Last Week in Defi - Unichain Testnet Live, Taiko Season 1 Airdrop Claims, Radiant Ownership Stolen with $53M Loss, Sui Addresses Allegations of Insider Token Sales, and more..

Recap: Week of Oct 14

Launches 🚀

• Uniswap's Layer 2 solution, Unichain, is now live on the Uniswap interface in testnet mode. Engineered for speed, Unichain delivers near-instant transactions with block times of just one second, and aims to further reduce sub-block times to 200-250 milliseconds. Gas fees are expected to decrease by 95% compared to Layer 1. The testnet environment is intended to evaluate the reliability and performance of the new chain only.

• Covalent's EWM Light Client Testnet is live, offering rewards for securing Ethereum’s historical data. Participants can earn 20-25% APY and gain early access to the mainnet. For more information regarding the EWM Light Client, visit here. 

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• DeepBook Protocol has launched DeepBook V3 and the DEEP token on the Sui Mainnet. This release aims to enhance liquidity and decentralization within the Sui Network's DeFi ecosystem.

• deBridge Foundation announced the upcoming launch of the DBR token on LFG. This initiative seeks to create protocol-owned on-chain liquidity for DBR. The Foundation has also provided resources for participants, including an eligibility checker and a calendar reminder for the launch.

• CAP Labs has introduced a stablecoin engine intended to address some limitations of traditional DeFi models by offering scalable and adaptive yield opportunities. By utilizing exogenous sources of yield, such as arbitrage, CAP Labs seeks to provide access to various crypto strategies without relying solely on user fees or token emissions.

• Caldera, a rollup deployment platform, has announced the launch of ApeChain, a dedicated infrastructure layer for the ApeCoin ecosystem, built on Arbitrum Orbit. This layer is designed to support the functionality and scalability of the ApeCoin community.

• CrossFi has launched its mainnet, which reportedly supports 100K TPS, integrates crypto and fiat services, offers over-collateralized stablecoins, and enables cross-chain interoperability. Users can build, stake, earn, and trade on the platform.

• World Liberty Finance ($WLFI) has commenced its token sale, with support from Donald J. Trump. $WLFI tokens can be purchased through the official website.

• Osmosis has introduced Osmosis Pay, powered by Cypher HQ. This card enables users to spend assets from Osmosis, including USDC and USDY, at over 40 million merchants across 140 countries using the VISA network. It is compatible with Apple Pay and Google Wallet.

• Towns has released a decentralized and permissionless group chat application, allowing users to create their own digital town squares. Built on River, it includes end-to-end encryption and offers extensive gating options based on ERC20 tokens, NFTs, and wallet addresses, which may facilitate membership fees.

• Pyth Network has announced that PlutoLeverage, a DeFi leveraged yield machine on Solana, is now supported by Pyth. This integration aims to provide real-time pricing, potentially allowing users to enter and exit positions with greater confidence.

• Fuel Ignition, a high-performance Ethereum L2 verifiable on standard household PCs, is now live on mainnet. Built on Fuel's architecture, Ignition utilizes a UTXO-based transaction model, FuelVM, native account abstraction, and offers Ethereum-grade security. With the ability to process over 21,000 transactions per second (TPS) per CPU core, average fees below 0.0002, and block times under 1 second, Ignition is optimized for any EVM asset. Users can now bridge funds and explore dApps deployed on Fuel Ignition.

• Hyperlane, in collaboration with Velodrome, has introduced Superlane, an interoperability solution designed to address fragmentation across Optimism Layer 2 (L2) chains. Superlane leverages many advantages of the upcoming Optimism Superchain, such as shared liquidity and interchain applications, offering these benefits ahead of the Superchain's full launch.

• World Chain is live on mainnet. World Chain will support ERC20s that are Superchain Interop compatible. Once live, assets and data will seamlessly move between OP Chains, solving fragmentation and unlocking new network effects to further scale Ethereum. World ID holders will get free transactions on World Chain via World App, priority blockspace for humans is integrated directly into block sequencing through a collaboration with Flashbots, and verified addresses will get free gas allowances.

• Moonpay collaborates with Venmo, and Venmo's 60 million users in the U.S. can now buy crypto using MoonPay. This new integration lets users buy any cryptocurrency using their Venmo balance.

• MIRA AMM has launched on Fuel Ignition mainnet. MIRA is open-sourced and audited by Halborn and OtterSec.

• Kraken launches kBTC, an ERC-20 token fully backed 1:1 by Bitcoin, held securely by Kraken and always verifiable onchain.

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Updates 📰

• KelpDAO’s wrsETH is now live on ZKSync, allowing users to either restake natively or bridge to ZKSync. Participants can earn up to 2x Kelp Miles, 1x Programmatic EIGEN rewards, and an additional 220 ZK per wrsETH, in addition to regular restaking yields.

• YieldNest has launched its ETH vault on Enzyme, called Nektar. Users can benefit from 6x YieldNest Seeds and 6x Nektar Drops, on top of the staking yield from the ETH vault. the vault.

• dYdX has entered the prediction market with the launch of the Trump perpetual prediction market. Users can now trade on the probability of Trump winning the U.S. presidential election.

• Wormhole is now operational on the Unichain testnet, an L2 developed by Uniswap Labs for DeFi. It features 250ms block times and a decentralized validator network. Wormhole is the only protocol approved by the Uniswap Bridge Assessment Committee to facilitate multichain governance.

• Aevo has announced a pre-launch listing of $DBR from deBridge Finance, allowing users to trade it on Aevo’s platform.

• Drift Protocol's dSOL yield reached 8.54% last epoch and has reportedly increased further. By liquid staking SOL on Drift, users can potentially compound yields with 5X FUEL and utilize dSOL as collateral for trading. The program is supported by 8.2M DRIFT, with no fees directed to dSOL holders, providing yields from inflation, priority fees, and MEV.

• Kamino Finance has introduced SOL Multiply, a leveraged staking product for $SOL that allows for boosted yields, 100% exposure, and up to 5x leverage while addressing market liquidation risk. Users can choose their deposit and leverage amounts, with positions secured against market depegs based on the theoretical price of Liquid Staking Tokens.

• Sui Foundation has responded to allegations about insiders selling $400 million in tokens during a recent price increase, stating that no insiders, including employees, founders, or investors, have participated in such sales. The Foundation notes that all token lockups are managed by qualified custodians and are monitored continuously, with the suspected wallet owner believed to be an infrastructure partner adhering to lockup schedules.

• Scroll has launched drand VRF, which provides trustless randomness on all EVM chains. This open-source implementation offers free, verifiable randomness for developers, which could support various use cases in gaming, lotteries, and other decentralized applications (dApps).

• Felix Protocol, an on-chain financial system for Hyperliquid, has introduced feUSD, a stablecoin that enables users to borrow against major cryptocurrencies such as ETH, BTC, and HYPE, utilizing its unique CDP architecture to offer competitive borrowing rates.

• Sonic Labs, previously known as Fantom, has published its Sonic Litepaper, outlining the tokenomics for its upcoming launch. Highlights include the circulating supply of the S token and an airdrop schedule.

• Galxe has integrated with Sei Network, described as the fastest parallel EVM Layer 1. This collaboration focuses on open-source development, with potential Sei rewards for explorers in the future.

• TokenUnlocks has rebranded to Tokenomist.AI, aiming to strengthen its position as a source for transparent and standardized tokenomics data.

• Layer3 has formed a partnership with Solayer Labs to enhance staking rewards on Solana. This collaboration will introduce Solayer's liquid staking solutions on Layer3, offering users opportunities to maximize their staking rewards.

• YieldNest has initiated a DeFi integration that allows $ynETH to be used as collateral on Curve Finance. This development permits users to borrow crvUSD stablecoins against their ynETH tokens, which may create new opportunities to leverage and enhance returns.

• Ondo’s USDY is now live on NAVI Protocol on the Sui Network. With over $1 billion in total value locked (TVL), Sui is emerging as a major hub for decentralized finance, and NAVI currently holds the position as the largest protocol by TVL on the network.

• Silo has joined the INFINIT ecosystem, the DeFi abstraction layer. Users can now earn INFINIT rewards through Silo, and by participating in various DeFi activities such as lending, borrowing, or providing liquidity across INFINIT Ecosystem Protocols or the INFINIT website. INFINIT Stones reflect user contributions and stakes within the ecosystem.

• Pencils Protocol × Owlto Triple Rewards Event is now live, running until October 19. Participants can earn Scroll Marks, Owlto Badges, and 3x Pencils by bridging assets to Scroll via Owlto and staking assets within Pencils.

• Axelar announces partnership with TON Network. TON will integrate Axelar's Mobius Development Stack (MDS) as an interoperability layer, connecting the TON Ecosystem with new builders, users + liquidity.

• Eclipse announced the launch of its official bridge, allowing for easier transfer of assets. This marks an important step towards interoperability, potentially enabling users to move tokens between different blockchain ecosystems that Eclipse supports.

• Pendle is catering to the growing demand and diverse risk appetites for Pendle BTC by introducing a new pool for pumpBTC with an expiry date of March 27, 2025. This particular pool is designed to appeal to users who prefer minimal exposure to other assets, allowing them to focus on Pendle's Bitcoin products.

• LayerZero has officially launched on Worldcoin's World Chain mainnet. World Chain is built on the OP Stack and is designed to bring Worldcoin's financial and identity network to billions of users. This integration will allow seamless cross-chain communication and asset transfers, enabling World Chain to scale effectively and support its mission of global growth. Additionally, World Chain offers greater user control through decentralization.

• Hyperlend will list Resolv’s USR as collateral on the platform, enabling traders to borrow assets against their USR holdings. This enhancement boosts liquidity and opens up new trading opportunities.

• Penpie is expanding its real-world asset (RWA) offerings by introducing a new pool for Usual Money's USD0++ stablecoin. This USD0++ stablecoin stands out because it is backed by T-Bills, giving it a strong connection to traditional finance. Users who deposit USD0++ on Penpie can benefit from several attractive rewards, including pre-launch "Pills," post-launch USUAL tokens, a 10x boost at maturity, and boosted PENDLE rewards.

• defi.money has expanded its reach by launching on Base, currently the largest Ethereum Layer 2 network by Total Value Locked (TVL). This strategic move positions defi.money to tap into Base's growing user base and vibrant DeFi ecosystem. The expansion to Base aligns with defi.money's goal of bringing its services to a wider audience and contributing to the growth of decentralized finance across multiple blockchain networks.

• Phamtom rolls out the latest feature allowing users to access interactive token pages with chart and price history, and users are also able to share the token page directly with friends via text, WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, and more.

• Sturdy Finance has created an AI-powered Morpho Vault Aggregator. The aggregator is designed to simplify yield earning for users and offers high yields. It leverages technology from Bittensor, Aera Finance, and Gauntlet to provide aggregators with optimal allocations among individual markets.

• YieldNest has announced a collaboration with Kinza Finance, a dedicated lending protocol. This partnership enables Kinza Finance to offer secure and flexible lending solutions on the YieldNest platform, improving user experience within borrowing and lending markets.

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Issues 🚨

• An oracle exploitation of PAXG/USDC market on Morpho led to $230K loss. Morpho allows users to create market and set up risk management parameters such as liquidation loan-to-value ratio, interest rate model, oracle, etc. without permission. The creator of the exploited market mistakenly set the price of PAXG, the tokenized gold by Paxos, as $2.6 trillion instead of $2.6 K at the time of the incident. The attacker supplied $350 worth of PAXG as collateral and borrow $250 K USDC from the market.

• Radiant Capital has experienced a security breach on both the Arbitrum and BNB Chain networks. The protocol team's multi-signature wallet, which controls the contracts, was compromised, leading to a transfer of ownership. As a result, approximately $53 million has been stolen, and the team has not yet regained control of the wallet. All users are strongly advised to revoke any permissions granted to the protocol immediately.

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Upcoming ⏳

• DIA Lumina, the fully decentralized rollup-powered oracle, is set to go live soon. It leverages Lasernet, DIA’s native Ethereum Layer-2 rollup, as its core settlement layer for critical data, ensuring maximum decentralization and trustless execution. This setup also enhances the utility of the native DIA token. Lumina will support over 50 blockchains, offering price feed data from more than 200 centralized and decentralized exchanges (CEX/DEX), covering over 3,000 assets.

• The public sale for World Liberty Financial is set to begin on October 15 and will be open to all participants who qualify through the whitelist.

• Sonic Labs, previously known as Fantom, has announced Lever, a memecoin lending platform developed by ZeroLend. This platform will enable Sonic users to open leveraged long and short positions using borrowed assets and is set to launch on the Sonic testnet in the coming weeks.

• Arcana Network has announced that its Chain Abstraction Testnet will go live on October 23, 2024. Alongside this launch, they will introduce the Arcana Wallet, which is designed for use across various applications and is powered by Arcana’s Modular Layer 1.

• Astria, a sequencing layer, has announced that its mainnet launch is forthcoming.

• Asymmetry Finance has introduced $ASF, the governance token for Asymmetry DAO, which will be publicly available on October 24 through FjordFoundry. Holders will have the opportunity to participate in governance decisions, access exclusive features within the ecosystem, and vote-escrow tokens to potentially enhance their voting power.

• Avalanche has acknowledged Off The Grid for launching the Alpha Quest to commemorate its introduction. Participants who complete the quest will be eligible for exclusive $GRID rewards and in-game cosmetics.

• Sophon has formed a partnership with Mirai Labs, creators of Pegaxy and Petopia, which aims to advance mobile-first gaming and consumer applications. The mainnet launch is expected in November 2024.

• Storm Trade's STORM Token Generation Event (TGE) is scheduled for today at 13:00 UTC. As the largest derivatives DEX on the TON network, with millions of dollars in daily trading volume, Storm Trade will allocate 30% of its protocol revenue to STORM stakers. The token’s initial market capitalization is set at $12 million. Storm Trade is backed by or collaborating with notable names such as Not Coin, Cointelegraph, Pyth Network, eesee.io, TON Starter, Magic Square, Catizen, and Quantstamp.

• Maple Finance will launch its SYRUP token on November 13. Revenues generated by the protocol will be used to buy back SYRUP, with emissions directed to SYRUP stakers.

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Airdrops 🪂

• Taiko, the GameFi-focused Layer 2, has announced that claims for Trailblazers Season 1 rewards are now open. Users can visit their Trailblazers profiles, navigate to the claim tab, and redeem their rewards. Additionally, the Taiko Lock-up Campaign offers bonus XP, allowing users to deposit Taiko tokens and boost their progress in upcoming Trailblazers seasons.

• Deepbook is launching the DEEP token today at 10 AM UTC. DBClaimNFT holders will be able to claim their DEEP allocations through a dedicated claims site, with the NFT burned during the process.

• Puffer Finance’s PUFFER airdrop is scheduled for 11 AM UTC on October 14. A total of 7.5% of the supply is allocated for Season 1, giving users the opportunity to shape the protocol’s future by minting vePUFFER and voting.

• AlienX will launch its AIX token on October 23 at 4 PM UTC+8. Of the 1 billion total AIX supply, 12.5% will be released at the Token Generation Event (TGE), with around 10% allocated to AlienX AI Node operators and ecosystem users. The remaining 2.5% will be used for liquidity. Users can claim their allocations via the official airdrop site once live.

• Ordinox, a Layer 1 protocol designed to unify liquidity across blockchains, is incentivizing participation in its testnet. Users can complete quests on Galxe to start earning points for future airdrop opportunities.

• Puffer Finance has announced that $PUFFER claims are now live. Users can stake $PUFFER, engage in governance through vePUFFER staking, boost rewards, and accumulate points. The team also addressed prior technical issues related to high traffic and expressed appreciation for the community's patience during the downtime.

• The Hyper Foundation is launching the HYPE token as part of the Genesis Event. Eligible users can claim HYPE and a Hypurr NFT by reviewing and accepting the Genesis Event Terms by November 11, 2024, at 23:59 UTC. This token is intended for use in HyperBFT proof-of-stake consensus and the forthcoming HyperEVM.

• Mode Network has completed its Season 2 Airdrop and provided details for the community. A breakdown of the airdrop and insights into the upcoming Season 3 are available.

• Base has partnered with Court Date, a tennis-focused racket club and apparel brand by Slow Rodeo, to offer a minting opportunity. Users can mint their latest piece to receive a free hat (plus shipping), limited to one per holder while supplies last.

• WalletConnect has stated that there are three days remaining to register for the WalletConnect Token (WCT) airdrop. A step-by-step guide has been provided to assist users with the registration process.

• Matchain has announced that participants in Stage 1 of the Megadrop campaign with OKX can now claim their OKX Badge. A video guide is available for a detailed walkthrough of the process.

• Mode Season 3, featuring veMODE, is now live with $2 million in incentives. This season introduces veMODE, the first vote escrow model at the chain level on the Superchain. As an upgrade to the MODE staking module, veMODE adds a new governance layer to the platform. Stakers of MODE and 80/20 MODE/ETH Balancer Pool Tokens (BPT) will gain voting power, determining which protocols receive rewards. These protocols will then distribute rewards to users who stake and vote through their campaigns.

• Brahma has launched Phase Two of its rewards program. Users can now boost their KARMA by engaging with Morpho, Pendle, Bebop, and Usual Money through the Brahma Console. Power users of these partners may unlock an additional 10% boost on Console Creation. Phase Two will end on November 17.

• Jupiter Exchange has announced that ASR rewards will be available for claims starting October 21, as confirmed in the latest Planetary Call. The ASR site will go live on October 18 to allow users to check their allocations.

• Fuel Points Phase 2 is also now live on the newly launched Ignition mainnet. Users can continue to earn points passively and gain additional points for activity, gas, and loyalty by migrating pre-deposit funds from the testnet or bridging to Ignition. Interactions with dApps like Mira Protocol and Sway Lend are also eligible for points.

• deBridge’s DBR token will be open for claims today at 08:00 UTC.

• Swell has introduced a new points system called Black Pearls. Users can earn Black Pearls by holding swETH, rswETH, and swBTC or using them in approved DeFi protocols. Black Pearls can be redeemed for SWELL at Wavedrops, which occur every ten weeks, with the first scheduled three weeks after the Token Generation Event (TGE).

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Farms 🧑🏻‍🌾

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