Recap: DeFi Week of Sept. 7 🦄

Hello Defiers, hope you’re having a great weekend!

Summing up: SushiSwap continues to make headlines this week, first with a successful migration of liquidity, where it was able to take about half of Uniswap’s assets, and next when founder Chef Nomi returned the full $14M he has taken from the project. yEarn launched yet another DeFi lego with StableCredit, Perpetual Protocol and Hegic tested new token distribution mechanisms, and UMA teamed up with Ren to create a Bitcoin-backed stablecoin.

Ian Lee of IDEO CoLab wrote a great guest column showing hoe DeFi is disrupting the entire finance stack. This week’s podcast episode is with Grammy-award winning DJ RAC, who talks about how crypto and blockchain technology can reduce intermediaries in the music industry, and help artists capture more of the value their work produces.

That was just one week. 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 (only $10/month, $100/year) get everything. Click here to pay with DAI ($70/year).

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🙌 Together with Perpetual Protocol, which provides decentralized perpetual contracts for any asset, and Zapper, the ultimate hub for managing DeFi assets & liabilities.

Interview

"It Turns Out Music Does Have Value. We've Been Pricing It Incorrectly For 20 Years:" RAC

In this week’s interview, we chatted with Grammy Award-winning DJ Andre Anjos, aka RAC. Many have seen cryptocurrencies as a way to decentralize the financial system, thanks to the innovation of digital scarcity. RAC says that digital scarcity can also help disrupt the music industry. His experiments have so far showed how distributed networks can be the underlying infrastructure that helps artists can sell their creations directly to fans; how tokens on open markets can help more accurately price goods and help them benefit from secondary trading of their products; and now how digital assets can help strengthen communities.

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

Op-ed

We're the Architects of a More Open, Free and Fair Financial System: IDEO CoLab's Ian Lee

IDEO CoLab’s Ian Lee takes us through the evolution of finance, from the pre-internet days to DeFi. He breaks down the full stack for money, showing how, despite sleek-looking applications, fintechs have only innovated on the surface, while the core had remained the same for hundreds of years —until the advent of cryptocurrencies. Public blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum have enabled a better infrastructure layer, while the application layer had remained centralized. With DeFi, decentralization is moving up the stack for the first time, revolutionizing finance from the ground up.

📺 Watch New Video on The Defiant’s YouTube Channel and Subscribe

Check out the just-released video on The Defiant’s YouTube channel! The amazing story of SushiSwap. The video was produced in partnership with Robin Schmidt of Harmony Protocol.

Friday

Dives

• "I F*cked Up. And I am Sorry:" Chef Nomi Returns $14M of ETH to SushiSwap: The founder behind the Uniswap fork SushiSwap, an anonymous developer going by the name of Chef Nomi who had run off with about $14M worth of ETH and prompted accusations the project was an exit scam, today returned his stash.

Bytes

• yEarn Unveils StableCredit Loans: yEarn Finance said it’s preparing to release a new decentralized lending protocol and automated market maker.
• Aavegotchi Showcases GHST Governance Token: Aavegotchi, an NFT x DeFi crossover, released details for a new governance token, giving players the ability to dictate key parameters of the forthcoming digital pet universe.

Wednesday

Dives

• SushiSwap Drains Uniswap Liquidity. Still, Everyone Won: SushiSwap, a fork of Uniswap, successfully migrated Uniswap liquidity into its own protocol. It was the first time the scheme that has come to be known as Vampire Mining had ever been attempted.

Bytes

• UMA & REN Team up for Bitcoin-Based Yield Dollar: UMA and Ren Protocol are teaming up to offer a Bitcoin-backed stablecoin. The price of UMA’s uUSD stablecoin will tend towards $1 as it approaches its maturity date, and will be redeemable for $1 of the collateral asset at expiry.
• DeFi Protocols Are Testing New Token Sale Mechanisms: DeFi protocols Perpetual and Hegic are listing their tokens with new distribution mechanisms aimed at reducing front running and price speculation.

Tuesday

• SushiSwap Migration is Hours Away With $1.3B at Stake: In less than 48 hours, a two-week upstart will attempt to drain liquidity from DeFi’s largest exchange, in a never-before-attempted vampire-like attack, which right now has $1.3B in tokens at stake. This is the definitive SushiSwap saga story.

💜Community Love💜

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

Jared Chin @jaredcj1@DefiantNews produces top tier quality content. Hands down my favorite youtube channel. Keep up the great work!

Camila Russo @CamiRussoThe @DefiantNews video you knew* you needed: 🍣 Sushiswap. feat. @DirSchmidt as @NomiChef singing a country ballad on how "this time it's different." and I guess.. it really was! Subscribe👇 https://t.co/dH3wLktjb710:33 AM ∙ Sep 12, 20205Likes1Retweet

Mick Hagen @mickhagenThe best video I've seen explaining the @SushiSwap story (up until now). Love the song at the end, @DirSchmidt!

Camila Russo @CamiRussoThe @DefiantNews video you knew* you needed: 🍣 Sushiswap. feat. @DirSchmidt as @NomiChef singing a country ballad on how "this time it's different." and I guess.. it really was! Subscribe👇 https://t.co/dH3wLktjb711:43 PM ∙ Sep 11, 202016Likes2Retweets

Alpha Virtual @avblockchainAmazing video recounting the @SushiSwap $SUSHI saga by @DefiantNews. $SUSHI - the ballad of Chef Nomi - DeFi’s greatest ever story youtu.be/VGTVN7QIfzo Proud to be a governor of their #DeFi101 media grant by @harmonyprotocol $ONE @CamiRusso @alex_yatesalex 🍣💪🚀

youtu.be$SUSHI - the ballad of Chef Nomi - DeFi’s greatest ever storyThis is The Defiant x Harmony, a weekly series brought to you by Harmony Protocol’s Creative Director, Robin Schmidt, and Camila Russo, the founder of The De...9:15 PM ∙ Sep 11, 202010Likes3Retweets

Connor Dempsey @Cdempsey44@CamiRusso's Defiant newsletter has done a great job covering everything as it unfolded Worth of sub

thedefiant.substack.comThe DefiantThe essential content platform about decentralized finance.7:28 PM ∙ Sep 11, 2020

Linda Xie @ljxie@FollowTheChain @perpprotocol @HegicOptions Yep saw both. Difficult to include everything in one tweet :) I basically tell everyone to subscribe to @CamiRusso’s The Defiant to keep up.1:03 AM ∙ Sep 11, 2020

Jing is hiring for Optimism 🌻 @jinglanW@licuende Hands down @VitalikButerin and @aantonop Education: @karl_dot_tech @AnnaRRose @0xstark @ljxie @technocrypto Memes: @DoveyWan @Melt_Dem @nanexcool Honesty: @zooko @La__Cuen @ameensol Staples: @laurashin @cburniske @CamiRusso7:33 PM ∙ Sep 10, 202075Likes8Retweets

Ian Lee @ianjohnleeNew blog post: "The Future of Finance is Decentralized" "Why DeFi will eat banks, fintechs, and CeFi from the ground up" (in @DefiantNews @CamiRusso )

thedefiant.substack.comWe’re the Architects of a More Open, Free and Fair Financial System: IDEO CoLab’s Ian LeeDeFi is rebuilding finance from the ground up.5:50 PM ∙ Sep 10, 202031Likes12Retweets

Brian Nistler @BriannistlerCollaborative events hearing about the strides made in the industry is good for the soul. Well done to @BlockShopDC & @mozillabuilders. Would love to see more events like this. + @CamiRusso is a huge asset to the space. The Defiant is A+ coverage of the space.

BLOCKSHOP DC @BlockShopDCJoin us TODAY (11am ET) for an event with Mozilla to discuss Using Crypto to Build the Next Internet Speakers Include: -Tammy Camp, CEO and founder of Stronghold -Edith Yeung, Investor at Race Capital -Camila Russo, Founder of The Defiant Sign up below: https://t.co/EeOTwJz0O34:24 PM ∙ Sep 10, 2020

Richard Chen @richardchen39Bought my first digital art on @SuperRare_co from @sven_eberwein! The @SushiSwap and @UniswapProtocol liquidity war was interesting to watch and glad to now own this memorabilia. Hope it will age well. Thanks to @CamiRusso for first showing me this art. superrare.co/rchen8

SvenEberwein @sven_eberwein1/ 🍣 vs. 🦄 The story is unfolding.... -$CRV/$ETH pool migrated -$YAMv2 is live -$REN next Crypto-History in the making! @SushiSwapLegacy <> @UniswapProtocol (follow @SBF_Alameda / @CamiRusso for live updates) https://t.co/yAD5RFV9MT4:20 PM ∙ Sep 10, 202053Likes8Retweets

nigma 🇺🇸 @Nigmae@licuende @defiopfi @ChrisBlec because he keeps us grounded and breaks the echo chamber Ryan and David at @BanklessHQ because well, they coo' @CamiRusso has good, clean takes. Also has a good book on ETH's history @IslandHunting Fun tweets, good content @bluekirbyfi self-evident12:46 PM ∙ Sep 10, 2020

Al Bert @albiverse@licuende All the @DefiantNews guys for DeFi. Recently discovered @DCLBlogger for NFTs pretty cool12:27 PM ∙ Sep 10, 2020

Cristobal Pereira @cristpereiragWhat an amazing story, and what a great journalist that we have in #DeFi ecosystem. Great job @CamiRusso. if you want to talk with arguments, this is a history that you must read.

The Defiant @DefiantNews🍣 vs 🦄: DeFi's first-ever hostile takeover SushiSwap is about to attempt its vampire attack on DeFi's largest DEX, with untested code and $1.3B at stake. The story of a disgraced Chef, a reigning Unicorn and a shrewd CEO. Here's all you need to know: https://t.co/dVbWsBUqAk https://t.co/uEighcXZ9o11:18 AM ∙ Sep 9, 2020

⟠ toast.eth 🦄 @intocryptoastExcellent summary from @CamiRusso about SushiSwap's turbulent journey so far.

The Defiant @DefiantNews🍣 vs 🦄: DeFi's first-ever hostile takeover SushiSwap is about to attempt its vampire attack on DeFi's largest DEX, with untested code and $1.3B at stake. The story of a disgraced Chef, a reigning Unicorn and a shrewd CEO. Here's all you need to know: https://t.co/dVbWsBUqAk https://t.co/uEighcXZ9o1:46 AM ∙ Sep 9, 20209Likes2Retweets

Gonzalo Faura @GonFauraFantastic article summarising the whole #Uniswap Vs #SushiSwap story. A must read for #DeFi enthusiasts that got lost asking the way. Great job, @CamiRusso!

The Defiant @DefiantNews🍣 vs 🦄: DeFi's first-ever hostile takeover SushiSwap is about to attempt its vampire attack on DeFi's largest DEX, with untested code and $1.3B at stake. The story of a disgraced Chef, a reigning Unicorn and a shrewd CEO. Here's all you need to know: https://t.co/dVbWsBUqAk https://t.co/uEighcXZ9o9:54 PM ∙ Sep 8, 202013Likes3Retweets

Alex Svanevik 🧭 @ASvanevikThe best write-up on Sushi. Awesome job @CamiRusso ! https://t.co/dC70fCD2uU

The Defiant @DefiantNews🍣 vs 🦄: DeFi's first-ever hostile takeover SushiSwap is about to attempt its vampire attack on DeFi's largest DEX, with untested code and $1.3B at stake. The story of a disgraced Chef, a reigning Unicorn and a shrewd CEO. Here's all you need to know: https://t.co/dVbWsBUqAk https://t.co/uEighcXZ9o9:12 PM ∙ Sep 8, 202020Likes2Retweets

Lasse Clausen @lalleclausenExcellent write up of the Sushiswap story, we're fortunate to have a real journalists like @CamiRusso working in the space with us.

The Defiant @DefiantNews🍣 vs 🦄: DeFi's first-ever hostile takeover SushiSwap is about to attempt its vampire attack on DeFi's largest DEX, with untested code and $1.3B at stake. The story of a disgraced Chef, a reigning Unicorn and a shrewd CEO. Here's all you need to know: https://t.co/dVbWsBUqAk https://t.co/uEighcXZ9o8:37 PM ∙ Sep 8, 202041Likes5Retweets

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 at $10/month or $100/year, while free signups get only part of the content.

About the founder: I’m Camila Russo, author of The Infinite Machine, the first book on the history of Ethereum. 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.