In the digital asset world, users may come across the concept of a “nested service” when using certain features of an exchange. This concept is not uncommon in the traditional or digital banking worlds and is often used to extend the features of a platform to a set of end-users. An example of this is where users gain access to additional trading pairs from another exchange, or if a bank operating in one country wants to extend their services into another region, a feature known as correspondent banking. Taking this concept one step further, entire nested cryptocurrency exchanges have emerged, …

An Amazon Web Service (AWS) outage on Dec. 7 forced the decentralized exchange dYdX to halt operations, raising questions over the reliance on centralized services by DeFi protocols. AWS is one of the most widely used cloud services in the world and a considerable amount of decentralized infrastructure uses it. AWS offers servers, storage, networking, remote computing, email, mobile development, and security for websites. dYdX issued an update via Twitter on Dec. 8 acknowledging that its reliance on a centralized web service like AWS is problematic. It pledged to improve the true decentralization of its operations, but did not state …

Cross-chain DeFi protocol Sienna Network has enabled Bitcoin (BTC) and Monero (XMR) trading pairs on its decentralized exchange, giving users the ability to transact privately in two of the world’s most recognizable cryptocurrencies. Effective immediately, users of the privacy-focused SiennaSwap DEX will have the ability to trade BTC and XMR against the protocol’s native Sienna token, chief evangelist Monty Munford confirmed with Cointelegraph. The decision to incorporate Bitcoin and Monero transactions follows a “huge amount of requests for additional yield options” from both communities, he said. Sienna’s infrastructure is built on the Secret Network, a custom blockchain that supports private …

Trading volumes on popular decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregators have surged to new highs over the past few weeks. Decentralized exchange aggregators provide a way for token traders and swappers to scan several DEX platforms to get the best swap rates at the time. According to Dune analytics, popular DEX aggregators such as 1inch, 0x, and Paraswap have seen volumes surging over the past month. The combined volume for those three hit a cumulative weekly all-time high of $6 billion last week, increasing by around 50% since the beginning of November. DEX aggregator weekly volumes - dune.xyz 1inch has a minor …

The characteristically volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market is back in full force on Dec. 2 after the optimism of the past couple of days has transformed into fear and Bitcoin price slid back below $57,000. Despite the pressure being exerted on many of the top cryptocurrencies, several altcoins have managed to buck the trend and post double-digit gains on Thursday. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the biggest gainers over the past 24-hours were WazirX (WRX), Presearch (PRE) and Komodo (KMD). WazirX benefits from listing new tokens WazirX is a India-based cryptocurrency exchange based in India …

The revolutionary world of decentralized finance comes with its own set of harsh realities. One of them being, the unpredictable nature of yields on lending platforms that are often reliant on real-time market demand and supply dynamics. To offset the risk involved in permissionless lending, DeFi lending platforms typically require collateral that even exceeds the borrowed amount. Not only does this create an “artificial limit” on demand for loans, but it also leads to low yields that are exceeded by those offered on centralized platforms. Moreover, while the premise of decentralized lending was meant to eliminate middlemen that benefit from …

Layer-two (L2) solutions for the Ethereum network have become a popular topic of discussion and speculation on their associated tokens backed the massive rally seen in many of the protocols this year. The parabolic growth of the decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible token (NFT) sector also led to a surge in the cost carrying out simple transfers and this prompted developers and investors to migrate to L2-supportive platforms. One L2 solution that saw its token price rise to new highs earlier in the year and now looks poised to make another breakout higher is Polygon (MATIC), a proof-of-stake blockchain protocol …

IDEX, a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange (DEX) based in San Francisco, has announced the upcoming launch of its v3 Hybrid Liquidity DEX on Polygon. The hybrid model will merge traditional order book functionalities with automated market maker (AMM) liquidity pools in a bid to cultivate higher financial returns for the services liquidity providers, as well as provide typical investing tools such as stop-losses, limit orders and real-time execution. According to the platform, operating on the Polygon network enables lower transaction costs to the value of "10,000-100,000x cheaper" than typically witnessed on Ethereum layer-1, in addition to benefitting from the networks full-stack …

Decentralized exchange aggregator 1inch Network has concluded a sizable Series B investment round, raising $175 million as part of a broader effort to expand protocol utility and increase access to liquidity within the decentralized finance, or DeFi, market. The investment round vastly exceeded the initial target of $70 million amid active participation from leading venture funds, 1inch Network disclosed Wednesday. Crypto-finance unicorn Amber Group led the funding round, which comprised roughly 50 investors. VanEck, Jane Street, Fenbushi Capital, Alameda Research, Celsius, Nexo, Tribe Capital and Gemini Frontier Fund were among the investors. 1inch Network will use the funds to increase …

Decentralized automated market maker (AMM) Bancor is set to launch new staking pools and an upgrade to its impermanent loss protection mechanism as part of its long-awaited Bancor 3 update. Bancor was founded in 2017 and was the first DeFi protocol to introduce AMMs to the blockchain. The Ethereum-based exchange and lending platform also allows users to earn staking rewards via various liquidity pools. In a Nov. 30 blog post introducing the upcoming Bancor 3 update, the platform announced several new features and upgrades including the Omnipool, Infinity pools, and “Instant Impermanent Loss Protection.” Introducing Bancor 3 pic.twitter.com/TuIyUnN13U — Bancor …

Sentiment in the cryptocurrency market is back on the rise on Nov. 29 as the recent dip down into the “extreme fear” zone on the Crypto Fear and Greed Index slightly improved after Bitcoin (BTC) recovered above the $57,000 support, lifting the index higher into the “fear" zone. Despite the overall “fear” and “extreme fear” sentiments that have been dominating the market since the index began to decrease on Nov. 16, several sub-sectors of the cryptocurrency market including Metaverse-related projects and gaming protocols have seen breakouts to new all-time highs. The rapid gains seen in these projects has led to …

The world is filled with financial problems. This is partly why so many turn to decentralized finance (DeFi), a solution where no intermediary exists and users have complete control over their assets. The uses for this technology are many, including the ability to trade, invest or earn. Many projects have since attempted to showcase this wide breadth of offerings with their own decentralized exchange (DEX) operations.However, they have yet to be successful due to the lack of liquidity, a problem that will continue to exist when blockchains operate in isolation. For this reason, cross-chain swaps become essential to bringing multiple …