- Apricot is a next-generation lending protocol that maximizes yields through cross-margin leveraged yield farming while covering user downside with an automated self-deleveraging mechanism. In Apricot Lend, you can also borrow from the platform against your deposited assets as collateral. X-Farm enables users to start leveraged yield farming without the need to own any of the underlying tokens. Apricot Assist is an automated self-deleveraging assistant that you can configure to help you reduce your account’s leverage with your specific risk profile in mind.
- Lixir is a concentrated liquidity manager on Uniswap V3. A significant portion of Uniswap V3’s liquidity is inactive most of the time and hence not productive, causing yields to suffer. Lixir ensures that your liquidity stays highly concentrated through a data-backed, algorithmic strategy that will improve over time. Lixir ensures optimized yields by continuously concentrating liquidity around the current price while minimizing impermanent loss.
- Morpheus Swap is a new yield farming & yield aggregator protocol on Fantom. Morpheus is currently distributing its token MORPH to both LP pools and single pools. At the end of October, the MORPH token can be used to mint PILLs through a burning swap. The governance token PILLs will be the only token used to farm Neo Pools, allowing you to receive platform revenue as well as earn other protocol tokens.
Curve’s Growth, DeFi’s Dilemma, & Meme Coins
- Curve has facilitated over $100B of volume since launching in Jan. 2020. The CRV token launched in Aug. 2020 with an incredibly small float and rapid emissions, causing its price to collapse from its initial range. At the time, CRV’s token economics were heavily criticized, but they’ve since proven their token model works and is potentially one of the most efficient across DeFi projects.
- LPs on Curve get a boosted yield by locking CRV tokens into veCRV. Over 47% of all CRV tokens circulating are currently locked in the protocol, and it looks like that number will continue to increase in the coming months. It’s worth noting that the majority of the newly emitted CRV is locked within Convex. In exchange, users receive cvxCRV — a liquid staking derivative of veCRV.
- Total value locked in Ethereum DeFi protocols crossed $160B, surging to its highest level ever. But DeFi tokens haven’t gotten the memo and have lagged the rest of the market (with certain exceptions). The DeFi Pulse Index, the closest thing to a consolidated proxy for DeFi token performance, has consistently lost value against ETH.
- Dog coins are mooning again, which has historically been a pretty good indication of an overheated market. The first time dog coins went wild was Apr. – May. this year, and quickly cratered as crypto markets cooled off. In early Sept., dog coins were all the rage again and the broader crypto market saw a fairly deep de-leveraging.
- The general thesis here is that dog coins are high-risk assets. So when they perform well, it’s a sign that traders are pumping money into highly speculative assets, implying a higher risk tolerance. With these assets once again outperforming the rest of crypto, and the Fear & Greed index still sitting at “greed,” we could see the market consolidate a bit further from here (though our bias remains to the upside at the moment).
Telsa hints it may soon resume support for crypto payments
- Tesla, the majo electric vehicle manufacturer headed by Dogecoin proselytizer Elon Musk, has hinted that it may soon look to restore support for crypto payments.
- In a September quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC), the firm stated it “may in the future restart the practice of transacting in cryptocurrencies,” suggesting Tesla is eying resuming support purchases made using digital assets.
Treasury to Give SEC Considerable Authority Over Stablecoins Like Tether: Report
- Earlier this year, as questions swirled around the growing prominence of Tether and other stablecoins within the crypto industry, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called a snap meeting of financial regulators. The goal was to develop a game plan for regulating the $130 billion asset class.
- The Treasury Department will let the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission take the lead in regulating stablecoins such as Tether and USDC, according to a Bloomberg report today based on anonymous sources. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the SEC’s sister agency, will also play a role. These powers are reportedly set to be outlined in a Treasury report to be released as early as this week.
- Per Bloomberg, SEC Chair Gary Gensler has lobbied Yellen and fellow members of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets to give the county’s top securities regulator the power to set policies for stablecoins and enforce them.
Ethereum competitor Near launches $800M developer fund as DeFi competition heats up
- Smart contract ecosystem Near Protocol has earmarked $800 million for new funding initiatives aimed at growing its decentralized finance capabilities, offering the latest evidence that the highly lucrative DeFi market is still in its infancy.
- The new funding, which includes the $350 million grants program announced by Proximity Labs last week, gives ecosystem developers added incentive to create new product offerings on Near, the company announced Monday.
- Roughly $250 million will be allocated to existing ecosystem developers and another $100 million is earmarked for startup grants, with Near planning to fund more than 20 startups at a rate of $5 million each. The remaining $100 million will be spent on so-called regional funds across Asia, Europe and the United States.
As bitcoin spot ETF hopes rise, SEC chair Gensler critiques lack of crypto investor protections
- The success of recent bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) launches haven’t made Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Gary Gensler more comfortable with the underlying asset.
- In an interview with Yahoo Finance’s Brian Cheung this morning, Gensler said the fact that crypto has yet to come under the “investor protection remit” leaves investors vulnerable to fraud and manipulation in these markets.
- “Without those protections, it’s basically the wild west,” said Gensler.
