This Week in DeFi - April 15

This week, Uniswap Labs launches a venture arm and a swap widget, a USN stablecoin draws NEAR and Nexo launches a new crypto-loan bank card.

Apr 15, 2022

To the DeFi community,

This week Uniswap Labs has announced a venture unit, which will invest in promising web3 projects. Uniswap Labs also plans to actively participate in the governance of the projects it invests in. Unrelated to the venture unit, Uniswap has also released a widget this week to enable users to more easily swap tokens across the web. The widget is already available on OpenSea, Oasis and FWB.

hayden.eth 🦄 @haydenzadams

1/ 🚀 Thrilled to launch @Uniswap Labs Ventures, which will be investing in innovative projects and companies building in Web3

Uniswap Labs 🦄 @Uniswap

1/💫 At Labs, we want to onboard millions of users into the web3 economy, with the goal of unlocking universal ownership & exchange for all. But we know we can’t achieve our mission alone. Today we're proud to announce the launch of Uniswap Labs Ventures! https://t.co/Y4gSKOd9dC

Near Protocol may be taking a bite out of UST’s market share, setting an April 20th launch date for its new USN stablecoin – complete with an interest rate of around 20%. The project appears to be modelled upon Terra's UST stablecoin and Anchor protocol, which provided similar incentives until recent changes for sustainability.

Wu Blockchain @WuBlockchain

Zoran Kole revealed in "The Future is NEAR" that Near will announce the launch of the stablecoin USN on April 20, which will provide an annual interest rate of about 20%, modeled on UST. Additionally, Near will be listed on Coinbase in the coming months.

captainkole.substack.comThe Future is NEAR.An Investment Thesis

Centralized crypto lending platform Nexo has launched the first crypto-funded bank card that allows users to spend crypto without selling it. Instead of selling crypto directly to fiat upon making a purchase, the card’s back-end instead borrows fiat against the crypto used for the purchase.

Nexo @Nexo

The #NexoCard is here! Welcome the only card that lets you spend the value of your #crypto without selling it! #Hodl while you spend with thе one-of-a-kind Nexo Card linked directly with your Instant Crypto Credit Line! Get yours now! 1/2 nexo.io/blog/it-is-fin…

Volt Protocol has raised $2 Million for an 'Inflation-Resistant Stablecoin’ – possibly the first innovation of its kind. Volt’s stablecoin will track the CPI-U consumer price index, via a Chainlink oracle.

Framework Ventures @hiFramework

1/ We just co-led the $2 million seed round for @VoltProtocol, an inflation-resistant stablecoin protocol that uses CPI data pulled on-chain via @chainlink. Basically, we think Volt could give users the ability to maintain their purchasing power in inflationary times. A 🧵👇

Decrypt @decryptmedia

Volt Protocol Raises $2 Million for 'Inflation-Resistant Stablecoin' ► https://t.co/OmCWb6WfxH https://t.co/OmCWb6WfxH

Central banks have continued to close in on crypto over the last week, with a very interesting notion being introduced by the Bank of International Settlements (BIS): "Does safe DeFi require CBDCs?". An integration of CBDCs (central bank digital currencies) into the DeFi world as we know it would present a fascinating mash-up of two antithetical worlds, but also open up some very interesting possibilities. Imagine a DeFi world where no fiat gateway is required – simply send your everyday CBDC dollars to a smart contract and begin lending or yield-farming instantly.

Of course, it may not really be that simple. In all likelihood, governments will attempt to keep CBDCs on a tight leash, either through whitelisting "decentralized" applications to enable CBDC integration as they see fit, or by other means. In any instance, it will be a strange concept watching the traditional financial system spill over into DeFi – in whatever capacity that may be.

Perhaps inevitably, we will end up with two separate crypto ecosystems: A garden-walled and government-approved "DeFi" ecosystem that captures CBDC activity and verified wallets. On the other hand, we will have the wild-west of DeFi, where anything goes – and without central bank influence. Whereas "traditional" finance and true crypto may become to look more similar than ever before, it is likely that there will be also be a rise in disconnect between the two worlds, as CBDCs close more true crypto gateways than they do today.

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