending protocol, expanded to Polygon’s zkEVM.
– Balancer on Avalanche: Balancer deployed its protocol on Avalanche, providing liquidity for four Avalanche LST protocols and boosting LST markets on Avalanche.
Non-DeFi Updates
Aside from DeFi developments, there were some significant updates in the broader cryptocurrency sphere. These include:
– Helium’s Second Halving: Helium’s second halving began, reducing the monthly issuance of HNT tokens.
– SEC Lawsuit Against Richard Heart: The SEC filed a lawsuit against Richard Heart, alleging that he raised over $1 billion through three different unregistered securities offerings.
– IRS to Tax Staking Rewards: The US Internal Revenue Service issued a ruling stating that rewards for proof-of-stake (PoS) validation activity should be counted as income in the year the investor gains control of the tokens.
Hacker Return and Rugpull Incidents
In a positive turn of events, the Curve hacker returned about 74% of the stolen funds to the platform. However, the deadline for returning the remaining funds expired, and Curve extended the opportunity to the public. Additionally, there was a rugpull incident on the Base L2 platform, causing a liquidity crunch and a significant price drop for the memecoin project, Bald. LeetSwap, a dex on Base, also experienced an exploit resulting in a loss of funds.
Polygon zkSync Drama and Base Mainnet Announcement
Polygon Zero posted an article claiming that Matter Labs copied substantial code from them without proper attribution. This controversy raised concerns about intellectual property and the integrity of the codebase. Meanwhile, Base L2 announced that its mainnet will launch on August 9, coinciding with the Onchain Summer campaign.
ETH Futures ETFs Filed
Six firms, including Volatility Shares, Bitwise, VanEck, Roundhill, ProShares, and Grayscale, filed applications with the SEC for ETH Futures ETFs. If approved, this would allow investors to gain exposure to Ether futures through exchange-traded funds.
Last Week in DeFi Premium
In addition to these updates, Last Week in DeFi Premium subscribers received early access to promising projects, yield farming tips, and in-depth research to help them navigate the DeFi space. Subscribers can use credit card or cryptocurrency payment options and enjoy discounts on quarterly or yearly subscriptions.
Overall, last week presented a mix of positive developments and challenges in the DeFi and cryptocurrency space. With protocols launching, upgrades being implemented, and regulatory and security issues emerging, the DeFi ecosystem continues to evolve and mature.
