Weekly DeFi Index

This week, the volume index increased by +3.42%, while the market capitalisation and volatility indices dropped by -8.71% and -5.10%, respectively.

• A governance dispute is ongoing between Aave DAO and Aave Labs over fee distribution. Delegates discovered Aave Labs redirected approximately $200,000 weekly in fees from an Aave.com and CoW Swap integration to the company instead of the DAO. Aave co-founder Stani Kulechov defended the move, arguing the fees are outside the protocol and belong to Aave Labs, while purchasing $10 million of AAVE to show commitment. The conflict highlighted broader issues around crypto organisational structures and the rights of tokenholders versus equity holders.
• SushiSwap‘s governance passed a proposal to increase the annual emission rate (AER) of the SUSHI token from 1.5% to up to 5% of total supply, with the decision overwhelmingly controlled by a single wallet holding nearly 100% of the voting power. The move aims to support liquidity mining, new token listings, and growth incentives, with Sushi Labs stating that the goal is to use SUSHI as a tool for long-term, aligned liquidity deals.

Chart of the Week

JPMorganChase launched its first tokenised money market fund, MONY, on the Ethereum blockchain, marking a significant entry into on-chain finance for a global systemically important bank. The fund, seeded with $100 million, is accessible to qualified investors with a $1 million minimum and will offer daily interest payments and redemption in cash or USDC. This move signals a major step by a traditional financial giant into blockchain-based finance, aiming to enhance efficiency and offer new investment opportunities for institutional clients.

As of 15 December, the total distributable value of RWA — tokenised assets that can be moved to and transferred between wallets outside the issuing platform — exceeded $18.6 billion. While tokenised US Treasuries dominated the overall market value, the Institutional Alternative Funds category (excluding Private Credit for comparison) led the growth with an over 11-fold surge year-to-date.

News Highlights

• The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) implicitly approved the tokenisation of certain securities, allowing a subsidiary of Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC), the world’s largest securities settlement system, to offer a tokenisation service on pre-approved blockchains for three years. This move enables the digital representation of RWAs like stocks, bonds, and US Treasuries, aiming to improve efficiency and settlement speed.
• The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) introduced the first official rule proposal for stablecoin issuers following the passage of the GENIUS Act, establishing procedures for banks to launch stablecoin subsidiaries. This marks an important step towards a comprehensive US regulatory framework for stablecoins, and provides a structured path for traditional banks to enter the stablecoin market.
• Visa introduced USDC stablecoin settlement services for US financial institutions on the Solana blockchain, with Cross River Bank and Lead Bank as initial participants and a broader rollout planned for 2026.
• Global electronic brokerage Interactive Brokers (IBKR) introduced stablecoin deposits into its brokerage accounts, starting with a staggered rollout in the US and allowing eligible users to fund their accounts directly with stablecoins.
• Circle agreed to acquire Interop Labs, the original developer of the decentralised interoperability network, Axelar Network. The deal, expected to close in early 2026, includes the team and intellectual property, while Axelar Network, its foundation, and the AXL token will remain independent and community-governed. The acquisition aims to enhance interoperability for assets on Circle’s Arc blockchain, improve tooling for multichain applications, and support the development of Circle-built products.
• MetaMask added Bitcoin support, enabling users to buy, send, and receive BTC directly within the wallet.
• Tether is considering tokenising its stock to provide liquidity to investors and potentially facilitate buybacks, amid a $20 billion fundraising effort at a $500 billion valuation.
• Gnosis Chain will undergo a hard fork to recover $9.4 million in funds frozen after a $128 million exploit of the Balancer DeFi protocol. The move reignited debate within the community about whether blockchain immutability should be overridden for user protection.

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