DeFi

DeFi, short for decentralized finance, represents a shift in the financial sector by leveraging blockchain technology, primarily Ethereum, to eliminate traditional financial intermediaries. It enables various financial applications, from simple transactions to complex contracts, through smart contracts that execute automatically under specific conditions. Key DeFi applications include decentralized exchanges (DEXs), stablecoins, lending platforms, and prediction markets. DeFi offers financial services like loans and interest-earning opportunities without traditional identity verification, relying instead on collateral, usually in cryptocurrency. This innovative sector promises increased accessibility and efficiency but comes with risks, such as market volatility and unregulated projects.

Finance

DeFi Cheers as SEC Affirms Liquid Staking Protocols Aren’t Securities

The SEC’s new guidance on liquid staking boosts governance tokens like LDO and RPL, while TVL across protocols holds steady at $67 billion.

By Oliver KnightAug 6, 2025

Finance

Aptos-Backed Decibel Unveils On-Chain Trading Platform With CEX Speed

The trading platform combines spot, perpetuals and yield strategies into a single interface, aiming to offer CEX-like speed with DeFi transparency.

By Oliver KnightAug 5, 2025

Markets

Ondo Finance Had a Blockbuster July. Analyst Sees ONDO Exploding Higher in August.

Ondo Finance’s July moves may fuel an ONDO rally this month, says a popular crypto analyst citing acquisitions, partnerships, and regulatory momentum.

By Siamak Masnavi, CD AnalyticsAug 4, 2025

ONDO rises 5% with key breakout above $0.92 on Aug. 4

Finance

DeFi Protocol CrediX Taken Offline After $4.5M Exploit

CertiK said all the stolen funds were bridged to Ethereum from Sonic.

By Oliver KnightAug 4, 2025

A pair of spectacles sits on a tabletop in front of a bank of screens. (Kevin Ku/Unsplash)

Finance

New Ether Treasury Firm 'ETHZilla' Emerges With $425M Funding and a DeFi Twist

The transaction was backed by sixty institutional and crypto-native investors, including Polychain Capital, GSR.

By Francisco Rodrigues, Krisztian SandorJul 29, 2025

Ether price chart on a smartphone screen (Cedrik Wesche/Unsplash)

Finance

DeFi Sector TVL Hits 3-Year High of $153B as Investors Rush to Farm Yields

Ethereum leads the DeFi boom with nearly 60% market share, while advanced yield strategies and rising activity on Solana and Sui drive cross-chain growth.

By Oliver KnightJul 28, 2025

Finance

Sky's Grove Expands to Avalanche With $250M RWA Plan, Partnering With Centrifuge, Janus

The expansion brings tokenized versions of credit and U.S. Treasury funds to Avalanche as part of the network's institutional finance push.

By Krisztian Sandor, AI BoostJul 28, 2025

The Avalanche booth at HBC 2022 (Danny Nelson/CoinDesk)

CoinDesk Indices

The Rate Renaissance: How Benchmark Rates Unlock DeFi’s Potential

Forward rate agreements (FRAs) serve as a foundational tool in the fixed income market to allow participants to manage expected interest rate fluctuations, and ultimately provide structure and scalability to unlock the next evolution of DeFi, write Treehouse Labs’ Jun Yong Heng and Si Wei Yue.

By Jun Yong HengJul 23, 2025

Finance

Crypto Treasury Fever Spreads to Ethena as $360M SPAC Deal Targets ENA Accumulation

A new Ethena treasury firm named StablecoinX aims to be listed on the Nasdaq, lined up big-name crypto investors including Pantera, Galaxy, Dragonfly, Polychain.

By Krisztian SandorJul 21, 2025