DeFi & L1L2 Weekly – 💪 The stablecoin market showed robust activity with $846 billion on-chain trading volume in May

The stablecoin market showed robust activity in May. Ethena Labs integrated its USDe and sUSDe into the Blast L2. Linea L2 halted block production due to a security incident from the Velocore.

Weekly DeFi Index

This week’s indices were all negative with market capitalisation, volume, and volatility indices dropping by -3.13%, -31.49%, and -42.27%, respectively. 

• 1inch unlocked its 1INCH token on 1 June. The release includes nearly 100 million tokens reserved for developers, early investors, and venture capital funds.

Chart of the Week

Stablecoins saw US$846 billion in on-chain trading volume in May 2024, despite a 30% drop in monthly trading volume compared to the previous month. The stablecoin market demonstrates robust activity, with stablecoins increasingly recognised for their potential to reduce international remittance fees. Additionally, the total stablecoin market capitalisation reached a two-year high of $161 billion in May 2024, according to data from CCData.

PayPal’s stablecoin PYUSD is emerging as a key player, with a market cap nearing $400 million. PayPal recently announced the addition of PYUSD – currently available on Ethereum – on the Solana blockchain.

News Highlights

• Ethena Labs integrated its synthetic dollar currencies, USDe and sUSDe, into the Blast Layer 2 (L2) ecosystem. Ethena’s USDe has also grown quickly, ranking fourth by market cap among stablecoins.
• The Uniswap Foundation announced that it is postponing a vote on a proposed protocol upgrade to reward UNI holders who have staked and delegated their tokens. According to the Foundation, a stakeholder raised a new issue related to the proposed upgrade that requires additional diligence to fully vet. Citing the “immutable nature and sensitivity” of the upgrade, the Foundation has decided to postpone the vote. The news of the postponement has caused the UNI token price to tumble, dropping 8.75% to around $10.20.
• The Ethereum L2 blockchain Linea backed by Consensys is under scrutiny after it revealed that it temporarily halted block production due to a security incident involving the Velocore protocol. Linea made the unilateral decision to halt block production amid a hack of the Velocore protocol, which had integrations with Linea. The Linea team said its goal remains to maintain a permissionless, censorship-resistant environment, but the block production halt has raised concerns about centralisation and Linea’s ability to act unilaterally.

Recent Research Reports

• Points Farming – Development, Significance and Controversies: Points farming has become ubiquitous in crypto recently. The report looks into its development and case studies, Friend.tech and EigenLayer, before delving into its significance and controversies.
• Tokenisation of RWAs & Yield-Bearing Stablecoins: RWA tokenisation signifies a bridge between TradFi and the digital asset space. We explore the tokenisation of securities and its application in yield-bearing stablecoins, which have both gained much attention recently.
• SocialFi – Business Models and New Developments: SocialFi in Web3 empowers users with enhanced data control and direct creator compensation without intermediaries, leveraging blockchain for better user engagement and innovative monetisation methods. 

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Recent University Articles

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• What Is Circle’s USD Coin (USDC)?: In this article, we explore Circle’s USDC, a leading stablecoin in the cryptocurrency market — diving into its unique features, tokenomics, foundation, and utility.
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