DeFi & L1L2 Weekly (28/06/2023)

Crypto.com establishes Global Innovation Lab to advance blockchain, Web3, and AI. Circle’s CCTP is now live on Arbitrum. zkSync unveils ZK Stack for building ZK-powered ‘hyperchains’.

Weekly DeFi Index

This week’s market cap, volume, and volatility indices were positive at +13.55%, +55.34%, and +29.33%, respectively.

Chart of the Week

zkEVM chains are reaching new heights as the total value locked in Polygon zkEVM and zkSync have seen a significant surge over the past few months. According to the latest data, zkSync has nearly US$650 million locked in. Meanwhile, Polygon zkEVM continued to see stellar growth as its TVL rose to over $42 million and it recently hit the 1 million transaction mark.

News Highlights

• Crypto.com announced a new initiative to establish its first Global Innovation Lab in Singapore, making the city-state its designated global R&D hub. The new Global Innovation Lab team will actively experiment with frontier technologies, and explore new ventures with strategic partners and hackathons, to identify novel applications for blockchain, Web3, and AI. 
• DAI stablecoin issuer and DeFi protocol MakerDAO purchased $700 million worth of US Treasury bonds, bringing its total bond holdings to $1.2 billion. The purchase was part of a proposal approved in March to increase the DAO’s real-world asset vault debt ceiling to 1.25 billion DAI ($1.25 billion).
• USDC stablecoin issuer Circle announced that its Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) is now live on Ethereum-based Layer-2 scaling solution Arbitrum. The protocol is designed to enable faster and more secure USDC transfers across the Ethereum, Avalanche, and Arbitrum networks. 
• zkSync recently unveiled ZK Stack, a customisable tech stack for creating modular, sovereign ZK-powered Layer-2 and Layer-3 networks referred to as ‘Hyperchains’.
• A new proposal is currently under consideration by Lido token holders, which introduces a tiered profit-sharing programme to incentivise partnerships with other Web3 communities. The proposal has received strong community feedback, citing that while it will expand Lido’s market dominance, it also poses a threat to the health and security of the Ethereum network. 
• Starknet moves closer to EVM compatibility with the upcoming launch of its Kakarot testnet, tentatively scheduled for August. 
• On 24 June, Layer-2 scaling solution Optimism announced that it has rebranded to OP Mainnet. This name change reflects its goal of creating a ‘superchain’ composed of multiple L2 networks, with the OP Mainnet serving as the foundational layer. 
• Blockchain security firm Peckshield reported that Arbitrum-based DeFi project Chibi Finance initiated an exit scam, draining nearly $1 million worth of funds. The team’s website and online accounts have been taken down following the incident. 

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