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Cryptocurrencies continue to surge to new local highs, with ETH tagging $2,860 as BTC changed hands for $52,800. The market momentum comes amid surging demand for Ethereum restaking tokens and extended bullishness surrounding the performance of spot Bitcoin ETFs.

In other news, Liquity announced plans to launch a new CDP protocol supporting LSTs and user-set interest rates. Prisma introduced a stablecoin backed by liquid restaking tokens, and Tranchess rolled out leveraged stETH exposure alongside its v3 iteration.

Plus, the ApeCoin DAO has decided to build its forthcoming ApeChain network on top of Arbitrum’s Orbit infrastructure.

✍️ In today’s newsletter:

BTC and ETH tag new multi-year highs
Liquity to launch new CDP protocol in late 2024
Prisma introduces LRT-backed stablecoin
Tranchess deploys v3 iteration
ApeCoin DAO chooses Arbitrum Orbit for ApeChain

🎙️The Defiant Podcast & Interviews:

Creating asset-backed stablecoins with the Reserve protocol

📈 Markets in the last 24 hrs:

	Ticker	Value	24h

Ticker	Value	24h
Bitcoin	$51720.0295214373	-0.001 %
Ethereum	$2817.42342957961 0.013	%
Gold	1st Future$2002.09997558594 0.006	%
S&P 500	$5029.72998046875 0.006	%
Web	3 Token2.280674 0.017	%
Learn more about Arch Indices ,[object Object]		%

🎬 WATCH

Check out our video exploring which projects could be next to announce airdrops within the Solana ecosystem. Also watch our interview with Jupiter Exchange founder, Meow, to get his response to the controversy and criticism surrounding the project’s recent airdrop and token sales on the LFG Launchpad.

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A developer-friendly, Rust-based smart contracts platform designed for scale and sensibility. Coming soon to mainnet, Soroban seamlessly integrates with and works alongside the existing Stellar blockchain. Start building on Soroban today.

The Reserve protocol empowers anyone to launch and govern asset-backed currencies called “RTokens.” Preserve your spending power with RTokens like ETH+ and hyUSD — yield-bearing crypto backed by baskets of on-chain collateral.

MARKETS

Ether Hits 19-Month High Amid Restaking Boom

TLDR Extended bullish market momentum has propelled top assets to new multi-year highs, with BTC trading at its highest level since December 2021 at nearly $53,000 and ETH tagging a 19-month high above $2,850.

SO WHAT The market milestones come as Ethereum’s restaking sector is on fire, with liquid restaking protocols rocketing to a $3.5B total value locked amid EigenLayer surpassing a $7B TVL. Bitcoin is enjoying continued momentum stemming from the impressive performance of the recently-launched Spot BTC ETFs, with BlackRock’s Bitcoin fund emerging among the top 7% largest ETF after just 23 days of trade.

DEFI

Liquity To Launch New CDP Stablecoin Protocol In Late 2024

TLDR Liquity, the project behind the LUSD stablecoin, unveiled plans to launch a collateralized debt protocol in late 2024. The new protocol will introduce support for liquid staking tokens and debut user-set interest rates.

SO WHAT Liquity hopes to rectify the shortcomings of its existing protocol with the upcoming release, lamenting that its CDP has failed to remain competitive amid the rise of LSTs and changing macroeconomic conditions. The market cap of LUSD is down 50% since the start of September.

STAKING

Prisma Introduces ULTRA Stablecoin Backed by Liquid Restaking Tokens

TLDR Prisma announced the launch of ULTRA, a new stablecoin backed by liquid restaking tokens (LRTs). EtherFi’s eETH token is the sole LRT supported as collateral for ULTRA minting at launch.

SO WHAT The launch of ULTRA signifies the growing composability of liquid restaking tokens within DeFi. However, some analysts have warned against integrating LRTs into lending protocols, warning that the threat of restaking slashing escalates the risk of cascading liquidations.

Tranchess Offers Leveraged stETH Exposure Following V3 Launch

TLDR Tranchess has launched its v3 iteration, introducing new yield products for stETH holdings. Its Turb Yield ETH offering provides leveraged access to stETH yields, while users can also receive fixed staking rewards via Stable Yield ETH.

SO WHAT Tranchess worked with Lido, the team behind stETH, to launch the new products, expanding the utility of the leading liquid staking token. However, stETH now faces fierce competition from rising restaking tokens, with EtherFi’s eETH outpacing stETH’s growth in January.

LAYER 3

ApeCoin DAO Chooses Arbitrum to Host ApeChain

TLDR The ApeCoin community has chosen to build its forthcoming gaming-focused Layer 3 network, ApeChain, on top of Arbitrum Orbit. The launch of ApeChain will introduce new utility for ApeCoin, with APE comprising both a vehicle for governance and a network fee token for the upcoming Layer 3.

SO WHAT The news follows a protracted downtrend for ApeCoin and Yuga Labs ecosystems, with the APE token shedding 74% of its value over the past year, despite ApeCoin bouncing 16% over the past week. However, the selection of Arbitrum Orbit for ApeChain’s infrastructure has ganrered controversy within the ApeCoin community after narrowly passing governance with outsized support from the proposal’s author.

🔎 OUR REPORTERS ARE WATCHING

🌍 ELSEWHERE

Gold Funds See Big Outflows Alongside Rush of Money Into Bitcoin ETFs (CoinDesk)
Coinbase beats Q4 estimates as transaction revenue rises to $529 million (The Block)
GoFundMe shuts down Tornado Cash legal defense crowdfunding (Cointelegraph)