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A recent report by on-chain analytics firm Santiment has shown the most frequently mentioned crypto founders across various online platforms, including X (formerly Twitter), Reddit, Telegram, 4Chan, Farcaster and Bitcointalk. The analysis highlights key figures who have shaped the crypto scene, with Bitcoin’s mysterious creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, topping the list.
Accompanying Santiment's tweet was a chart that indicated all-time mentions of relevant crypto founders according to discussion frequency on X, Reddit, Telegram, 4Chan, Farcaster and Bitcointalk.
👨🦰 The following chart indicates the all-time mentions of relevant crypto founders according to discussion frequency on X, Reddit, Telegram, 4Chan, Farcaster, and Bitcointalk. These are the top 10:
1⃣ Satoshi Nakamoto: The mysterious figure behind Bitcoin, credited with writing… pic.twitter.com/BHt9fEFwAt
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) March 5, 2025 In its tweet, Santiment named the top 10 most-mentioned cryptocurrency founders, per the chart. The top three include Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator(s) of Bitcoin, who is credited with producing the whitepaper in 2008 and establishing the first blockchain-based digital currency. Do Kwon, cofounder of Terra (LUNA) and UST, is well-known for the 2022 collapse of his algorithmic stablecoin project, which resulted in the loss of billions of dollars in investor funds. Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum cofounder, pioneered smart contracts, which allowed decentralized apps (dApps), NFTs and DeFi to flourish.
Justin Sun, Shiba Inu's Ryoshi, among top 10Santiment went on to list the rest of the top 10 most-mentioned crypto founders, noting that when one of these names starts trending on social media, crypto market volatility typically rises. Prices often rise or fall in response to the positive (FOMO) or negative (FUD) community views associated with them.
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The rest of the top 10 include Tron founder Justin Sun; Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of FTX, whose crypto exchange imploded in 2022; Roger Ver, an early Bitcoin investor and proponent of Bitcoin Cash (BCH); and Ryoshi, the anonymous founder of Shiba Inu (SHIB), who disappeared from the public eye after launching one of the biggest meme coins.
Others include Charles Hoskinson, creator of Cardano (ADA) and cofounder of Ethereum; Charlie Lee, creator of Litecoin (LTC); and Changpeng Zhao, cofounder and former CEO of Binance.
David Schwartz, Ripple's CTO and one of the architects of the XRP Ledger, ranks 11th on the chart.
This article examines why Shiba Inu will remain a meme coin despite the numerous projects launched in its ecosystem.
Shiba Inu has been turning heads with its significant developments that have led to the growth of its ecosystem. The rationale behind these moves is to transition SHIB from a meme coin into a utility project.
Shiba Inu Achievements For context, Shiba Inu launched in August 2020, initially focusing on becoming the biggest meme coin in the market, a title Dogecoin has held for several years.
However, everything changed a few months later, as the ecosystem team, led by its pseudonymous founder, Ryoshi, outlined a strategic vision that will potentially transition SHIB from a meme coin to a utility token.
Ever since, Shiba Inu has grown from just a token into an ecosystem, with significant projects like an L2 blockchain (Shibarium), a decentralized exchange (ShibaSwap), and games (Shiba Eternity, Agent Shiboshi, Shiboshi Rush, Lap Dog, and Shibridge).
Other Shiba Inu ecosystem-related projects include SHIB: The Metaverse and non-fungible tokens (Shiboshi and SHEboshi).
Only Factor Keeping SHIB As a Meme Coin Despite these notable achievements, one factor has kept SHIB in the realm of meme coins: its hefty supply.
Unlike most established utility cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH, XRP, BNB, and SOL, Shiba Inu boasts a hefty circulating supply. This enormous supply is a characteristic common to only meme coins.
Notably, the circulating supply of Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, BNB, and Solana currently stands at 19.83 million, 120.59 million, 58.04 billion, 142.47 million, and 508.9 million, respectively.
The limited supply of these established cryptocurrencies makes them attractive to investors, potentially driving up their value. This is evident in the price surge of these assets over the past few weeks.
In contrast, Shiba Inu currently has a circulating supply of 589.25 trillion tokens, akin to most meme coins, which also have astronomical supplies.
This enormous supply of Shiba Inu dilutes the value of each SHIB, potentially making it difficult for the token to witness significant price spikes observed in other limited-supply assets like BTC, ETH, XRP, BNB, and SOL.
Therefore, for Shiba Inu to leave the realm of meme coins, the community must collectively burn a huge chunk of its supply.
Although 410.74 trillion SHIB has been incinerated so far, there is still a need for more burns due to the token’s 589.25 trillion astronomical supply.
DisClamier: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author's personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basic opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.
A recent piece has highlighted the incredible role the Shiba Inu team has played in sustaining the SHIB ecosystem and keeping Ryoshi’s legacy.
Ryoshi created Shiba Inu in August 2020 as a decentralized ERC-20 token without presales, VC funding, or massive developer allocation. Five years later, the token has become central to a growing ecosystem despite a change at the helm.
For perspective, the pseudonymous creator disappeared in May 2022, leaving the Shiba Inu ecosystem in the hands of the current leaders piloted by Shytoshi Kusama. Since then, the team has led the ShibaArmy to a greater cause than owning a meme coin.
In a recent tweet, the Shiba Inu ecosystem marketer, Lucie, highlighted some milestones the team has helped the ecosystem achieve in their three-year tenure.
Adoption and Expansion The Shiba Inu ecosystem team has kept Ryoshi’s dream alive despite his absence and has piloted the expansion of the ecosystem to a crypto powerhouse, according to Lucie.
It started with the development of the ShibaSwap, a decentralized marketplace launched in 2021 where users can trade Shiba Inu and other ecosystem tokens. Furthermore, its introduction of staking, on-chain governance participation, and liquidity farming has made a difference.
In 2023, the Shiba Inu team launched the Shibarium network, an Ethereum layer 2 blockchain, which allowed users to transact cheaply and swiftly. Further, the ecosystem developers debuted an auto-SHIB burn mechanism, which uses a portion of the transaction fees on the blockchain to buy and incinerate Shiba Inu.
Soon enough, Shiba Inu became a household name in the space, drawing interest from tier-1 exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, and Crypto.com. Currently, SHIB is listed on over 100 major exchanges globally.
Maturity to Compete Squarely in An Evolving Space Kusama has often stressed the team’s focus on utility, which transcends its meme coin origin. While newer and better features are on the horizon, the Shiba Inu ecosystem has achieved an impressive feat in real-world utility and adoption, spurred by the team.
For perspective, the meme coin became a means of payment for global brands and retail outlets. Some of the prominent entities that accept SHIB payment include Newegg, AMC Theatres, Gucci, Travala.com, NowPayments, and Flexa.
The team also brought gaming and NFTs to the Shiba Inu ecosystem. The development of the popular Shiba Eternity, whose Web3 version is currently in closed beta, the Lap Dogs, and Agent Shiboshi, among others, drew gamers to the network. They also introduced in-game NFT collectibles, which could be bought and sold in the marketplace.
Other Shiba Inu team innovations include the Shib: The Metaverse and the Shib OS. The team has also launched campaigns and charitable donations to give back to society.
Interestingly, Lucie stressed that these innovations have kept Shiba Inu in the spotlight and upheld decentralization, a core vision of its creator, Ryoshi.
DisClamier: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author's personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basic opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.
The Shiba Inu team recently reminded Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin that SHIB funds were instrumental in supporting the Crypto Relief charitable organization.
This comes after Buterin thanked Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) for donating $10 million worth of BNB in support of his biotech project. In a tweet, the Ethereum founder noted that CZ’s financial donation will help protect humanity from airborne disease.
In a follow-up message, Buterin also expressed gratitude to Polygon’s CEO, Sandeep Nailwal, and the charitable organization Crypto Relief (now Blockchain for Impact). He thanked them for funding biomedical infrastructure in India and returning surplus funds to Balvi for global research and development.
Also worth reiterating thanks for all the support from @sandeepnailwal @CryptoRelief_, who both funded important biomedical infra in India and returned a large portion of to Balvi to expand on its research and dev mission globally.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) July 1, 2025
However, Buterin’s appreciation post notably ignored the contributions of Shiba Inu to the charitable effort. In response, members of the SHIB community called out the omission.
Team Points Out SHIB Omission in Buterin’s Appreciation Post Notably, Kaal Dhairya, a top developer of the Shiba Inu ecosystem, pointed out that Buterin failed to acknowledge the billions of SHIB tokens that were initially used to fund Crypto Relief in its early stages.
Since @VitalikButerin forgot to mention the billions in #SHIB tokens that actually funded @CryptoRelief_, let me help complete his tweet 🐕💸
You’re welcome. https://t.co/QwPpaYVnzm
— Kaal (@kaaldhairya) July 1, 2025
To recap, Nailwal launched the Crypto Relief Fund in April 2021 during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Shortly after its creation, Buterin donated 50.6 trillion SHIB, then valued at approximately $1.2 billion, to the nonprofit.
The Ethereum co-founder made the donation using a portion of the 500 trillion SHIB tokens he received from Shiba Inu’s pseudonymous founder Ryoshi.
Of the 500 trillion SHIB tokens, Buterin sent over 410 trillion of these tokens to a dead address, permanently removing them from circulation. He subsequently sent the remaining tokens to other nonprofits, with Crypto Relief receiving 50.6 trillion SHIB (worth about $1.2 billion at the time).
Shiba Inu Craving Buterin’s Recognition Since Buterin’s initial SHIB donation contributed to Crypto Relief’s support for India’s biomedical infrastructure and Balvi’s global R&D efforts, Dhairya believes the Ethereum co-founder owes Shiba Inu a proper acknowledgment.
Additionally, Dhairya’s messages reminded the Shiba Inu community that SHIB played a part in Crypto Relief’s donations. It also positions Shiba Inu as a token that provides financial support for real-world causes, including charitable contributions.
Since last year, the Shiba Inu ecosystem team has been trying to gain Buterin’s attention following his statement that rival Dogecoin deserves to be the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
This claim did not sit well with the Shiba Inu community. Many believe SHIB deserves recognition from Buterin, given its contributions to the Ethereum ecosystem. Notably, Kusama requested a 10-minute conversation with Buterin to discuss SHIB’s potential and why it should be recognized as a top digital asset.
Despite efforts by the SHIB community to draw Buterin’s attention to Kusama’s proposal, the Ethereum co-founder has yet to respond.
DisClamier: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author's personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basic opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.
A crypto investor recounts how he missed a golden opportunity with Shiba Inu by selling his holdings too soon.
Earlier this week, crypto users took to X to share their biggest regret in the crypto space. Some narrated how they missed a chance to buy a particular asset when it was at a lower price. Others recounted how they sold their crypto holdings too early before the major pump.
User Sells 2.1% SHIB Supply Early Crypto investor Rick Primes shared how he sold a substantial volume of Shiba Inu too soon. The early SHIB investor claimed he initially held 2.1% of Shiba Inu’s supply at one point.
Since Shiba Inu originally launched with a total supply of 1 quadrillion tokens, this 2.1% would have equated to 21 trillion SHIB. Based on the current supply of 589 trillion tokens, this would now represent around 11 trillion SHIB. However, the investor did not disclose the exact figure he held.
Meanwhile, Primes sold this large stake before Shiba Inu’s massive rally in 2021. After his initial sale, he returned and acquired more SHIB tokens.
At that time, Primes said he accumulated 0.8% of the total SHIB supply. However, he eventually sold those tokens again, for roughly $20 to $30 million.
Soon after, he watched the price of Shiba Inu skyrocket, eliminating any realistic chance of buying back in.
Reflecting on the 2.1% stake he sold too early, Primes claimed the holding would have been worth around $882 million at the “omega top,” Shiba Inu’s all-time peak.
Notably, Shiba Inu reached a peak price of $0.00008845 on October 28, 2021. Many investors reported life-changing gains from SHIB, including some who claimed to have become billionaires.
Shiba Inu Early Days Shiba Inu, which was once dismissed as just another meme coin, stunned the broader crypto market with its jaw-dropping rally in the 2020/2021 cycle. Having launched at an initial price of $0.000000000056, Shiba Inu succeeded in eliminating six leading zeros and spiked to an all-time high of $0.00008845 within 14 months.
Before this rally, Shiba Inu tested investors’ patience. By late 2020, it often seemed as though the development team had vanished. During this period, most investors liquidated their holdings, while a few remained patient.
Things started turning around in early 2021 when several major crypto exchanges, including Binance, listed SHIB on their platforms. In May 2021, Shiba Inu’s pseudonymous founder, Ryoshi, drew attention to the project by gifting half of SHIB’s total supply (500 trillion tokens) to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.
Shortly after receiving the tokens, Buterin burned over 410 trillion SHIB by sending them to a dead wallet and donated the remainder to charity. This move cleared the path for Shiba Inu’s subsequent surge to its peak.
Although Primes missed out on a potential ten-figure fortune, he still managed to earn up to $30 million from his second SHIB sale. Many others didn’t get the opportunity to earn substantially from SHIB after selling early.
Yet, a handful of other early SHIB investors also raked in millions of dollars from Shiba Inu. A case in point was two brothers from New York who saw their small investment of $7,900 balloon into $9 million.
DisClamier: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author's personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basic opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.
With Shiba Inu losing over 40% of its value since January 2025, several factors have contributed to this downward pressure in SHIB.
Earlier, many teased that 2025 would be the year Shiba Inu would embark on a multi-month rally to an all-time high. However, this expectation has fallen short as Shiba Inu has largely underperformed this year.
For context, at the current price of $0.00001227, SHIB is down 42.2% year-to-date. It is currently trading at 86.15% below its ATH of $0.00008845.
Key Factors Behind Shiba Inu 2025 Struggles Shiba Inu’s underperformance in 2025 is a result of a combination of internal and external market forces. Notably, the broader cryptocurrency market has been on shaky ground for most of 2025, resulting in substantial price declines. Macroeconomic pressures, including tariff wars and recession fears, have negatively impacted the performance of cryptocurrencies.
Intense Meme Coin Competition Additionally, Shiba Inu is facing intense competition from meme coin rivals, including Dogecoin, PEPE, and BONK. As a result, some investors shifted their attention to these tokens, while SHIB experienced low demand.
Fading Community Hype Shiba Inu no longer enjoys the same hype that pushed it to an all-time high of $0.00008845 in 2021. This hype has diminished, with investors liquidating their SHIB holdings and shifting their attention to newer coins
With Shiba Inu failing to replicate its outstanding performance in 2021, most community members have lost interest in the asset.
Fundamentals Shiba Inu has made significant progress in expanding its utility through projects like ShibaSwap and Shiba Eternity. Yet, its real-world use case is still low compared to that of established cryptocurrencies.
Moreover, its token burn campaign, which many see as the fastest route to price appreciation, has not impacted SHIB’s value. While Shiba Inu burn tracker reports millions and billions of tokens burned daily, the amounts destroyed have been inconsequential in impacting the price.
To put things into perspective, over 410.75 trillion SHIB tokens have been burned since 2021. Out of this total, Ethereum’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, burned the 410 trillion tokens in 2021.
It has been over four years since the transaction, and the community has not burned at least one trillion SHIB. Shiba Inu continues to maintain an enormous supply of roughly 589 trillion tokens, which impedes the chances of a significant rally.
Government Policy and Regulation The crypto industry has made progress in terms of regulation. This is evident in the enactment of the GENIUS Act for stablecoins and the ongoing review of the market structure bill in the U.S. Senate.
While the government has backed cryptocurrencies on several occasions, its tariff war did more damage to crypto assets, including SHIB, this year.
Low Institutional Interest The lack of institutional interest in Shiba Inu has also contributed to the asset’s performance this year. While Shiba Inu has seen massive interest from retail investors, institutions have stayed away from the asset. This is evident in the lack of a spot ETF application for the cryptocurrency in the U.S.
Meanwhile, asset managers are seeking to launch several spot ETFs focusing on Shiba Inu’s rival, like Dogecoin. A crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) helps channel inflows from traditional and institutional investors into its underlying asset.
Leadership Issues Shiba Inu has been around since August 2020, but concerns about its leadership remain a major bone of contention. Following the disappearance of pseudonymous founder Ryoshi, another pseudonymous leader, Shytoshi Kusama, assumed leadership of the project.
Despite this, Kusama has maintained the same anonymous leadership style, often communicating in vague terms. This has led to increased negative sentiment, with many questioning the project’s credibility.
Missed Deadlines and Incomplete Projects Shiba Inu’s ecosystem team has introduced several projects, including Shibarium and SHIB: The Metaverse, to transform the token from a meme coin to one with utility. However, most, such as SHIB: The Metaverse, are still in progress.
Last year, Shiba Inu’s marketing lead, Lucie, confirmed that the team aims to complete all projects within the 2024/2025 timeframe. It’s only a few months until the end of this year, and anticipations continue to build for the proposed release.
Currently, there is no information about the proposed privacy Layer-3 blockchain, which is scheduled for a Q4 2025 launch.
Overall, Shiba Inu’s underperformance in 2025 stems from a storm of market downturn, fading hype, and low institutional interest, among other factors.
DisClamier: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author's personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basic opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.
Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin recently offloaded billions in meme coins. This has brought back memories of how Buterin handled the Shiba Inu tokens that SHIB’s founder Ryoshi sent to him back in 2021.
Ethereum Founder Offloads Billions Of Meme Coins On-chain analytics platform Onchain Lens revealed in an X post that the Ethereum founder had sold 150 billion PUPPIES for 28.58 ETH ($114,480) and 1 billion ERC20 for $13,889 USDC. These are tokens that Vitalik received for free, as meme coin teams and the community are known for sending coins to the Ethereum founder.
This practice dates to as far back as 2021, when the Shiba Inu founder Ryoshi sent 500 trillion SHIB tokens, which represented half of the meme coin’s total supply. The Ethereum founder famously burned 450 trillion coins by sending them to a dead wallet, while he donated the remaining 50 trillion coins to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic at the time.
Since then, Vitalik has adopted a similar approach for every meme coin he receives. The Ethereum founder usually sells these coins and then donates the proceeds to charity. He had mentioned last year that he would truly prefer if these coins were sent directly to charity. Vitalik further advised community members to consider setting up a DAO and getting community members directly involved in decision-making.
The Ethereum founder added that the best thing for meme coins is if they can be maximally positive-sum for the world, and that it will be great to see moments when that actually happens. However, these transfers to Vitalik are often viewed as a means for these meme coins to increase their visibility.
Vitalik’s move with the SHIB tokens undoubtedly contributed to putting Shiba Inu in the spotlight. He burned those tokens just as the meme coin went on its legendary run in 2021, reaching its current all-time high (ATH) of $0.00008845 in the process.
A Peek Into Vitalik’s Public Wallet Arkham data shows that the Ethereum founder still has more meme coins in his pubic wallet, which he received from community members. His largest meme coin holding is currently Moodeng, which he holds 30 billion coins worth $518,000. Meanwhile, his largest crypto holding in value remains ETH. Vitalik holds 240,000 ETH worth just over $1 billion.
The Ethereum founder regained his on-chain billionaire status following ETH’s break above $4,000 last month. ETH eventually reached a new ATH in the process, which caused Vitalik’s wealth to surge briefly. However, the largest altcoin is currently struggling to hold above the psychological $4,000 level amid the recent crypto market downtrend.
At the time of writing, the Ethereum price is trading at around $4,200, up over 2% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
ETH trading at $4,181 on the 1D chart | Source: ETHUSDT on Tradingview.com Featured image from Medium, chart from Tradingview.com
The Ethereum network stands as a revolutionary innovation in the realm of blockchain technology. It serves as a robust platform for building and deploying decentralized applications (dApps), fueling the growth of decentralized finance (DeFi) and transforming the way we interact with financial services. However, with its widespread adoption and increasing popularity, Ethereum has faced challenges of scalability and high transaction fees, leading to the development of Layer 2 scaling solutions to enhance its capabilities.
The Ethereum blockchain hums with innovation, birthing a new breed of digital assets known as ERC-20 tokens. These versatile gems unlock a treasure trove of possibilities, from voting rights in decentralized communities to fueling innovative applications and even representing virtual currencies.
ERC-20 tokens are standardized building blocks on the Ethereum network. They adhere to a specific set of rules, ensuring seamless interaction and divisibility, making them perfect for trading and diverse applications. Think of them as digital coins, each with its unique identity and purpose, ready to be exchanged, used, and explored.
Whether you’re a seasoned crypto trader or a curious newcomer, navigating the thrilling world of ERC-20 trading can be challenging. This comprehensive guide will equip you with the knowledge and tools to confidently buy, sell, and trade these digital assets on the Ethereum network.
Some of the major and popular ERC-20 Tokens are Tether (USDT), Polygon (MATIC), Chainlink (LINK), Uniswap (UNI), Lido DAO (LIDO), Maker DAO (MKR), amongst many others.
Features of Ethereum Network Ethereum’s innovative design sets it apart from other networks, paving the way for a decentralized future of finance, applications, and beyond. Distinguished by its unique features and capabilities, it stands as one of the pioneers of Blockchain Technologies with standout features like:
The Power of Smart Contracts
The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) serves as the core engine that drives the execution of smart contracts on the Ethereum network. These smart contracts are self-executing code that automates various actions and agreements, forming the foundation of dApps and DeFi protocols. EVM compatibility is crucial for deploying and interacting with ERC-20 tokens, the most common token standard on Ethereum.
Unlike static databases, Ethereum boasts the groundbreaking ability to execute self-enforcing agreements through smart contracts. These programmable pieces of code automate a wide range of tasks, enabling trustless interactions and the creation of innovative applications in diverse sectors.
Layer 1 and Layer 2: Addressing Scalability
The Ethereum mainnet functions as a Layer 1 blockchain, the base layer where all transactions are ultimately settled. To address the scalability bottlenecks on this primary layer, Layer 2 solutions have emerged as a promising approach. These solutions aim to offload a significant portion of transaction processing off-chain, resulting in increased throughput, faster confirmation times, and significantly reduced transaction costs.
A Platform For Innovation
Ethereum isn’t just a cryptocurrency platform; it’s a fertile ground for developers to build revolutionary decentralized applications (dApps). From DeFi protocols automating financial transactions to NFTs unlocking new ownership models, the possibilities are endless.
Gas and Gas Fees: Fueling Transactions
Within the Ethereum network, gas refers to the computational power required to execute transactions and smart contracts. Users pay gas fees to compensate miners for processing their transactions. Gas fees are denominated in ETH, Ethereum’s native cryptocurrency.
Fueling Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
As a breeding ground for DeFi protocols, Ethereum empowers users to take control of their finances. Borrow, lend, invest, and trade without dependence on intermediaries, fostering a more open and inclusive financial system.
Ecosystem And Adoption
Unlike centralized projects, Ethereum thrives on a vibrant and passionate community. Developers, miners, and users participate in its governance and evolution, ensuring its development remains transparent and aligned with the community’s needs. This growing ecosystem includes decentralized exchanges (DEXs), gaming applications, and more.
Exploring Layer 2 Scaling Solutions
Layer 2 scaling solutions offer a promising pathway to address the scalability challenges faced by the Ethereum mainnet. They operate as secondary layers built on top of the main blockchain, providing alternative mechanisms for transaction processing and data storage.
Here are some common types of Layer 2 solutions:
Sidechains: Independent blockchains that run in parallel with Ethereum, enabling faster and cheaper transactions. Plasma Chains: Blockchains that leverage Ethereum for security and finality, offering scalability benefits through data offloading. Optimistic Rollups: The technology employed by the Ethereum network for token transactions, which bundles multiple transactions off-chain and submits a summary to the mainnet for verification. Beyond Features: What Truly Sets Ethereum Apart? Ethereum’s uniqueness extends beyond its specific features, encompassing its fundamental characteristics and impact on the blockchain landscape.
Network Effect and Ecosystem: Through its early adoption and widespread implementation, Ethereum has established a robust network effect. Developers, projects, and users gravitate towards it, creating a flourishing ecosystem that strengthens its overall value and resilience.
Security and Trust: Built on a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, Ethereum offers a high level of security and protection against malicious attacks. Its distributed nature further bolsters trust and transparency, minimizing the risk of centralized control.
Flexibility and Adaptability: Ethereum’s design prioritizes flexibility and adaptability. Upgradeability mechanisms allow it to evolve and adopt new features to remain relevant and address emerging challenges in the blockchain space.
Global Impact and Pioneering Spirit: Ethereum has gone beyond being a mere technological advancement; it has ignited a global conversation about decentralization, ownership, and financial autonomy. Its pioneering spirit continues to inspire innovation and shape the future of our digital world.
How To Get Started on the Ethereum Network for ERC-20 Tokens.
To buy/sell ERC-20 Tokens, you’ll need a crypto wallet. There are several crypto wallets to choose from within the Ethereum network and, popular options include software wallets like MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Coinbase Wallet, Binance WAllet, etc.
If you are using a desktop computer, you can download Google Chrome and install the MetaMask Wallet Chrome extension. If you prefer using your mobile phone, you can download MetaMask wallet via Google Play or the iOS App Store.
Just make sure that you are downloading the official Chrome extension and mobile app by visiting MetaMask Wallet’s website.
Once you’ve registered and set up your wallet via the Google Chrome Extension or via the mobile app you downloaded, MetaMask wallet allows users to manage their cryptocurrency wallets and interact with decentralized applications (DApps) to execute transactions on supported blockchain networks directly from their browsers. (Write down your seed phrase on a piece of paper and keep it in a safe place!).
Now, you’ll need to connect and add Ethereum to your MetaMask wallet. You may refer to MetaMask support page for reference on their website.
Trading ERC-20 Tokens on the Ethereum Network. In order to ERC-20 token trades on the Ethereum network, you will need to buy ETH as your base currency. You can buy ETH on centralized exchanges such as Binance, copy your wallet address from Metamask, and then send the ETH from Binance to your Metamask wallet.
You can also purchase ETH directly within the Metamask wallet using traditional payment methods such as credit or debit cards, etc.
Just click on the “Buy/Sell” button within Metamask to open the interface. Here, you can put how much ETH (or any other token) you want to buy in terms of dollar terms, pick your payment method, and then click “Buy”.
Note that to buy crypto directly within Metamask, you will need to provide info such as your country and state. However, it is a straightforward process that only takes a minute.
It’ll only take a couple of minutes at most for your ETH to arrive in your wallet. Once the ETH arrives, you are all set to begin trading ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum network. So, head over to UniSwap to get started on your trading journey.
How To Trade ERC-20 Tokens On The Ethereum Network Using UniSwap Uniswap is a decentralized exchange (DEX) protocol built on the Ethereum blockchain. It allows users to trade Ethereum-based tokens directly from their wallets without the need for intermediaries or traditional order books.
Uniswap offers users a simple and straightforward way to buy and sell a wide variety of tokens. Be sure you’re on the Uniswap website to protect your wallet.
The first step is clicking on the “Launch App” button at the top right corner, as shown in the image below:
The next step is clicking on the connect wallet option on Uniswap at the top right corner, as shown in the image below:
Connect to your preferred wallet as shown below. (In this case, it’s Metamask):
Once connected, switch Metamask to the Ethereum network. (If you’re already on the Ethereum network, you do not need to switch):
After connecting MetaMask to the Ethereum network, go to Uniswap, and then you can start your ERC-20 Tokens on the Ethereum network using UniSwap.
Trading Ethereum Tokens On Uniswap The next step is to select your preferred tokens on the UnsSwap interface and since Uniswap operates on a token to token trading model, click on the “select token” button to select the trading pair you want to trade against.
For example, if you want to buy USDT using ETH, select ETH – USDT, enter the amount, then click on “swap” or “trade now” and confirm the transaction in your Metamask wallet. You can view the tokens in your wallet’s asset list.
Buying and Selling ERC-20 Tokens with the Metamask Wallet Ethereum Network users can also buy and sell tokens using the Metamask extension wallet already connected to the Ethereum network. To do this, make sure you’re connected to the Ethereum network and have ETH to swap and pay for gas fees. Then, navigate to the “Swap” button as shown below. This will take you to the Swap interface inside Metamask.
Using the image above as a guide, you can also search for tokens using the name or the contract address, just like on UniSwap. Input the amount of ETH you want to swap, confirm that you have the correct token, and then click “Swap.” Once the transaction is confirmed, the tokens you just bought will be sent to your wallet.
Tracking ERC-20 Token Prices on The Ethereum Network ERC-20 token holders and traders can take advantage of on-chain tools like DeFiLama to gain access to comprehensive market insights for specific tokens. These insights include price data and contract information, empowering users to make well-informed trading decisions based on reliable and up-to-date information.
Dextools is a comprehensive analytic resource for managing digital assets traded on ERC-20 Decentralized Exchanges. It’s a vibrant analytical cryptocurrency resource that provides statistical information on all leading blockchains and crypto projects.
Among these features, an exceptional one is the charting functionality, which delivers both real-time and historical price data for a wide range of tokens.
By utilizing these charts, users gain valuable insights into price trends, trading volumes, and other pertinent metrics. This enables them to pinpoint potential entry or exit points for their trades with precision and confidence. For example, let’s assume you’re $ETH for $LIDO, your trading pair is ETH/LIDO.
Note, Trading pairs serve as bridges between currencies. For example, the ETH/LIDOpair allows you to acquire $LIDO tokens using Ethereum (ETH).
Choose the pair that fits your funding situation and trading strategy. Consider using ETH if you already hold it, or fiat currencies if you’re venturing in fresh.
Let’s track the $LIDO token on Dextools, here’s what we have:
Conclusion Buying, selling, and trading ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum network can be a thrilling adventure, opening doors to exciting investment opportunities and unlocking the potential of decentralized finance. However, it demands knowledge, caution, and a well-defined strategy.
This guide serves as your map and compass, but the ultimate treasure lies in your own learning and exploration. Navigate with confidence, trade responsibly, and remember that the most valuable asset in this journey is your knowledge.
Featured image from CoinMarketCap, chart from Tradingview.com
VANCE and VENCE have both seen huge gains in the past seven hours.
In 2022, Vance won the Ohio Senate primary, partially by branding himself as a crypto-friendly politician. That same year, Vance disclosed owning between $100,001 and $250,000 worth of BTC in a financial statement filed in October 2023.
(Shutterstock/Lev Radin)
Posted July 15, 2024 at 6:51 pm EST.
With Donald Trump choosing Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his Republican vice presidential runnig mate on Monday, a number of memecoins inspired by Vance have surged.
According to data from DexTools, one memecoin with the ticker VANCE, which was created 19 days ago on Ethereum, has more than tripled in the past seven hours from $0.00001365 to $0.00004326 at presstime.
Similarly, another memecoin on Solana, VENCE, based on the incorrect spelling of Vance’s last name, increased nearly 150% over the same period from $0.0009759 to $0.002439. The VENCE token joins a cohort of cryptocurrencies that have tickers stemming from the misspelling of politicians’ names, such as TREMP and BODEN.
With a combined 24-hour trading volume of roughly $17.83 million, VANCE and VENCE have liquidity levels of $310,840 and $197,520, respectively, per DexTools. Additionally, these two tokens have a combined market cap of $6.55 million.
The surge in the price of Vance-inspired memecoins following Trump’s decision highlights the speculative nature of the crypto ecosystem and the sensitivity among traders to political news, as high-risk takers are currently considering whether to increase their exposure to these memecoins.
“[I] got my eye on $VENCE, $VUNCE, [and] $VANCE for some reckless orderblocks to add and forget about,” wrote one crypto trader who goes by the X handle @ShadyTheWizard. “No reason to FOMO into green candles, but may be worth it to add if we get some serious dips pre-news levels.”
Vance’s Pro Crypto Stance Memecoins inspired by Vance are not the only connection the potential future US vice president has with the crypto ecosystem.
In 2022, Vance won the Ohio Senate primary, in part by running as a crypto-friendly politician. According to a financial disclosure statement that he filed in Oct. 2023, Vance owned between $100,001 and $250,000 worth of BTC.
And according to a Politico report last month, Vance started sharing draft legislation intended to overhaul the way the US government regulates cryptocurrencies.
December 19th — On-chain data shows stablecoin U launched yesterday, with its circulating supply hitting $58.9 million in less than 24 hours since going live. Earlier reports: United Stables officially rolled out its U.S. dollar stablecoin U, which is now deployed on both the BNB Smart Chain (BSC) and Ethereum (ETH) blockchains and has completed multiple ecosystem integrations. For ecosystem support, U integrates with major DeFi protocols including PancakeSwap, Aster, Four.meme, and ListaDAO — letting users directly engage in on-chain trading, staking, lending, and liquidity provision. On the wallet front, Binance Wallet, Trust Wallet, and SafePal have added U to their platforms. Beyond the on-chain space, U has also been listed on centralized exchange HTX.
Relevant content
Preview: The U.S. May core PCE data will be released at 20:30 tonight, and is projected to hit its highest level since October 2023.
The Fed’s key inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, will be released at 20:30 tonight, with markets expecting a sharp rise in May inflation that could reignite rate hike bets. The headline PCE year-over-year growth rate is projected to hit 4.1% in May, up from 3.8% in April and marking its highest level since 2023. Core PCE, which excludes food and energy, is forecast to rise to 3.4% year-over-year, up from 3.3% in April and its highest reading since October 2023. Core PCE has remained above the Fed’s 2% inflation target since 2021. The recent short-term inflation uptick was driven mainly by surging gasoline prices amid the Iran conflict in May. Oil prices have since edged lower following the signing of a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran, but core inflation has strengthened in tandem, indicating that price pressures are not solely tied to geopolitical oil shocks. Data from the CME FedWatch Tool shows that as of Wednesday, markets are pricing in a 34% probability of a 25 basis point rate hike in July. Aditya Bhave, U.S. economist at Bank of America Securities, noted that the recent inflation rebound stems in part from tariffs and one-off disruptions, but successive supply shocks have eroded the Fed’s patience, while deflationary room in the housing sector has largely been exhausted. Data shows that core PCE dipped to 2.6% in April, its lowest level since 2022, but annualized core PCE growth over the past three and six months has hovered near 3.8%.
14 minutes ago
SK Hynix plans to list on NASDAQ on July 10: A crypto whale opens 90% of its bullish positions in a single day, with all $21.27 million in long positions in unrealized profit.
According to Hyperinsight’s monitoring, SK Hynix officially announced its U.S. listing date today, targeting a July 10 debut on the NASDAQ. The company had previously disclosed a over $29 billion listing fundraising plan yesterday afternoon. Driven by listing optimism, SKHX surged 14% intraday, hitting $1930 at press time, with a daily trading volume of $407 million and open interest of $237 million. Since the news broke yesterday, 10 whales have built positions in SKHX on Hyperliquid, 9 of which opened long positions totaling around $21.27 million, at an average entry price of ~$1797.8 and average unweighted liquidation price of ~$1390.6. With price gains, all 9 long positions are now in unrealized profit. Market data shows that positions of over $1 million amount to roughly $140 million, with a long-short ratio (longs/shorts) of ~0.715. The average entry price for longs is ~$1672, while shorts average ~$1640. The nearest short liquidation threshold stands at $2149, just $200 away from the current price, mounting short-side pressure. -HyperInsight Bot is now live. Add @HyperInsightBot to your Telegram group, set it as admin (enable message sending permission) to auto-sync on-chain updates.
14 minutes ago
The "Retail vs. Wall Street" concept-linked token WEN continues its strong run, rising over 18% in after-hours trading.
According to Bitget market data, Wendy's (WEN) rallied 25.66% in the regular trading session, then climbed an extra 18.96% in after-hours trading, now changing hands at $9.35. Earlier reports noted that Serenity took to Twitter to mock the latest meme stock movement unfolding on Reddit's high-risk trading communities, targeting U.S. fast-food chain Wendy's. The Reddit community's meme warning reads: "If Wendy's goes bankrupt, we'll all be out of jobs, and after losing all our trading money, we'll have to work behind Wendy's trash cans." Serenity later clarified that they hold no positions, only found the activity amusing, and added they were unsure if the campaign would succeed. Wendy's holds a special cultural status on Reddit's WallStreetBets community; for years, "working behind Wendy's trash cans" has been a staple joke among retail investors mocking their trading losses.
14 minutes ago
Danske Bank: Federal Reserve may raise interest rates at least twice
Danske Bank senior analyst Kirstine Kundby-Nielsen and chief analyst Jens Peter Sorensen stated in a report that they expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates twice, in December 2026 and March 2027 respectively, bringing the federal funds rate to 4.00%-4.25%. "However, we emphasize there is a risk that rate hikes could come earlier and that the number of hikes may exceed two," they said. The first Federal Reserve meeting led by Kevin Warsh sent a clear signal that the Fed is increasingly moving away from forward guidance surrounding future monetary policy decisions. "All signs indicate that (the Fed) is leaning toward having greater discretion in future policy decisions," the Danske Bank analysts added. Source: Jin10
14 minutes ago
SK Hynix's stock price rise widened to 15.4%, while Samsung Electronics gained 6.3%.
According to Bitget data, SK Hynix’s stock price gain has widened to 15.4%, with Samsung Electronics up 6.3%.
14 minutes ago
The entire cryptocurrency market is down across the board; funding rates indicate BTC remains in bearish territory, while ETH’s bullish sentiment is significantly stronger than BTC’s.
According to HTX market data, Bitcoin is currently trading at $61,684.51, down 1.88% in the past 24 hours; Ethereum is at $1,647.36, down 1.48% over the same period. Current funding rates on major centralized exchanges (CEXs) show a clear divergence between BTC and ETH: BTC rates across all platforms have fallen back into bearish territory, while ETH rates on most platforms remain above the neutral range, indicating significantly stronger bullish sentiment for ETH than BTC. BlockBeats Note: Funding rates are fees set by cryptocurrency trading platforms to maintain the balance between contract prices and underlying asset prices, typically applicable to perpetual contracts. They serve as a fund exchange mechanism between long and short traders; platforms do not collect these fees, instead using them to adjust the cost or return of traders holding contracts, so that contract prices stay close to the underlying asset prices. A funding rate of 0.01% is the benchmark. A rate above 0.01% indicates broad bullish market sentiment, while a rate below 0.005% signals widespread bearish sentiment.
Sead specializes in writing factual and informative articles to help the public navigate the ever-changing world of crypto. He has extensive experience in the blockchain industry, where he has served...
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Last updated:
January 8, 2026
Non-custodial crypto wallet SafePal has joined hands with decentralised lending network Morpho to improve access to risk-adjusted stablecoin yield and enhanced security for self-custody users.
The novel initiative comprises two parts. The first is the native integration of Morpho Vaults with the latest SafePal V4.10.6 app update.
This move, the press release says, will enable seamless access to yield on certain stablecoins through the SafePal Earn yield aggregator. Specifically, this is USDC and USDT stablecoins from Morpho on Ethereum, Base, and Arbitrum networks.
🔔 BIG NEWS: @Morpho vaults are now natively integrated in the SafePal app
Earn with USDC & USDT on Ethereum; USDC on @arbitrum & Base seamlessly
— SafePal – Crypto Wallet (@SafePal) January 8, 2026 Moreover, decentralised finance (DeFi) firms Steakhouse and Gauntlet curate these integrated Morpho Vaults. Therefore, “depositors to earn risk-adjusted yield from borrowers with blue-chip and highly liquid assets as collateral,” the announcement claims.
According to Paul Frambot, CEO and co-founder of Morpho, “stablecoins don’t need to sit idle, even in self-custody. Integrating Morpho Vaults into SafePal brings open, on-chain lending infrastructure directly to SafePal users, enabling them to earn yield while remaining fully non-custodial, on-chain, and transparent.”
The Walletdrop CampaignThe second part of the initiative is the launch of a Walletdrop campaign. Users who make deposits in the Morpho USDT and USDC vaults offered within SafePal Earn will have a chance to get one of the 500 co-branded hardware wallets, the team says.
The goal of this offer is to strengthen user security and encourage long-term self-custody, the partners note.
Morpho x SafePal Limited Edition Walletdrop The exclusive collection is based on the SafePal X1, the wallet suite’s latest open-source and Bluetooth model.
Planned “activation perks” include boosted yield opportunities on Morpho Vaults within SafePal, the announcement says.
Speaking of which, the SafePal wallet suite recently completed the full transition for its hardware wallet line from EAL5+ to EAL6+ security chipsets. The team also upgraded the SafePal Earn aggregator. The aim was to enhance both security and access to reliable yield options and providers.
‘Significant Risks from Opaque Structures’Boosting security is a must, the press release indicates.
“Unfortunate incidents like the recent $36M Upbit hack highlight that cold storage usage remains far below where it should be,” said Veronica Wong, CEO and Co-founder of SafePal. “The Morpho Walletdrop aims to grow hardware wallet usage while maximising security, which should be extremely synergistic, especially for long-term and passive strategies like stablecoin staking.”
Moreover, the team highlighted significant market volatility and the rising user concerns stemming from the $93 million collapse of Stream Finance, as well as the depeg of its XUSD stablecoin.
“The XUSD depeg and aftermath highlighted how opaque, off-chain yield structures can introduce significant counterparty and systemic risk,” Wong argued.
Meanwhile, SafePal is a non-custodial crypto wallet suite with 25 million users across 200 blockchains and across its hardware, software, and browser extension wallet solutions, its team says. Founded in 2018, SafePal is backed by Animoca Brands, Binance, and Superscrypt.
Moreover, Morpho is a universal lending network with $10 billion in deposits, it says. It allows businesses to connect to its open infrastructure to power any lending or borrowing use case at scale.
March 31 — Per on-chain detective ZachXBT’s monitoring, a Kraken user is suspected of falling victim to a social engineering attack, losing roughly $18.2 million. The attacker launched their operation roughly 45 minutes prior, using the SafePal wallet to transfer assets from the Ethereum network to Bitcoin’s network via the decentralized cross-chain protocol THORChain.
Relevant content
Preview: The U.S. May core PCE data will be released at 20:30 tonight, and is projected to hit its highest level since October 2023.
The Fed’s key inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, will be released at 20:30 tonight, with markets expecting a sharp rise in May inflation that could reignite rate hike bets. The headline PCE year-over-year growth rate is projected to hit 4.1% in May, up from 3.8% in April and marking its highest level since 2023. Core PCE, which excludes food and energy, is forecast to rise to 3.4% year-over-year, up from 3.3% in April and its highest reading since October 2023. Core PCE has remained above the Fed’s 2% inflation target since 2021. The recent short-term inflation uptick was driven mainly by surging gasoline prices amid the Iran conflict in May. Oil prices have since edged lower following the signing of a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran, but core inflation has strengthened in tandem, indicating that price pressures are not solely tied to geopolitical oil shocks. Data from the CME FedWatch Tool shows that as of Wednesday, markets are pricing in a 34% probability of a 25 basis point rate hike in July. Aditya Bhave, U.S. economist at Bank of America Securities, noted that the recent inflation rebound stems in part from tariffs and one-off disruptions, but successive supply shocks have eroded the Fed’s patience, while deflationary room in the housing sector has largely been exhausted. Data shows that core PCE dipped to 2.6% in April, its lowest level since 2022, but annualized core PCE growth over the past three and six months has hovered near 3.8%.
14 minutes ago
SK Hynix plans to list on NASDAQ on July 10: A crypto whale opens 90% of its bullish positions in a single day, with all $21.27 million in long positions in unrealized profit.
According to Hyperinsight’s monitoring, SK Hynix officially announced its U.S. listing date today, targeting a July 10 debut on the NASDAQ. The company had previously disclosed a over $29 billion listing fundraising plan yesterday afternoon. Driven by listing optimism, SKHX surged 14% intraday, hitting $1930 at press time, with a daily trading volume of $407 million and open interest of $237 million. Since the news broke yesterday, 10 whales have built positions in SKHX on Hyperliquid, 9 of which opened long positions totaling around $21.27 million, at an average entry price of ~$1797.8 and average unweighted liquidation price of ~$1390.6. With price gains, all 9 long positions are now in unrealized profit. Market data shows that positions of over $1 million amount to roughly $140 million, with a long-short ratio (longs/shorts) of ~0.715. The average entry price for longs is ~$1672, while shorts average ~$1640. The nearest short liquidation threshold stands at $2149, just $200 away from the current price, mounting short-side pressure. -HyperInsight Bot is now live. Add @HyperInsightBot to your Telegram group, set it as admin (enable message sending permission) to auto-sync on-chain updates.
14 minutes ago
The "Retail vs. Wall Street" concept-linked token WEN continues its strong run, rising over 18% in after-hours trading.
According to Bitget market data, Wendy's (WEN) rallied 25.66% in the regular trading session, then climbed an extra 18.96% in after-hours trading, now changing hands at $9.35. Earlier reports noted that Serenity took to Twitter to mock the latest meme stock movement unfolding on Reddit's high-risk trading communities, targeting U.S. fast-food chain Wendy's. The Reddit community's meme warning reads: "If Wendy's goes bankrupt, we'll all be out of jobs, and after losing all our trading money, we'll have to work behind Wendy's trash cans." Serenity later clarified that they hold no positions, only found the activity amusing, and added they were unsure if the campaign would succeed. Wendy's holds a special cultural status on Reddit's WallStreetBets community; for years, "working behind Wendy's trash cans" has been a staple joke among retail investors mocking their trading losses.
14 minutes ago
Danske Bank: Federal Reserve may raise interest rates at least twice
Danske Bank senior analyst Kirstine Kundby-Nielsen and chief analyst Jens Peter Sorensen stated in a report that they expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates twice, in December 2026 and March 2027 respectively, bringing the federal funds rate to 4.00%-4.25%. "However, we emphasize there is a risk that rate hikes could come earlier and that the number of hikes may exceed two," they said. The first Federal Reserve meeting led by Kevin Warsh sent a clear signal that the Fed is increasingly moving away from forward guidance surrounding future monetary policy decisions. "All signs indicate that (the Fed) is leaning toward having greater discretion in future policy decisions," the Danske Bank analysts added. Source: Jin10
14 minutes ago
SK Hynix's stock price rise widened to 15.4%, while Samsung Electronics gained 6.3%.
According to Bitget data, SK Hynix’s stock price gain has widened to 15.4%, with Samsung Electronics up 6.3%.
14 minutes ago
The entire cryptocurrency market is down across the board; funding rates indicate BTC remains in bearish territory, while ETH’s bullish sentiment is significantly stronger than BTC’s.
According to HTX market data, Bitcoin is currently trading at $61,684.51, down 1.88% in the past 24 hours; Ethereum is at $1,647.36, down 1.48% over the same period. Current funding rates on major centralized exchanges (CEXs) show a clear divergence between BTC and ETH: BTC rates across all platforms have fallen back into bearish territory, while ETH rates on most platforms remain above the neutral range, indicating significantly stronger bullish sentiment for ETH than BTC. BlockBeats Note: Funding rates are fees set by cryptocurrency trading platforms to maintain the balance between contract prices and underlying asset prices, typically applicable to perpetual contracts. They serve as a fund exchange mechanism between long and short traders; platforms do not collect these fees, instead using them to adjust the cost or return of traders holding contracts, so that contract prices stay close to the underlying asset prices. A funding rate of 0.01% is the benchmark. A rate above 0.01% indicates broad bullish market sentiment, while a rate below 0.005% signals widespread bearish sentiment.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin revealed plans to donate all proceeds from Layer 2 (L2) and related project tokens that he holds. His interest lies in supporting public goods within the Ethereum ecosystem or charitable activities.
Buterin’s recent transactions have come under scrutiny with varied opinions between sales and donations.
Vitalik Buterin Supports GrowthThe Ethereum executive’s remarks stemmed from discussions about founders’ interactions with their projects’ tokens. More precisely, his Ethereum transactions over the past weeks raised concerns about whether he was selling ETH.
Buterin denied keeping proceeds from any sales over the past six years. He said all profits go toward supporting value-adding projects within Ethereum’s ecosystem and beyond.
“BTW the above also applies to L2 tokens or other project tokens I hold (incl not-yet-liquid): all proceeds will be donated, again either to support public goods within the Ethereum ecosystem or broader charity (e.g. biomedical R&D),” Buterin explained.
Further, Buterin does not intend to invest in L2s or other projects any time soon, committing to supporting undervalued projects. His chosen approach to empower these projects is through donations.
Indeed, Buterin has made multiple donations recently. BeInCrypto reported that some of them were sent through Multisig wallets, as traced on Etherscan.
Read More: How To Donate Crypto Using The Giving Block
Vitalik Buterin Crypto Holdings. Source: ArkhamAmong Buterin’s most outspoken donations include 100 ETH (valued at $300,000 at the time) in support of the 2077 Collective, a group dedicated to promoting Ethereum adoption. The Russo-Canadian innovator also donated 30 ETH to the legal defense of Tornado Cash developers Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm in May.
Meanwhile, Buterin’s move to sidestep L2 investments should not be considered an action against the increasingly popular scaling solutions. He challenged attacks against Ethereum’s L2s barely a week ago amid allegations from cyber security experts that the network’s Layer-2 solutions can unilaterally seize users’ funds.
“A major nuance: the rules for stage 1 require that only a security council with >= 75% vote threshold can overrule the code, and a quorum blocking (ie. >= 26%) subset needs to be outside the company. OP and ARB both comply with this. So the orgs cannot unilaterally steal funds,” Buterin wrote.
Layer 2 Chains Are Important L2s solve challenges concerning network congestion, particularly during peak periods. They aim to solve high transaction fees, increase speed, and poor user experience, weaknesses associated with Layer 1 (L1) blockchains. L2s also improve scalability, effectively enhancing the network’s capacity to handle more transactions per second while maintaining security.
Data on L2Beat shows that the total value locked in Ethereum L2 networks exceeded $33 billion as of September 6. This marks a 197% increase due to key adjustments over the years.
Read more: Layer 1 vs. Layer 2: What Is the Difference?
Value Locked on L2s, Source: L2BeatThis growth reflects the impact of these scaling solutions in driving adoption. Coin98 Analytics reported that Base L2, an Ethereum scaling solution, recorded the highest total unique addresses among popular blockchain platforms. It added a stark 15.97 million users between August and September.
The surge in unique addresses mirrors the increasing acceptance and recognition of L2 solutions as viable alternatives to traditional blockchain platforms.
The partnership of the Coin98 Super Wallet with Xterio, one of Ethereum’s Layer 2 scaling solutions, is expected to transform Web3 and artificial intelligence gaming. It opens broader opportunities for gamers, developers, and enthusiasts in the blockchain business. It paves the way to a new level of decentralized digital asset use, efficient gaming, and improved solutions.
Coin98 and Xterio: A Powerful Partnership Coin98 Super Wallet is a revolutionary platform offering users a secure decentralized solution for crypto and AI Wallet. Users of all skill levels can use the platform, including new entrants to the blockchain industry and DeFi and blockchain infrastructure, to engage in decentralized finance and blockchain projects. Building upon its offerings in the gaming space, Coin98 gets a massive boost with the integration of Xterio, a next-gen Web3 gaming platform.
Xterio, which began in 2022, centers on free-to-play-and-own games, with users fully owning game assets. Naturally, the platform’s development is supported by a team of experienced personnel, some of whom have served in Netease and Jam City companies. Xterio engages with the Ethereum network to provide alternatives to Layer-2 scaling for intuitive gaming and an ecosystem of GameFi solutions while preserving decentralized structures to uphold player ownership of in-game assets.
A Gateway to Seamless GameFi and AI-Powered Ecosystems Such integration means that the users of Coin98 Super Wallet can quickly gain entry to the Xterio Chain. In contrast to many cryptocurrencies, the Xterio Chain is based on the roll-up architecture of AltLayer’s restaked roll-up technology, which enables higher speed and reliability. The partnership allows the players to efficiently use, create, sell, and buy digital assets in a simplified and safe manner.
It creates opportunities on both sides for an extended gaming environment for the players and the developers. Game developers can create, distribute, and regulate millions of assets, and players can acquire and exchange their in-game items on other P2E platforms. Through its connection with Coin98, Xterio guarantees that gamers can develop wallets and bridge assets between Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, and Xterio’s ecosystem, making a path for interconnection and developing the GameFi projects.
Ushering in a New Era for Web3 and AI Gaming This integration means new and revived GameFi projects that leverage decentralized and AI systems as it aligns with the mission of using blockchain games to onboard a massive audience to crypto, making it very simple for players to discover, acquire, and safely manage their assets. While increasing complexity and decentralization of games require a new format that this integration opens up by promising rapid development of the GameFi and the Web3 industries. Through this vision, Coin98 and Xterio are anticipated to be among the frontrunners empowering developers and players to be at the forefront of blockchain and gaming innovation.
AUTHOR
With over five years of experience in crypto, blockchain, and tech content, Ishtiyaq makes complex topics easy to understand. He simplifies blockchain and digital currency concepts for a wide audience, ensuring that beginners and experts alike can grasp key ideas. His clear and engaging writing helps readers stay informed about the latest trends, developments, and innovations in the crypto space. Whether explaining blockchain technology, digital assets, or DeFi, Ishtiyaq breaks down complicated ideas into simple, digestible content. His goal is to help people navigate the fast-changing world of cryptocurrency with confidence, clarity, and a deeper understanding.
Pundi X Chain Sunset and Full Migration to Ethereum by 1 March 2026
3 min read
Dec 5, 2025
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Press enter or click to view image in full size
Please note that PUNDI X operations and the PUNDIX token on Ethereum remain fully unchanged and unaffected by this transition.
As part of the governance-approved migration of the Pundi AIFX Omnilayer to Ethereum, the Pundi X Chain will officially cease operations on 1 March 2026.
This transition marks an important step toward a more unified, secure, and scalable future for the Pundi X ecosystem.
All users must withdraw and bridge their assets out of the Pundi X Chain. This process is manual and must be completed before the shutdown date.
Important for DelegatorsIf you are currently delegating PUNDIX token on Pundi X Chain:
You must undelegate your PUNDIX token before you can bridge.The undelegation period is 21 days, and tokens cannot be bridged until the unbonding is complete.We strongly recommend starting the undelegation process as early as possible to avoid missing the migration deadline.
Step-by-Step InstructionsTo help you migrate smoothly, please check out the detailed guides.
How to Undelegate Your PUNDIX Tokens via PUNDI Wallet (21-day period applies)Press enter or click to view image in full size
Head to Pundi Ecosystem (middle button), and select PUNDIX DelegateClick View My DelegationsSelect the validator(s) to which you are delegating your PUNDIX tokens.Tap UndelegateConfirm the transactionHow to Bridge Your Tokens to Ethereum
Press enter or click to view image in full size
https://support.pundi.ai/hc/en-us/articles/52856637862553-How-to-Bridge-Your-Tokens-from-Pundi-X-Chain-to-Ethereum-via-Pundi-BridgeOpen the Pundi Wallet, tap the Pundi Ecosystem icon (bottom menu), and select Pundi Bridge.Tap Make Transfer to Cross Chain.Select your token and chains
a. Choose the token (e.g., PUNDIX or any other tokens)
b. Set From: Pundi X Chain
c. Set To: Ethereum
d. Select your Ethereum address (⚠️ Important: Do NOT send to an exchange deposit address.)
e. Tap SendReview details of the Cross-chain Transfer and tap Confirm.Click Done. The bridge may take a few minutes, depending on network conditions.Alternative: Bridge Using Pundi Bridge on Web BrowserYou can also bridge directly through the Pundi Bridge web interface. This allows you to connect your wallet and transfer your assets from Pundi X Chain to Ethereum.
Press enter or click to view image in full size
https://pundiscan.io/bridge/Access the browser bridge here:
https://pundiscan.io/bridge/
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Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Remember me for faster sign in
Simply connect your wallet, select the chain and token you want to bridge, enter the destination address, and confirm the transaction. Make sure you are sending the tokens to a wallet you control and not to an exchange deposit address.
Chain Shutdown ReminderAfter 1 March 2026:
Transactions on the Pundi X Chain will no longer be processed.All delegation and undelegation functions will be disabled.Tokens remaining on the network will not be retrievable or transferable.Bridging to or from the Pundi X Chain will be halted.Delegation rewards and unclaimed rewards will not be accessible.Begin migration early to ensure a smooth transition.
Thank you for your continuous support!
Pundi X team
PANews reported on March 11 that Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin posted on the X platform that Gitcoin Grants' "deep funding" continues, and a major funding round was recently completed. Vitalik advised developer Devansh Mehta to continue refining the model (including its prediction market version), but to ensure that design details and funding sources are adapted to the needs of "chaotic times."
He points out that the deep funding model currently possesses two advantages: it reflects the principle of meritocracy, avoiding excessive egalitarianism; and it can benefit from artificial intelligence while maintaining human dominance. However, in terms of adapting to the needs of a "chaotic era," the mechanism still bears a distinct "stable era" character—that is, attempting to build a large-scale instrument embodying principles of justice and gain unanimous societal consensus in funding it. Vitalik believes it is necessary to consider how to make this mechanism function in a world that no longer operates in this way.
On April 1st, Ethereum Foundation researcher Devansh Mehta proposed a Validator Rewards Redistribution (VRR) scheme at the EthCC conference. Under the proposal, validators would be able to signal on the consensus layer and autonomously choose to redirect a portion of their staking rewards to a designated smart contract—rather than withdrawing all funds to their personal wallets. Recipients could include entities like Gitcoin, Octant, public goods funding platforms, security audit firms, and core protocol research teams. The scheme entails two Execution Layer changes: a mechanism for validators to signal their redirection percentage, and logic to transfer funds to the specified contract.
Relevant content
Preview: The U.S. May core PCE data will be released at 20:30 tonight, and is projected to hit its highest level since October 2023.
The Fed’s key inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, will be released at 20:30 tonight, with markets expecting a sharp rise in May inflation that could reignite rate hike bets. The headline PCE year-over-year growth rate is projected to hit 4.1% in May, up from 3.8% in April and marking its highest level since 2023. Core PCE, which excludes food and energy, is forecast to rise to 3.4% year-over-year, up from 3.3% in April and its highest reading since October 2023. Core PCE has remained above the Fed’s 2% inflation target since 2021. The recent short-term inflation uptick was driven mainly by surging gasoline prices amid the Iran conflict in May. Oil prices have since edged lower following the signing of a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran, but core inflation has strengthened in tandem, indicating that price pressures are not solely tied to geopolitical oil shocks. Data from the CME FedWatch Tool shows that as of Wednesday, markets are pricing in a 34% probability of a 25 basis point rate hike in July. Aditya Bhave, U.S. economist at Bank of America Securities, noted that the recent inflation rebound stems in part from tariffs and one-off disruptions, but successive supply shocks have eroded the Fed’s patience, while deflationary room in the housing sector has largely been exhausted. Data shows that core PCE dipped to 2.6% in April, its lowest level since 2022, but annualized core PCE growth over the past three and six months has hovered near 3.8%.
5 minutes ago
SK Hynix plans to list on NASDAQ on July 10: A crypto whale opens 90% of its bullish positions in a single day, with all $21.27 million in long positions in unrealized profit.
According to Hyperinsight’s monitoring, SK Hynix officially announced its U.S. listing date today, targeting a July 10 debut on the NASDAQ. The company had previously disclosed a over $29 billion listing fundraising plan yesterday afternoon. Driven by listing optimism, SKHX surged 14% intraday, hitting $1930 at press time, with a daily trading volume of $407 million and open interest of $237 million. Since the news broke yesterday, 10 whales have built positions in SKHX on Hyperliquid, 9 of which opened long positions totaling around $21.27 million, at an average entry price of ~$1797.8 and average unweighted liquidation price of ~$1390.6. With price gains, all 9 long positions are now in unrealized profit. Market data shows that positions of over $1 million amount to roughly $140 million, with a long-short ratio (longs/shorts) of ~0.715. The average entry price for longs is ~$1672, while shorts average ~$1640. The nearest short liquidation threshold stands at $2149, just $200 away from the current price, mounting short-side pressure. -HyperInsight Bot is now live. Add @HyperInsightBot to your Telegram group, set it as admin (enable message sending permission) to auto-sync on-chain updates.
5 minutes ago
The "Retail vs. Wall Street" concept-linked token WEN continues its strong run, rising over 18% in after-hours trading.
According to Bitget market data, Wendy's (WEN) rallied 25.66% in the regular trading session, then climbed an extra 18.96% in after-hours trading, now changing hands at $9.35. Earlier reports noted that Serenity took to Twitter to mock the latest meme stock movement unfolding on Reddit's high-risk trading communities, targeting U.S. fast-food chain Wendy's. The Reddit community's meme warning reads: "If Wendy's goes bankrupt, we'll all be out of jobs, and after losing all our trading money, we'll have to work behind Wendy's trash cans." Serenity later clarified that they hold no positions, only found the activity amusing, and added they were unsure if the campaign would succeed. Wendy's holds a special cultural status on Reddit's WallStreetBets community; for years, "working behind Wendy's trash cans" has been a staple joke among retail investors mocking their trading losses.
5 minutes ago
Danske Bank: Federal Reserve may raise interest rates at least twice
Danske Bank senior analyst Kirstine Kundby-Nielsen and chief analyst Jens Peter Sorensen stated in a report that they expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates twice, in December 2026 and March 2027 respectively, bringing the federal funds rate to 4.00%-4.25%. "However, we emphasize there is a risk that rate hikes could come earlier and that the number of hikes may exceed two," they said. The first Federal Reserve meeting led by Kevin Warsh sent a clear signal that the Fed is increasingly moving away from forward guidance surrounding future monetary policy decisions. "All signs indicate that (the Fed) is leaning toward having greater discretion in future policy decisions," the Danske Bank analysts added. Source: Jin10
5 minutes ago
SK Hynix's stock price rise widened to 15.4%, while Samsung Electronics gained 6.3%.
According to Bitget data, SK Hynix’s stock price gain has widened to 15.4%, with Samsung Electronics up 6.3%.
5 minutes ago
The entire cryptocurrency market is down across the board; funding rates indicate BTC remains in bearish territory, while ETH’s bullish sentiment is significantly stronger than BTC’s.
According to HTX market data, Bitcoin is currently trading at $61,684.51, down 1.88% in the past 24 hours; Ethereum is at $1,647.36, down 1.48% over the same period. Current funding rates on major centralized exchanges (CEXs) show a clear divergence between BTC and ETH: BTC rates across all platforms have fallen back into bearish territory, while ETH rates on most platforms remain above the neutral range, indicating significantly stronger bullish sentiment for ETH than BTC. BlockBeats Note: Funding rates are fees set by cryptocurrency trading platforms to maintain the balance between contract prices and underlying asset prices, typically applicable to perpetual contracts. They serve as a fund exchange mechanism between long and short traders; platforms do not collect these fees, instead using them to adjust the cost or return of traders holding contracts, so that contract prices stay close to the underlying asset prices. A funding rate of 0.01% is the benchmark. A rate above 0.01% indicates broad bullish market sentiment, while a rate below 0.005% signals widespread bearish sentiment.
June 10: On-chain investigator Specter has issued a security advisory flagging a potential exploit in an older liquidity pool of Solana’s DeFi protocol Raydium. The attacker stole approximately $1.34 million worth of assets—including USDC, RAY, and wSOL. The hacker then transferred the stolen funds to Ethereum via a bridge before depositing them into Tornado Cash to protect their privacy.
Relevant content
Preview: The U.S. May core PCE data will be released at 20:30 tonight, and is projected to hit its highest level since October 2023.
The Fed’s key inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, will be released at 20:30 tonight, with markets expecting a sharp rise in May inflation that could reignite rate hike bets. The headline PCE year-over-year growth rate is projected to hit 4.1% in May, up from 3.8% in April and marking its highest level since 2023. Core PCE, which excludes food and energy, is forecast to rise to 3.4% year-over-year, up from 3.3% in April and its highest reading since October 2023. Core PCE has remained above the Fed’s 2% inflation target since 2021. The recent short-term inflation uptick was driven mainly by surging gasoline prices amid the Iran conflict in May. Oil prices have since edged lower following the signing of a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran, but core inflation has strengthened in tandem, indicating that price pressures are not solely tied to geopolitical oil shocks. Data from the CME FedWatch Tool shows that as of Wednesday, markets are pricing in a 34% probability of a 25 basis point rate hike in July. Aditya Bhave, U.S. economist at Bank of America Securities, noted that the recent inflation rebound stems in part from tariffs and one-off disruptions, but successive supply shocks have eroded the Fed’s patience, while deflationary room in the housing sector has largely been exhausted. Data shows that core PCE dipped to 2.6% in April, its lowest level since 2022, but annualized core PCE growth over the past three and six months has hovered near 3.8%.
4 minutes ago
SK Hynix plans to list on NASDAQ on July 10: A crypto whale opens 90% of its bullish positions in a single day, with all $21.27 million in long positions in unrealized profit.
According to Hyperinsight’s monitoring, SK Hynix officially announced its U.S. listing date today, targeting a July 10 debut on the NASDAQ. The company had previously disclosed a over $29 billion listing fundraising plan yesterday afternoon. Driven by listing optimism, SKHX surged 14% intraday, hitting $1930 at press time, with a daily trading volume of $407 million and open interest of $237 million. Since the news broke yesterday, 10 whales have built positions in SKHX on Hyperliquid, 9 of which opened long positions totaling around $21.27 million, at an average entry price of ~$1797.8 and average unweighted liquidation price of ~$1390.6. With price gains, all 9 long positions are now in unrealized profit. Market data shows that positions of over $1 million amount to roughly $140 million, with a long-short ratio (longs/shorts) of ~0.715. The average entry price for longs is ~$1672, while shorts average ~$1640. The nearest short liquidation threshold stands at $2149, just $200 away from the current price, mounting short-side pressure. -HyperInsight Bot is now live. Add @HyperInsightBot to your Telegram group, set it as admin (enable message sending permission) to auto-sync on-chain updates.
4 minutes ago
The "Retail vs. Wall Street" concept-linked token WEN continues its strong run, rising over 18% in after-hours trading.
According to Bitget market data, Wendy's (WEN) rallied 25.66% in the regular trading session, then climbed an extra 18.96% in after-hours trading, now changing hands at $9.35. Earlier reports noted that Serenity took to Twitter to mock the latest meme stock movement unfolding on Reddit's high-risk trading communities, targeting U.S. fast-food chain Wendy's. The Reddit community's meme warning reads: "If Wendy's goes bankrupt, we'll all be out of jobs, and after losing all our trading money, we'll have to work behind Wendy's trash cans." Serenity later clarified that they hold no positions, only found the activity amusing, and added they were unsure if the campaign would succeed. Wendy's holds a special cultural status on Reddit's WallStreetBets community; for years, "working behind Wendy's trash cans" has been a staple joke among retail investors mocking their trading losses.
4 minutes ago
Danske Bank: Federal Reserve may raise interest rates at least twice
Danske Bank senior analyst Kirstine Kundby-Nielsen and chief analyst Jens Peter Sorensen stated in a report that they expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates twice, in December 2026 and March 2027 respectively, bringing the federal funds rate to 4.00%-4.25%. "However, we emphasize there is a risk that rate hikes could come earlier and that the number of hikes may exceed two," they said. The first Federal Reserve meeting led by Kevin Warsh sent a clear signal that the Fed is increasingly moving away from forward guidance surrounding future monetary policy decisions. "All signs indicate that (the Fed) is leaning toward having greater discretion in future policy decisions," the Danske Bank analysts added. Source: Jin10
4 minutes ago
SK Hynix's stock price rise widened to 15.4%, while Samsung Electronics gained 6.3%.
According to Bitget data, SK Hynix’s stock price gain has widened to 15.4%, with Samsung Electronics up 6.3%.
4 minutes ago
The entire cryptocurrency market is down across the board; funding rates indicate BTC remains in bearish territory, while ETH’s bullish sentiment is significantly stronger than BTC’s.
According to HTX market data, Bitcoin is currently trading at $61,684.51, down 1.88% in the past 24 hours; Ethereum is at $1,647.36, down 1.48% over the same period. Current funding rates on major centralized exchanges (CEXs) show a clear divergence between BTC and ETH: BTC rates across all platforms have fallen back into bearish territory, while ETH rates on most platforms remain above the neutral range, indicating significantly stronger bullish sentiment for ETH than BTC. BlockBeats Note: Funding rates are fees set by cryptocurrency trading platforms to maintain the balance between contract prices and underlying asset prices, typically applicable to perpetual contracts. They serve as a fund exchange mechanism between long and short traders; platforms do not collect these fees, instead using them to adjust the cost or return of traders holding contracts, so that contract prices stay close to the underlying asset prices. A funding rate of 0.01% is the benchmark. A rate above 0.01% indicates broad bullish market sentiment, while a rate below 0.005% signals widespread bearish sentiment.
UXLink, a Web 3 social network that was targeted in September 2025, is making headlines once again. According to Specter, an on-chain investigator, the attacker responsible for the UXLink exploit has started relocating the stolen assets.
To obfuscate transaction trails, the wrongdoer converted some of the stolen DAI stablecoins into Ethereum [ETH]. Going forward, the illicit actor then deposited roughly $8.1 million worth of ETH into Tornado Cash.
Funds laundered According to the investigator, 46 distinct deposits of 100 ETH each were made as part of the laundering process.
Source: Specter For those unaware, this is a common strategy to conflate illegal funds with legal transactions and make blockchain tracing more difficult.
With this most recent action, the attacker has now reportedly laundered a total of $19.1 million in stolen assets.
However, the fact that the exploiter still has control over about $16 million in funds despite these transfers raises the possibility of further laundering.
How was UXLink attacked? Well, back in September 2025 the exploiter had made over $800 billion, or 9 trillion $UXLINK. Interestingly, even hours after the original exploit, the hacker kept their access and kept minting more tokens.
The exploiter then started moving the proceeds to centralized exchanges and offloading the fraudulent tokens through decentralized exchanges. This in turn resulted in the depletion of Uniswap’s liquidity.
Source: Specter Notably, the attacker did not stop there, and signed a malicious transaction and lost 542 million UXLINK tokens to another malicious actor—often referred to as “theft stolen from theft.”
Even with this setback, the main exploiter still held about 900 million UXLINK tokens, putting a sizable portion of compromised assets in the hands of malicious actors.
What’s more? This coincded with ETH declining by 1.01% over the previous day to trade at $1,745.11 at press time.
In addition, on the 12th of June Humanity Protocol reported a targeted phishing attack against one of its directors.
This had resulted in the attacker using administrative credentials that were stolen to upgrade contracts, transfer tokens across Ethereum, and mint new $H tokens on the BNB Smart Chain.
Furthermore, on the 15th of June, a suspicious transaction involving the depletion of assets valued at approximately $2.19 million occurred in Aztec Network’s Router contract.
Final Summary From September 2025 to the present time, the attackers have reportedly laundered a total of $19.1 million in stolen assets from the UXLink exploit. Back then, the exploiter had made over 9 trillion $UXLINK, kept their access, and kept minting more tokens.
PANews, June 20 – According to on-chain monitoring data from blockchain security firm PeckShield, the OLPC/LABUBU trading liquidity pool on PancakeSwap on BNB Chain was hit by a hacker attack, with the attacker stealing approximately $1.1 million worth of crypto assets.
After the attack, the hacker quickly carried out fund transfer operations, bridging all stolen assets to the Ethereum network and depositing 633.4 ETH into the compliance-restricted mixing protocol Tornado Cash, using the mixing tool to sever the fund trail and significantly increase the difficulty of asset tracing.
In addition, the attacker conducted a small test transfer, sending 0.0221 BNB and 0.0411 ETH to a long-abandoned address. The purpose of this small transfer has not yet been determined. Currently, the PeckShield security team continues to track the attacker's full address chain, details of the attack contract vulnerability, and the remaining fund transfer paths.
On June 20th, PeckShield monitoring detected a flash loan attack targeting the OLPC/LABUBU liquidity pool on PancakeSwap over the BNB Chain, resulting in approximately $1.1 million in losses. Following the breach, the attacker transferred the stolen funds to the Ethereum network. They deposited 633.4 ETH into Tornado Cash, while sending 0.0221 BNB and 0.0411 ETH to an unusable blackhole burn address.
Relevant content
Preview: The U.S. May core PCE data will be released at 20:30 tonight, and is projected to hit its highest level since October 2023.
The Fed’s key inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, will be released at 20:30 tonight, with markets expecting a sharp rise in May inflation that could reignite rate hike bets. The headline PCE year-over-year growth rate is projected to hit 4.1% in May, up from 3.8% in April and marking its highest level since 2023. Core PCE, which excludes food and energy, is forecast to rise to 3.4% year-over-year, up from 3.3% in April and its highest reading since October 2023. Core PCE has remained above the Fed’s 2% inflation target since 2021. The recent short-term inflation uptick was driven mainly by surging gasoline prices amid the Iran conflict in May. Oil prices have since edged lower following the signing of a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran, but core inflation has strengthened in tandem, indicating that price pressures are not solely tied to geopolitical oil shocks. Data from the CME FedWatch Tool shows that as of Wednesday, markets are pricing in a 34% probability of a 25 basis point rate hike in July. Aditya Bhave, U.S. economist at Bank of America Securities, noted that the recent inflation rebound stems in part from tariffs and one-off disruptions, but successive supply shocks have eroded the Fed’s patience, while deflationary room in the housing sector has largely been exhausted. Data shows that core PCE dipped to 2.6% in April, its lowest level since 2022, but annualized core PCE growth over the past three and six months has hovered near 3.8%.
4 minutes ago
SK Hynix plans to list on NASDAQ on July 10: A crypto whale opens 90% of its bullish positions in a single day, with all $21.27 million in long positions in unrealized profit.
According to Hyperinsight’s monitoring, SK Hynix officially announced its U.S. listing date today, targeting a July 10 debut on the NASDAQ. The company had previously disclosed a over $29 billion listing fundraising plan yesterday afternoon. Driven by listing optimism, SKHX surged 14% intraday, hitting $1930 at press time, with a daily trading volume of $407 million and open interest of $237 million. Since the news broke yesterday, 10 whales have built positions in SKHX on Hyperliquid, 9 of which opened long positions totaling around $21.27 million, at an average entry price of ~$1797.8 and average unweighted liquidation price of ~$1390.6. With price gains, all 9 long positions are now in unrealized profit. Market data shows that positions of over $1 million amount to roughly $140 million, with a long-short ratio (longs/shorts) of ~0.715. The average entry price for longs is ~$1672, while shorts average ~$1640. The nearest short liquidation threshold stands at $2149, just $200 away from the current price, mounting short-side pressure. -HyperInsight Bot is now live. Add @HyperInsightBot to your Telegram group, set it as admin (enable message sending permission) to auto-sync on-chain updates.
4 minutes ago
The "Retail vs. Wall Street" concept-linked token WEN continues its strong run, rising over 18% in after-hours trading.
According to Bitget market data, Wendy's (WEN) rallied 25.66% in the regular trading session, then climbed an extra 18.96% in after-hours trading, now changing hands at $9.35. Earlier reports noted that Serenity took to Twitter to mock the latest meme stock movement unfolding on Reddit's high-risk trading communities, targeting U.S. fast-food chain Wendy's. The Reddit community's meme warning reads: "If Wendy's goes bankrupt, we'll all be out of jobs, and after losing all our trading money, we'll have to work behind Wendy's trash cans." Serenity later clarified that they hold no positions, only found the activity amusing, and added they were unsure if the campaign would succeed. Wendy's holds a special cultural status on Reddit's WallStreetBets community; for years, "working behind Wendy's trash cans" has been a staple joke among retail investors mocking their trading losses.
4 minutes ago
Danske Bank: Federal Reserve may raise interest rates at least twice
Danske Bank senior analyst Kirstine Kundby-Nielsen and chief analyst Jens Peter Sorensen stated in a report that they expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates twice, in December 2026 and March 2027 respectively, bringing the federal funds rate to 4.00%-4.25%. "However, we emphasize there is a risk that rate hikes could come earlier and that the number of hikes may exceed two," they said. The first Federal Reserve meeting led by Kevin Warsh sent a clear signal that the Fed is increasingly moving away from forward guidance surrounding future monetary policy decisions. "All signs indicate that (the Fed) is leaning toward having greater discretion in future policy decisions," the Danske Bank analysts added. Source: Jin10
4 minutes ago
SK Hynix's stock price rise widened to 15.4%, while Samsung Electronics gained 6.3%.
According to Bitget data, SK Hynix’s stock price gain has widened to 15.4%, with Samsung Electronics up 6.3%.
4 minutes ago
The entire cryptocurrency market is down across the board; funding rates indicate BTC remains in bearish territory, while ETH’s bullish sentiment is significantly stronger than BTC’s.
According to HTX market data, Bitcoin is currently trading at $61,684.51, down 1.88% in the past 24 hours; Ethereum is at $1,647.36, down 1.48% over the same period. Current funding rates on major centralized exchanges (CEXs) show a clear divergence between BTC and ETH: BTC rates across all platforms have fallen back into bearish territory, while ETH rates on most platforms remain above the neutral range, indicating significantly stronger bullish sentiment for ETH than BTC. BlockBeats Note: Funding rates are fees set by cryptocurrency trading platforms to maintain the balance between contract prices and underlying asset prices, typically applicable to perpetual contracts. They serve as a fund exchange mechanism between long and short traders; platforms do not collect these fees, instead using them to adjust the cost or return of traders holding contracts, so that contract prices stay close to the underlying asset prices. A funding rate of 0.01% is the benchmark. A rate above 0.01% indicates broad bullish market sentiment, while a rate below 0.005% signals widespread bearish sentiment.
The attacker moved 2,000 ETH through Tornado Cash and sold 1,422 ETH for $2.4M in DAI, with just 5 ETH left in their wallet.
The attacker behind the exploit of Ethereum MEV bot Jaredfromsubway has moved millions of dollars through Tornado Cash, despite a public offer to return half the stolen funds in exchange for a white-hat bounty.
The transfer suggests that the attacker may have little interest in negotiating, even with the bot’s operator offering rewards and claiming that they have had discussions with potential recovery groups.
How the Bot Got Beaten at Its Own Game The exploit, according to Peckshield, happened on June 20 and netted the attacker 1,474 WETH, 2.87 million USDC, and 2 million USDT, with apparently no code being broken.
Another blockchain security firm, Blockaid, explained that the person responsible built a number of fake wrapper tokens, including fWETH, fUSDC, and fUSDT, and paired them with fake liquidity pools that appeared to the bot’s automated scanning system as profitable MEV opportunities.
It then did exactly what it was designed to do: spot a supposedly juicy trade and grant token approvals to the attacker’s helper contracts. Per Blockaid’s analysis, during early test transactions, those approvals were consumed normally, meaning nothing flagged as suspicious. Later, the exploiter crafted routes where the bot kept granting approvals that were never revoked, building up spending rights over the bot’s holdings in the process while waiting for the right moment.
When that moment finally came, the attacker’s contract used those open approvals to pull WETH, USDC, and USDT directly from the Jaredfromsubway contract using standard transferFrom calls. Crypto researcher RaFi, who posted a detailed thread about the incident, described it as a “masterclass in social engineering on-chain.”
The bot’s operator’s response came in waves. They first offered a $1 million reward to the hacker to return the stolen money and another $50,000 for anyone that could help them find the attacker. Soon after, they offered a $3 million “time-sensitive” bounty for the funds, promising full confidentiality and no questions asked.
You may also like: BitMine, SharpLink, and Joe Lubin Back New Ethereum Nonprofit ETHLabs New Proposal Redirects 10% of Staking Rewards to Fund Ethereum Ecosystem The Revenue Divergence: Why Record-Breaking Ethereum Activity Isn’t Boosting ETH Price With no discernible response coming, the Jaredfromsubway operator decided to send an on-chain message saying that they would accept 2,150 ETH, which is about 50% of the haul, and gave the attacker 48 hours to respond, with plans to “pursue all available legal and law-enforcement remedies” if the deadline passed without a return.
But the attacker seems to have given a response of a kind, with Onchain Lens reporting that they recently moved 2,000 ETH, worth about $3.4 million, through Tornado Cash. They are also said to have sold 1,422 ETH for around $2.4 million in DAI, and had only 5 ETH remaining in their wallet.
White-Hat Contact As of the most recent update, the bot runner said that a self-described white-hat group had made contact and that negotiations were ongoing, although nothing had been confirmed.
Blockchain developers have been trying to find ways to reduce MEV activity, one such method being a proposal by Aptos to encrypt mempool systems so as to keep transactions private until they are executed.
The attacker who stole from Jaredfromsubway.eth Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) bot may have been actively working towards hiding the evidence of the exploit.
Specter, an on-chain investigator, is in the news today after he reported that out of the $7.5 million that was stolen, about $5.1 million has already been transferred to Tornado Cash.
Source: Specter/X Funds laundered in batches According to the latest transactions, the attacker used 20 different transactions, each worth 100 Ethereum [ETH], to deposit 2,000 ETH into Tornado Cash.
Remarking on the same, Specter noted,
It looks like the attacker has no intention of returning any funds to jaredfromsubway.
To lessen exposure to ETH price volatility and ease future fund transfers, the remaining 1,422 ETH were exchanged for roughly $2.44 million worth of DAI – A dollar-pegged stablecoin.
At the time of the attack, the price of ETH was trading close to $1,700. However, the price of Ethereum fell by more than 8% over the previous week to $1,656.04.
Notably, ETH’s price decline was not solely due to the attack rather the broader market downturn.
Details of the attack The attacker first imitated a lucrative opportunity by creating a liquidity pool and a wrapper token. Then, the wrongdoer altered the trading logic of the MEV bot to fool it into automatically approving transactions. All while the bot engaged with these opportunities.
This permanently allowed the attacker-controlled contract to take money out. The exploit itself brought in 1,583 ETH, $2.87 million in USDC, and $2.09 million in USDT.
Afterwards, the attacker combined the assets and exchanged them for 4,427 ETH, which lessened fragmentation and facilitated the money laundering process.
Impact of funds moving across chain after exploits The most recent actions of the attacker highlight a typical trend observed following significant crypto exploits. When attackers starts laundering funds, the stolen money is quickly split up. It is then exchanged and sent through several blockchains and privacy tools to complicate recovery and tracing.
When attackers bridge assets across chains and transform them into different tokens or stablecoins, such post-hack behavior frequently transcends a single network.
Recently too, two suspected cryptocurrency laundering service operators were charged by U.S authorities. This, after they allegedly processed over $389M in illegal digital asset transactions.
Final Summary Jaredfromsubway.eth Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) bot attacker has now started to launder funds after the exploit. All this has raised legitimate concerns about funds laundering.
If traditional finance got a blockchain makeover, DeFi protocols would inevitably be the result. Here, decentralized apps (DApps) and smart contracts reign supreme, offering you control over your financial future.
From staking your digital assets for crypto yield to conducting anonymous crypto swaps, this guide introduces you to the top DeFi protocols to keep an eye on in 2026.
In This Guide:
12 Top DeFi protocols in 2026 DeFi protocols comparedWhat are DeFi protocols?How do DeFi protocols work?Should you use DeFi protocols?Could DeFi replace traditional finance?Frequently asked questions12 Top DeFi protocols in 2026
1. dYdX
Best DeFi protocol for liquid staking
Token
dYdX
Token max supply
1,000,000,000 DYDX
Market cap
$1.499B
TVL
$401.81M
The dYdX protocol provides advanced financial instruments like perpetual and margin trading within the DeFi ecosystem. The leading exchange operates without KYC, allowing for anonymous, trustless trading. It supports perpetual and margin trading, alongside lending and borrowing, and offers competitive fee structures and gas-free trading experiences.
The platform provides lower collateralization levels compared to competitors, increasing accessibility. dYdX also utilizes StarkWare for increased efficiency and lower transaction fees and allows for community contributions and governance.
Notably, dYdX also transitioned to an independent blockchain within the Cosmos ecosystem, enhancing performance and furthering decentralization.
Pros
Advanced trading options No KYC required Low fees Layer-2 scalability Dynamic interest rates Interoperability with Cosmos Cons
Complex for beginners Dependent on Ethereum Limited spot trading New chain transition challenges Ecosystem adaptation required Trade features: Perpetual trading, margin trading, decentralized order book, layer-2 scalability, cross-margin capabilities.
Security features: Self-custodial security, third-party audits, secured by Ethereum protocol.
Platform and ecosystem features: No KYC, open-source code, integration with Cosmos ecosystem, decentralized governance, off-chain order matching.
2. PancakeSwap
Best DeFi protocol for cost-effective transactions
Token
CAKE
Token max supply
450,000,000 CAKE
Market cap
$974.4M
TVL
$2.224B
PancakeSwap is a top-tier DeFi protocol. It focuses on the Binance Smart Chain blockchain, but supports a total of eight networks, including Ethereum.
PancakeSwap’s native crypto is CAKE, which has a total supply of 450 million tokens. This decentralized exchange leverages an automated market maker (AMM) model, allowing for direct, wallet-to-wallet trades without intermediaries, enhancing user control and security.
Moreover, it offers a range of services beyond simple trades, such as yield farming, staking, and lotteries, enabling users to earn rewards in various ways. Its user-friendly interface makes it accessible for beginners, while its innovative features, like the zkBridge technology, ensure secure and efficient transactions across different blockchain networks.
PancakeSwap’s growth is underscored by its status as the first billion-dollar project on the Binance Smart Chain and its continual upgrades, such as the current PancakeSwap V3, demonstrating its commitment to improving functionality and user experience.
Pros
Intuitive interface High APY for liquidity providers (LPs) Supports staking and farming NFT marketplace Cons
No mobile app No native crypto wallet Trade features: Instant crypto trading, liquidity pools, asset bridging, perpetual trading, and cryptocurrency purchasing.
Game and NFT features: Gaming marketplace, prediction market, NFT marketplace for NFTs on BNB Chain.
DeFi and ecosystem engagement: Governance, initial farm offerings (IFOs), gauge voting and revenue sharing, and farm booster.
3. De.Fi
Best DeFi protocol for monitoring
Token
DEFI
Token max supply
1,000,000,000 DEFI
Market cap
n/a
TVL
n/a
De.Fi provides detailed smart contract analysis to detect potential vulnerabilities and assign security scores. It offers an extensive dashboard for monitoring wallet transactions and balances, alongside powerful investment tools for analyzing and controlling positions in DeFi protocols, NFT collections, and lending markets.
Additionally, De.Fi includes specialized security features like the De.Fi Shield and Scanner for thorough contract examination. It also comes with user-friendly transaction tools such as secure crypto sending and De.Fi Swap for easy cryptocurrency exchanges across various blockchains, making it a well-rounded solution for utilizing the DeFi space safely and effectively.
Uniswap is another leading decentralized exchange. The native token is UNI, which has a total supply of 1 billion tokens.
Governed by its users through the UNI token, it offers a community-driven experience, unlike centralized platforms. Uniswap’s liquidity pools facilitate secure and direct token swaps, ensuring users maintain complete control over their funds. Originally built on Ethereum, it now supports other Ethereum-compatible networks like Polygon and Optimism, offering lower transaction costs.
Uniswap’s simplicity makes it accessible for beginners while providing advanced features for experienced users. This is rare when it comes to DEXs, which can often be tricky to use and less straightforward than their CEX counterparts. Uniswap also boasts broad token availability and deep liquidity, reducing price impact on large trades.
Additionally, the DEX has integrated NFT trading, enhancing its offerings. With nearly 5 million unique wallet addresses and surpassing $1 trillion in trading volume, its popularity and reliability are evident.
Finally, Uniswap’s swap fees are competitive, especially when compared to centralized exchanges, and users can choose cheaper networks to avoid high Ethereum gas fees.
Game and NFT features: NFT marketplace, prediction market.
DeFi and ecosystem engagement: Governance, concentrated liquidity, transaction fee structure.
5. Curve Finance
Best DeFi protocol for stablecoins
Token
CRV
Token max supply
2,091,644,627 CRV
Market cap
$730.32M
TVL
$2.486B
Curve Finance is a leading decentralized exchange (DEX) on the Ethereum blockchain, specializing in the efficient trading of stablecoins and wrapped tokens like wBTC, renBTC, and sBTC. Founded by Michael Egorov, it has quickly risen to prominence, and is particularly famed for its innovative use of liquidity pools and automated market maker (AMM) systems. These allow users to earn high annual interest rates — over 300% in some pools — on deposited cryptocurrency.
The platform distinguishes itself with its unique bonding curve. This is optimized for stablecoins to reduce slippage, allowing significant trades with minimal price impact. This has positioned Curve as a vital component in the DeFi space, especially for those interested in liquidity mining and yield farming.
Curve Finance operates as a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), with its governance token CRV enabling holders to vote on changes and proposals. This shift to a DAO structure allows Curve to operate with enhanced transparency and community-driven development. Despite its complexity and the potential for impermanent loss, Curve Finance offers significant opportunities for liquidity providers and traders, underlined by security measures including multiple code audits and bug bounties to safeguard user assets.
Pros
Specializes in stablecoins Reduced slippage Governed by DAO Multiple security audits Bug bounties for added safety Cons
Complex for beginners Focused mainly on stablecoins and wrapped tokens Reliance on Ethereum blockchain, leading to potential high gas fees Trade features: Stablecoin specialization, efficient liquidity pools, unique bonding curve, minimal slippage in trades.
Earning features: High annual interest rates from liquidity pools, rewards in CRV tokens, participation in yield farming.
DeFi and ecosystem engagement: Governance via CRV token, high total value locked (TVL), support for various wrapped tokens.
6. Balancer
Best DeFi protocol for multi-tokens pools
Token
BAL
Token max supply
62,244,253 BAL
Market cap
$268.21M
TVL
$1.242B
Balancer is a versatile and innovative DeFi platform that redefines the concept of decentralized exchanges (DEXs) by combining elements of automated market makers (AMMs) and index funds.
Unlike traditional DEXs — which typically focus on two-token liquidity pools — Balancer’s USP lies in its ability to maintain a balanced portfolio through automatic rebalancing, adjusting the pool’s asset allocations in response to market price changes.
Balancer supports three types of pools: public pools, where anyone can add liquidity and earn trading fees; private pools, where only the creator can contribute liquidity and set parameters; and smart pools, which are private pools with adjustable parameters controlled by a smart contract. This flexibility caters to a wide range of user preferences and risk tolerances.
Furthermore, Balancer’s architecture is designed to function on Ethereum and also on six additional blockchain networks, expanding its accessibility and interoperability within DeFi ecosystems. By providing a decentralized platform for multi-asset liquidity, Balancer contributes significantly to the efficiency of the cryptocurrency market.
Complex for beginners Limited on smaller chains Trade features: Multi-token pools, automated portfolio rebalancing, customizable pool types (public, private, smart), wide asset variety, minimal slippage through dynamic trading fees.
Earning features: Rewards in BAL tokens, high yield from liquidity provision, participation in liquidity mining, diversified income streams through various pool types.
DeFi and ecosystem engagement: Governance via BAL token, significant total value locked (TVL), interoperability across multiple blockchains, support for a variety of digital assets and wrapped tokens.
7. Summer.fi
Best DeFi protocol for services
Token
Summer.fi
Token max supply
N/A
Market cap
N/A
TVL
$5.345b
Summer.fi, initially known as Oasis.app and one of the earliest MakerDAO projects from 2016, has evolved significantly beyond its original scope.
After Maker became fully decentralized, Summer.fi emerged as a standalone platform, dedicated to establishing a highly trusted application for DeFi capital deployment.
It now transcends being merely an interface for the Maker Protocol. It aims to be the most secure place for engaging with DeFi, providing users with advanced automation features like stop-loss, auto-buy, and auto-sell, as well as strategies such as Constant Multiples for optimizing Vault performance. If your Vault’s collateralization ratio hits your Sell Trigger, Constant Multiple will execute.
Summer.fi prioritizes user experience, offering clear insights into positions, returns, and associated risks, backed by a comprehensive knowledge base reflecting community feedback.
Pros
Comprehensive DeFi services Advanced automation features, (stop-loss, take-profit, auto-buy, etc.) User-friendly interface Integration with multiple protocols (Aave and Maker) Cons
Complex for new users Limited to ERC-20 tokens Borrowing features: Flexible repayment schedules, diverse collateral types, integrated with multiple protocols like Aave and Ajna, protection against market volatility through the Oracle Security Module and constant updates from Chainlink.
Multiplying features: Increase or decrease collateral exposure in one transaction, use borrowed funds to buy more collateral, integration with liquid platforms and the 1inch DEX aggregator for best execution prices, dedicated interface for managing positions.
Earning features: Self-custody solutions for yield earning, compatibility with Aave and Maker protocols, increase yield from StETH, participate in the Dai Savings Rate for passive income.
Automation features: Stop-loss to prevent liquidations, take-profit for efficient exits, auto-buy and auto-sell for Vault management, Constant Multiple to maintain predefined exposure levels.
Integration and partnerships: Support for various wallets like MetaMask and Ledger, integration with the 1inch Network for efficient token swaps, launched on Optimism layer-2 for reduced transaction costs, Ajna Protocol integration for curated borrowing and lending pools.
8. Aave
Best DeFi protocol for liquidity
Token
AAVE
Token max supply
16,000,000 AAVE
Market cap
$1.711B
TVL
$10.564B
Aave (AAVE) is a pioneering entity in the DeFi sector. The comprehensive lending platform boasts a significant Total Value Locked (TVL), which surpasses $10 billion in crypto collateral.
Aave enables users to lend and borrow a wide array of tokens across multiple ecosystems, ensuring a versatile and inclusive financial experience.
The platform’s latest iteration, Aave V3, expands its reach beyond Ethereum to include 10 different blockchain networks, further solidifying its position as a key player in DeFi by enhancing accessibility and providing a range of options for its diverse user base.
Pros
High TVL Wide range of tokens Multi-chain accessibility Flash loans availability Governance via AAVE token Cons
Complexity for beginners High gas fees on Ethereum Risk of liquidation Trade features: Flash loans, real-time interest accrual, stable and variable interest rates, Ethereum network integration, multi-asset collateral support.
Earning features: aTokens for deposit interest, decentralized lending and borrowing, yield optimization strategies, liquidity mining.
Security features: Over-collateralization of loans, smart contract audits, safety module for risk mitigation, bug bounties for platform integrity.
Platform and ecosystem features: Governance via AAVE tokens, layer-2 solutions for reduced fees, decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) structure, no KYC requirements, multi-chain accessibility.
9. MakerDAO
Best DeFi protocol for generating a stablecoin
Token
MKR
Token max supply
1,005,577 MKR
Market cap
$2.686B
TVL
$7B
MakerDAO is a pioneering DeFi platform that has revolutionized the way users engage with digital assets. The platform provides a decentralized borrowing and lending system with its stablecoin, DAI, at the core.
Built on the Ethereum blockchain, it allows users to leverage a variety of cryptocurrencies as collateral to generate DAI, maintaining stability through rigorous governance by MKR token holders.
The platform distinguishes itself with features like over-collateralization to ensure loan security, and a dual-rate model offering users the choice between stable and variable interest rates. However, users must navigate complexities such as liquidation risks and market volatility.
As MakerDAO evolves, it continues to solidify its status as a cornerstone of the DeFi landscape with the introduction of upgrades like V3 and the addition of the GHO stablecoin — balancing user empowerment with the intricate dynamics of decentralized finance.
Pros
Decentralized lending DAI stability Ethereum-based Governance by MKR Over-collateralization Variable interest rates Cons
Complexity High gas fees Liquidation risks Trade features: Flash loans, stable and variable interest rates, real-time aTokens, multi-currency collateral, governance-driven updates.
Earning features: Interest on deposits, participation in governance, yield farming opportunities, dynamic interest rates.
Security features: Over-collateralization, liquidation mechanisms, community governance for risk management, security modules for asset protection.
Platform and ecosystem features: Decentralized borrowing and lending, Ethereum-based, MKR token for governance, integration with multiple crypto assets, open-source development, Maker Vaults for asset management.
10. Compound Finance
Best DeFi protocol for staking
Token
COMP
Token max supply
10,000,000 COMP
Market cap
$487.27M
TVL
$2.668B
Compound Finance is a prominent decentralized lending platform operating on the Ethereum blockchain, known for pioneering the DeFi lending space.
Established by Robert Leshner and Geoffrey Hayes in 2018, Compound simplifies the process of borrowing and lending cryptocurrencies without intermediaries, allowing over $2 billion in assets to be locked on its platform.
Unique for its innovations, such as yield farming and governance through COMP tokens, the platform aims to provide financial inclusion, eliminating traditional transaction minimums and credit checks.
While offering competitive returns through real-time interest rates, users engaging with Compound and its governance token, COMP, must be cautious of market volatility and conduct in-depth research prior to investment.
Pros
Decentralized borrowing and lending No transaction minimums User-friendly interface Supports multiple ERC-20 assets Yield farming opportunities Cons
Market volatility risks Requires over-collateralization Complexity for new users High gas fees on Ethereum Trade features: Real-time interest rate adjustments, supports diverse ERC-20 tokens, and a user-centric lending and borrowing system.
Earning features: Yield farming with COMP tokens, competitive APR for lenders, dynamic interest rates based on market conditions.
Security features: Extensive security audits (Trail of Bits, OpenZeppelin), economic risk analysis by Gauntlet, transparent and verifiable contracts.
DeFi and ecosystem engagement: Decentralized governance with COMP tokens, financial inclusion without traditional verifications, continuous platform innovation and updates.
11. Lido
Best DeFi protocol for ETH staking
Token
LDO
Token max supply
1,000,000,000 LDO
Market cap
$2.215B
TVL
$34.445B
Lido Finance is a DeFi staking protocol offering user-friendly, semi-custodial staking services across multiple cryptocurrencies. Known for its simple interface and decentralized structure, Lido allows users to stake their assets and receive liquid staking tokens, such as stETH, which can be utilized in the broader DeFi ecosystem for yield farming.
Supported by major players in DeFi and endorsed for its reasonable fees and rewarding referral program, Lido maximizes decentralization through its governance token, LDO, allowing stakeholders to partake in decision-making. While Lido streamlines the staking process, users should consider the semi-custodial nature, the staking rewards fees, and potential tax implications associated with rewards.
Semi-custodial service Staking rewards fees Potential tax implications Staking features: Easy and unrestricted staking, maximized earning potential, liquid staking tokens for yield farming.
Earning features: Daily staking rewards, assets used as collateral for lending and yield farming, participation in governance for reward optimization.
Security features: Smart contracts audited by Quantstamp and Sigma Prime, semi-custodial nature maintains user control.
DeFi and ecosystem engagement: Governance via LDO tokens, broad DeFi integration, supports multiple blockchains including Ethereum.
DeFi protocols comparedProtocolTypeTVLTokenNo. of blockchains supportedPancakeSwapDEX$2.224BCAKE9UniswapDEX$5.543BUNI8CurveDEX$2.486BCRV14BalancerDEX$1.242BBAL8Summer.fiDEX$5.345bsummer.fi4AaveLending$10.564BAAVE12MakerDAOLending$7BMKR1CompoundLending$2.668BCOMP4dYdXDEX$401.81MdYdX1LidoStaking$34.445BLDO5De.FiTracker and walletn/aDEFI15What are DeFi protocols?DeFi protocols are sets of rules, procedures, and codes that govern decentralized finance (DeFi) systems, enabling users to engage in activities such as trading, lending, and staking tokens within blockchain ecosystems.
DeFi represents a paradigm shift leveraging blockchain technology, primarily Ethereum, to cultivate an open, permissionless, and borderless financial ecosystem. Unlike traditional systems, developers write smart contracts to deploy DeFi protocols that enable peer-to-peer interactions without intermediaries. By adhering to the same set of rules, DeFi protocols ensure a standardized experience for all participants.
An example of a DeFi protocol is MakerDAO. The popular DeFi lending platform allows users to borrow against their crypto assets by locking them in exchange for a stablecoin, DAI, thus offering more predictable repayment terms despite the volatility of crypto markets.
Other protocols allow you to earn a passive income by generating yield from your staked assets. One popular example is the Lido protocol, which allows you to earn on stETH. Platforms like Lido aim to offer the highest APY on crypto staking, allowing users to maximize returns on their staked assets within the Ethereum ecosystem.
The total value locked (TVL) is often used as a metric to gauge a protocol’s adoption and utility, with MakerDAO being one of the largest by TVL, highlighting its significant role in DeFi.
In 2026, new and more efficient technologies are being developed. For instance, some protocols incorporate asynchronous smart contracts, which allow transactions and agreements to be executed without needing all parties to be present or online simultaneously. This helps streamline operations within networks like Ethereum.
According to DeFiLlama, the top protocol categories are lending, DEXs, bridges, CDP (protocols that mint their own stablecoin using collateralized lending), and restaking.
Protocol categories: DeFiLlamaWhy do you need DeFi protocols?DeFi allows decentralized apps (DApps) and platforms to provide services like crypto lending and crypto yield earning through staking. Users can participate in AMM (automated market maker) systems to improve liquidity.
These features offer a fertile ground for startups to innovate beyond conventional financial products, fostering rapid experimentation and potential disruption. The global accessibility facilitated by DeFi platforms makes them a significant tool for financial inclusion, allowing startups to reach a worldwide audience.
The interoperability among various DeFi protocols enhances this further, enabling seamless integration of services like web3 gaming and metaverse tokens, broadening the scope of what blockchain startups can achieve.
The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi platforms serves as a metric of trust and utility, indicating the number of cryptocurrencies staked, lent, or committed to liquidity pools, highlighting the ecosystem’s growth and stability.
By eliminating intermediaries, DeFi significantly lowers transaction costs, making it an attractive model for startups, especially in crypto lending and yield generation. Instead of being worried about your credit score, you can apply for a crypto loan with fewer restrictions than in TradFi. This reduction in costs, combined with the potential for high crypto yield through mechanisms like staking, positions DeFi as an increasingly popular option for both entrepreneurs and investors in the crypto market.
How do DeFi protocols work?DeFi protocols function by leveraging blockchain technology. While most of them are based on Ethereum, some may also support other networks. At the heart of these services are smart contracts, self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement directly written into code, which facilitate, verify, and enforce the negotiation or performance of a contract.
DeFi, however, requires thorough research and understanding of several factors, including security, liquidity, and the platform’s governance structure. It’s important to assess the user experience, the degree of interoperability with other DApps and blockchain systems, and the level of community involvement in decision-making processes.
1. Decentralized apps (DApps)Users can engage with various DeFi platforms or DApps to access a wide range of financial services.
One common way to participate is through crypto lending on platforms. Protocols such as Aave or Compound allow you to deposit cryptocurrencies to earn interest. The earnings are measured as Annual Percentage Yield (APY), which is a volatile percentage that corresponds to the market’s demands.
2. Liquidity miningAnother popular DeFi activity is liquidity mining. You can provide liquidity to decentralized exchanges (DEXs) by depositing your assets into liquidity pools. This deposit is usually made for a pair of assets, such as ETH-USDT, but it can be anything else.
In return, you earn rewards, often in the platform’s native tokens. This process is critical for ensuring there is enough market liquidity for trading and is facilitated by AMMs, algorithms used by DEXs to determine the price of tokens and facilitate trades.
3. Swaps (trading)Trading on DEXs is another key function of DeFi protocols. These platforms allow users to trade cryptocurrencies directly with others in a more private and accessible manner than on centralized exchanges.
This not only supports the decentralized ethos of blockchain but also contributes to the Total Value Locked (TVL).
Should you use DeFi protocols?Pros Earn money: You can make your crypto work for you. Put your assets in DeFi platforms to earn interest or rewards. Trade easily: Swap cryptocurrencies directly with others. No need for a middleman. More control: You’re in charge of your money. No bank or institution can block your transactions. Open to everyone: Anyone with an internet connection can join. It’s global and inclusive. Transparent: Everything is recorded on the blockchain. You can see all transactions. New opportunities: Explore new financial services like crypto lending or web3 gaming. Cons Risky: Crypto values can change fast. Your investments can shrink quickly. Complicated: Some DeFi stuff is hard to understand. It’s not always beginner-friendly. Security issues: Hacks happen. If a DeFi platform gets attacked, you might lose your money. No customer support: If you have a problem, there’s no customer service to call. Research needed: You need to do your homework before investing. Not all platforms are safe. High fees: Sometimes, you’ll pay a lot to make transactions, especially when the network is busy. Could DeFi replace traditional finance?Decentralized finance has the potential to usurp traditional institutions, specifically TradFi. Decentralized finance enables users to transact securely, anonymously, and efficiently and is thus likely to gain popularity as web3 and crypto adoption grows. From crypto lending to staking to market makers, DeFi is exciting but also risky.
Do not interact with any DeFi protocols until you have developed a solid plan and are entirely comfortable with the mechanisms of the platform. Always be aware of the potential for losses, and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
Frequently asked questions What is the most popular DeFi protocol? The most popular DeFi protocol is often considered to be MakerDAO. It frequently leads in terms of Total Value Locked (TVL) and has a wide usage across the DeFi ecosystem. MakerDAO’s platform revolves around the generation of DAI, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, and enables decentralized borrowing and saving. Its popularity stems from its innovative approach to maintaining currency stability and providing a decentralized credit service.
What are the top five DeFi tokens? The top five DeFi tokens typically include Maker (MKR), Aave (AAVE), Compound (COMP), Uniswap (UNI), and PancakeSwap (CAKE), based on their market capitalization and impact on the DeFi space. These tokens facilitate governance of their respective platforms, offering holders voting rights on decisions and upgrades. They are integral to the operations of these platforms, from lending and borrowing to providing liquidity and facilitating decentralized trading.
What is TVL in DeFi protocols? Total Value Locked (TVL) in DeFi protocols refers to the total amount of assets currently being staked, lent, or deposited within a DeFi protocol’s smart contracts. It serves as a metric to gauge the overall health and growth of the DeFi market, indicating how much money is actively used in these decentralized financial services. A higher TVL suggests greater user trust and utility of the DeFi ecosystem.
How many DeFi protocols are there? The number of DeFi protocols is constantly growing as the space evolves and new projects are launched. There are hundreds of DeFi protocols across various blockchains, catering to different aspects of decentralized finance such as lending, borrowing, trading, and liquidity provision. The exact number can vary daily due to the dynamic nature of the crypto and DeFi industries.
How many DeFi protocols are there? The number of DeFi protocols is constantly growing as the space evolves and new projects are launched. There are hundreds of DeFi protocols across various blockchains, catering to different aspects of decentralized finance such as lending, borrowing, trading, and liquidity provision. The exact number can vary daily due to the dynamic nature of the crypto and DeFi industries.
Is TVL a good metric? TVL is a good metric for understanding the scale and usage of a DeFi protocol, as it reflects the total capital committed by users. However, it should not be the sole metric for assessing a protocol’s value or success, as it does not account for risks, decentralization level, or liquidity. It’s best used in combination with other factors like user growth, transaction volume, and protocol governance for a comprehensive evaluation.
What is a good FDV TVL ratio? A good FDV (Fully Diluted Valuation) to TVL (Total Value Locked) ratio for a DeFi project is typically below one, indicating that the project’s market valuation is not excessively higher than the value of assets locked in the protocol. Lower FDV/TVL ratios suggest that the protocol is undervalued or efficiently using its capital, which can be attractive to investors. However, this ratio should be considered alongside other metrics and project fundamentals for a complete analysis.
What is the TVL formula? The TVL formula in DeFi protocols calculates the total value of all assets deposited in the protocol’s smart contracts, which can include cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and other tokens. It aggregates the value of these assets, often converting them to a common currency like USD for a standardized measure. The formula is the sum of the value of each type of asset multiplied by its current market price.
How to calculate FDV? The Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) is calculated by taking the total supply of a token (both circulating and non-circulating) and multiplying it by the current price of the token. This gives an idea of what the market cap would be if all tokens were in circulation and trading at the current price. It’s an important metric for understanding the potential market size and investment risk of a cryptocurrency or DeFi project.
Yearn Finance launched yvUSD on January 19, 2026. It’s a V3 cross-chain, cross-asset stablecoin vault, not a simple USDC-only vault, with zero management fees, zero performance fees, and two deposit modes. At the time of writing it runs nine active yield strategies, though that number is dynamic and managed by the vault operator. If you’ve been watching the stablecoin yield space this year, those numbers alone probably caught your attention. Zero fees on a yield aggregator is unusual. Strategies spanning lending, fixed income, and points farming is ambitious. And the two-mode system (unlocked vs. locked) is a design choice I haven’t seen done quite this cleanly before.
This article breaks down how the vault actually works, where the yield comes from, what the risks look like in practice, and how it stacks up against the alternatives. I’ve tried to write the kind of analysis I’d want to read before putting real money into this thing.
What yvUSD is, mechanically At the contract level, yvUSD is a Yearn V3 Allocator Vault. That means it’s an ERC-4626 compliant smart contract that accepts USDC deposits on Ethereum mainnet, mints shares proportional to your deposit, and then deploys that capital across a portfolio of yield-generating strategies spanning multiple stablecoins and chains. Yearn’s own announcement describes it as “a cross-chain, cross-asset vault for best in class stablecoin yield.” The deposit token is USDC, but the vault’s strategies convert into sUSDS, siUSD, and other stablecoin derivatives as part of normal operation.
ERC-4626 matters here because it’s become the standard interface for tokenized vaults in DeFi. Any protocol that supports 4626 can plug into yvUSD without custom integration work. Your shares are yield-bearing ERC-20 tokens, which means they’re transferable, composable, and can be used as collateral elsewhere if a lending market accepts them.
The V3 architecture is a big upgrade from Yearn’s V2 system. In V2, strategies were locked to a single vault in a one-to-one relationship. In V3, strategies are themselves standalone ERC-4626 compliant contracts, Yearn calls them “Tokenized Strategies.” Per Yearn’s V3 docs: “strategies are now fully ERC-4626 compliant, stand-alone vaults” that “can now be connected to many different vaults simultaneously and can also be deposited into directly by an end user.” This is a meaningful architectural change: strategies can serve multiple allocator vaults, and users can deposit into individual strategies directly if they want to bypass the allocator entirely.
The practical implication: yvUSD’s current strategies are modular. They can be added, removed, or rebalanced without migrating the entire vault. The Debt Allocator contract handles capital distribution across strategies based on target allocations set by the vault manager, and an on-chain APR Oracle helps inform those allocation decisions.
Vault specs as of March 13, 2026:
Asset: USDC (Ethereum mainnet, cross-chain via Circle’s CCTP) TVL: $3.02M Fees: 0% management, 0% performance Risk score: 3/5 (Yearn’s self-assessment) Contract: 0x696d02Db93291651ED510704c9b286841d506987 (per the Yearn UI vault page; note that yvUSD may use multiple contracts across its allocator and strategy architecture, always verify the address you’re interacting with on yearn.fi directly) The unlocked/locked design This is the architectural decision that distinguishes yvUSD from a standard Yearn vault. When you deposit, you choose between two modes.
Unlocked gives you withdrawal access at any time, subject to the vault’s liquidity buffer. At the time of writing, the displayed estimated APY is around 7.14%, but this number is a trailing estimate that fluctuates based on strategy performance, incentive programs, and capital allocation. The Yearn UI may show substantially different numbers depending on the calculation window (7-day, 30-day, inception). Don’t treat any displayed APY as a fixed rate. The vault ensures it always has enough capital parked in short-duration, liquid strategies (sUSDS, basic Morpho lending) so that unlocked depositors can exit without delay.
Locked imposes a 14-day cooldown period after you signal your intent to withdraw, followed by a 5-day window during which you can actually pull your funds. In exchange, the vault can deploy your capital into longer-duration positions that pay more, things like Pendle principal tokens with fixed maturities, deeper leverage loops on Morpho, and cross-chain L2 plays.
The idea borrows from a concept that InfiniFi (one of the protocols integrated into the vault) has been developing: depositor-directed duration matching. Traditional banks take deposits and invest them into long-duration assets while hoping everyone doesn’t withdraw at once. yvUSD instead lets depositors explicitly reveal their liquidity preferences, then builds the portfolio accordingly. Locked capital funds the higher-yield, longer-duration strategies. Unlocked capital stays in liquid backstops. The vault knows exactly how much of its capital has a 14-day minimum lockup, which means it can allocate with more precision than a vault that has to assume 100% of deposits might leave tomorrow.
It’s a clean tradeoff, and worth thinking through carefully. If you’re not sure you’ll need the money in the next three weeks, locked mode is strictly better. If there’s any chance you’ll need fast access, stay unlocked and accept the lower rate.
Active strategies: where the yield comes from Everything is published on-chain, and the DeBank bundle shows live positions in real time. The vault currently runs nine strategies (this count is dynamic and managed by the vault operator). Here’s the approximate allocation as of March 13, 2026.
Morpho Yearn OG USDC Compounder (28% allocation, ~3.81% APY) This is the vault’s largest single position and its most conservative strategy. It deposits USDC into Morpho Blue’s isolated lending markets, specifically into markets curated by Yearn’s own risk team.
Morpho Blue, for those unfamiliar, is a permissionless lending primitive that launched as an evolution of Morpho’s original peer-to-peer optimization layer. Each Morpho Blue market is an isolated pair (one collateral asset, one loan asset) with immutable parameters. Risk doesn’t bleed between markets the way it can in pooled protocols like Aave. The tradeoff is that you need to pick your markets carefully, or delegate that decision to a curator.
The 3.81% APY comes from borrower interest. It’s real yield in the most traditional DeFi sense: someone is paying to borrow USDC, and you’re earning a share of that interest. Conservative, predictable, and the risk profile is well-understood after years of lending protocol history.
USD3 Pendle PT Maxi (20% allocation, ~7.99% APY) This is where the vault’s yield starts to get interesting. The strategy buys Pendle Principal Tokens (PTs) denominated in USD3 at a discount to face value and holds them to maturity.
A quick primer on how Pendle PTs work. Pendle splits a yield-bearing asset into two tokens: a Principal Token (PT) that’s redeemable 1:1 for the underlying at maturity, and a Yield Token (YT) that captures all the variable yield until that date. If you buy PT at a discount before maturity, you’ve effectively locked in a fixed yield, the spread between your purchase price and the redemption value.
So if PT-USD3 trades at $0.96 with a 6-month maturity, buying it and holding to expiration gives you roughly 8% annualized. No variable rate risk, no dependency on borrow demand staying high. The yield is encoded in the purchase price.
The risk here is duration. If the vault needs to exit this position before maturity, it has to sell the PT on the open market, potentially at a loss if rates have moved against it. This is one of the key reasons the locked/unlocked design exists. Locked capital can ride PTs to maturity. Unlocked capital stays out of these positions (or the vault maintains enough liquid buffer to cover unlocked withdrawals regardless).
Pendle has become a dominant venue for this kind of fixed-income DeFi. According to CoinMarketCap’s Pendle analysis, stablecoins now account for roughly 83% of Pendle’s TVL. The protocol also transitioned from vePENDLE to a liquid staking model (sPENDLE) on January 20, 2026, replacing multi-year lock-ups with a 14-day withdrawal period and directing up to 80% of protocol revenue to PENDLE buybacks for sPENDLE holders.
InfiniFi sIUSD Morpho Looper (19% allocation, 0% base APY) This is the most unusual position in the vault, and the one that confuses people when they look at the strategy list. It shows 0% APY. Why would the vault put 19% of its capital into something earning zero?
The answer is points farming.
InfiniFi is a DeFi protocol that replicates fractional reserve banking on-chain. Users deposit USDC, mint iUSD receipt tokens, then choose between liquid staking (siUSD) or locked positions (liUSD) with different yield profiles. Per DefiLlama, InfiniFi holds roughly $170M in TVL, and Messari reports $175M. The protocol is heading toward a token generation event (TGE) expected in early-to-mid 2026.
The vault deposits into InfiniFi, receives siUSD, then loops that position through Morpho to amplify its exposure. The 0% base APY is accurate in that no interest is being paid right now. But InfiniFi Points are accruing on the position, with enhanced multipliers for the strategies involved. Pendle’s siUSD pools are offering up to 4.5x point multipliers on YT positions.
When InfiniFi’s TGE happens, Yearn will monetize the accumulated points, likely through their signature permissionless Dutch auction system or OTC deals, and funnel the proceeds back into the vault. Your price-per-share goes up, and the retroactive APY on this strategy could end up being substantial. Or it could be modest. Nobody knows what InfiniFi tokens will be worth at launch.
This is the speculative component of the vault, and you should be clear-eyed about it. About 19% of the vault’s capital is sitting in a position that earns nothing today, betting on future token value. Yearn has historically been good at monetizing these positions (they’ve been doing it since the Curve wars era), but it’s still a bet, not a guaranteed yield stream.
USDC to sUSDS Depositor (10% allocation, ~3.82% APY) This strategy converts USDC to USDS, Sky Protocol’s stablecoin, and deposits it into the Sky Savings Rate module, receiving sUSDS in return. USDS is positioned as the successor to DAI within the Sky ecosystem (formerly MakerDAO), with a 1:1 upgrade path from DAI to USDS. Both tokens still exist; DAI has not been retired or renamed, but USDS is where Sky Protocol is directing new development and integrations.
The Sky Savings Rate is funded by Sky Protocol’s revenue, which comes from crypto collateralized loans, U.S. Treasury bill investments, and liquidity provisioning into SparkLend. As of March 2026, sUSDS yields around 4% APY. Sky Frontier Foundation’s own press release from March 6, 2026 describes sUSDS as having “+$10 Billion in supply,” making it the largest yield-generating stablecoin by market cap. (Note: this $10B figure refers to total sUSDS tokens in circulation, not to be confused with the larger DAI/USDS base stablecoin supply.)
For the vault, sUSDS serves a dual purpose. It generates reliable baseline yield (Sky Protocol’s revenue model is diversified and has operated for years under its prior MakerDAO branding), and it’s highly liquid with no withdrawal constraints. This is part of the vault’s liquidity buffer, the safe money that ensures unlocked depositors can always exit.
The risk here is mostly stablecoin peg risk: USDS could theoretically depeg from the dollar, or the conversion path USDC to USDS could involve slippage. In practice, USDS has maintained its peg reliably through years of market stress as DAI, and the conversion path is well-established.
syrupUSDC/USDC Morpho Looper (10% allocation, 0% base APY) Similar to the InfiniFi strategy, this position earns 0% in direct interest but farms points from Maple Finance’s syrupUSDC program. It’s a leveraged lending position on Morpho that amplifies exposure to Maple’s rewards program.
Maple has been rebuilding after its 2022 credit crisis, and syrupUSDC represents their new institutional lending product. The points here are a bet on Maple’s token economics and the value of being early to their relaunched ecosystem.
Same logic as the InfiniFi position: no yield today, speculative upside tomorrow. Same honest assessment: it could pay off well, or it could amount to very little.
PT siUSD March Morpho Looper (6% allocation, ~10.8% APY) This is the highest-APY strategy in the vault. It buys Pendle PT-siUSD tokens (which mature March 26, 2026) and leverages the position through Morpho to amplify the fixed yield.
The base PT yield is attractive on its own, around 9% fixed according to InfiniFi’s Pendle V2 pool data. The Morpho loop borrows against the PT position to buy more PTs, stacking the fixed yield. If the PT yield is 9% and you can borrow USDC at 4%, the spread gets amplified through leverage.
The risk here is compounded: you have PT duration risk, Morpho liquidation risk if collateral ratios move unfavorably, and the underlying InfiniFi counterparty risk, all stacked. At only 6% of the vault, this is sized as a satellite position rather than a core holding, which seems appropriate given the risk stack.
Smaller allocations (remaining ~7%) Three additional strategies round out the portfolio. The exact compositions shift as the vault rebalances, but they generally involve smaller Morpho lending positions and additional PT exposures across different maturities. They provide diversification within the strategy mix without materially changing the overall risk profile.
Where the APY numbers actually come from Here’s the honest version of what to expect.
Sustainable baseline (unlocked): roughly 6-8% APY, estimated. This range is derived from the combination of Morpho lending (~3.8%), Pendle PT strategies (~8-10%), and sUSDS (~3.8%), blended across the portfolio. Even if every points program goes to zero, this baseline should hold because it’s driven by real borrow demand, fixed-income instruments, and protocol revenue. It already beats Aave’s 3-5% and Morpho direct lending’s 4-8% after their respective fee structures. But this is an estimate based on current allocations. It is not a guaranteed rate, and it will shift as strategies are rebalanced and market conditions change.
Points premium: highly variable. The InfiniFi and syrupUSDC strategies (about 29% of the vault combined) are currently earning zero direct yield. Their eventual contribution depends entirely on token launch valuations and Yearn’s monetization execution. In a good scenario, this could add several percentage points to the annualized return. In a disappointing scenario, it might add very little.
The 54.4% 30-day APY on the vault page is misleading. It includes temporary launch incentives and early points monetization events that won’t recur. If you’re making a deposit decision based on that number, recalibrate. Plan around 6-8% and treat anything above that as a bonus.
How Yearn monetizes points (and why it matters that you don’t have to) This is one of the smartest parts of the design, and it’s worth understanding.
When you deposit into yvUSD, all points and reward tokens accrue to the vault’s contract address, not to your wallet. You never claim anything. You never pay gas to harvest. You never have to research which airdrop campaigns are running or track eligibility criteria.
When a points program converts to tokens (at TGE or during a liquidity event), Yearn’s system handles monetization. They typically use one of two mechanisms: OTC deals with market makers who want early token access, or their permissionless Dutch auction system where tokens are sold on-chain in a declining-price auction until clearing.
The proceeds flow back into the vault as additional USDC. Your share of that USDC shows up as an increase in the vault’s price-per-share (PPS). From your perspective, your yvUSD tokens are simply worth more when you redeem them.
The tradeoff is real, though. If InfiniFi’s token launches and immediately does a 50x, you don’t capture that upside, because Yearn sold the tokens at whatever price cleared the auction. You traded potential token moonshot exposure for guaranteed passivity. For most people holding stablecoins, that’s the right tradeoff. But if you’re the type who wants to hold and time individual airdrops, yvUSD isn’t designed for you.
Risk analysis Yearn rates yvUSD at 3/5 on their internal risk scale. That’s an honest number, not a conservative one. Here’s what’s driving it.
Smart contract risk: medium-high Multiple strategies (nine at the time of writing, subject to change) means a large set of smart contracts interacting with the vault. Each strategy interfaces with at least one external protocol (Morpho, Pendle, InfiniFi, Sky). The total smart contract surface area is large. Yearn’s V3 codebase has been audited and has processed hundreds of millions in TVL across other vaults, but the specific strategies in yvUSD are newer and less battle-tested.
A bug in any single strategy could result in losses to the portion of capital deployed there. Yearn’s architecture does provide some containment, since strategies can be revoked and capital recalled if issues are detected, but forced revocation during an exploit can still crystallize losses.
Leverage risk: present The Morpho looper strategies (InfiniFi looper, syrupUSDC looper, PT siUSD looper) use leverage. They borrow against their positions to amplify exposure. In normal markets, this amplifies yield. In stressed markets, it amplifies losses and can trigger liquidation.
Morpho’s isolated market design means a liquidation in one market doesn’t cascade into others, which is meaningfully better than pooled alternatives. But if a borrowed position hits its LLTV (Liquidation Loan-to-Value) threshold at oracle prices, the collateral gets sold. For looped positions, this can unwind rapidly.
Duration risk: present (especially in locked mode) Pendle PT strategies have fixed maturities. The USD3 Maxi position and the PT siUSD looper are both committed to specific expiry dates. If conditions change and the vault needs to exit early, it has to sell at market prices, which may be unfavorable.
The locked/unlocked design mitigates this significantly. Locked capital is deployed into duration-sensitive strategies with the explicit understanding that it won’t be withdrawn for at least 14 days. Unlocked capital avoids these positions. But if a large amount of unlocked capital tries to exit simultaneously and the liquid buffer is insufficient, there could be withdrawal delays.
Counterparty risk: moderate The vault depends on InfiniFi, Sky Protocol, Pendle, and Morpho functioning correctly. Each of these is a separate protocol with its own governance, codebase, and risk profile.
InfiniFi, in particular, is the youngest and least proven of the group. It has roughly $170M TVL per DefiLlama and a pre-TGE token, meaning its incentive structures are still evolving. Sky Protocol (the rebranded MakerDAO ecosystem) is at the opposite end of the spectrum, one of the most established DeFi protocols in existence.
Bridge risk: low Cross-chain activity uses Circle’s CCTP (Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol), which burns and mints native USDC rather than relying on wrapped tokens or bridges with independent validator sets. CCTP is widely regarded as the safest cross-chain mechanism for stablecoins, since it leverages Circle’s own attestation network. The risk isn’t zero (Circle is a centralized entity), but it’s meaningfully lower than most bridge alternatives.
Competitive landscape Aave V3 Morpho direct yvUSD (unlocked) yvUSD (locked) Expected APY 3-5% 4-8% 6-8% sustainable Higher (not disclosed) Fees Variable Curator-dependent 0% / 0% 0% / 0% Withdrawal Instant Instant Instant (with buffer) 14-day cooldown Smart contract risk Very low Low-medium Medium-high Medium-high Leverage exposure None None Yes (partial) Yes (more) Effort required None Low None None Points/airdrop exposure None Possible (via curator) Yes (passive) Yes (passive) Aave remains the obvious choice if you want the simplest, most proven option. Five years of operation, enormous TVL, instant withdrawals. The yield reflects that safety, you’re paying for simplicity with lower returns. Currently around 3-5% on USDC after the protocol’s fee cut.
Morpho direct lending (via curated MetaMorpho vaults) gives you 4-8% with more granular risk selection. You choose which vault, which curator, which risk profile. The recent Telegram integration and institutional partnerships suggest Morpho’s distribution is expanding, which should sustain borrow demand. But you’re trusting a curator’s allocation decisions, and the newer isolated markets have a shorter track record.
yvUSD sits at the higher end of both yield and complexity. The 6-8% sustainable baseline comes from combining multiple yield sources that individually would be accessible but tedious to manage. The zero-fee structure means every basis point of yield goes to depositors, which is rare for an aggregator. Yearn’s V2 vaults charged 2% management and 20% performance fees. The V3 yvUSD vault charges nothing.
The competitive question is whether the additional 2-4% yield over Aave justifies the additional risk surface. For someone sitting on stablecoins they don’t need for three months, I think the answer is probably yes, especially in unlocked mode where you retain withdrawal flexibility. For someone who can’t tolerate any smart contract risk beyond the most battle-tested protocols, Aave is still the right call.
Projected returns on $100K Assuming daily compounding:
Timeframe Conservative 7% APY Boosted ~40% APY (temporary) 1 month ~$583 ~$3,300 3 months ~$1,750 ~$10,000 6 months ~$3,500 ~$20,000 12 months ~$7,000 N/A (won’t persist) The 7% column is your planning number. The boosted column is useful for understanding what the first few weeks or months might look like while incentive programs are active, but don’t build a financial plan around it.
Getting started Navigate to yearn.fi/v3/1/0x696d02Db93291651ED510704c9b286841d506987 Connect your wallet Choose unlocked or locked mode Deposit USDC and receive yvUSD shares There is no step 5. No claiming, no harvesting, no rebalancing. Your PPS increases as the vault accrues yield. To monitor positions: DeBank transparency bundle
What’s next: yvBTC Yearn has signaled that yvBTC is coming, following the same zero-fee, cross-chain, delta-neutral philosophy applied to Bitcoin. If yvUSD proves the model works for stablecoins, yvBTC would extend it to the most held crypto asset. Worth watching, though no timeline has been confirmed.
Where I land yvUSD is a well-designed product for a specific user: someone holding USDC who wants more than money-market rates, doesn’t want to actively manage positions across five different protocols, and is comfortable with a 3/5 risk profile in exchange for 6-8% passive yield.
The zero-fee structure is the detail that moves it from “interesting” to “worth seriously considering.” In most yield aggregators, fees eat 20% or more of your returns. Here, every basis point goes to depositors. That’s a meaningful edge over time.
The risk is real. Multiple strategies, leverage in the mix, points bets on pre-TGE tokens, duration exposure in Pendle PTs. None of this is Aave-simple, and the vault page doesn’t hide that (the 3/5 self-rating is refreshingly honest). But the risks are transparent, verifiable on-chain, and sized proportionally within the portfolio. The conservative core (Morpho lending + sUSDS) accounts for nearly 40% of the vault. The speculative tail (points farming) accounts for about 29%. The fixed-income middle (Pendle PTs) fills the rest.
If you’re comfortable with that structure, deposit what you can afford to have illiquid for a couple of weeks in the worst case. Start with unlocked mode if you’re cautious. And check the DeBank bundle periodically to verify the vault’s positions match what’s described here, because in DeFi, the ability to verify is the whole point.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always conduct your own research and understand the risks before making any investment decisions.
Ethernity, an NFT-focused blockchain platform, has announced its new Ethernity Chain network to the public, leading to a 16% surge in the ERN token price. This enormous price leap came soon after the introduction of an innovative Layer 2 solution on the Ethereum blockchain, with strong security measures powered by AI.
The Layer 2 network is entertainment brand focused, and the new improvements make Ethernity Chain the leading platform for brands to move into the Web3 environment on a global scale.
Introducing Ethernity Chain, an ETH Layer 2 with enhanced AI-driven security, setting new standards for on-chain entertainment. All powered by $ERN
Welcome to the Future of Entertainment
A thread 🧵[1/8] pic.twitter.com/ezlWYQVUCA
— ETHERNITY (@EthernityChain) May 7, 2024
Ethernity’s AI-Powered Security and Plug-and-Play Toolkit The Ethernity Chain’s development centers on its emphasis on advanced AI security functions. The chain’s AI functionalities include integrated Digital Rights Management (DRM) controls that help preserve intellectual property (IP) and address counterfeit asset trading. This type of security model provides a safe environment for global brands and their customers, protecting proprietary data.
Additionally, Ethernity Chain offers a plug-and-play toolkit that intends to reduce the barrier of entry for global entertainment brands that want to operate on the blockchain.
Using no-code tools, companies can seamlessly integrate their IP and grow tokens, digital collectibles, and other Web3 applications such as marketplaces and games.
Lower Gas Fees and Seamless EVM Compatibility The Ethernity Chain network is designed to be an eco-friendly place for development and utilization purposes, helping to reduce gas fees, promote sustainability, and lower costs. This method is in line with the growing need for eco-friendly solutions in the blockchain, and the initiative’s objective is to attract developers by minimizing economic limitations.
Ethernity Chain is also 100% Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible, seamlessly integrating into current standards such as tokens, NFTs, and decentralized finance (DeFi) smart contracts. Such compatibility allows the current developers of Web3 to migrate their projects seamlessly into Layer 2 without much alteration.
ERN Price Surge Following the announcement of the Layer 2 network, the ERN token surged by 16%, with a live price of $5.19 at the time of writing. The 24-hour trading volume reached over $41 million after rising by 260.76%, reflecting growing investor interest, while the market cap exceeded $106 million with a 15% rally.
At the same time, several new projects will be launched on the Ethernity Chain, along with FanableApp, the marketplace for Real-World Assets (RWAs), and Exorians, a next-gen sci-fi game. All these projects and applications from the key industry teams will exploit the full functionalities of Ethernity Chain and its support.
Ethernity is already known for its collaborations with world-renowned names like Lionel Messi and Shaquille O’Neal, and it plans to develop its ecosystem further with bigger entertainment companies.
Co-CEO Nick Rose Ntertsas pointed out that transforming the platform into a Layer 2 solution will “transform how entertainment brands interact with their audience using Web3 technologies.”
Read Also: Congressman Blasts US SEC, Gensler for Violations & SAB 121 Rule
Ethernity is a platform that offers authenticated and licensed NFTs featuring well-known figures such as Lionel Messi and Shaquille O’Neal. It has announced a Layer-2 solution on the Ethereum blockchain.
This development aims to address the challenges faced by major brands in adopting blockchain technology.
Ethernity Unveils Layer-2 BlockchainThe new Ethernity Chain Layer-2 solution will enhance privacy, lower transaction costs, and simplify user interfaces. It will include security measures and utilize AI for implementing Digital Rights Management (DRM) controls. This aims at preventing counterfeit trading and protecting creators’ intellectual property.
Nick Rose Ntertsas, Co-Chief Executive Officer at Ethernity, stated that the move to Layer-2 will improve how entertainment brands engage with their audiences using Web3 technologies. He highlighted the intention to offer developers a more navigable, sustainable, and secure environment.
“Our goal is to revolutionize how entertainment brands engage with their audiences through Web3 technologies. With this evolution into a Layer-2, we are expanding our capabilities and providing a navigable, sustainable, and secure environment for brands to create cutting-edge entertainment products and experiences,” Ntertsas stated.
Read more: Layer 1 vs. Layer 2: What Is the Difference?
Ethernity Chain has been recognized for its role in NFT, particularly with licensed digital collectibles. The upgrade to Layer-2 is designed to enhance privacy and improve overall engagement and interaction within the entertainment industry.
The solution includes AI-driven security features, reduced gas fees, and full compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). This facilitates easier access for users and global entertainment brands.
Introducing Ethernity Chain, an ETH Layer 2 with enhanced AI-driven security, setting new standards for on-chain entertainment. All powered by $ERN
Welcome to the Future of Entertainment
A thread 🧵[1/8] pic.twitter.com/ezlWYQVUCA
— Ethernity – The Entertainment L2 (@EthernityChain) May 7, 2024 Looking ahead, Ethernity is preparing to launch several projects on this new infrastructure, including the Fanable App, a marketplace for real-world asset collectibles set to be available on mobile platforms soon. Exorians, a new sci-fi franchise and Web3 game, and 0xLoans, a peer-to-peer lending protocol using NFTs as collateral, are part of their upcoming initiatives.
This strategic move could impact how the entertainment sector integrates with Web3 technologies, offering new opportunities for both enthusiasts and brands.
Nexus Mutual (NXM); is a decentralized finance protocol based on the Ethereum network. Although Nexus Mutual has its own cryptocurrency, NXM, it is known that this can only be used within its own network. Users can obtain insurance through smart contracts using the network’s own cryptocurrency NXM and cover their losses against potential attacks or losses.
The decentralized finance sector has achieved incredible growth recently, but it also brings with it certain risks. Thanks to Nexus Mutual, the risk on smart contracts is distributed equally to everyone using it. The idea of Mutual, derived from the concept of partnership, quickly became popular in the cryptocurrency sector, and other cryptocurrency projects have also taken similar steps. Wrapped NXM Coin, on the other hand, is a cryptocurrency that users can use outside the Nexus Mutual platform.
While the governance token of the Nexus Mutual protocol, NXM, can only be used on this network, Wrapped NXM can be used on many networks. Users need to buy WNXM Coin or NXM Coin and hold a certain amount of NXM Coin to benefit from this insurance service in the DeFi sector.
Where to Buy WNXM Coin?WNXM Coin can be purchased using Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. To buy WNXM Coin on Binance, you first need to send a certain USDT balance to the exchange. After sending the balance, WNXM/USDT trading pairs can be used for fast purchases due to high liquidity support.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
Giko Cat, Sudeng and inSure DeFi emerged as the top gainers in the last 24 hours with a double-digit surge.
CoinGecko data shows that while top coins like Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) are recovering with a 1-3% surge after the recent dump, some meme coins pulled off double-digit gains.
Cat-themed meme coin Giko Cat (GIKO) is up by 52% in the last 24 hours. It is the largest gainer as per CoinGecko’s top gainers list during this period.
The coin has a market cap of $63 million. GIKO’s surge can be attributed to the popularity of cat-inspired meme coins, which is led by Popcat (POPCAT).
GIKO is up by over 280% in the last seven days and up 2,100% in the last 30 days. This notable surge happened amidst the highly volatile market conditions.
Source: CoinGecko InSure DeFi pumps 40% InSure DeFi (SURE) is second on the list as the top gainer with its 40% surge. Trading at $0.003166, the coin has surged from its seven-day low of $0.00203.
Even though its 24-hour pump is commendable, the meme coin is down by over 35% in the last 30 days.
Source: CoinGecko Unlike GIKO, InSure DeFi is not a meme coin and is part of a crypto and RWA portfolio insurance ecosystem.
However, the exact reason for the surge of InSure is not clear as there haven’t been any notable development announcements in the last 24 hours.
Sudeng bags the third position Sudeng (HIPPO) is another spin-off token inspired by the Moo Deng hippopotamus. According to CoinGecko, HIPPO is the third-largest gainer in the last 24 hours.
Source: CoinGecko Amid the not-so-bullish market conditions, this meme coin has managed to surge by over 36%. HIPPO has gained investor attention as analysts are shilling the coin all over X.
With the meme coin now standing at a $169 million market cap, analysts speculate that $200 million could be next.
As blockchain networks grow and serve more users, their scale—measured by the volume of transactions and participants—can both solve and create challenges.
Blockchains running programs that automate agreements, like smart contracts, often face significant challenges, especially those with large, active user bases. Too many users are trying to do things simultaneously, and the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) at its center simply can’t do all the transactions the ecosystem wants in quick succession, one after another. Limited space on the blockchain can also increase competition for inclusion in blocks, driving up transaction fees during times of heavy use.
If there’s one thing that stops a growing platform from keeping its users happy, it’s slow and expensive transactions on its applications. Web3 distribution platform Galxe, one of the crypto world’s busiest platforms with over 31 million users, sought to address these common issues when designing its own tailor-made blockchain, Gravity.
In August 2024, Gravity introduced its Layer 1 Blockchain with the launch of its alpha mainnet: a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain and smart contract platform, built specifically to cater to the needs of the Galxe community’s 31 million-strong user base.
What is Grevm 1.0?Grevm 1.0 is an open-source, parallel Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) runtime that is “the technological core” of Gravity, facilitating almost 800,000 daily transactions running on Galxe’s ecosystem. It’s based on revm, an EVM written in the programming language Rust.
What makes Parallel EVMs different from conventional EVMs is that they provide a way to run multiple transactions or smart contract operations simultaneously, rather than sequentially, which can help avoid performance bottlenecks during periods of very high demand.
How does Grevm work?Grevm uses an algorithm inspired by BlockSTM, a type of parallel execution engine, to run its smart contracts. BlockSTM was put together by a team of researchers from Aptos, Mystem Labs, UCL, Chainlink Labs and MIT in 2022. BlockSTM is inspired by an academic approach in computer science known as Software Transactional Memory (STM).
Galxe’s team enhanced BlockSTM using data derived from its simulation results. Grevm also uses Asynchronous I/O in its algorithm, a design feature that enables programs to do other tasks while waiting for input or output tasks to finish, instead of pausing and waiting.
According to Galxe, incorporating Asynchronous I/O, a feature not present in the vanilla version of BlockSTM, allows it to perform better in many circumstances, such as when high latency is present.
What's so special about Grevm?Galxe’s benchmark testing indicates that Grevm is the fastest current open-source parallel EVM implementation to date.
For transactions that are fully parallelizable, Galxe claims that Grevm can be 4.13× faster than sequential execution, running at up to 26.50 gigagas/s. When Galxe simulated a high latency environment of 100 μs, it was found to run 50.84x faster than sequential execution, with 6.80 gigagas/s throughput.
This leap in performance is attributed to both the use of parallelized execution and the integration of asynchronous I/O operations—enabled by parallelism—which further amplifies the speedup by efficiently overlapping I/O operations.
In practice, Galxe explained that Grevm’s ability to handle computations in parallel will “elevate” DeFi protocols and dapps running on Gravity’s network, by allowing them to execute multiple transactions in parallel, minimize latency, and boost throughput.
Who's building on Grevm and Gravity? Galxe Quest is a platform for building and engaging Web3 communities. Using a no-code solution, it allows numerous projects to create reward-based loyalty programs. Optimism, Arbitrum, Base and over 6,500 other Web3 projects use it to provide users with freebies like loyalty points and complementary NFTs. Galxe Passport is a digital identity product that allows users to securely store their identity information and use it across hundreds of supported applications. Galxe Score evaluates users based on their on-chain activities, project participation, and overall engagement in the Web3 community, providing a comprehensive view of their presence and reputation. Symbiosis is a cross-chain automated market maker (AMM) and decentralized exchange has integrated Gravity into its platform, which allows users to bridge assets between Gravity and over 35 blockchain networks. What is Gravity’s G token?The Gravity blockchain uses G as its native utility token, following a token migration from GAL in July. G is used to pay for gas fees on the network and to make payments on apps like Galxe Quest, Galxe Passport, and Galxe Score. G also grants users a variety of opportunities to participate in deciding the future of the Gravity network.
Users can stake their tokens to secure the network and participate in future governance decisions, deciding the future of the blockchain.
Where can you buy Gravity's G token?G can be purchased via major exchanges such as Binance, OKX, Upbit, and KuCoin. It’s also traded on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) such as Uniswap.
On Binance, you can buy G directly using USD; other exchanges offer trading pairs with Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), Wrapped BNB (WBNB), or Wrapped Ethereum (WETH).
What does the future hold for Grevm?Grevm’s successor, Grevm 2.0, is pegged for release in early Q1 2025. The second iteration of Grevm will focus on refining parallel transaction processing to increase efficiency and precision. With continued testing and enhancements, Galxe expects that Grevm 2.0 will enable faster, more scalable solutions within Gravity’s ecosystem.
Grevm 2.0 will introduce fully Asynchronous I/O as well as “finer-grained” transaction-level concurrency, allowing related transactions to run in parallel once their dependencies are resolved.
Discover Grevm 1.0 here, or explore how Gravity is empowering projects to build scalable decentralized solutions with its $50 million initiative here.
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