The Defiant
DeFi and decentralized finance news and analysis
Eurozone to Discuss Stablecoins in Bid to Strengthen Euro's Role
Eurozone finance ministers will meet on Feb. 16 to consider euro‑denominated stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as part of a broader push to raise the euro’s global profile. The European Commission is drafting proposals that could include tokenized deposits, CBDCs, and joint EU debt issuance. Currently the euro accounts for about 20 % of global currency reserves but less than 1 % of the stablecoin market, which is dominated by U.S.‑dollar assets. Analysts at S&P Global expect any euro stablecoin growth to be driven primarily by real‑world asset tokenization rather than pure payments use cases.
JP Morgan Strategist Prefers Bitcoin to Gold Long Term
JP Morgan quantitative strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou argues Bitcoin is undervalued and now more attractive than gold for long‑term investors. He points to a record‑low Bitcoin‑to‑gold volatility ratio and modest liquidation levels despite recent price weakness. Bitcoin fell 13.3% on the...
Tether Invests $100 Million in US 'Crypto Bank' Anchorage Digital
Tether announced a $100 million strategic equity investment in Anchorage Digital, the United States’ first federally chartered crypto‑focused bank. The funding aims to strengthen secure, regulated financial infrastructure and supports Anchorage’s role as issuer of Tether’s new USAT stablecoin, designed to...
Hong Kong Investors Would Double Fund Allocations With Tokenized Products: Aptos Labs
A pilot survey of 500 Hong Kong and mainland Chinese retail investors found that 61 % would double their fund allocations if tokenized products offered instant settlement and 24/7 access. Almost all respondents (≈97 %) prioritized features such as instant settlement, round‑the‑clock availability,...
Losses Top $17 Billion at Crypto Treasury Companies
Digital asset treasuries (DATs) that surged in 2025 have collectively posted $17 billion in unrealized losses as of February 2026. The 20 largest DATs are down $17 billion, driven largely by Bitmine Immersion’s $7.5 billion ETH loss and Michael Saylor’s $2.2 billion BTC decline....
Cap Airdrops $12 Million in Stablecoins to Early Users
Cap Protocol concluded its Frontier rewards phase on Feb. 4 by airdropping 12 million cUSD, its dollar‑pegged stablecoin, to early participants. The project framed the distribution as crypto’s first stablecoin airdrop, emphasizing a fixed‑value reward over volatile governance tokens. With roughly $315 million...
Payments Protocol by Coinbase, Shopify Processes Just $1.2M USDC Since June: Growthepie
Shopify, Coinbase and Stripe launched an open‑source Commerce Payments Protocol that lets merchants accept USDC on Base. Since the June 2025 rollout, growthepie reports only $1.2 million in USDC transactions across roughly 5,700 merchants and 3,200 customers. The bulk of that...
Euro Stablecoin Boom Will Be Driven by RWA Tokenization, Not Payments: S& P Global
S&P Global Ratings forecasts that euro‑pegged stablecoins will expand dramatically, growing between 800‑ and 1,600‑fold by 2030 to a market size of €25 billion‑€1.1 trillion. The surge will be powered chiefly by tokenized real‑world‑asset (RWA) investments rather than everyday payments. Currently, the...
Limitless Token Rallies as Monthly Volume Tops $200 Million
Limitless, a prediction‑market protocol on Coinbase’s Base L2, saw its native LMTS token surge 135% this week as January notional trading volume topped $200 million, a 56% jump from December. The platform processed $200 million in trades, while over 23 million LMTS tokens—about...
Trading Bot Bankr Expands to Solana with Token Launches on Raydium
Bankr, an AI‑driven crypto trading bot, has added Solana support, enabling creators to launch tokens on Raydium, the sixth‑largest Solana DEX. The announcement sparked a 21% rise in BankrCoin (BNKR) to $0.00063, keeping the token up over 120% weekly. Bankr’s...
Crypto Markets Edge Higher as Bitcoin, Ether Gain Despite Heavy Liquidations
Crypto markets rose on Monday after a stronger‑than‑expected U.S. manufacturing PMI boosted risk sentiment. Bitcoin climbed to about $78,338, up 2.1%, while Ether reached $2,338, gaining 1.5%. Total market cap hit $2.72 trillion, with 24‑hour volume around $223.3 billion, despite $729 million in...
STABLE Hits All-Time High Ahead of Mainnet Upgrade
Stable, the Bitfinex‑backed Layer‑1 blockchain, saw its native token surge 43% this week, reaching an all‑time high of $0.03. The rally lifted its fully diluted valuation past $3 billion and market cap to $540 million, positioning it as the top stablechain by...
Singapore Gulf Bank Adds Stablecoin Settlement for Institutional Clients
Singapore Gulf Bank (SGB) has upgraded its real‑time clearing network, SGB Net, to settle stablecoins alongside fiat currencies for institutional clients. The platform now supports USDC and USDT on Ethereum, Arbitrum and Solana, allowing corporate users to trade, mint, convert, hold...
Infinex Token Launches at $300 Million Valuation
Infinex, the DeFi super‑app led by Synthetix founder Kain Warwick, launched its INX token with a $330 million fully‑diluted valuation, pricing initially at $0.033 before slipping to $0.021 as early investors took profits. The platform’s ICO closed on Jan. 10, raising $7.2 million...
Polkadot Treasury Posts First OpenGov Profit as DOT Price Lags
Polkadot’s treasury posted its first net profit under the OpenGov model in Q4 2025, recording a gain of 1.6 million DOT despite a flat‑lined token price. Treasury outlays fell to $7.4 million, the lowest since the governance shift, with $2.5 million allocated to...
Ink-Based Perp DEX Nado Airdrops Official NFT Collection
Nado, a perpetual derivatives DEX built on Ink’s Layer 2, airdropped its official "Templars of the Storm" NFT collection to early pre‑alpha users who opted for NFTs over Ink points. The floor price is 0.45 ETH (≈$1,200) and the collection has generated...
Binance Plans to Buy $1 Billion of Bitcoin
Binance announced a plan to purchase $1 billion worth of Bitcoin within the next month, positioning the exchange as a major institutional buyer. The fund will be replenished if the post‑conversion Bitcoin holdings dip below $800 million, underscoring a floor‑price strategy. Binance...
Bitwise Says Fusaka Improves Ethereum UX But Falls Short on Revenue Expectations
Bitwise has revised its outlook on the revenue impact of Ethereum’s Fusaka upgrade, acknowledging that the anticipated boost has not materialized. The upgrade introduced a minimum fee for blob data to stabilize L2 transaction costs, but Ethereum’s soaring throughput has...
Story Protocol and OpenLedger Launch New Standard for Legal AI Training
Story Protocol and OpenLedger unveiled an on‑chain standard that lets AI systems legally use copyrighted material and automatically compensate rights holders. The framework registers intellectual property on Story Protocol, while OpenLedger enforces licensing terms and routes payments during AI training...
Optimism Unveils OP Enterprise
Optimism and OP Labs CEO Jing Wang announced OP Enterprise, a new suite that lets enterprises launch native blockchains within the OP Stack. The service promises end‑to‑end deployment in 8‑12 weeks across three builder tiers, from simple OP Mainnet launches...
SOL ETFs Outpace ETH’s Early Rollout, But BTC Still Dominates
U.S. spot Solana ETFs launched in October 2025 attracted roughly $750‑$766 million in early inflows, outpacing Ethereum’s debut but remaining far behind Bitcoin’s $12.1 billion first‑quarter surge. By December 2025 Solana ETFs held about $950 million, roughly 1.35 % of Solana’s market cap, while...
Augur Reveals Lituus Oracle Infra to Fight Market Manipulation Across DeFi
Augur unveiled Lituus, an Ethereum-native oracle protocol designed to act as a shared, manipulation‑resistant truth layer for prediction markets and DeFi. The system leverages algorithmic forks and a migration‑based universe forking mechanism that forces attackers to purchase dominance twice, raising...
1inch Team Vows Tokenomics Review After Token Hits All-Time Low
The 1inch decentralized exchange aggregator saw its native 1INCH token plunge about 20% to an all‑time low of $0.112 after early‑investor wallets dumped millions of dollars worth of tokens. The 1inch team publicly denied any sales from its own treasury...
Base AI Agent Deployers Rally as CLAWD Surges
AI agent tokens on Base surged after Austin Griffith launched the CLAWD agent, a Claude‑based self‑regulated AI that can deploy smart contracts and run on‑chain experiments. CLAWD’s market cap briefly hit $40 million, propelling related tokens BANKR (+34%) and CLANKER (+24%)....
Moonbirds Debuts BIRB Token on Solana at $200M FDV
Moonbirds, the Ethereum‑based NFT collection, launched its native BIRB token on Solana, seeing the price jump from $0.20 to $0.35 within hours and a 70% intraday gain. The token’s fully diluted valuation tops $300 million while market capitalization sits near $86 million....
USDAI Gears Up for Token Launch and Airdrop
USDAI, a GPU‑backed stablecoin protocol, announced its native CHIP governance token will launch in Q1 2026 with an ICO and airdrop slated for April. The platform, which grew to $658 million total value locked after a November peak of $701 million, previously bootstrapped...
PUMP Surges 15% as Memecoin Market Picks Up
Solana‑based launchpad pumpfun saw its native PUMP token rally 15% in the past 24 hours as memecoin activity resurges. Despite an 80% drop in overall trading volume from its peak, the protocol’s 100% revenue‑to‑buyback policy sparked renewed investor interest. On...
Ethereum Ecosystem Grew in 2025 Even as ETH Price Lagged: Everstake
Everstake’s 2025 report shows that roughly 30% of Ethereum’s supply—about 36.5 million ETH—is now staked, marking a net increase of 1.8 million ETH over the year. Layer 2 networks pushed throughput past 300 TPS, while Layer 1 transactions rose 30% to 1.5‑1.6 million daily. Despite these...
Zama’s Encrypted Ethereum Token Auction Draws $118M in Commitments
Zama, a fully homomorphic encryption startup, closed a $118.5 million encrypted token auction on Ethereum, marking the first such ICO on the network. The sealed‑bid Dutch auction attracted 11,103 unique bidders, oversubscribed by 218% and clearing at $0.05 per token. Zama’s...
Tokenized Gold Capitalization Tops $4 Billion as Spot Approaches $5,000
Tokenized gold surpassed $4 billion in market value as spot gold neared $5,000 per ounce, marking a new high for on‑chain commodities. Tether Gold (XAUT) and Paxos Gold (PAXG) dominate the space, together holding about 86% of the market with $2.5 billion...
RIVER Soars 40% After Justin Sun Backs DeFi Project
River, a DeFi protocol, announced an $8 million strategic investment from TRON founder Justin Sun, propelling its RIVER token to an all‑time high of $60.24—a 39% gain in 24 hours. The infusion backs River’s new chain‑abstraction stablecoin, satUSD, which will operate across...
Bitcoin Struggles to Hold $90,000 Despite Stocks and Gold Rallying
Bitcoin slipped to $88,400 before stabilising around $89,500, failing to break the $90,000 barrier even as U.S. equities and gold posted fresh gains. Ethereum fell 2% to $2,950 despite BitMine Immersion’s $100 million purchase, pushing its treasury holdings above 3.5% of...
Base Overtakes Ethereum, BNB Chain in DEX Volumes for the First Time
Base’s decentralized exchange activity surged to approximately $16.5 billion in the past week, overtaking Ethereum’s $13.0 billion and BNB Smart Chain’s $15.6 billion. The spike was driven primarily by Uniswap’s Base deployment, which alone generated $11.3 billion, and Aerodrome’s $2.94 billion. While Solana still leads...
Stablecoins Could Reach 20% of Bank Deposits in Some Emerging Markets: S& P Global
S&P Global Ratings projects that foreign‑currency stablecoins could surge to $730 billion across 45 emerging‑market economies, up from roughly $70 billion today. In its most aggressive scenario, stablecoins would account for 10‑20% of bank deposits in the 15 countries where inflation erodes...
Solana Seeker Token SKR Jumps 300% on First Day of Trading
Solana Mobile’s Seeker token (SKR) surged more than 300% in its first 24 hours of trading, reaching $0.049 and a market cap above $265 million. The airdrop, open to over 100,000 phone owners and 188 developers, distributes SKR through the device’s...
Vitalik Backs Decentralized Social Media as Mask Network Takes Over Lens
Ethereum co‑founder Vitalik Buterin announced he will increase his activity on Lens in 2026, using the multi‑client Firefly to post across decentralized platforms. He highlighted Mask Network's new role as steward of Lens, aiming to shift the ecosystem toward consumer‑friendly...
Prediction Markets Hit New TVL High as Polymarket Tops $330 Million
Crypto prediction markets broke a new TVL record, surpassing $550 million, according to DefiLlama data. Polymarket remains the dominant platform with roughly $330 million locked, while OPINION and Predict Fun trail at $155 million and $21.7 million respectively. Off‑chain player Kalshi led trading activity, generating...
ME Token Slumps After Magic Eden Announces Buybacks, Staking Rewards
Magic Eden announced it will allocate 15% of its platform revenue to the ME token ecosystem, dividing the funds equally between token buybacks and monthly USDC payouts to stakers. The marketplace reported $24 million revenue in 2025, meaning roughly $3.6 million could...
Most Crypto Holders Want to Pay with Bitcoin but Rarely Do, Survey Show
A GoMining survey of 5,700 crypto holders reveals that over half rarely spend Bitcoin, despite 80% supporting broader adoption. Limited merchant acceptance (49.6%) and high transaction fees (44.7%) are the top barriers, followed closely by price volatility. Users who do...
GAS Tanks 90% After AI Dev ‘Steps Back’
The Gas Town (GAS) token crashed from a $60 million valuation to roughly $1.1 million within four days after its creator, Steve Yegge, publicly stepped back from the project. Yegge’s reversal, following a viral endorsement, sparked a rapid sell‑off that erased 98%...
Bags Launchpad Activity Surges After GAS Token Soars 700%
Bags.fm, a Solana‑based token launchpad, saw explosive activity after the Gas Town token (GAS) surged 682% in 24 hours. Other new tokens such as RALPH, CMEM, VVM, TERRA and RedwoodJS posted gains ranging from 400% to over 80,000%. The platform...
Felix Protocol to Launch Spot Equities on HyperEVM
Felix Protocol announced a partnership with Ondo Finance to launch spot equities on HyperEVM, Hyperliquid’s Layer 1 blockchain. The initial rollout will list over 100 U.S. stocks, with a roadmap to exceed 1,000 equities in the coming months. By routing liquidity...
Ondo Finance TVL Doubles to Over $2B in Less Than a Year
Ondo Finance’s total value locked (TVL) surpassed $2 billion this week, more than doubling its level from early March 2024. The surge is anchored by its tokenized U.S. Treasury fund, OUSG, which now holds over $820 million in short‑term Treasury bills. Ethereum...
Inside Stripe’s Crypto Strategy with Privy CEO: Wallets as Global Financial Accounts and the End of Decentralization Dogmas
Stripe is deepening its crypto ambitions by integrating Privy, the developer‑focused embedded‑wallet platform it bought in June, into its stablecoin and blockchain initiatives. The company launched Stablecoin Financial Accounts that let users in over 100 countries send, receive and hold...
CARDS Token Surges as Gacha Volume Hits All-Time High
Collector Crypt’s CARDS token surged 60% in the past week, driven by a record‑high gacha spin volume that generated nearly $20 million in user spend. The platform’s seven‑day revenue topped $1.87 million, the strongest since September, pushing the token’s fully‑diluted valuation to...
Berachain Rallies 40% After Unveiling ‘Bera Builds Businesses’ Plan
Berachain’s native token BERA jumped 40% to $0.80 following the release of its year‑end update, which unveiled the “Bera Builds Businesses” initiative. The program commits the Berachain Foundation to incubate, acquire, or partner with applications that generate demand for BERA...
Paxos’ Asset Base Grew 450% in 2025
Paxos reported a 450% surge in its total asset market cap during 2025, climbing from $1.2 billion in January to $6.8 billion by year‑end. The expansion was powered primarily by its PayPal‑backed stablecoin PYUSD, which jumped from $500 million to $3.6 billion, accounting for...
Yield Suffers $3.7M Loss Due to ‘Unintended’ Stablecoin Swap
Yield Protocol (YO) incurred a $3.73 million loss on Jan 13 when a vault swap unintentionally converted roughly $3.84 million worth of stkGHO into just $122 000 USDC. The trade suffered extreme slippage, likely routed through a Uniswap v4 pool with complex hooks, but security...
Euler’s Founding CEO Steps Down as Protocol Refocuses on Institutions
Euler Labs co‑founder Michael Bentley announced he will step down as CEO after nearly six years, shifting to an advisory and product‑focused role. Jonathan Han, formerly of The Tie, will assume the CEO position and steer the protocol toward institutional...
Lighter Token Struggles as Farmers Transition to Alternative Exchanges
Lighter’s LIT token has slipped 15% on the day and 27% over the past week, just weeks after its token generation event. Daily trading volume has collapsed to $1.73 billion, pushing Lighter from market‑leading volumes to fifth place among perpetual DEXs....
