DeFi
Finance Redefined — TradingView News
Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of essential decentralized finance (DeFi) news—a newsletter designed to bring you the most significant developments from the past week.
Last week, leading Web3 companies including MetaMask, Polygon, and StarkNet announced significant infrastructure developments that could help drive widespread adoption of the technology.
On the other hand, cryptocurrency hacks continue to erode public trust, as the total hacked funds exceeded $1.4 billion in 2024 – not because of DeFi protocols but mainly because of centralized exchanges (CEXs).
Are centralized exchanges becoming a prime target for hackers? A 900% increase in year-over-year losses for CEXs suggests so.
Cryptocurrency thefts to surpass $1.4 billion by 2024, with centralized exchanges becoming top target
According to cybersecurity firm Cyvers’ mid-year Web3 Security Report, the total volume of stolen crypto funds in 2024 is approaching $1.4 billion, with centralized exchanges becoming the new ground zero for exploits.
In the second quarter of 2024, total cryptocurrency losses exceeded $600 million, a 100% increase compared to the same period in 2023. According to the report, the increase in stolen funds is mainly due to a 900% increase in losses on centralized exchanges.
“This quarter witnessed a significant shift in attack vectors, with centralized exchanges (CEXs) bearing the brunt of major incidents, while decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols exhibited improved resilience,” the report said, adding: “This trend can be attributed to the concentration of assets on centralized platforms and potentially lax security measures at some exchanges.”
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Starknet to introduce staking in Q4 2024
StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson announced at EthCC on July 10 that the company plans to introduce staking by the end of 2024 via a Starknet Improvement Proposal (SNIP).
If the community approves SNIP, Starknet staking is expected to go live on the testnet soon, followed by the mainnet launch in Q4.
A GitHub repository for the new staking feature will be publicly available throughout the development process.
In a written Q&A with Cointelegraph, Ben-Sasson explained that staking would allow Starknet token holders to “participate in the core activities of a decentralized network.”
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MetaMask unveils toolkit to facilitate Web3 integration
Consensys unveiled the MetaMask delegation toolkit at EthCC, marking a significant milestone in the company’s efforts to promote Web3 and blockchain adoption.
According to a press release shared with Cointelegraph, the toolkit allows developers to build decentralized applications (DApps) and protocols that deliver new user experiences.
The MetaMask toolkit will be available on any Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chain supported by a user operations aggregator, including Arbitrum, Avalanche, Base, Linea, Optimism, and Polygon.
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SingularityNET and Filecoin Partner for AI and DePIN
SingularityNET, an artificial intelligence platform developer, and the Filecoin Foundation, the governance body behind the Filecoin network, have announced a collaborative partnership.
The partnership aims to integrate the AI and Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) sectors while maintaining decentralization, AI ethics and data provenance.
According to an official press release shared with Cointelegraph, the partnership will also establish an AI Ethics Working Group to ensure that AI development and deployment adhere to ethical practices.
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TON Application Chain and Polygon Partner to Launch New TON L2
TON Application Chain (TAC) and Polygon Labs are set to bring EVM functionality to the TON ecosystem.
In a July 9 announcement, TON Application Chain and Polygon announced that TON L2 has integrated Polygon CDK and the AggLayer interoperability protocol to bring EVM-compatible DApps to TAC.
Its goal is to increase the range of applications available to TON network users, including DeFi, gaming and identity solutions.
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DeFi Market Overview
The majority of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap ended the week in the green, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView show.
Among the top 100, Telegram-based gaming token Notcoin (NOT) saw the biggest weekly gain of over 46%, followed by Celestia token (TIA), which is up over 38% on the weekly chart.Cointelegraph
However, investor sentiment has eroded over the past week, with the crypto Fear & Greed Index falling to 25, signaling “extreme fear,” down from 29 last week. Investor sentiment remains under pressure from Bitcoin (BTC) trading below the important psychological mark of $60,000.
Thanks for reading our roundup of this week’s most notable DeFi developments. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights, and news about this ever-evolving space.