Recap: DeFi Week of March 23 🦄

Hello Defiers! Hope everyone’s well and safe.

Summing last week up: This past week was a bit quieter in terms of market swings for crypto and project announcement took the limelight, with MakerDAO handing over control of its MKR token to to token holders, as its auction was well underway to raise enough Dai to heal all of its bad debt. Uniswap released details on its long-awaited V2, while Balancer Labs raised a $3 million seed round to enter the automated market-maker game. Coinbase Wallet integrated DeFi lending platforms to its mobile app, while Uma designed a “priceless” token to reduce oracle risk. This week’s interview was with Ren Project’s CTO Loong Wang, who spoke about plans to bring Bitcoin to DeFi. I wrote about how times of crisis highlight the need for a more decentralized future. And there’re more :)

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📢 Help me scale up The Defiant team by donating to my Gitcoin Grant or recommending that friends do. Just 1 Dai goes a long way :) Thanks to contributors so far: @cstoraker, @robertpragai, @stone441, @scott-l-e-w-i-s, @nodar, @gliinbox, @ecruz01, @gwintery, @mattnumber, @sneg55, @kaiynne, @mccallj57, @robfifth, @happykennedy, @s-ben, @calebsheridan, @hanzoh1, @cryptobanjo, @cryptostearns, @faridrached, @xibot, @poapxyz, @defidude, @evanvannesseth, @mfinestone, @klongrich, @nocturnalsheet.

Op-ed

Crises Strengthen Case for Decentralized Future

Extreme situations, such as the global pandemic we’re living in, highlight just how much control institutions have over individuals, and how they’ll use it when generalized fear erodes the usual checks and balances. By seeing these actions unfold, some may want to consider a more decentralized alternative.

Interview

Ren is Just Weeks Away From Bringing Bitcoin to DeFi, Says Loong Wang, the Project's CTO

Ren Project CTO Loong Wang, is leading one of the teams at the forefront in the effort to bridge different blockchains, and bring Bitcoin to decentralized finance in a trustless way. Wang says RenVM is only a few weeks away from going live, and once it does, it will strengthen DeFi by adding different types of collateral and boosting liquidity. It will also open up a new investment option, as anyone will be able to run a node on the network and collect fees.

Thursday

Dives

• Complex Ethereum Transactions on Track to Overtake Simple Transfers: There’s a continually increasing number of transactions that are of the more complex kind. If anyone were to question the utility of Ethereum – simply point them to this chart, Covalent’s Ganesh Swami writes.
• MakerDAO’s Latest Move is Unthinkable in Traditional Finance: MakerDAO’s Maker Foundation has transferred control of the MKR token to token holders as it seeks to increasingly cede decision-making to the broader community and become a fully self-sustaining decentralized, autonomous organization (DAO).

Sums

• Uma Designs Priceless Tokens to Minimize Oracle Risk: Uma, a synthetic assets platform,designed a token which doesn’t require price feeds to minimize oracle attack risk.
• Balancer Labs Raises $3 Million to Launch Programmable Liquidity Platform: Accomplice and Placeholder led the seed round, with participation from CoinFund and Inflection.
• DeFi Saver Launches Platform for Anyone to Become a MakerDAO Liquidator: DeFi Saver released a MakerDAO collateral auctions dashboard with the goal of making it easier to liquidate underwater loans in the system.
• Coinbase Putting DeFi Interets on Your Cel Phone: Coinbase Wallet is integrating DeFi lending platforms with its mobile application, making it easier for users to start gaining up to 6% on their deposits.

Bytes

• Trust Spectrum: Multicoin Capital
• Decentralized Finance, On Blockchain- and Smart Contract-based Financial Markets: Fabian Schar

Tuesday

Dives

• Uniswap Unveils V2 With Flash Swaps, Potential Protocol Fees and Better Price Feeds: Uniswap yesterday announced details of its highly anticipated second iteration, or V2, which it expects to launch in the second quarter, pending a successful formal verification.

Sums

• Dharma Announced P2P Payments: Blockchain-based lending platform Dharma on Thursday announced users will be able to make peer-to-peer money transfers on its app.
• MakerDAO Close to Raising Enough Dai to Heal Bad Deb: MakerDAO has raised 4.3 million Dai at MKR auction, compared with a total 5.6 million of underwater loans the system needs to pay off.

💜Community Love💜

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

ConsenSys @ConsensysIn the midst of market uncertainty, @CamiRusso at @DefiantNews breaks down the evolution of #defi users across prominent protocols over time using data and visualizations from @AlethioEthstats. #ExploreAlethio

The Defiant @DefiantNewsIn need of good news? 🪐Amid market turmoil, attacks and exploits, the DeFi galaxy continues to expand. @AlethioEthstats says its most recent ecosystem map shows open finance has grown in scale, diversity and connectivity. Read their post here: https://t.co/xnDhNeOoiz https://t.co/O4jjOAnAVi2:49 PM ∙ Mar 27, 202021Likes2Retweets

Pedro Gomes @pedrouidInteresting to see plain ERC20 transfers being replaced by more complex state transitions https://t.co/5KSAp7EA2B

Camila Russo @CamiRusso"If anyone were to question the utility of Ethereum –simply point them to this chart," says @gane5h on @DefiantNews. Complex Ethereum transactions (green area) on track to overtake simple transfers ––one of the real flippenings to watch. More here: https://t.co/GGOkhnWhS6 https://t.co/GG7XEzO5r19:08 AM ∙ Mar 27, 202018Likes1Retweet

Ryan Sean Adams - rsa.eth @RyanSAdamssource: researchgate.net/publication/34… h/t @CamiRusso's excellent newsletter!7:50 PM ∙ Mar 26, 202017Likes3Retweets

Marc 'aDai is Money' Zeller @lemiscateanother round of @gitcoin CLR matching! here's my short-list : @rotkiapp @ChrisBlec @fifikobayashi @1inchExchange @defipulse @DefiantNews @defiprime @jelly_swap @wearekickback thanks all for your hard work! consider donating even 1 DAI, it'll help a lot! #DeFi3:32 PM ∙ Mar 25, 202023Likes5Retweets

hory @taisuke_hory今日のDefiantはトラストレスにbitcoinをDeFiに持ち込もうとするRen CTOのインタビュー。 - RenVM着想 - インターオペラビリティ定義 - dark-nodeインセンティブ - RenVMリスク など密度高くとても面白かったです🙆‍♂️Subscribe to The Defiant by @CamiRusso thedefiant.substack.com/?utm_campaign=…

thedefiant.substack.comThe DefiantA daily newsletter decrypting the intersection of blockchain and finance3:54 PM ∙ Mar 25, 202013Likes4Retweets

snxprofessor.eth 博し ⚔️🔑 @nocturnalsheetTook out all my DAI out from @PoolTogether_ in order to contribute to @gitcoin grants. 2 DAI left, open for new suggestions! @defisnap @DeFi_Dad @defipulse @CamiRusso @TornadoCash @1inchExchange @iearnfinance @DeFi_Zap @evan_van_ness @samczsun @DuneAnalytics3:23 AM ∙ Mar 29, 2020

Ren @renprotocolGreat interview with @bzlwang & @CamiRusso of The Defiant #RenVM

thedefiant.substack.comRen is Just Weeks Away From Bringing Bitcoin to DeFi, Says Loong Wang, the Project’s CTOWang says interoperability has historically been the best path forward towards adoption.3:31 PM ∙ Mar 25, 2020125Likes48Retweets

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About the author: I’m Camila Russo, a financial journalist writing a book on Ethereum with Harper Collins. (Pre-order The Infinite Machine here). I was previously at Bloomberg News in New York, Madrid and Buenos Aires covering markets. I’ve extensively covered crypto and finance, and now I’m diving into DeFi, the intersection of the two.