Weekly DeFi Index

This week's market cap, volume, and volatility indices were positive at +10.47%, +2.16%, and +29.53%, respectively.

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Chart of the Week

Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, has confidentially filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States, signalling its intent to become a publicly traded company. This is Circle’s second attempt since December 2022, as it previously took steps to go public through a US$9 billion SPAC deal. It did not disclose the number of shares it plans to sell or the proposed price range for the new IPO filing.

USDC is the second-largest stablecoin, with a market cap of about $25 billion.

News Highlights

• Polygon launched a new Proof-of-Stake (PoS) testnet named Amoy, which is based on Sepolia and provides a valuable resource for developers in the wake of Goerli's deprecation. Polygon Labs's zkEVM has also announced the second stage of its mainnet beta development, which is dedicated to fostering the growth of decentralised applications (dapps) on the network. 

• The Cosmos Hub network is voting on a proposal to eliminate inflationary pressures on ATOM by reducing the minimum inflation parameter from 7% to 0%. If the proposal is approved and the total bonded ATOM exceeds two-thirds of the supply, inflation may start to reduce to zero gradually. 

• Mantle announced the launch of its V2 testnet named Sepolia. With it, developers can now access the testnet and experience new features and enhancements, including seamless compatibility with the OP Stack and Bedrock upgrade, meta transactions, and a fee optimisation strategy. 

• Solana-based DeFi aggregator Jupiter announced that its JUP token airdrop will take place on 31 January, with one billion JUP to be distributed to eligible Solana DeFi users. Jupiter also announced the introduction of a meme coin next week, the launch of which will serve as a testing ground for Jupiter’s platform.

• Ethereum Layer-2 scaling network Blast launched its testnet and is encouraging developers to build with the launch of its ‘Big Bang’ competition, which gives them a chance to earn token rewards in Blast’s upcoming airdrop.

• Berachain, a meme-fueled project in the Cosmos ecosystem, opened its Layer-1 testnet to the public, marking the debut of its ‘Proof-of-Liquidity’ consensus mechanism.

• Following a governance vote, Fantom reduced its validator self-stake requirement by 90%, from 500,000 FTM to 50,000 FTM, aiming to make validator participation more accessible. 

Recent Research Reports

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• Research Roundup Newsletter [November 2023]: We present to you our latest issue of Research Roundup, featuring trending market insights in November, charts of the month, and our exploration of new developments within the Bitcoin ecosystem.

• 2023 Year Review & 2024 Year Ahead: 2023 has been an eventful year for the crypto industry. In this report, we curate the top crypto events and trends of 2023, followed by our outlook for 2024.

Recent University Articles

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• Bitcoin Payments: What Is the Lightning Network?: The Lightning Network and how to use it to pay with Bitcoin is explained in this in-depth beginner’s guide.

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