DeFi & L1L2 Weekly — 🚀 EigenLayer’s mainnet Slashing feature is set to launch; PayPal offers SOL and LINK

EigenLayer’s mainnet Slashing feature is set to launch; PayPal added SOL and LINK to its crypto offerings; the Ethereum Pectra upgrade is set for 7 May.

Weekly DeFi Index

This week, the market capitalisation and volatility indices dropped by -19.40% and -2.03%, respectively, while the volume index increased by +21.17%.

Chart of the Week

EigenLayer’s mainnet Slashing upgrade is set to launch on 17 April. The feature allows Actively Validated Services (AVSs) to set parameters for Operators. Those that fail to meet the conditions are penalised, while successful ones earn rewards. This update enables Operators to earn rewards and AVSs to launch new trustless on-chain services.

EigenLayer enables Ethereum validators to restake natively via ETH or restake using other liquid staking tokens (LSTs). The total value locked (TVL) on EigenLayer dipped by 51% year-to-date, and native staking accounted for 81.9% of the total tokens staked.

News Highlights

• Ethereum developers have set 7 May as the date for the Pectra upgrade, which aims to improve the user experience and efficiency of the blockchain.
• PayPal added Solana (SOL) and Chainlink (LINK) to its cryptocurrency offerings, allowing US customers to buy, sell, and transfer these tokens.
• Lens protocol, a decentralised social media ecosystem led by Aave founder and CEO Stani Kulechov, launched its mainnet, Lens Chain, after migrating from Polygon to its own Ethereum Layer-2 solution. Lens Chain features high-performance execution and data availability, and Aave’s GHO stablecoin is used for transaction fees.
• The Babylon Foundation is launching the Babylon Genesis Network and will airdrop 600 million BABY tokens to early Bitcoin stakers and supporters.
• Cardano Foundation launched Veridian, an open-source platform for managing digital identities, to address current security flaws. The platform allows users to securely prove their identity online without sharing sensitive data, with the added option of linking their information to the Cardano blockchain for assurance.
• Trump-backed World Liberty Financial proposed a test airdrop of its dollar-pegged stablecoin, USD1, to WLFI token holders. This airdrop aims to promote the stablecoin before its broader market debut and reward early supporters.
• USDT stablecoin issuer Tether may create a new token specifically for the US if new rules make stablecoins competitive, says Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino. The company is involved in discussions with the US to create a domestic stablecoin as a settlement currency.
• The FDUSD stablecoin depegged from the US dollar on 2 April after Tron founder Justin Sun claimed that its issuer, First Digital, was insolvent. The company denied the claims, stating they remain solvent, and that FDUSD is still fully backed and redeemable.

Recent Research Reports

Recent Research Reports

• 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.

• Alpha Navigator: Quest for Alpha [March 2025]: Asset performance was mixed. Crypto and Equities led the drop, while Real Assets and Fixed Income increased. In March, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to establish a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and digital asset stockpile.

• The Evolution of the Institutional Crypto Market: From Liquidity to Global Adoption: This article presents the institutional crypto market, focusing on liquidity and global adoption.

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