Weekly DeFi Index

This week's market cap and volume indices were positive at +0.32% and +2.49%, respectively, while the volatility index was negative at -19.36%.

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Chart of the Week

The Merge, or Ethereum’s transition to the Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, was completed on 15 September 2022. Since the upgrade, the network has undergone several changes and improvements. These include a gradual decrease in ETH supply, reduced energy consumption, and growth in ETH staking boosted by the Shapella upgrade rolled out in April 2023.

Today, the circulating supply of ETH is 0.23% lower than it was a year ago, making it deflationary. This decrease in supply mainly resulted from the elimination of ~13,000 ETH issued daily for Proof of Work (PoW) mining rewards, and the burn mechanism introduced by EIP-1559 that burns  ~1,600 ETH daily.

News Highlights

• Google Cloud is expanding its push into blockchain by adding 11 networks, including Cronos, to its 'BigQuery' program for public datasets. First launched in 2018, the program provides faster access to historical data on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies than can be obtained directly from the blockchain. 

• Aave V3, a decentralised cryptocurrency lending platform, is set to deploy on Polygon zkEVM after a community vote in favour of deploying the protocol on the ZK-powered Ethereum Layer 2. 

• Casey Rodarmor, the creator of the Bitcoin Ordinals protocol, has introduced a new Bitcoin-based fungible tokens protocol called Runes. The new protocol is designed to address the challenges of UTXO “junk” as per BRC-20 standard, which tends to clog the network and increase transfer fees. 

• Polygon Labs, a blockchain scaling solution provider, has submitted a proposal  for Celo to become an ETH L2 using the Polygon Chain Development Kit (CDK). Celo, which is moving from its standalone blockchain to a new Layer-2 network on Ethereum, had originally signalled plans to rely on Optimism's OP Stack. 

• DEX platform dYdX has integrated Squid and Axelar solutions based on the cross-chain infrastructure provided by Axelar's interoperability network. The integration will support its transition to dYdX v4, which features its own appchain model in the Cosmos ecosystem.

• Celestia, a modular blockchain project using the Cosmos SDK, has announced the launch of its TIA token, which will be used for data availability services, governance, and consensus. As part of the launch, TIA will include an airdrop of 6% of the token’s 1B supply to eligible users.

• On 23 September, Hong Kong-based cross-chain transactional network Mixin Network disclosed that it had experienced a hack, resulting in the loss of US$200 million in digital assets. According to Mixin, the database of Mixin Network's cloud service provider was attacked by hackers. Further findings by blockchain security firm BlockSec suggest that there was a leak of Mixin users’ private keys held on the cloud service. This made the hack possible and a couple of addresses drained were Mixin's hot wallets.

• Huobi Global's HTX cryptocurrency exchange was hacked, resulting in the loss of $7.9 million worth of cryptocurrency. The exchange claims to know the identity of the attacker and has offered a “white-hat bonus” of 5% if the remaining 95% of the funds are returned. The attack involved a suspicious transaction of 4,999 ETH sent to an unknown address. 

Recent Research Reports

• Research Roundup Newsletter [August 2023]: We present to you our latest issue of Research Roundup, featuring trending market insights in August, charts of the month, and our latest research on decentralised stablecoins.

• Alpha Navigator: Quest for Alpha [August 2023]: Asset classes dipped in August; BTC and ETH underperformed. No surprises from the central bankers summit at Jackson Hole. China intensifies economic stimulus.

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

Recent University Articles

• What Is Litecoin (LTC)?: Bitcoin, but faster and cheaper? Learn about Litecoin, the Bitcoin spin-off aimed at solving Bitcoin’s scalability issues.

• What Is Polygon (MATIC)?: Learn about Polygon’s mission to create a multichain, Ethereum-compatible blockchain ecosystem with the MATIC token.

• What Is Solana (SOL)?: One of the top market cap cryptocurrencies, Solana (SOL) is a high-performance blockchain platform known for its scalability, speed, and low transaction costs.

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