With transactions in the several hundreds of dollars and the chain’s blocks perpetually filled as competitors inch in, it’s not an overstatement to say the future of Ethereum depends on scaling solutions known as Layer 2s.  Layer 2 (L2) is a term for technologies which take Ethereum transactions off its main chain, enabling the network’s…

Trading Ethereum-based assets is about to get cheaper. Decentralized exchange dYdX is moving its perpetual derivatives trading off the Ethereum main chain to a Layer 2 scaling solution.  dYdX, the 7th largest DEX by volume, is moving its cross-margined perpetuals contracts to a Layer 2 protocol built over the past seven months together with StarkWare,…

DeFi is in its biggest market rout of the year and borrowers are feeling the pain. Liquidations in decentralized finance spiked to a record $133M in the past day, according to Debank data.  $85.2M, or almost 78% of the liquidations, were on  Compound. $13M, or 12%, has been shared between Aave V1 and Aave V2.…

The DeFi world is abuzz with the following question: Is Binance Smart Chain taking over Ethereum as the ecosystem’s base layer?  We looked at the numbers and the answer is not by a long shot ––at least not yet–– and this is assuming that BSC can actually be considered DeFi, which some Ethereum advocates will…

Reversible ICO (rICO)—the latest brainchild from Ethereum dapp developer and ERC 20 creator Fabian Vogelsteller—is a new model for ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings used to fundraise for start-ups) where investors reserve tokens instead of buying them outright. Returnable tokens This new fundraising mechanism allows investors to reserve and buy tokens over time, and “return” reserved…

Rai, a stablecoin for decentralization purists, is now live on the Ethereum mainnet. It’s not pegged to fiat, it’s not backed by fiat, and it’s designed to run completely by computer programs. If it had a physical bill it would carry the inscription, “in code we trust.” RAI is an asset backed only by ETH…

The field for fixed-rate lending protocols is becoming more dense as HiFi has joined the fray.  Like Notional Finance and Yield Protocol, HiFi is able to offer fixed rates by locking in a specific duration by which the loan will mature. The debt will be represented with a “yToken,” which refers to tokenized debt backed…

Vesper, a DeFi investment platform, came out of beta and launched its VSP governance token. Following a successful beta period with $28M in total value locked, Vesper aims to bridge the gap between traditional DeFi users and investment industry professionals who are new to the space. Users are able to choose to deposit crypto in…

Another week, another wild, Elon Musk-tweet driven, Dogecoin gyration. The latest one has chart arrows pointing down. But beyond what’s behind the most recent swing, let’s look at what’s driving the whole pendulum: hype. Irrational speculative manias have been present as long as there have been markets; they’re a part of human nature. But at…