Chainalytics

Base, an L2 developed by Coinbase, is on fire 🔥 Its Total Value Locked (TVL) is up 40% this month, reaching $2.2B. The crazy part? Base was launched by Coinbase only a year ago. In this short period of time, Base's TVL: • Grew 370% year-to-date • Surpassed TVL of its parent Optimism by 3x It's built using Optimism's OP stack and is part of its Superchain collective. How did it pull it off? First, it's got a few killer DeFi apps responsible for most of its TVL: • Aerodrome (DEX): $1.1B • Uniswap (DEX): $220M • Extra Finance (Farming): $145M Second, the backing of Coinbase helped channel a lot of traffic and users there. Third, being cheap and fast, Base quickly became one of the top L2s, attracting a lot of users from ETH L1. -- Coinbase clearly understands the needs of users and has built an ecosystem around Base that attracts and retains users. Image via DeFiLlama P.S. What's your favorite ETH L2 to transact on? Follow 👉 Aram Mughalyan & share ♻️ this post if you like it.

As Real World Assets (RWAs) increasingly migrate on-chain and Stabletokens evolve to hold yielding assets like treasuries, DeFi protocols are poised for a transformative expansion. The integration of RWAs into DeFi protocols such as AAVE, Sky, and Curve marks a pivotal step in bridging the gap between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralised finance (DeFi). By tokenising RWAs—ranging from bonds and real estate to commodities—DeFi protocols can unlock a vast pool of liquidity and diversify the range of available assets, offering users access to traditionally illiquid markets. These RWAs can act as collateral within lending and borrowing platforms, driving new yield opportunities and enhancing the stability of DeFi ecosystems. As DeFi becomes more integrated with RWAs, we’ll witness an evolution where the RWA market becomes a subset of the broader DeFi landscape. This could catalyse new forms of financial products and services, such as RWA-backed derivatives, decentralised insurance, or even decentralised credit ratings (being discussed at @Base L2), spurring innovation in financial engineering within DeFi. As a result, the market will expand, attracting institutional players and creating a more mature, diverse ecosystem with real-world economic relevance. Ultimately, the confluence of on-chain RWAs and DeFi will accelerate the adoption of decentralised finance, leading to exponential growth and new opportunities for both retail and institutional participants. The expansion of RWAs in DeFi is not just a trend but a foundational shift that will redefine the scope and potential of DeFi, making it a crucial component of the global financial system. This evolution will bring increased transparency, efficiency, and accessibility to financial markets, as DeFi continues to blur the lines between the on-chain and off-chain worlds. Some great slides from Sergey Nazarov and the workflow from Ondo Finance. #RWA #DeFi #Stablecoins #OnChain #YieldOpportunities

I'm excited to share my latest research on the "Inactive Supply Shift Index", a novel metric that promises to revolutionize how we understand Bitcoin market risks. 🚀 Why is this important? Bitcoin's fixed supply makes it a unique asset, heavily influenced by the dynamics of supply and demand. I've developed this new tool to better assess market risks by closely analyzing the behavior of long-term Bitcoin holders. Think of it as gaining a clearer crystal ball into market movements! What did I do? I dug deep into historical Bitcoin blockchain data, tracking inactive supply over various periods (namely, one to seven years). By computing weekly changes and stacking them into a composite metric, I crafted the Inactive Supply Shift Index. Key Insights: - Precision Over CDD: Where traditional metrics like Coin Days Destroyed fall short, this new indicator excels by revealing not just coin movement, but who the movers are. It's like having x-ray vision into the market! - Behavioral Clues: The metric shines light on when serious, long-term Bitcoin holders shift their assets. Spot these changes early, and you'll be ahead of potential market swings. - Market Impact Forecasting: Historical trends show that spikes in this metric often signal upcoming market corrections or bull runs. For traders and analysts, it's a game-changer! Why does this matter? Understanding the subtle shifts in long-term holder behavior allows traders, analysts, and investors to better gauge market sentiment. It's all about making more informed, strategic decisions. What's next? I'm looking forward to integrating this indicator with other market analytics tools, enhancing its predictive power and providing an even more comprehensive view of cryptocurrency market dynamics. How do you assess Bitcoin market risk? Let’s engage in some enlightening discussions! Data: CryptoQuant

🌐 DePIN Report Q2/2024 🌐 By MarketsAble (Q3 Report coming next month) The DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks) sector is rapidly transforming industries, and our Q2/2024 DePIN Report offers an in-depth look into its growing impact on decentralized infrastructure. 📊 Key insights in the report: ◼ Technological Innovations: Solana’s integral role in the migration of Helium and Render Networks. ◼ Strategic Partnerships: Privacy integration with Peaq and ATOR pushing DePIN forward. ◼ Financial Trends: Massive venture capital investments of over $1 billion, reflecting confidence in decentralized infrastructure. 🔎 Industry Experts and Entities Referenced in the Report: Pranav Kanade – Portfolio Manager, VanEck’s Digital Assets Alpha Fund Till Wendler – Co-Founder, peaq Ashton Hettiarachi – Founder & Product Architect, Openmesh 👏 Special Thanks to the MarketsAble team and the expert contributors: Magomed Kurbaitaev, Aram Mughalyan, Michael Shlayen & Ashton Hettiarachi 🌐 Dive into the cutting-edge developments in DePIN and understand how decentralized infrastructure is reshaping the future! 🌐

deBridge is breaking barriers in DeFi by enabling fast, secure asset transfers across multiple blockchains, enhancing liquidity and cross-chain capabilities. Watch the video below to explore how companies like deBridge are driving cross-chain transfers and boosting DeFi liquidity. #Blockchain #VentureCapital #DeFi

RWA tokens are by far the best-performing sector in crypto over the last year — up over 1,400% per Artemis Mantra (up 50x) and Ondo (up 10x) are leading the charge. But can someone explain to me why we need a Cosmos app chain (Mantra) for RWAs? And why we're valuing that thing at over $1b pre-product? Or why Ondo — a project with some tokenized treasuries and 1 active dev (on some days) — gets a valuation of nearly $8b? --- I'm bullish on tokenization, but extremely bearish on these projects. Here's why: I believe the vast amount of value from tokenization will accrue to: 1. Broker/dealers like Securitize that allow asset managers to compliantly issue tokenized assets on public chains such as Etheruem. 2. The chains where these assets are listed and traded (Ethereum?). 3. The asset managers and service providers such as BlackRock 4. The secondary trading venues (permissioned DeFi?). ---- Where does an app chain for RWAs fit into that? And why would an asset manager like Blackrock want to issue assets on it when it has no liquidity, users, network effects, interoperability, or lindy? And what exactly is Ondo's business model to support the $8b valuation? If you have a contrarian view, let me know in the comments 👇 Data: 1 year weighted avg. performance by sector powered by Artemis

DeFi today is a circular speculative economy. Vitalik said it best, "the value of crypto tokens is that you can use them to earn yield which is paid for by... people trading crypto tokens.” The bigger opportunity is bringing capital markets on-chain. Why is this so incredibly obvious? BlackRock alone manages nearly 5X more assets ($10.5T) than the market cap of the entire crypto market ($2.2T). DeFi has served as an incredible stepping stone, but it is not the catalyst that will bring crypto into the hands billions. In order to evolve beyond the casino stage, we need to tokenize traditional finance. This means treasuries, bonds, mutual funds, credit, stocks, futures, perps, swaps... the whole gauntlet. It's just a matter of time. Eventually, everything will be on chain.

According to a recent MilkRoad article, the DeFi market is expected to hit a $700B market cap by 2025. That’s an 8x increase from where it stands today. However, it’s important to understand that different areas within DeFi may grow at different rates. In DeFi, various categories focus on specific financial services. These include decentralised exchanges , lending platforms, and yield farming, among others. Each category operates differently and has its own potential for growth. For instance, the 'Liquid Re/Staking' category, which allows users to earn rewards by staking their assets, is predicted to grow more than 4x, increasing from $3.78B to $131B within just 18 months (34x increase). While DeFi may have underperformed recently due to the aftermath of the 2020 DeFi summer and current low prices, the sector has made tremendous strides. Many projects now generate sustainable revenues, and DeFi as a whole is well-positioned to outperform traditional finance sectors. For investors who recognise its long-term potential, DeFi is a great opportunity. #DeFi #crypto #blockchain Milk Road

🚀 The Approval of Bitcoin ETF Options: What It Means for Bitcoin and the Market 🚀 The approval of Bitcoin ETF options marks a major shift in how institutional and retail investors can engage with Bitcoin, bringing liquidity and structural changes to the crypto market. ✔ First, it's important to understand that Bitcoin already has a highly liquid options market, with offshore platforms like Deribit seeing $40 billion in monthly volume. These markets are largely used by crypto-native traders, but they are denominated in Bitcoin or Ethereum, limiting their appeal to traditional finance institutions. The introduction of ETF options opens the door for Wall Street to step in, trading Bitcoin options through familiar channels like the CME. ✔ This is where things get interesting. The approval of Bitcoin ETF options is expected to not only increase liquidity but also draw in more market participants. Institutional investors who have been hesitant due to the complexities of crypto-native platforms will now have the ability to trade these options through brokers they already work with, creating an influx of capital. As trading volume rises, liquidity across all platforms will increase, benefiting both institutional and retail traders. ✔ One of the key effects of this approval is that it makes Bitcoin a more accessible asset for risk management. Investors will be able to hedge their Bitcoin positions or write covered calls, leading to more sophisticated portfolio strategies. This kind of flexibility will likely attract more inflows into Bitcoin ETFs, as investors look to take advantage of the options market for income generation and downside protection. ✔ Another exciting development is how this will impact Bitcoin’s price structure. As more financing becomes available, particularly through margin lending against ETFs, it will reduce the need for leveraged positions in Bitcoin futures and forwards. This could compress the basis between spot and forward prices, making the market more efficient and less prone to volatile swings. ✔ Additionally, the approval of Bitcoin ETF options will ripple down to the broader crypto ecosystem. As more dollars flow into Bitcoin, we can expect some of that capital to trickle down into altcoins, creating positive spillovers for other crypto assets. This creates a more robust and interconnected market structure, where liquidity in Bitcoin options can enhance liquidity in other parts of the crypto space. 👉 The options market strengthens Bitcoin’s position as a tradable asset while laying the groundwork for the growth of the entire crypto ecosystem. Expect Bitcoin to experience less volatility as the market matures with this new layer of sophistication. MarketVector Indexes Steven Schoenfeld Joy Yang Raline Sexton Jonas Weber