This Week in DeFi - April 29

This week, Optimism announces its new governance system and $OP token distribution, Asymmetric announces a $1B crypto fund & 0x raises $70M.

Apr 29

To the DeFi community,

This week Optimism $OP token rumors come true, as the Ethereum Layer-2 scaling solution announces new plans for its governance structure and token distribution. The “Optimism Collective” will be governed by two houses; The Citizen’s House will govern public goods funding, while the Token House will govern protocol upgrades and project incentives via the $OP token. $OP will be distributed via multiple rounds of airdrops, beginning with a retroactive round for previous Optimism users.

Optimism (✨🔴_🔴✨) @optimismPBC

Introducing the Optimism Collective:

A new billion-dollar crypto fund may be on the way, with backing from founders of a16z (Marc Andreessen), Solana (Anatoly Yakovenko) and others. The fund comes under a brand new investment firm called Asymmetric, founded by Joe McCann – previously of Passport Capital and Microsoft.

Frank Chaparro @fintechfrank

EXCLUSIVE: Founders from a16z, Solana and more back @joemccann's new billion-dollar crypto fund theblockcrypto.com/post/143448/fo…

DEX infrastructure provider 0x has secured $70 million in Series B funding from Greylock, Pantera, OpenSea and more. The funding will be used to expand to new chains including Solana and grow its NFT swap feature. 0x also recently partnered with publicly-traded crypto exchange, Coinbase, to power the company's new NFT platform.

0x @0xProject

0x Labs has raised $70M in a Series B round led by @GreylockVC to continue expanding Web3’s core exchange infrastructure 🎉 blog.0x.org/0x-labs-raises…

0x Labs raises $70M Series B led by Greylock to continue expanding Web3’s core exchange infrastructureTo onboard the next 100x wave of users, businesses, and institutions, 0x Labs is expanding its team and products.blog.0x.org

Specialized DeFi wallet Argent has raised $40 million as it looks to become a Web3 super-app. Fabric Ventures and Metaplanet led the funding round, which will be used to expand the wallet’s support of activities in the DeFi and NFT spaces – as well as making a push into Latin America.

Argent @argentHQ

We've raised a $40m Series B to build the one app for all things DeFi & Web3. And to prove the future of crypto is self-custody - not giant exchanges. We'll use the funding for: 1. Product development 2. Expanding into Latin America 3. Hiring Read on to learn more 🧵

Cryptocurrency has continued to win over small countries and asset management giants this week, as more major dominoes begin to tip. It begins with the Central Republic of Africa becoming just the second country in the world to make Bitcoin legal tender, also legalizing cryptocurrencies in general – yet another historic milestone for the legitimacy of the asset class. Panama is also following closely, on the verge of passing laws to regulate crypto. This includes legalizing cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, as well as potentially exempting them from capital gains taxes.

In addition to embraces from smaller nations, asset management giant Fidelity Investments has given its own nod of acknowledgement to the crypto, announcing that it will enable its clients to invest part of their 401(k)s into Bitcoin. Other cryptocurrencies are also being considered for the future. The implications are enormous given the size and reach of Fidelity, not to mention the stamp of approval it will give to the sector.

Although none of the above are a direct pathway into decentralized finance in of themselves, they provide a crucial primary to crypto for the masses. The combination of first-hand crypto adoption across entire populations – along with a rapidly-increasing acknowledgement of crypto as a legitimate asset class – will spark an eventual tsunami of new participation in DeFi. It will take time, but the first ripples have been made.

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