🦄 Recap: DeFi Week of March 1

Hello Defiers! Hope you’re having a great weekend.

Summing up: We started off the week with a bang and published our comprehensive guide to DeFi so that you and/or your DeFi-curious friends can get up to speed on all the basic terms, teams, and concepts, and better leverage The Defiant newsletter, podcast and videos.

The market recovered this week after a bleak end to February, with ETH up more than 20% and DeFi tokens rebounding. Yet, it was NFTs what dominated the conversation, with 3BLAU beating records, while Grimes, Kings of Leon, and Beeple at Christie’s continued to bring mainstream attention to the space. Meanwhile, Aavegotchi’s NFT sale was over in seconds. With all this activity, users need scaling yesterday, and Enjin announced it’s working on two NFT scaling solutions. James Beck of ConsenSys wrote about how NFTs may crack royalties, and we published a guide on trading non-fungible tokens with the NFT20 platform. On the podcast, we had Ameen Soleimani talking about the motivation for the RAI stablecoin.

And there was more! There’s a lot going on, but we’ve got you covered :)

Subscribe to get the latest DeFi news and analysis straight to your inbox and you don’t miss a thing. Free-signups get partial content, paid subscribers get everything. Click here to pay with DAI (for $100/yr) or click on the button below to subscribe with fiat ($100/yr, $10/mo).

Subscribe now

🙌 Together with:

• Zerion, a simple interface to access and use decentralized finance
• Balancer, an asset manager and decentralized exchange built on Ethereum
• Kraken, consistently rated the best and most secure cryptocurrency exchange, which can get you from fiat to DeFi
• Casper, an enterprise-focused blockchain which aims to introduce unprecedented security, speed and scale for businesses

Videos

📺 Tuesday Tutorial: How to Trade Your NFTs With NFT20, and subscribe to our channel!

📺 Quick Take: A DJ Sold NFT Art for $11.7M

📺 Defiant Weekly: NFT OG Marguerite deCourcelle (Coin Artist), everything you ever wanted to ask

Op-ed

Can NFTs Crack Royalties And Give More Value To Artists? By James Beck

NFTs are all the rage, making more headway in attracting creators to crypto than ICOs or yield farming ever could. Non-fungible tokens, the Etheruem token standard that enables digital ownership, has taken off as a way for artists to monetize their work. By selling unique tokens linked to creators in auctions that are over in hours, creators have been able to make more than what they make from streaming platforms in years. But the token standard will be able to truly reward artists throughout the entire life of their products if they’re able to earn a percentage of sales in secondary markets too. The concept isn’t so far-fetched. James Beck of ConsenSys writes in today’s op-ed, and outlines the efforts underway to make it happen.

Interview

"We Were Idiots and We Were Poor; Then From Mid 2020 to Now, Suddenly, We're Right: " Ameen Soleimani

In this week’s episode I interview Ameen Soleimani, one of the most prolific builders in Ethereum. He’s the CEO of SpankChain, a blockchain-based adult entertainment platform, the co-creator of MolochDAO, a DAO to fund Ethereum projects, and the co-founder of Reflexer Labs, which created RAI, a purely ether-backed stablecoin.

We talk about the need of a purely ETH -backed stablecoin, and how RAI is so cypherpunk it’s not only not backed by fiat, but it’s also not pegged to the dollar, it’s only pegged to itself, and stabilized by its own algorithm. It’s a pretty radical experiment and Ameen has very high hopes for it: The goal is for Rai to become a global reserve currency.

🎙Listen to the interview in this week’s podcast episode here:

Monday

✊The Defiant's Definitive Guide to DeFi

We are witnessing the birth of the internet of money. It’s here, growing and maturing. You can use it right now. For those who are new to this ecosystem (and even for those who have been around for longer), the flood of new terms, apps and concepts can feel overwhelming. We published a comprehensive guide to get started and learn all the DeFi basics you will need to start exploring the internet of money.

Tuesday

Dives

• 3LAU Breaks NFT Auction Record with $11.7M in Sales: 3LAU smashed the single NFT auction record on Saturday night after selling $11.7M of NFTs by tokenizing his debut album Ultraviolet in partnership with Origin Protocol.
• Beeple & Grimes are Latest in High-Profile NFT Auctions: Just two days into March, and it’s clear this is going to be another record-setting month with major NFT auctions already making waves: Beeple’s “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” and Grimes’ WarNymph Collection Vol. 1.
• “Tiananmen” Contract on BSC Seeking to Provoke CZ: An unknown developer has deployed a smart contract called “Tinenanmen_Square” (mis-spelling Tiananmen Square), a censored topic in China, on Binance Smart Chain (BSC), with the implied intention of testing just how decentralized the chain really is.

Bytes

• Dedaub Claims $250k in Bounty for Primitive Finance Bug: ArmorFi CTO Robert Forster has awarded the Dedaub Team $250k $ARMOR tokens following the successful disclosure of a critical vulnerability in Primitive Finance to Immunefi.
• Furucombo Commits to Compensating Hack Victims: An anonymous hacker has exploited transaction-batching protocol Furucombo and walked away with $15M in stolen crypto over the weekend. The team is pledging to compensate victims.
• Yearn Raises Dai Vault Limit as Alchemix Deposits Surge: Deposits in Yearn Finance’s DAI vault are rising after synthetic assets protocol Alchemix started using Yearn for its backend last week.

Links

• Bitcoin is at a Tipping Point and Could Become ‘Currency of Choice’ for Global Trade, Citi Says: CNBC
• PayPal to Buy Crypto Custody Firm Curv According to Sources: CoinDesk

Wednesday

Dives

• Compound Wants to Enable Cross-Chain Borrowing: Compound Finance has introduced Gateway, a prototype blockchain which allows users to borrow on one chain against collateral on another chain.
• Gaming Giant Ubisoft Partners With NFT Platform Sorare: Ubisoft, the video game company behind major franchises like Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry, has entered the NFT arena with its newest mobile game, One Shot League. The move is a collaboration with Sorare, which makes officially licensed NFT cards from over 126 different football (or soccer in the US) clubs.

Bytes

• Enjin Launches Two NFT Scaling Solutions: Enjin, the blockchain software company that co-created the ERC-1155 token standard, will be launching two scaling solutions intended to remove gas fees and provide cross-chain support for NFTs.
• DeFi Pulse Index Adds Sushi: The DeFi Pulse Index (DPI) has added Sushiswap’s Sushi token to its set of assets.
• InsurAce Raises $3M in Round Led by Alameda & HashKey: InsurAce, the Singapore-based DeFi insurance protocol, raised $3M in a token-based funding round led by Alameda Research and HashKey Capital.

Links

• Kings of Leon Will Be the First Band to Release an Album as an NFT: Rolling Stone
• B.Protocol-Compound Integration is LIVE
• Pods v1 Testnet Launch
• EulerBeats vs “BSCBeats” and a Dash of Walter Benjamin: Maria Paula Fernandez

Thursday

Dives

• DeFi Rebounds After Bleak February: DeFi is regaining its footing in March after a market-wide plunge at the end of February.
• A Quick Guide To Accelerators Funding NFT Startups: The NFT space is blowing up, and there’s undoubtedly a new cohort of entrepreneurs who have been inspired by this new paradigm of digital ownership. Here’s a guide of some of the accelerator programs that can help launch their ventures.

Bytes

• Aavegotchi NFT Drop Sells Out in Under One Minute: Aavegotchi, a DeFi game revolving around digital “fren” avatars similar to Tamagotchi, sold out of their first drop of 10,000 NFTs in under one minute.
• Amazon Makes Hosting An Ethereum Node Easier: Amazon Managed Blockchain, a AWS offering, now fully supports Ethereum. This means that companies will be able to spin up a node “in minutes” as the release says.

Links

• Rug Pull? DeFi project Meerkat drained by $31 million on Binance Smart Chain: The Block
• A Group of Crypto Proponents Burned an Original Banksy 'Morons' Print and Turned It Into an NFT: Bitcoin.com
• Exodus Wallet Files With SEC to Sell $75M in Shares—With a Twist: Decrypt

💜Community Love💜

Thanking all the amazing Defiers for the support and love this week (and always)!

Hayek ⏳ @cryptoisbacki love ppl like @ameensol. authentic af. i might not agree with a lot but dam it i love original ppl. thx @DefiantNews for this one

thedefiant.substack.com“We Were Idiots and We Were Poor; Then From Mid 2020 to Now, Suddenly, We’re Right: ” Ameen SoleimaniIn this week’s podcast episode we interview Ameen Soleimani, one of the most prolific builders in Ethereum. He’s the CEO of SpankChain, a blockchain-based adult entertainment platform, the co-creator of MolochDAO, a DAO to fund Ethereum projects, and the co-founder of Reflexer Labs, which created6:18 AM ∙ Mar 7, 20212Likes1Retweet

CryptoSelecta🖌️🎨 @SelectaCryptoBest crypto podcast episodes this week: @bneiluj on @epicenterbtc @ameensol on @DefiantNews9:15 AM ∙ Mar 7, 20218Likes2Retweets

DavidHoffman.eth 🏴 @TrustlessState“Ether is the only thing that we have” - @ameensol on @DefiantNews1:20 AM ∙ Mar 7, 202180Likes8Retweets

ameen.eth @ameensol2018 -> 2021 Ethereum has been a helluva ride friends, listen up to learn more about why I stuck it out and where we're going from here 🌀🍑👹🦄🗿

The Defiant @DefiantNews🦄 “We were idiots, no one cared what we were doing and we were all poor. Then from mid 2020 to now, suddenly, we're right.” @ameensol said https://t.co/uIgSHloYmY11:15 PM ∙ Mar 5, 202175Likes14Retweets

Kyber Network @KyberNetworkKyber Network is mentioned as one of the top teams building in #DeFi by @DefiantNews thedefiant.io/top-teams-buil… ➡️Check out their excellent guide with a list of useful #DeFi resources!

thedefiant.substack.com✊The Defiant’s Definitive Guide to DeFiAt The Defiant, we are convinced finance will become increasingly decentralized and open. It just makes sense; our current financial system is running on infrastructure that was built in the 1970s; messaging networks like SWIFT and ACH that simply aren’t made to transact value.2:28 PM ∙ Mar 7, 202189Likes10Retweets

DCinvestor | Aftab @iamDCinvestor"We Were Idiots and We Were Poor; Then From Mid 2020 to Now, Suddenly, We're Right" truer words were never spoken @ameensol

The Defiant @DefiantNews🦄 “We were idiots, no one cared what we were doing and we were all poor. Then from mid 2020 to now, suddenly, we're right.” @ameensol said https://t.co/uIgSHloYmY11:24 PM ∙ Mar 5, 202145Likes3Retweets

Andrew Lee @aleeI was lucky enough to meet Ameen early and knew he was insanely right, a visionary and very talented. He also has the right CS background to understand Ethereum better than a lot of people. Long $ETH🌕 also @AlexMasmej @pet3rpan_ legends https://t.co/J0lEDzrL0d

The Defiant @DefiantNews🦄 “We were idiots, no one cared what we were doing and we were all poor. Then from mid 2020 to now, suddenly, we're right.” @ameensol said https://t.co/uIgSHloYmY11:26 PM ∙ Mar 5, 202134Likes8Retweets

DeFi Resources 👨🏼‍🌾 apyvision.crypto 🚀 @DeFiResourcesCan you borrow on one chain against collateral on another chain? Compound Finance has introduced a prototype blockchain that will do just that. bit.ly/3kNiQcU #DeFi #DeFiNews #Compound #blockchain #Gateway #crosschain #Starport #Substrate via @DefiantNews

bit.lyCompound Wants to Enable Cross-Chain Borrowing - The Defiant - DeFi NewsCompound Finance has introduced a prototype blockchain which allows users to borrow on one chain against collateral on another chain.10:09 PM ∙ Mar 4, 202116Likes4Retweets

DCinvestor | Aftab @iamDCinvestorworth mentioning again: the number of new participants likely to have their first crypto be $ETH will likely skyrocket with #NFTs going mainstream @mcuban nailed this point the other day on the @DefiantNews podcast a new " $ETH first " generation and they'll stay for DeFi too10:14 PM ∙ Mar 4, 2021225Likes30Retweets

Unagii @unagiidotcomWhen we started building Unagii, we had two key priorities: ❶ Safety ❷ Simplicity We're now home for many new-to-DeFi users to yield with. So here's a recommended reading guide by @DefiantNews for our new users navigating the wild world of DeFi 🙂 thedefiant.substack.com/p/the-defiants…

thedefiant.substack.com✊The Defiant’s Definitive Guide to DeFiAt The Defiant, we are convinced finance will become increasingly decentralized and open. It just makes sense; our current financial system is running on infrastructure that was built in the 1970s; messaging networks like SWIFT and ACH that simply aren’t made to transact value.6:44 AM ∙ Mar 3, 202117Likes4Retweets

Coopahtroopa 🔥_🔥 @CooopahtroopaMy close friend @3LAU made history selling $11.6M worth of NFTs this weekend. Not only did he prove that direct access to fans has value, he inspired a new generation of artists to do the same. Everything you need to know on today's @DefiantNews 🔽 thedefiant.io/3lau-breaks-nf…

thedefiant.io3LAU Breaks NFT Auction Record with $11.6M in Sales - The Defiant - DeFi News3LAU smashed the single NFT auction record on Saturday night after selling $11.6M of NFTs by tokenizing his debut album Ultraviolet in partnership with Origin Protocol.8:56 PM ∙ Mar 2, 2021222Likes24Retweets

Nik @NikMilanovicEverything you've ever wanted to know about DeFi, from @DefiantNews. thedefiant.substack.com/p/the-defiants… #fintech #defi

thedefiant.substack.com✊The Defiant’s Definitive Guide to DeFiAt The Defiant, we are convinced finance will become increasingly decentralized and open. It just makes sense; our current financial system is running on infrastructure that was built in the 1970s; messaging networks like SWIFT and ACH that simply aren’t made to transact value.8:44 PM ∙ Mar 1, 202117Likes4Retweets

CryptoLoMil @DJLoMil@garyvee @DefiantNews podcast by Camila Russo is about Defi in general but has had several episodes about NFTs, and she's fantastic.1:05 AM ∙ Mar 1, 2021

fuseprime @fuseprime1Very interesting times we live in. Money and financial systems are in flux. @DefiantNews are doing a great job of keeping us up to date with all the news.

The Defiant @DefiantNewsWe're living a historical moment. This is how Wall Street becomes obsolete and the internet of money will finally rule finance. Read 👇 https://t.co/pQkRZrrdd2 https://t.co/BgcEWh6zw41:36 PM ∙ Mar 1, 20212Likes1Retweet

Subscribe now

The Defiant is a daily newsletter focusing on decentralized finance, a new financial system that’s being built on top of open blockchains. The space is evolving at breakneck speed and revolutionizing tech and money. Sign up to learn more and keep up on the latest, most interesting developments. Subscribers get full access, while free signups get only part of the content. Click here to pay with DAI (for $100/yr) or sub with fiat by clicking on the button above ($10/mo, $100/yr).