Each week, we’ll round up the hottest news across the DeFi ecosystem to help you keep up to speed.
Loopring Now Supports NFTs on L2
Loopring ($LRC) is known as one of the first scaling solutions for Ethereum, and one the first true “layer 2” projects in DeFi. Earlier this week they teased and then announced support for NFT minting, trading, and transfers, directly on L2 using the Loopring zkRollups. L1 NFTs can be deposited to L2 using the Loopring bridge. On the first tease of the news, $LRC surged 75%+.
Bloomberg and Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital Team Up On DeFi Index
In a move that rivals competitor Bitwise, The Galaxy Bloomberg DeFi Index will track nine DeFi tokens to start and will also serve as the basis for a new passively-managed fund by Galaxy. The list includes Uniswap, Aave, Maker, Compound, Yearn, and Sushi. Essentially, these tokens all meet Bloomberg’s standards of “institutional trading and custody readiness in the United States as well as quality of pricing.”
Aave Issues Grant Proposal For A Mobile App
Today, most DeFi apps are desktop native. That’s because DeFi is currently best suited to be used on a web interface, especially from a security and composability standpoint. But key players are looking at going mobile. Aave, the popular borrowing and lending protocol, is sizing up development of what would be the first major DeFi app to join mobile.
DeFi’s 1inch Network Launches on Ethereum Scaling Platform Optimism
1inch, a decentralized exchange aggregator that finds the best prices for users across exchanges, launched an implementation on Optimism, the layer 2 / scaling solution for Ethereum. This will allow users to make rapid transactions on 1inch for very little gas fees.
Uniswap Governance Causes Strife Among Token Holders Regarding Grant
In a recently escalated governance proposal in the Uniswap DAO, a third-party centralized service provider called Flipside made some waves. The firm is the beneficiary of $25M over two years from Uniswap DAO in order to help organize and more efficiently deploy bounties and grants for Uniswap’s governance process. Though the vote passed, many community members, known and unknown, voiced strong opinions.
In a surprising move amidst the NFT bull market, Visa chose to align themselves heavily with the crypto, DeFi , and NFT crowds by buying a CryptoPunk NFT for 49.5 ETH ($150,000 at the time of purchase). This move was in line with Visa’s initiative to accumulate commerce-related artifacts. Not long after signaling its intention to use the popular stablecoin USDC to help with settlements, the NFT playbook Visa is building is worth paying close attention to.
Dharma Teases Competitive Pricing Updates And L2 Implementations
Dharma, a mainstay among the DeFi community, is releasing a Layer 2 implementation that will help users save on gas fees and transaction times. Above all, Dharma’s value prop of being able to turn USD directly into coins and also directly into positions in DeFi will be made extra important living on Layer 2 via Polygon.
