With decentralized finance and nonfungible tokens seeing a meteoric rise, it’s easy to believe crypto apps are finally breaking through. But is there actually real user growth, or is it just the same influencers moving from one hyped market to the next? We sought to answer this puzzle and identify what it means for the future of innovation. So, let’s take a closer look at the growth of DeFi and NFTs. DeFi is arguably the most prevalent application of smart contracts today. Automated market makers, algorithmic stablecoins and yield farming strategies are the talk of the town. The frenzy took …

As concerns around the use of the Ethereum blockchain rise, many have turned to the Cardano Ecosystem as a solution to the increasing fees and slower transactions that have resulted from the influx of users. ADAX founders have recognized Cardano for its scientific approach to smart contracts, which are believed to redefine the future of DeFi, with a new approach to doing business. As a result, ADAX is stepping up to provide a suite of Cardano-tailored DeFi solutions and a trading venue that facilitates token swaps, NFT trading and more. The team behind ADAX shares that the end goal of …

The rise of decentralized finance, or DeFi, could be paving the way toward a fully decentralized financial ecosystem. Yet, given the innovative nature of DeFi, the sector remains in constant development and is therefore prone to a number of vulnerabilities. Unsurprisingly, one of the biggest challenges currently facing the DeFi sector is security threats. This has become apparent as more DeFi hacks continue to wreak havoc across the crypto community. Most recently, the largest DeFi hack within the crypto industry took place. The Poly Network hack resulted in over $600 million dollars removed, and then returned, from Binance Chain, Ethereum …

Decentralized finance (DeFi) has been a big part of the explosive growth seen across the cryptocurrency ecosystem in 2021, with decentralized exchanges like Uniswap and SushiSwap and lending protocols like Aave and Compound adding a new dimension of token utility. Data from Messari’s DeFi Assets index shows that over the past 30 days, a majority of the top 10 DeFi tokens gained more than 20%, with the top gainer, Terra (LUNA), seeing its price increase more than 116%. Three developments make the bullish case for DeFi tokens: a rapidly recovering total value locked, rising trading volumes on decentralized exchanges and …

Lattice Exchange, an automated market maker for the decentralized finance (DeFi) market, has launched a new product that allows cryptocurrency entrepreneurs to list their tokens and for users to participate in early-stage projects more seamlessly. Dubbed Lattice Launchpad, the new platform is described as a “one-stop shop for blockchain entrepreneurs” to get their projects recognized by the community. Users can participate in private sales by staking LTX, the native cryptocurrency of Lattice Exchange. LTX holders also have the opportunity to participate in the governance of newly listed projects. All projects are funded through Ether (ETH) or stablecoins Tether (USDT) and …

Coinbase stock rebounded during the early U.S. trading hours on Aug.11 after it beat Wall Street forecasts for sales and revenues in the second quarter. The cost to purchase one COIN share surged 4.7% to $282.34 at the New York opening bell. Later, bids for COIN rose to as high as $294 before pulling back to the current price at $279.72. Strong Q2 earnings for Coinbase Coinbase reported better-than-expected earnings in the second quarter of 2021and a net revenue of $2.3 billion. That came out to be 27% higher than the previous quarter and 1,042% up on a year-over-year basis. …

Over the last 10 years, Bitcoin (BTC) has performed exceptionally well as a store of value and for speculative investment purposes. However, a lot of this can be attributed to its decentralized nature, which could have resulted in regulators and governments worldwide making attempts to shut it down long before it ever took off. Governments are evidently perturbed by the potential impact digital assets could have on national economies. However, while legislators are unlikely to find ways to shut down decentralized networks permanently, they can block access to the centralized platforms interacting with digital assets. Recently, top global cryptocurrency exchange …

Demand for Aave has boomed dramatically in the previous 24 hours as traders assessed its involvement in Bitwise Investment’s upcoming institutionally focused investment vehicle. The San Francisco-based asset management firm announced Wednesday that it would invest directly in Aave to back its “Bitwise Aave Fund,” a fund created to build a bridge between accredited investors and the emerging decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. “There is growing demand from financial advisors, hedge funds, institutions, and other professional investors for exposure to the fast-growing DeFi markets,” Matt Hougan, chief information officer of Bitwise, said in a press release, adding that the investment products …

An omni-chain DeFi protocol says it provides a full suite of services to the crypto community. ExoniumDEX says that one of the biggest issues surrounding decentralized exchanges is that they aren’t interoperable across various blockchains. This project’s goal is to ensure that all blockchains can communicate with each other through its proprietary bridge and oracle. Formerly a centralized exchange, ExoniumDEX is going to offer everything from leverage farming and synthetic assets to on-chain derivatives and a launchpad for new projects. Those behind ExoniumDEX say they are trying to reach a market that does not have access to brokers — as …

Gelato Network, a protocol that automates smart contract executions on Ethereum (ETH), has integrated with decentralized finance (DeFi) aggregator Zerion to help users better manage liquidity when interacting with decentralized exchanges (DEXs) like Uniswap. The partnership enables Zerion’s over 200,000 monthly active users to have their Uniswap v3 positions managed automatically, Gelato Network announced Tuesday. “With this integration, Zerion has become the go-to DeFi aggregator to natively offer fungible Uniswap v3 LP positions at a massive scale,” they said. Gelato Network has been designed to address liquidity challenges in cryptocurrency markets emanating from extreme price volatility. Wild price swings, like …

The Ethereum (ETH) network continues to be a major driving force behind decentralized finance, or DeFi, signaling the continuation of a trend that began around mid-2020, according to a new quarterly DeFi report by ConsenSys. Toward the end of June 2021, 2.91 million unique Ethereum addresses interacted with at least one DeFi protocol, representing 65% growth from the previous quarter. “As community driven education, simple user interfaces, appealing yields and general awareness around DeFi best practices increased throughout the quarter, so too did the number of new addresses,” the report read. ConsenSys cautioned that non-custodial wallets like MetaMask make it …

As decentralized exchanges now represent a significant amount of crypto trading volume, it is vivid that these platforms will play a big role in the smart economy of the future. Automated market makers, in particular, changed the game by eliminating the need for order books entirely and replacing them with liquidity pools. This model was a win-win for both traders executing swaps and liquidity providers incentivized to supply their tokens and earn fees from traders. Even the sporadic liquidity issues on DEXes, brought about by a sometimes fragmented marketplace, were addressed by the emergence of DEX aggregators – platforms that …