DeFi & L1L2 Weekly — 🚀 21Shares launched a Cronos ETP in Europe; Polygon took the lead in the number of USDC active addresses by chain

21Shares launched a Cronos ETP in Europe. Polygon took the lead in terms of the number of USDC active addresses by chain. Ethena will integrate its USDe and sUSDe within The Open Network.

Quick Take

• 21Shares launched a Cronos exchange-traded product (CRO ETP) in Europe.
• Polygon took the lead in the number of USDC active addresses by chain for the second consecutive month.
• Ethena will integrate its USDe and staked USDe (sUSDe) natively within The Open Network (TON); USDe was also integrated into Hyperliquid.
• Ubisoft collaborated with LayerZero for cross-chain digital asset transfers.

Weekly DeFi Index

This week, the market capitalisation and volume indices dropped by -8.31% and -22.99%, respectively, while the volatility index rose by +8.09%.

• DeFi lending platform Sky proposed to change its governance token from Maker (MKR) to Sky (SKY). The proposal, which includes penalties for slow upgrades and staking rewards, aims to finalise the platform’s upgrade and enable exchanges to adopt SKY without liquidity concerns. If accepted, the change will take place between 15 and 19 May.

Chart of the Week

Polygon took the lead in USDC stablecoin usage for the second consecutive month with 2.9 million active USDC addresses in April, while also reaching an estimated all-time high of 1.7 million active USDT addresses. The combined transfer volume for USDC and USDT on Polygon reached a new peak of US$2.6 billion.

News Highlights

• 21Shares launched a CRO ETP in Europe. The instrument is listed on Euronext’s Paris and Amsterdam exchanges, allowing investors to gain regulated exposure to the Cronos ecosystem. 
• Ethena will integrate its USDe and sUSDe stablecoins natively within The Open Network (TON). The integration will allow Telegram users to access US dollar-denominated savings directly within the platform, with plans to roll out support for custodial and non-custodial wallets. Ethena’s sUSDe has been completely redeveloped to be native to TON smart contracts under a new asset called tsUSDe, and the USDe stablecoin will be introduced on TON through the LayerZero interoperability protocol.
• Ethena integrated its USDe token with Hyperliquid’s Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), allowing traders to earn rewards, borrow, and trade with the stablecoin. 
• Video game publisher Ubisoft launched the Decentralized Verification Network (DVN) in collaboration with blockchain infrastructure firm LayerZero. The DVN enables the transfer of digital assets between more than 130 blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon, addressing technical challenges in blockchain gaming.
• Libre Capital announced its partnership with The Open Network to launch a $500 million fund on the TON blockchain, allowing accredited investors to access tokenised Telegram bonds and yield.
• Aztec Networklaunched its public testnet for its Ethereum-based Layer-2 solution, introducing a fully programmable privacy solution for blockchain.

Recent Research Reports

• Research Roundup Newsletter [March 2025]: We present to you our latest issue of Research Roundup, featuring our deep dives into ‘Crypto Card Consumer Spending Insights 2024’ and ‘RWA Tokenisation’.
• Crypto Card Consumer Spending Insights 2024: A full breakdown of what the Crypto.com community across the globe spent on in 2024.
• Wall Street On-Chain Part 2 – RWA Tokenisation: Real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation is revolutionising traditional finance by bringing liquidity, efficiency, and accessibility. This report explores tokenisation by asset classes, including institutional adoption and regional initiatives, as well as RWAs by chain.

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