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This Week In DeFi – January 26

This Week In DeFi – January 26

Alex Miguel
January 26, 2024

Happy Friday, DeFi readers!

This week…

Synthetix launches perpetuals protocol on Base L2
AltLayer trades at $3B FDV following airdrop
EtherFi begins vampire attack on EigenLayer
Polygon Labs to launch “aggregation layer” in Feb

Synthetix launches perpetuals protocol on Base L2

Derivatives DEX Synthetix has launched the third version of its perpetual contracts protocol (Perps V3) on the Layer-2, Base.

This upgrade is designed to simplify the process for developers to create and trade new derivatives products on Synthetix and its associated exchanges like Kwenta, Polynomial, and dHEDGE.

Synthetix reports that the previous version, Perpetuals V2, generated over $43 billion in trading volume since its launch in January of last year.

Synthetix is soon set to fully unleash the Andromeda release, bringing Synthetix Perps to @base and onboarding new traders and liquidity providers by utilizing $USDC as LP collateral and perps margin alongside a host of new features.
The journey to Andromeda is marked by… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
— Synthetix ⚔️ (@synthetix_io)
4:43 PM • Jan 25, 2024

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AltLayer trades at $3B FDV following airdrop

AltLayer, a project facilitating the development of rollups, has airdropped 300,000 $ALT tokens, reaching a fully diluted market cap of $3 billion.

The airdrop, constituting only 3% of the total 10 billion ALT supply, has been claimed by over 40,000 addresses, with the majority receiving between 10,000 and 300,000 ALT.

The ALT tokens, integral to governance and fee payments within AltLayer, are part of a trend towards blockchain modularity, with AltLayer acting as a bridge in the ecosystem. Users of related projects like Eigenlayer and Celestia being eligible for the airdrop.

gm
Altlayer’s airdrop went live this morning at 9:00 UTC.
Over 28,000 wallets have claimed it so far, with 300M ALT worth almost $100M allocated to the airdrop.
Here are some of the biggest winners:
— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel)
1:12 PM • Jan 25, 2024

EtherFi begins vampire attack on EigenLayer

EtherFi has launched 'deVamp', a campaign to encourage users to switch their restaked Ethereum tokens from platforms like Lido's stETH, Coinbase's cbETH, and Binance's wBETH to EtherFi's eETH.

The move allows users to instantly convert their tokens into eETH, avoiding the usual 7-day withdrawal delay, and offers “points” as an incentive.

The initiative is set against the backdrop of growing concerns over large Ethereum staking pools and aims to support lesser-known Ethereum clients, with a mechanism in place to discourage abuse of the system.

deVamp is here 🦇
tl;dr:
1) If you have EigenLayer deposits of stETH, cbETH, wBETH you can instantly turn them into liquid eETH + points WITHOUT the 7 day withdrawal period
2) If you have liquid stETH, cbETH, wBETH you can swap them into eETH + points app.ether.fi/devamp
1️⃣
— ether.fi (@ether_fi)
1:29 PM • Jan 24, 2024

Polygon Labs to launch “aggregation layer” in Feb

Polygon Labs is developing a new "aggregation layer" named AggLayer, set to launch next month. The platform will combine the advantages of both modular and monolithic blockchain architectures using zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs.

AggLayer is designed to enable developers to connect any Layer-1 or Layer-2 chain, creating a unified Web3 network with seamless liquidity and scalability.

The aim is to address the limitations of existing blockchain structures by offering a blend of sovereignty, scale, and user experience through an innovative approach.

Until now, blockchain scaling had 2 paradigms: Monolithic & Modular
Introducing the next one: Aggregation
A novel solution combining the benefits of monolithic & modular designs by unifying liquidity via safe, near-instant atomic cross-chain txs using ZK proofs.
Feb Mainnet 👇… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
— Polygon (Labs) (@0xPolygonLabs)
7:55 PM • Jan 24, 2024

Token extensions are coming to Solana

Solana has introduced token extensions to its blockchain protocol, providing developers with a new range of modular features for token management –without the need for external tools or complex smart contract development.

This new suite of features, integrated at the core protocol level, allows for several sophisticated functionalities designed to simplify the development process and enhance token functionality.

So, what are these new functionalities?

In a technical paper, Solana has broken down these features into two groups: Mint Extensions and Account Extensions.

Mint Extensions:

1. Confidential transfers (hide amount transferred)

2. Transfer fees (automate a fee on every token transfer)

3. Mint close authority (allow closure of mint accounts)

4. Interest-bearing tokens (set token interest rate and retrieve record of accumulated interest)

5. Non-transferable tokens (self explanatory)

6. Permanent delegate (delegate can seize assets and repossess tokens)

7. Transfer hooks (call specific programs on each token transfer)

8. Metadata/metadata pointer (designate an address that describes official token metadata)

9. Group/group pointer (designate a group account, configure groups to size limits, authority, etc.)

10. Member/member pointer (designate a member account that describes the token mint).

Account Extensions:

11. Memo required on transfer (require an attached message for reporting, etc. on each transfer)

12. Immutable owner (impossible to reassign account ownership)

13. Default account state (freeze all new token accounts)

14. CPI guard (restrict other programs from interacting with token)

15. Reallocate (can reallocate token account to create room for more extensions).

The result? A whole host of new flexibility and possibilities for countless use-cases.

Possible use-cases:

Gaming - Non-transferable tokens for player IDs, transfer hooks to ensure players are not bots, confidential transfers for private transactions.

DAOs - Immutable owner or non-transferrable accounts could be used for DAO governance decisions. Confidential transfers for keeping funding private.

DeFi - Real-world asset tokens could combine extensions to create interest-earning capabilities, add metadata for their origin, and require KYC with transfer restrictions.

Stablecoins - Transfer hooks could be used to enforce KYC, teams could freeze accounts or remove tokens relating to criminal activity.

Payments - Extensions could be used to enforce accepted practices, add automatic tax, and keep payment amounts confidential. Auditing and reporting could be enforced with memo requirements.

Overall, token extensions will streamline token programming and development using pre-built contract features, without complex development.

What would you do with token extensions?