Happy Friday, DeFi readers!

This week…

• Circle to phase out retail accounts for minting USDC

• Modular blockchain Celestia goes live on mainnet

• PayPal gets a subpoena from the SEC

• Pyth Network airdrops tokens to 75,000 DeFi users

Circle to phase out retail accounts for minting USDC

USDC issuer Circle is reducing support for individual accounts to mint its stablecoins, phasing out services for retail users and notifying them of this decision. 

The move won’t affect business or institutional Circle Mint accounts, and retail users will still be able to access USDC through brokerages, crypto exchanges and digital asset wallet services. 

The change will align Circle more closely with Tether's approach, which also limits stablecoin minting and redemptions for retail users at a significant $100,000 minimum threshold – reflecting the competitive dynamics in the stablecoin market.

Modular blockchain Celestia goes live on mainnet

The new modular blockchain Celestia has launched its mainnet beta, and distributed its native TIA token to 580,000 users. 

Celestia aims to address scalability and stability challenges common in “monolithic” blockchains like Ethereum and Solana. 

TIA tokens have been trading at around $2.30, with the airdrop estimated to distribute approximately $120 million in value to users in the Cosmos and Ethereum Layer-2 ecosystems, potentially benefiting other asset prices.

Paypal gets a subpoena from the SEC

PayPal has received a subpoena from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Enforcement, regarding its PYUSD stablecoin. 

The information was disclosed in a Form 10-Q filed with the SEC, and PayPal has stated that it’s cooperating with the SEC's request for document production. 

The SEC's subpoenas are primarily used for information collection and may not necessarily lead to legal action. It’s yet to be seen if the SEC will take any action against PYUSD, which has had a relatively sluggish adoption despite the initial excitement over its launch.

Pyth Network airdrops tokens to 75,000 DeFi users

Decentralized data oracle platform Pyth Network has kicked-off a retrospective airdrop to reward active participants in its ecosystem who have contributed to its growth. 

The program has allocated 200 million PYTH tokens to active DeFi users, out of a total supply of 10 billion tokens. Eligible users can not yet claim the token, but will be able to do so at a later date. 

Pyth Network's decentralized oracle platform provides real-time market data for use in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and other financial use cases.

Legal frameworks for DAOs – which city will take all?

Multiple cities appear to be jousting for position as the preferred hub for DeFi activity, as the Marshall Islands and Abu Dhabi both seek to better accomodate decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) on a legal basis this week.

For several years, the majority of DAOs have been floating in a legal grey area, as most of the traditional financial and legal world remain unable to provide enough clarity or support for the emerging governance system – let alone crypto in general.

Although the absence of formality and interaction with the traditional system may be in the spirit of decentralization, it also leads to some drawbacks when getting stuff done in the “real world”. Things such as limiting personal liability and carrying out general business activities are severely impacted by the inability to create a formal organization that “works” at a traditional-world level.

For smoother business and execution in the future, a large proportion of DAOs may prefer to embrace a crossover between the decentralized and centralized world, by making themselves a legal entity. This way, they benefit from most of the on-chain capabilities of their DAO, while streamlining it to get stuff done efficiently in a business capacity.

In order to capture this business and innovation, certain cities and states are looking to be the first to adequately accomodate this – including some major activity this week.

The Abu Dhabi Global Market Registration Authority has released a new regulatory framework, which intends to set a clear pathway for DAOs and Blockchain foundations to establish themselves legally in the area, to enhance their operations.

The Marshall Islands already had an existing law that recognized DAOs as legal entities, and has strengthened the law this week to enable faster registration times – with a maximum registration time of only 30 days.

As you may be aware, the USA’s Wyoming also has existing legal support for DAOs, which has existed for some time.

The race is on for hopeful DeFi hubs around the world – which area do you think will attract the most DAO direction?

Interest Rates

DAI

Highest Yields: Nexo Lend at 10% APY, Aave at 5.1% APY

MakerDAO Updates

DAI Savings Rate: Up to 8%

Base Fee: 0.00%

ETH Stability Fee: 3.49%

WBTC Stability Fee: 5.55%

USDC

Highest Yields: Nexo Lend at 10% APY, Compound at 3.7% APY

Top Stories

Tron Quietly Becomes the Leading Blockchain for Stablecoin Transfers

Andreessen Horowitz planning to target $3.4 billion for next early-stage funds: report

Uniswap DAO shows support for investing in Ekubo's future governance token

Solana's SOL Token Soars to 14-Month High Amid Breakpoint Conference

Stat Box

Total Value Locked: $42.30B (up 3.1% since last week)

DeFi Market Cap: $52.39B (up 4.3%)

DEX Weekly Volume: $12.93B (down 13%)

DAI Supply: 3.71B (down 1.6%)

Bonus Reads

[Ryan Weeks – The Block] – Unibot confirms exploit and promises compensation as token price plunges

[Owen Fernau – The Defiant] – Aragon Association Dissolves and Returns $115M to ANT Holders

[Elizabeth Napolitano – CoinDesk] – Abu Dhabi Enacts DLT Framework for DAOs, Web3, TradFi Firms

[yyctrader – The Defiant] – Aave Floats New Plan To Restore GHO Peg