Weekly DeFi Index

This week, the market capitalisation index dropped by -13.28%, while volume and volatility indices surged by +56.59% and +97.02%, respectively.

• Synthetix’s (SNX) rally could be attributed to its upcoming perpetuals DEX launch on Ethereum, as well as a trading competition scheduled for 20 October, which may shift capital from other platforms.

Chart of the Week

The prediction market sector continues to surge, with Kalshi and Polymarket leading the charge. Kalshi processed over $3 billion in volume in September while Polymarket reached $1.43 billion, marking their highest volumes of the year. The sector's total volume hit a seven-day high of over $1.8 billion in the week of 6 October, the second highest in one year after the week of the US presidential election. Meanwhile, Polymarket secured a $2 billion investment from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). The competition between the two platforms continues to intensify, despite the development of other platforms in the industry.

News Highlights

• Ethereum's Fusaka upgrade was activated on the Sepolia testnet, marking the second phase of a three-step roadmap aimed at improving scalability and performance. The upgrade introduces higher gas limits and tests the new PeerDAS data-sampling system, which allows validators to verify transaction data by sampling small pieces from multiple peers and reducing the burden on nodes.
• Ethereum developers introduced Kohaku, a roadmap aimed at enhancing wallet privacy and security through modular tools, zero-knowledge recovery options, and decentralised transaction handling.
• MetaMask partnered with Polymarket to natively integrate prediction markets into its wallet, allowing users to bet on real-world events like politics and sports later this year. The feature will be available globally, except in certain countries like the US and Canada. Meanwhile, MetaMask is also launching perpetual futures trading via Hyperliquid, for a more user-friendly DeFi experience.
• Blockchain oracle protocol Pyth Network partnered with Kalshi, a US federally-regulated prediction market platform, to deliver real-time prediction market data on-chain.
• The US state of North Dakota plans to launch the Roughrider Coin, a USD-backed stablecoin, in 2026 through the Bank of North Dakota. This initiative aims to streamline interbank financial activities and could position the state as a leader in stablecoin innovation in the US. The project follows Wyoming’s earlier efforts and reflects a growing trend of state governments exploring blockchain technology for more efficient financial transactions.
• Ethena Labs partnered with Solana decentralised exchange (DEX) aggregator Jupiter to launch JupUSD, a Solana-native stablecoin. Built using Ethena’s ‘Stablecoin-as-a-Service’ platform, JupUSD will be integrated across Jupiter’s ecosystem, including Jupiter Perps and Jupiter Lend. It will initially be backed by Ethena’s USDtb, though may later include USDe as collateral.
• S&P Global Ratings partnered with Chainlink to provide on-chain stablecoin risk profiles, enabling financial institutions to assess the stability of stablecoins in real-time. The Stablecoin Stability Assessments (SSAs), launched on the Base network, rate stablecoins on a scale from 1 to 5 based on their ability to maintain their peg.
• Layer-1 blockchain Monad opened its airdrop portal for its upcoming token launch, allowing eligible users to check their status and connect their wallets until 3 November 2025.
• Yield Basis, a protocol developed by Curve founder Michael Egorov announced its YB token launch on 15 October. Yield Basis aims to eliminate impermanent loss for Bitcoin-native yield by leveraging liquidity and automatically re-leveraging to maintain a 2x ratio.

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