Weekly DeFi Index

This week, market capitalisation dropped by -6.86%, while the volume and volatility indices increased by +8.17% and +61.05%, respectively.

• GMX DAO passed a GMX Solana Treasury Swap proposal, aiming to support GMX Solana’s development through monthly GT token purchases by the DAO.
• Synthetix (SNX) will launch multi-collateral margin trading on the Ethereum Mainnet. This new feature will enable users to use various assets, including yield-bearing tokens such as sUSDe, wstETH, and cbBTC, as collateral for perpetual contracts. The introduction of multi-collateral margin trading is anticipated to boost capital efficiency and facilitate advanced trading strategies, including delta-neutral positions that merge staking yields with arbitrage opportunities.
• Aave Labs (AAVE) unveiled its roadmap for Aave V4, targeting a mainnet launch in Q4 2025. This upgrade will enhance protocol security and introduce ERC-4626 share accounting for more transparent yield tracking. A strategic shift will see operations consolidated on the Ethereum mainnet, with underperforming deployments on other networks to be phased out. This move is designed to prioritise high-value deployments and improve profitability, particularly through the native GHO stablecoin.

Chart of the Week

The tokenised real-world assets (RWAs) market has surpassed US$30 billion in on-chain value, marking a 93% year-to-date increase. This accelerated growth, reaching $30 billion from $20 billion in approximately 170 days (compared to 360 days for the jump from $10 billion to $20 billion), was fueled by growing institutional adoption and new offerings such as BlackRock’s BUIDL and Franklin Templeton's BENJI. Private credit dominates the RWA market with nearly $17 billion, followed by US Treasury debt exceeding $7 billion. Continued expansion is anticipated as exchanges and custodians add RWA tokens to their collateral lists and as regulatory clarity improves.

News Highlights

• Ethereum's Fusaka upgrade is scheduled for 3 December, introducing 12 EIPs to improve scalability, security, and reduce costs. The blob capacity will increase in two phases—first around 17 December and again on 7 January 2026—more than doubling the current limit. Prior to the mainnet launch, three public testnets will be conducted between early October and mid-November.
• Ripple partnered with Securitize to enable the use of its RLUSD stablecoin as an off-ramp for tokenised funds by BlackRock and VanEck. This integration allows investors in BlackRock's BUIDL and VanEck's VBILL to exchange tokenised shares for RLUSD, enhancing on-chain liquidity and transfer capabilities.
• PayPal is expanding its PYUSD stablecoin to eight new blockchains, including Tron, Avalanche, and Stellar through LayerZero’s Stargate Hydra bridge, creating a permissionless version called PYUSD0.
• Joseph Lubin, CEO of Consensys, announced that MetaMask's native cryptocurrency, MASK, is expected to launch soon, emphasizing its role in the platform's decentralisation.
• Circle launched native USDC on Hyperliquid’s HyperEVM blockchain, aiming to capture market share ahead of USDH’s debut as the ecosystem’s proposed native stablecoin. Circle also plans to integrate HyperCore DEX with HyperEVM for seamless asset bridging.
• BDACS, a South Korean crypto custody service provider, launched KRW1, a stablecoin fully backed by the South Korean won, on the Avalanche network. Each KRW1 token is collateralised with the won held at Woori Bank. The stablecoin is currently at the proof of concept stage and not publicly circulated.
• UXLink, a Web3 social platform, suffered a security breach in which a hacker exploited a multisignature wallet to steal around $30 million in assets and mint 10 trillion unauthorised UXLINK tokens, causing the token's value to drop by over 90%. UXLink has since worked with exchanges to freeze suspicious funds, announced a token swap plan, and submitted a new smart contract for a security audit to prevent future unauthorised minting.

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