This Week In DeFi – May 19

This week, memecoins move to the Dogecoin chain, Uniswap expands to Polkadot, Hourglass launches trading for "time-bound tokens" and Ribbon Finance launches options trading for popular altcoins.

May 19, 2023

To the DeFi Community,

This week, the memecoin frenzy has spread to the Dogecoin blockchain, as its daily transaction volume surged to a record high, temporarily surpassing both Bitcoin and Litecoin.

Following in the footsteps of the recent BRC-20 token standard on Bitcoin, “DRC-20” tokens have been created on the Dogecoin chain, allowing developers to issue tokens that use dogecoin for network fees.

Similarly, token-miniting has also made its way to the Bitcoin Layer-2 scaling solution, the Lightning Network. Infrastructure company Lightning Labs launches a new version of “Taproot Assets” – a protocol designed for issuing assets on Bitcoin and Lightning.

The protocol is currently only on testnet, with a mainnet release “just around the corner.”

https://twitter.com/takibi_coin/status/1657137317805432833

Uniswap continues to aggressively expand its V3 protocol to new chains, this time looking to launch on Polkadot and Coinbase’s rollup platform, Base.

Uniswap V3 will launch on the Moonbeam parachain – a chain that is part of the polkadot ecosystem, following a governance vote that was overwhelmingly in favor of the expansion.

Moonbeam is EVM-friendly, making it easy to deploy Ethereum-based smart contracts with minimal adjustments. The platform is currently is home to the majority of Polkadot’s DeFi activity.

A governance proposal is currently underway to deploy Uniswap V3 on Base – an Ethereum scaling platform based on Optimism.

https://twitter.com/Polkadot/status/1658820737384292352

Crypto startup Hourglass has launched the first marketplace for trading a new innovation known as Time-Bound Tokens (TBTs).

TBTs tokenize a user's staked assets in a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol based on their lock-up time period. The marketplace will allow users to trade their ownership of locked assets by transferring these TBTs.

Hourglass's launch coincides with Lido's Version 2 deployment, where it will tokenize Lido's withdrawal queue, providing users with liquidity while they wait. TBTs represent staked assets committed for a specific period and can be traded at a discount based on the lock-up duration.

Hourglass raised $4.2 million in a seed round led by Electric Capital, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Circle Ventures, Tribe Capital, hack.vc, and other angel investors.

https://twitter.com/hourglasshq/status/1658502424691359745

Ribbon Finance's decentralized exchange Aevo has introduced options trading for popular altcoins such as LDO, PEPE, SUI, ARB, LTC, APT, and more.

Previously, these options were only available through over-the-counter desks. Users can select the strike price and duration of the options and receive instant quotes from market makers Galaxy, GSR, and OrBit Markets.

Market makers are required to post collateral, approximately 30% of the notional trade size, in the form of the stablecoin USDC.

Currently, Aevo users can only buy options, but the platform plans to enable writing options with customized margins and counterparties in the future.

https://twitter.com/aevoxyz/status/1658065977890996225

Collapsed CeFi giants are finally starting to wrap up their journeys this week, as Voyager, BlockFi and Celsius see progress with their bankruptcy proceedings.

Voyager’s liquidation of its assets may begin as early as today, and affected customers may see some of their funds returned as early as June 1. Users will be able to initially recover around 36% of their claims, with the possibility of more as the company resolves issues with FTX.

BlockFi is a step behind, seeking to liquidate its lending business after it failed to find a buyer. The company has already asked bankruptcy court for permission to begin the liquidation process.

Lastly we have Celsius, which is currently in the middle of an auction for its assets. In the lead is a consortium called Fahrenheit LLC, which includes blockchain VC firm Arrington Capital. The auction is expected to conclude within a week.

The moves conclude a trying time for crypto and all of those effected, however it is good to see customers finally being returned at least a portion of their funds. Remember everyone: “Not your keys, not your coins!”