DeFi
In Aave Founder Stani Kulechov’s ‘Grand Plan’, $11 Billion DeFi Lender Overtakes MakerDAO – DL News
- Aave’s founder explained to DL News how decentralization opens the doors to competition.
- Aave has transformed into a DeFi supermarket with a wallet, social media channel, and stablecoin.
- Managing the complexity of a new business structure poses challenges.
Aave Labs has built its brand over the past seven years by creating a no-frills lending platform.
It avoided complexity and weathered the 2022 bear market as a stable DeFi banking business.
Today, Stani Kulechov, the company’s Finnish co-founder, is transforming Aave into a DeFi supermarket.
It includes a stablecoin, called GHO; a crypto wallet called Family; and Lens Protocol, as well as a social media network that is in the process of raise $50 million investors.
Alongside Aave’s lending operations, these units are now housed under a new parent company called Avara, based in London.
These moves strengthen Aave’s rivalry with several DeFi companies.
“Obviously, the advantage of a decentralized system is that there are always open doors for competitors,” Kulechov said. DL News.
No other player looms larger than MakerDAO, the seven-year-old stablecoin issuer that has long been in lockstep with Aave. As Aave has added new companies, so has Maker.
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“Every person on the planet has social capital.”
— Stani Kulechov, Aave
In his attempt to grow, Kulechov trades a simple model for a more complex ecosystem.
Kulechov said DL News This won’t be a problem. By building a single purchasing platform, Avara will cater to the needs of both DeFi newcomers and seasoned cryptocurrency users.
“Every person on the planet, regardless of language, nation, geographical location, has social capital,” Kulechov said.
“If we can solve the problem of who owns what we own online, that will fundamentally unlock more value.”
So far, Kulechov and the Aave team have proven their ability to create value.
By charging fees to users to borrow, lend, liquidate loans and make deposits, Aave has recorded approximately $100 million in income over the past 30 days, according to data from Logical token.
Aave’s total locked value, or deposits, has more than doubled in the past 12 months, to $11 billionData from DefiLlama shows this. Aave, active on a dozen different blockchains, surpassed MakerDAO this year to become the third most valuable DeFi project.
Aave’s TVL over the past three years. Source: DeFi Llama.
Building a walled garden for Aave users may seem counterintuitive, but it makes sense, said Drew Osumi, co-founder of venture capital studio Number Group.
“If Avara has a social network, a wallet, lending, and a stablecoin, I feel like there’s a world out there where if someone is completely new to crypto, they could see this as an easy onboarding experience,” Osumi said. DL News.
“I feel like the big plan is to be a decentralized, permissionless Meta, where users are actually valued at market value.”
But why would the world need another social media platform?
“The main idea will probably not be to replace Twitter,” Kulechov said. “What will be interesting is to have an open shared network, which anyone can create, and which already has users.”
Lens Protocol allows developers to build Instagram-like apps and add cryptographic features to them.
It caters to NFT collectors by turning profile pictures and user IDs into non-fungible tokens. It also allows decentralized autonomous organizations, or DAOs, to propose and vote on key issues for their community directly on Lens.
DeFi Rivals
Aave and Maker have been the foundation of decentralized finance since the ICO era in 2017. Both have benefited from meteoric crypto rallies and both have suffered market crashes.
The two often collaborated even though they were in competition.
This duel reached its peak with competing stablecoins.
Maker issues DAI, DeFi’s oldest decentralized stablecoin. Aave has started issuing its own stablecoin, GHOin July 2023.
Stablecoins used throughout DeFi. Source: DeFi Llama.
Both stablecoins are pegged to the dollar and are over-collateralized by other cryptocurrencies. For example, to mint $1 of either stablecoin, you would need to invest more than $1 in another cryptocurrency such as Ethereum.
It’s a market expected According to Bernstein analysts, this figure is expected to reach $3 trillion over the next five years.
“Stablecoins represent the largest market opportunity in crypto,” said Lito Coen, head of growth at Socket Protocol, a cross-chain bridging protocol. “If you’re going to tackle another market after lending, stablecoins are the most logical expansion.”
Extreme volatility
With GHO, Aave is also showing competitiveness. Indeed, Maker launched its own lending protocol, Spark, in 2023.
“GHO makes a lot of sense, especially when one of the largest stablecoins is directly overcollateralized spear a competitor to Spark,” Coen said.
The battle lines became clearer in April when the Maker community offered to support $1 billion in DAI with a new untested stablecoin issued by Ethena, a platform on the Ethereum blockchain.
Called USDe, the asset supports its $1 ankle differently from GHO or DAI.
Rather than being over-collateralized, it is backed by staked Ethereum positions and short Ethereum positions on exchanges that make money if the price of Ethereum falls. This is an innovative system, but one that has not proven itself in conditions of extreme market volatility.
For Aave, the arrival of the Ethena market brought many risks. If USDe collapsed due to the market crash, there was concern that DAI would also lose its peg.
With over $130 million in direct investment (DAI) in Aave, this was a risk the Aave community could not bear.
1B $DAI
– made from scratch (20% of total supply)
-in a protocol not tested in combat
-with zero risk mitigation
-weak oracles in less than a month
-for assets that are hyper-sensitive to market conditionsis the definition of reckless
Will offer DAI LTV reduction in Aave today
— Marc “Chainsaw” Zeller 👻 🦇🔊 (@lemiscate) April 2, 2024
In April, Marc Zeller, founder of a DeFi governance project called Aave Chan Initiative, propose eradicate all DAI markets on Aave.
Kuleshov agreed.
“The departure process should begin immediately in case of a favorable outcome,” Kulechov said. wrote in the Aave forum.
Kuleshov attributed the episode to risk management rather than direct competition.
“There has been a significant increase in the perception of DAI risk,” he said. DL News“If that risk increases, the best thing to do is to be as conservative as possible.”
Meanwhile, Kulechov’s Lens protocol faces competition from another crypto-based social media protocol called Farcaster.
Both offer many similar features, but Lens stores more activity (likes, follows, and posts) on the blockchain than Farcaster. Farcaster opts for speed and user experience.
Farcaster has a big lead so far, with almost 600,000 users compared to Lens’ 430000. It also recently closed a $150 million funding round at a $1 billion valuation, led by Paradigm and joined by Andreessen Horowitz, USV and other leading venture capitalists.
“It’s a completely different sector within crypto, much less proven.”
— Lito Coen, Socket
It remains to be seen, however, whether these two social networks will last.
“The most uncertain sector for me is Lens,” Socket’s Coen said. “It’s a completely different sector within cryptocurrency, which, in general, is much less proven.”
New fundraising
Kulechov hopes so too.
In June, DL News announced that it was launching a new fundraising round that would value Lens at $500 million.
“I’m a big fan of what Stani is doing with Avara,” Coen said. “I don’t think enough teams are thinking big and trying to grow horizontally.”
Despite all the new technologies and business models in DeFi, Kulechov’s initiatives show how old-school product development and new markets are essential to growth.
“We like to move from building infrastructure to thinking about what these businesses are and also what interfaces we can build,” Kulechov said.
Liam Kelly is a DeFi correspondent at DL NewsContact us at liam@dlnews.com.
The memecoin launchpad saw the largest daily revenue in all of DeFi over the past 24 hours.
Memecoin launchpad Pump.Fun has recorded the highest gross revenue in all of decentralized finance (DeFi) in the last 24 hours, surpassing even Ethereum.
The platform has raised $867,429 in the past 24 hours, compared to $844,276 for Ethereum, according to DeFiLlama. Solana-based Telegram trading bot Trojan was the third-highest revenue generator of the day, as memecoin infrastructure continues to dominate in DeFi.
Pump.Fun generates $315 million in annualized revenue according to DeFiLlama, and has averaged $906,160 per day over the past week.
Income Ranking – Source: DeFiLlama
The memecoin frenzy of the past few months is behind Pump.fun’s dominance. Solana-based memecoins have been the main drug of choice for on-chain degenerates.
The app allows non-technical users to launch their own tokens in minutes. Users can spend as little as $2 to launch their token and are not required to provide liquidity up front. Pump.Fun allows new tokens to trade along a bonding curve until they reach a set market cap of around $75,000, after which the bonding curve will then be burned on Raydium to create a safe liquidity pool.
Pump.Fun generates revenue through accrued fees. The platform charges a 1% fee on transactions that take place on the platform. Once a token is bonded and burned on Raydium, Pump.fun is no longer able to charge the 1% fee.
Ethereum is the blockchain of the second-largest cryptocurrency, Ether, with a market cap of $395 billion. It powers hundreds of applications and thousands of digital assets, and backs over $60 billion in value in smart contracts.
Ethereum generates revenue when users pay fees, called gas and denominated in ETH, to execute transactions and smart contracts.
DeFi Technologies, a Canadian company financial technology companyis set to enhance its trading infrastructure through a new partnership with Zero Computing, according to a July 30 statement shared with CryptoSlate.
The collaboration aims to integrate zero-knowledge proof tools to boost operations on the Solana And Ethereum blockchains by optimizing its ability to identify and execute arbitrage opportunities.
Additionally, it will improve the performance of its DeFi Alpha trading desk by enhancing its use of ZK-enabled maximum extractable value (MEV Strategies).
Zero knowledge Proof of concept (ZKP) technology provides an additional layer of encryption to ensure transaction confidentiality and has recently been widely adopted in cryptographic applications.
Optimization of trading strategies
DeFi Technologies plans to use these tools to refine DeFi Alpha’s ability to spot low-risk arbitrage opportunities. The trading desk has already generated nearly $100 million in revenue this year, and this new partnership is expected to further enhance its algorithmic strategies and market analysis capabilities.
Zero Computing technology will integrate ZKP’s advanced features into DeFi Alpha’s infrastructure. This upgrade will streamline trading processes, improve transaction privacy, and increase operational efficiency.
According to DeFi Technologies, these improvements will increase the security and sophistication of DeFi Alpha’s trading strategies.
The collaboration will also advance commercial approaches for ZK-enabled MEVs, a new concept in Motor vehicles which focuses on maximizing value through transaction fees and arbitrage opportunities within block production.
Additionally, DeFi Technologies plans to leverage Zero Computing technology to develop new financial products, such as zero-knowledge index exchange-traded products (ETPs).
Olivier Roussy Newton, CEO of DeFi Technologies, said:
“By integrating their cutting-edge zero-knowledge technology, we not only improve the efficiency and privacy of our transactions, but we also pave the way for innovative trading strategies.”
Extending Verifiable Computing to Solana
According to the release, Zero Computing has created a versatile, chain-agnostic platform for generating zero-knowledge proofs. The platform currently supports Ethereum and Solana, and the company plans to expand compatibility with other blockchains in the future.
The company added that it is at the forefront of introducing verifiable computation to the Solana blockchain, enabling complex computations to be executed off-chain with on-chain verification. This development represents a significant step in the expansion of ZKPs across various blockchain ecosystems.
Mentioned in this article
Latest Alpha Market Report
Singapore, Asia, July 29, 2024, Chainwire
- Elastos BeL2 to Partner with StarkWare to Integrate Starknet’s ZKPs and Cairo Programming Language with BeL2 for Native DeFi Applications
- Starknet integration allows BeL2 to provide smart contracts and dapps without moving Bitcoin assets off the mainnet
- Starknet Exchange Validates the Strength of BeL2’s Innovation and Leadership in the Native Bitcoin Ecosystem
Elastos BeL2 (Bitcoin Elastos Layer2) has secured a $25,000 grant from Starknet, a technology leader in the field of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs). This significant approval highlights the Elastos BeL2 infrastructure and its critical role in advancing Bitcoin-native DeFi, particularly Bitcoin-native lending. By integrating Starknet’s ZKPs and the Cairo programming language, Elastos’ BeL2 will enhance its ability to deliver smart contracts and decentralized applications (dapps) without moving Bitcoin (BTC) assets off the mainnet. This strategic partnership with Starknet demonstrates the growing acceptance and maturity of the BeL2 infrastructure, reinforcing Elastos’ commitment to market leadership in the evolving Bitcoin DeFi market.
Starknet, developed by StarkWare, is known for its advancements in ZKP technology, which improves the privacy and security of blockchain transactions. ZKPs allow one party to prove to another that a statement is true without revealing any information beyond the validity of the statement itself. This technology is fundamental to the evolution of blockchain networks, which will improve BeL2’s ability to integrate complex smart contracts while preserving the integrity and security of Bitcoin.
“We are thrilled to receive this grant from Starknet and announce our partnership to build tighter integrations with its ZKP technology and the Cairo programming language,” said Sasha Mitchell, Head of Bitcoin Layer 2 at Elastos. “This is a major milestone for BeL2 and a true recognition of the maturity and capabilities of our core technology. This support will allow us to further develop our innovation in native Bitcoin lending as we look to capitalize on the growing acceptance of Bitcoin as a viable alternative financial system.”
A closer integration with Cairo will allow BeL2 to leverage this powerful programming language to enhance Bitcoin’s capabilities and deliver secure, efficient, and scalable decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. Specifically, the relationship with Cairo reinforces BeL2’s core technical innovations, including:
- ZKPs ensure secure and private verification of transactions
- Decentralized Arbitrage Using Collateralized Nodes to Supervise and Enforce Fairness in Native Bitcoin DeFi
- BTC Oracle (NYSE:) facilitates cross-chain interactions where information, not assets, is exchanged while Bitcoin remains on the main infrastructure
BeL2’s vision goes beyond technical innovation and aims to innovate by creating a new financial system. The goal is to build a Bitcoin-backed Bretton Woods system, address global debt crises, and strengthen Bitcoin’s role as a global hard currency. This new system will be anchored in the integrity and security of Bitcoin, providing a stable foundation for decentralized financial applications.
As integration with Starknet and the Cairo programming language continues, BeL2 will deliver further advancements in smart contract capabilities, decentralized arbitration, and innovative financial products. At Token 2049, BeL2 will showcase further innovations in its core technologies, including arbitrators, that will underscore Elastos’ vision for a fairer decentralized financial system rooted in Bitcoin.
About Elastos
Elastos is a public blockchain project that integrates blockchain technology with a suite of redesigned platform components to produce a modern Internet infrastructure that provides intrinsic privacy and ownership protection for digital assets. The mission is to create open source services that are accessible to the world, so developers can create an Internet where individuals own and control their data.
The Elastos SmartWeb platform enables organizations to recalibrate how the Internet operates to better control their own data.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/elastosinfo/
ContactPublic Relations ManagerRoger DarashahElastosroger.darashah@elastoselavation.org
DeFi
Compound Agrees to Distribute 30% of Reserves to COMP Shareholders to End Alleged Attack on Its Governance
Compound will introduce the staking program in exchange for Humpy, a notorious whale accused of launching a governance attack on the protocol, negating a recently adopted governance proposal.
Compound is launching a new staking program for COMP holders as a compromise with Humpy, a notorious DeFi whale accused of launching a governance attack against the veteran DeFi protocol.
On July 29, Bryan Colligan, head of business development at Compound, published a governance proposal outlining plans for a new compound participation product that would pay 30% of the project’s current and future reserves to COMP participants.
Colligan noted that the program was requested by Humpy in exchange for his agreement Proposition 289 — which sought to invest 499,000 COMP worth approximately $24 million into a DeFi vault controlled by Humpy, and which appears to have been forced by Humpy and his associates over the weekend.
“We propose the following staking product that meets Humpy’s stated interests as a recent new delegate and holder of COMP in exchange for the repeal of Proposition 289 due to the governance risks it poses to the protocol,” Colligan said. “The Compound Growth Program…will execute the above commitments, given the immediate repeal of Proposition 289.”
Colligan added that the proposal would expire at 11:59 p.m. EST on July 29. Had Humpy not rescinded Proposition 289, Compound would move forward with it. Proposition 290 — block Humpy using the Compound team’s multi-sig to deploy a new governor contract removing the delegate’s governance power behind Proposition 289.
Hunchback tweeted that Proposition 289 had been repealed a few hours ago. “Glad to have brought Compound Finance back into the spotlight,” they said. added. “StakedComp… finally becomes a yield-generating asset!
Markets reacted favorably to the resolution, with the price of COMP increasing by 6.2% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.
Attack on governance
Proposition 289 proposed investing 499,000 COMP from the Compound treasury into goldCOMP, a yield-generating vault of the Humpy-linked Golden Boys team.
The proposal passed with nearly 52 percent of the vote on July 28, despite two previous iterations of the proposal being defeated by strong opposition. Can And JulyThe proposals notably asked for only 92,000 COMP, with security researchers warning that any deposit of tokens into the goldCOMP vault would cede their governance power.
In May, Michael Lewellen of Web3 security firm OpenZeppelin, note The first proposal was submitted by a new governance delegate who was suddenly awarded 228,000 COMP by five wallets that got their tokens from the Bybit exchange. Combined with his own tokens, the delegate got 325,333 COMP, which is over 81% of the 400,000 tokens required for a governance proposal to reach quorum.
“We have been alerting the community to the risk that these delegates could support a potential attack on governance,” Lewellen said. “The timing of the new proposal and these recent delegations are suspect.”
Read more: Compound community accuses famous whale of attacking engineering governance
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