Weekly DeFi Index
The market capitalisation index was negative at -5.04%, while the volume and volatility indices were positive at +0.22% and +36.84% respectively.
- Chainlink launched a new “Digital Asset Sandbox” (DAS) that aims to accelerate mainstream financial institutions’ ability to launch pilots and proof-of-concepts exploring digital assets.
Chart of the Week
Biden’s decision not to run for a second term has fueled a surge in betting activity on the 2024 US presidential election on the Polymarket prediction market. Daily trading volume has hit a record US$28 million as bettors rush to take positions.
Bettors have invested over $500 million across several major election-related contracts on Polymarket, including $319 million on the winner of the presidential race, $212 million on the Democratic nominee (with Kamala Harris as the favourite), and $10 million on the vice presidential running mate.
The article notes that the total bet on the 2024 election could potentially surpass the $744 million record set on the Betfair platform for the 2020 US election, and may even reach $1 billion given the time remaining until the election.
News Highlights
- The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given its final approval for spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that hold Ethereum’s Ether (ETH) cryptocurrency on 22 July. The nine different ETFs from eight issuers began trading on 23 July. These ETFs saw over $1 billion in trading volume and a total net inflow of $106.6 million on the first day of trading.
- State Street, a major Boston-based asset management and banking giant, is reported to be exploring the creation of its own stablecoin and tokenised deposits to enable blockchain-based settlement of transfers.
- Ondo Finance, a treasury tokenisation protocol, launched its US Dollar Yield Token ($USDY) on the Cosmos ecosystem’s asset issuance appchain, Noble. This makes $USDY the first tokenised treasury product accessible on the Cosmos network.
- Polygon Labs announced the production-ready Plonky3, their new zero-knowledge (ZK) proving system. Plonky3 provides developers more modular and flexible options for building ZK virtual machines and ZK Ethereum VMs.
- Polygon is set to undergo a mainnet upgrade on 4 September, transitioning from its native token MATIC to a new one with the ticker POL and fresh smart contracts. After the upgrade, POL will replace MATIC as the primary token for gas fees and staking within the Polygon network during the initial phase. The POL token is expected to maintain MATIC’s existing tokenomics, distribution, and total supply. For current MATIC holders on the Polygon PoS network, the transition to POL will occur automatically, requiring no user intervention. However, those with MATIC on Ethereum, the Polygon zkEVM, or various centralised exchanges will need to follow specific migration procedures outlined by the core developers.
- The TON Foundation, the community-driven organisation reviving the Telegram-developed TON blockchain, is planning to launch a Bitcoin bridge on the TON network. The bridge will allow users to move Bitcoin onto the TON blockchain, enabling the minting of wrapped Bitcoin tokens (WBTC) that can be used in DeFi applications on TON.
- Li.Fi, a DeFi protocol that allows users to transfer assets between blockchains, was hacked on 24 July. The hacker was able to exploit a vulnerability in Li.Fi’s code to drain $11 million worth of Ethereum and stablecoins from the protocol.
- Scroll, a zero-knowledge (ZK) scaling solution for Ethereum, announced its chain halt as a precautionary measure to protect users while they investigate the Rho Markets exploit, a decentralised exchange (DEX) on Scroll. The breach at Rho Markets resulted in the loss of $7.6 million in various cryptocurrencies. Rho Markets has halted operations and is working to analyse the incident.
- dYdX’s v3 website was compromised in a domain name service (DNS) attack. Users were warned not to visit the v3 site or click links, even though it was confirmed that the app’s smart contracts were not compromised. The team says v4 on Cosmos is unaffected.
Recent Research Reports
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Research Roundup Newsletter [June 2024] | New Developments in GameFi: Play-to-Airdrop and Prediction Markets | Spot Ethereum ETFs |
| Research Roundup Newsletter [June 2024] |
|---|---|
| New Developments in GameFi: Play-to-Airdrop and Prediction Markets |
| Spot Ethereum ETFs |
- Research Roundup Newsletter [June 2024]: We present to you our latest issue of Research Roundup, featuring our deep dives into ETH ETFs, GameFi, and New Layer-2s.
- New Developments in GameFi: Play-to-Airdrop and Prediction Markets: Both play-to-airdrop and prediction markets have blurred the boundaries between Web2 and Web3. Our latest report looks into new developments in GameFi by delving deeper into these two trends.
- Spot Ethereum ETFs: In May, the SEC approved eight spot Ether ETFs, potentially launching in July. These ETFs, unlike Bitcoin’s, offer staking rewards. Projections estimate ETH ETFs could see $1.4 to $4.5 billion in inflows and $700 million to $2.4 billion in trading volume within six months. Ethereum’s scalability upgrades enhance its investment appeal.
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Recent University Articles
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| What Is MakerDAO (DAI)? | Shiba Inu: A Beginner’s Guide to the Cryptocurrency’s Ecosystem | Crypto Tokenomics: What It Is and Why It Is Important |
| What Is MakerDAO (DAI)? |
|---|---|
| Shiba Inu: A Beginner’s Guide to the Cryptocurrency’s Ecosystem |
| Crypto Tokenomics: What It Is and Why It Is Important |
- What Is MakerDAO (DAI)?: Learn about MakerDAO, the DAO of DAOs, and its stablecoin, DAI — including how to use, trade, and create it.
- Shiba Inu: A Beginner’s Guide to the Cryptocurrency’s Ecosystem: Shiba Inu has evolved far beyond the SHIB token and now boasts a metaverse, DeFi capabilities, NFT collections, and a synergised token network.
- Crypto Tokenomics: What It Is and Why It Is Important: Tokenomics helps traders gauge how valuable a token might become. Here are the key factors to look for.
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