DeFi

DeFi, short for decentralized finance, represents a shift in the financial sector by leveraging blockchain technology, primarily Ethereum, to eliminate traditional financial intermediaries. It enables various financial applications, from simple transactions to complex contracts, through smart contracts that execute automatically under specific conditions. Key DeFi applications include decentralized exchanges (DEXs), stablecoins, lending platforms, and prediction markets. DeFi offers financial services like loans and interest-earning opportunities without traditional identity verification, relying instead on collateral, usually in cryptocurrency. This innovative sector promises increased accessibility and efficiency but comes with risks, such as market volatility and unregulated projects.


Markets

DeFi Protocol Convergence Hacked, CVG Token Plunges 99% on Curve

The exploiter created 58 million of the protocol's CVG token and then swapped for roughly $200,000 worth of wrapped ETH and crvFRAX and forwarded to Tornado Cash.

outflows (Unsplash)

Finance

Crypto Lending Firm Morpho Bags $50M in Funding Round Led by Ribbit Capital

The strategic funding round included a16z, Coinbase Ventures, Variant, Pantera and Brevan Howard.

Paul Frambot, CEO Morpho Labs (Morpho)

Opinion

Financial Building-Blocks: Structured Products and Blockchain

From significant cost reductions to enhanced composability, and improved accessibility, Christine Cai, Co-Founder of Cicada Partners, and Alexander Szul, CEO of Rome Blockchain Labs, argue the technology can revolutionize the way structured products are issued, managed and distributed.

(Simon L/Unsplash)

Finance

Defi Protocol LI.FI Struck by $11M Exploit

The exploit is reported to be related to the LI.FI bridge.

(Kevin Ku/Unsplash)

Policy

Tornado Cash Co-Founder Alexey Pertsev Denied Bail by Dutch Court

Pertsev sought bail to allow him to prepare for his appeal to the verdict in May which found him guilty of money laundering.

Free Alex Pertsev poster spotted outside the courthouse (Jack Schickler/CoinDesk)

Tech

Exponential.fi Wants to Make It Easier to Invest in DeFi

The platform aims to make it easy to identify opportunities, bridge fiat, assess risk, and invest in crypto all-in-one.

(Gerd Altmann/Pixabay)

Tech

Compound Finance, Celer Site Compromised in Phishing Attack

The website leads to a phishing page that could drain user funds, but the actual protocol remains unaffected.

(Kevin Ku/Unsplash)

Finance

Decentralized Crypto Exchange WOOFi Uses Gaming Style NFTs to Boost DeFi

So-called “Boosters” enhance the yield from WOO tokens, which are staked to earn a share of the DEX’s fees.

Yield Booster NFTs (WOOFi)

Markets

DeFi Tokens Plunge 10%-20%, Led by Pendle Amid Weak Crypto Price Action This Week

Pendle has recently lost $3 billion of its TVL with the June expiry as a result of diminishing airdrop farming hype and lower yields amid muted crypto activity.

CoinDesk DeFi Index

Finance

Polkadot’s $245M Treasury Would Last 2 Years at Current Spending Rate

The blockchain spent $87 million in the first six months this year, with marketing activities accounting for the majority of expenses.

The Polkadot pavilion on the Promenade at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (Sandali Handagama/CoinDesk)