Decentralized finance: lending, DEXs, stablecoins, yield, and liquidity. 353 stories curated by CryptoCatalyst.
Crypto markets ended the week stronger after weak U.S. jobs data lowered the chances of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike. Uniswap also gained following a partnership with Robinhood.
A Labour MP has accused Nigel Farage of lobbying the Bank of England for policies that could benefit his largest donor, a major investor in Tether. This raises concerns about potential conflicts of interest in crypto regulation.
Revolut will delist Tether (USDT) by the end of August, converting remaining holdings to users' base currency. This move follows growing regulatory scrutiny and risk concerns around stablecoins.
A7A5 claims crypto data providers understate its trading activity, while blockchain analytics firms say the ruble-backed token's volumes have fallen sharply this year. The discrepancy highlights ongoing tensions between sanctioned entities and independent data providers.
eToro is investing in Extended, an onchain derivatives platform, to bring perpetual futures to its Zengo wallet and expand DeFi products. This move comes as traditional brokers like Robinhood also push into decentralized finance.
Aave has launched its V3 lending protocol on the Monad network, supporting 12 assets. Monad is committing $15 million in incentives over the first year to boost liquidity and adoption.
Standard Chartered is the first Global Systemically Important Bank authorized to let institutions mint and redeem Circle's USDC stablecoin directly, marking a major step in bridging traditional finance with digital assets.
Robinhood Chain, a Layer 2 blockchain built on Arbitrum's tech stack, has launched on mainnet. It offers 24/7 tokenized stocks, lighter perpetual contracts, and plans for AI-driven agentic trading, with Uniswap as a day-one partner.
Circle's CEO emphasized USDC's robust network as a new stablecoin, OUSD, emerges as a potential challenger. Questions remain about OUSD's governance and revenue-sharing models.
Symbiotic has officially launched Core V2, pivoting to shared collateral infrastructure that can support multiple DeFi use cases like insurance, credit, and real-world assets (RWAs). The platform aims to streamline collateral management across various financial applications.
French banking giant Crédit Agricole, through its asset servicing arm CACEIS, has launched a euro-pegged stablecoin called EURXT on Ethereum. The initial issuance includes 20.02 million tokens, aiming to facilitate institutional investments and tokenized fund access.
Aave, a popular DeFi lending protocol, added 1,806 new wallets in a single day, the most since October 2021. The AAVE token has risen about 20% in a week, even as the broader crypto market slides.
Visa, Mastercard, and over 140 companies, including Stripe and Coinbase, have launched Open USD (OUSD), a new stablecoin designed to compete with Circle's USDC. This move could reshape the $300 billion stablecoin market by introducing yield-sharing features.
Major companies including Visa, Stripe, and Coinbase are joining Open USD, a new stablecoin that will share reserve revenue with businesses that mint and redeem it. The stablecoin is expected to launch later this year with no fees or volume limits for minting and redeeming.
MetaMask has launched a new Money Account that lets users earn yield on stablecoins and spend them directly from their wallet. This move aims to make stablecoins more practical for everyday use beyond trading and transfers.
Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, has cratered 17% as major companies like Stripe, Coinbase, and BlackRock back a rival stablecoin network. Open Standard's Open USD aims to let partners keep reserve income and eliminate minting fees, challenging Circle's USDC.
The UK's Financial Conduct Authority is proposing to lower capital requirements for stablecoin issuers, moving away from the stricter rules set by the EU's MiCA framework. This follows the Bank of England's decision to remove limits on the value of stablecoins individuals can hold.
Nasdaq is now offering its TotalView data feed through Pyth Network's marketplace. This move reflects growing demand for financial data on blockchain infrastructure. The partnership aims to enhance transparency and efficiency in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.
New York Life, a major asset manager with $807 billion in assets, is tokenizing a high-yield corporate bond fund on the blockchain using Centrifuge's technology. This marks the firm's first tokenization move and a significant expansion of traditional finance into crypto beyond tokenized Treasury funds.
Ripple outlined how the XRP Ledger Lending Protocol would provide institutions with a novel way to structure loans directly on-chain, bringing a key missing financial primitive to the XRP ecosystem.
Bitcoin lending has rebounded from the 2022 crypto credit collapse with improved risk controls and more institutional involvement, which could lead to lower borrowing costs and more stable lending practices.
Tether's USDT stablecoin is trading at an 8.5% premium in India after raids on crypto payment firms in Bengaluru disrupted the pipeline that supplies USDT to Indian platforms. This is roughly double the usual gap, making USDT more expensive for Indian buyers.
Ukraine has taken control of $8.3 million in seized crypto, marking the first time the country has moved such assets under state management. The funds were linked to an alleged hacking ring and are now held by Ukraine's asset-recovery agency, ARMA.
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) says stablecoins don't meet the standards of sound money and could disrupt the global financial system. The institution urges faster development of tokenized central and commercial bank money.