Weekly DeFi Index

This week's market cap, volume, and volatility indices were negative at -3.62%, -2.43%, and -14.78%, respectively.

Check Price

Chart of the Week

Cronos Labs has kicked off recruitment for the third cohort of its US$100 million accelerator programme, which aims to support project teams building at the intersection of AI and cryptocurrency. The recruitment phase commenced on 4 September, to coincide with Korea Blockchain Week. It includes Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, CertiK, PeckShield, and various other firms as programme mentors.

News Highlights

• The Ethereum Foundation announced the official release of the Ethereum Execution Layer Specification (EELS), after more than a year of development. EELS is a reference implementation of the Ethereum Execution Layer, written in the Python programming language. EELS is designed to help developers simulate the Ethereum Execution Layer, making it easier for them to develop and test applications.

• MakerDAO co-founder Rune Christensen has proposed building MakerDAO’s upcoming native chain off a fork of Solana's codebase, instead of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). The native chain, called NewChain, is part of the fifth and final phase of the MakerDAO Endgame upgrade announced in May. 

• Uniswap has unveiled its plans to release Uniswap v4, which is scheduled to launch after Ethereum’s upcoming Cancun-Deneb (Dencun) upgrade. According to the organisation’s official statement, Uniswap v4 will offer features like programmable liquidity and Smart Order Routing (SOR). It will also introduce plugins called hooks, or contracts that run at various points of a pool action's lifecycle.

• Polygon Labs has announced that Polygon zkEVM is now fully open-source under an AGPL v3 licence, allowing the technology to be modified, used, and distributed by anyone under the terms of the licence. On top of this, it is also set to welcome its very first major upgrade since the protocol's launch, dubbed ‘Dragon Fruit’ or ForkID5. It is expected to launch in the mainnet during the week of 11 September.

• Following a Crypto.com issuer pilot, payments giant Visa has expanded its stablecoin settlement capabilities and is now using the Solana blockchain as part of its USDC-focused pilots with merchant acquirers Worldpay and Nuvei. Users can now choose USDC stablecoin settlement instead of receiving fiat currencies when they transact. 

• A group of large Ethereum stakers voluntarily agreed to devote themselves to a 22% self-limit rule that would restrict the scope of their staking activities on the network to a certain threshold. The rule aims to uphold decentralisation by ensuring that at least four major staking entities (including Rocket Pool, StakeWise, Stader Labs, and Diva Staking) would need to collude in order for the chain to reach finalisation.

Recent Research Reports

• Decentralised Stablecoins: Stablecoins are well positioned to facilitate broader adoption of cryptocurrencies. We explore the key decentralised stablecoin projects and their innovative mechanisms.

• Research Roundup Newsletter [July 2023]: We present to you our latest issue of Research Roundup, featuring trending market insights in July, charts of the month, and our latest research exploring real-world assets.

• Crypto Market Sizing Report H1 2023: Global crypto owners reached 516 million by the first half of 2023.

• Alpha Navigator: Quest for Alpha [July 2023]: Risk assets continued their positive price action in July, although BTC dipped slightly. The macro calendar was quiet up until mid-August, when US CPI data and FOMC minutes were released.

Recent University Articles

• What Is Tether (USDT)? Understanding the US Dollar Stablecoin: In this article, we explore what the Tether stablecoin is, how it works, and how to use it in cryptocurrency trading.

• Crypto Remittance Scams: What They Are and How to Avoid Them: Sending crypto to receive crypto? That doesn’t sound right! In this article, learn about remittance scams and how to recognise them.

• What Are Get-Rich-Quick Scams?: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Learn how get-rich-quick crypto scams work, how to spot them, and how to avoid them.

Disclaimer

The information in this report is provided as general market commentary by Crypto.com and its affiliates, and does not constitute any financial, investment, legal, tax, or any other advice. This report is not intended to offer or recommend any access to products and/or services. While we endeavour to publish and maintain accurate information, we do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information in this report nor do we adopt nor endorse, nor are we responsible for, the accuracy or reliability of any information submitted by other parties.

This report is not directed or intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity who is a citizen or resident of, or located in a jurisdiction, where such distribution or use would be contrary to applicable law or that would subject Crypto.com and/or its affiliates to any registration or licensing requirement.

The brands and the logos appearing in this report are registered trademarks of their respective owners.

We’re all ears.

Your feedback has always helped us provide insightful crypto market trends. Tell us how we can improve this newsletter further by taking a quick survey below (it will only take less than a minute). Thank you!

Take our survey now

Thank you for reading! We hope you find our Weekly DeFi and Layer 1 & Layer 2 News Update enlightening!

Hungry for more? Visit our Research Hub and University to access other insightful crypto research! 

Share with a friend if you like our email!

Share