Happy Friday, DeFi readers!

This week…

Wormhole airdrops $W token

Wormhole has launched its $W governance token this week, opening claims for 617 million tokens.

$W debuted at a price of $1.66 per token and a market valuation of $3 billion, but has seen a quick tumble as the wider market faces tough conditions.

The launch led to congestion on the Solana network, as well as a swarm of phishing scam attempts across social media. 

Wormhole also assisted the Fantom blockchain in launching its canonical stablecoin, USDC.e, an official bridged version of Circle’s USDC token.

Ethena introduces BTC backing for USDe

Ethena Labs, creator of the controversial USDe synthetic dollar (not to be confused with USDC.e above), has introduced Bitcoin as backing for USDe – expecting to double the stablecoin’s scalability.

The project has reached $2 billion in TVL, combined with $2 billion of USDe in circulation.

USDe was previously backed only by Lido Staked Ether (stETH), marking the expansion to BTC as a significant move.

Pendle reaches top 10 DeFi TVL

Yield platform Pendle has hit a new milestone of $10 billion in trading volume to date, with $4 billion in total value locked – putting it in the top 10 DeFi platforms by TVL.

The protocol’s growth has been attributed to the Ether staking boom, with significant trading in liquid staking tokens and synthetic dollar protocols like Ethena.

Pendle is also known for its leveraged points trading, enabling users to hedge or leverage their loyalty points up to 28x.

Ripple plans to launch its own stablecoin

Ripple has unveiled plans to launch a US dollar-pegged stablecoin aimed at enterprise clients and payment companies.

The stablecoin, backed by USD deposits, short-term U.S. government treasuries, and cash equivalents, will be audited by a third-party accounting firm, with Ripple publishing monthly attestations. 

Initially available on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum, Ripple's move comes as a strategic effort to offer a reliable alternative as uncertainties still surround Tether (USDT).

Stablecoin update – newsworthy stables this month

With the huge variety of stablecoins on the market, along with several new additions, it’s probably a good time to do a recap on the latest updates for the less-understood contenders:

Ripple’s stablecoin (ticker unknown): Ripple is launching a new stablecoin, emphasizing a compliance-first approach. Ripple aims to boost liquidity on its decentralized exchange with the stablecoin, which will be issued on both Ethereum and the XRP Ledger.

The token will be backed 1:1 by a reserve of cash and cash equivalents.

Ethena’s USDe: Ethena’s USDe has been at the center of a lot of controversy, as community members weigh up the viability of its backing system. Its reliance on derivatives markets for stability opens it up to many additional risks – which may grow as its market cap does.

PayPal’s PYUSD: PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin has stayed relatively low-key in the DeFi world, perhaps due to its overly-centralized nature that goes against the ethos of crypto.

However, the company will now be allowing US clients to send cross-border transactions using the stablecoin (indirectly) as it appears to be trying to boost PYUSD adoption.

First Digital’s FDUSD: FDUSD has slowly crept up the ranks as Binance’s sudden go-to stablecoin, following the disappearance of BUSD. The token has reached a market cap of almost $3 billion, being issued by a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based First Digital Limited.

The token is issued on BNB Chain and Ethereum, with regular attestations of reserves.

Tether’s USDT: The big daddy of stablecoins, Tether’s USDT has surpassed a $100 billion market cap this year. It continues to stoke doubts across the community on its trustworthiness – but still reigns as the largest stablecoin on the market.

Tether has been stacking a lot of Bitcoin in its reserves lately, now holding around $5.2 billion worth of BTC.

Interest Rates

DAI

Highest Yields: Aave at 11.1% APY, Nexo at 10%

MakerDAO Updates

DAI Savings Rate: 13%

ETH Stability Fee: 13%

WBTC Stability Fee: 14.5%

USDC

Highest Yields: Nexo at 10% APY, Aave at 8.48%

Top Stories

US PayPal customers will be able to use stablecoin for international payments

Zircuit Attracts More Than $1B In Pre-Mainnet Deposits Over Six Weeks

Tether Added Nearly 8.9K Bitcoin to Holdings in First Quarter: On-Chain Data

Ethereum Layer 2s Could Rocket to $1T Base Valuation by 2030, VanEck Says

Stat Box

Total Value Locked: $95.79B (down 2.6% since last week)

DeFi Market Cap: $106.29B (down 6.5%)

DEX Weekly Volume: $39.61B (up 1.8%)

DAI Supply: 5.00B (up 3.3%)

Bonus Reads

[Omkar Godbole – CoinDesk] – Frax Finance Expands to Cosmos Ecosystem Via Asset Issuance Chain Noble

[Yogita Khatri – The Block] – EigenLayer AVS Gasp raises funds at $80 million token valuation

[Yogita Khatri – The Block] – Solana interoperability layer Zeus Network raises token round at $100 million valuation

[Pedro Solimano – The Defiant] – Maker DAO To Reduce Borrowing Fees And Increase Spark Debt Ceiling