DeFi

Aave, Solana ecosystem tokens lead crypto rebound as bitcoin steadies near $60,000
Tokenized stock trading fueled fresh momentum across the Solana ecosystem, while Aave founder hinted at token buybacks coming under new framework.

Does the Clarity Act have a human trafficking blind spot?
CoinDesk's The Policy Protocol hosts Rebecca Rettig and Renato Mariotti open with two hot topics: Coinbase's SEC-registered AI agentic trading launch and tribal gaming operators' letter to Senators Thune and Schumer demanding that the CLARITY Act include a prohibition on prediction markets. Then Katie Boller Gosewisch, Executive Director of the Alliance to End Human Trafficking, joins to challenge CLARITY's Section 604, arguing that shielding DeFi developers from money-transmitter liability creates a "duty of care" gap that traffickers can exploit. Plus, Rebecca and Renato close by naming Meta as their Person of the Week for its reported move into points-based prediction markets.

Kraken in talks to buy 15% stake in DeFi lender Aave at $385 million valuation
The DeFi lender is rebuilding after the fallout from April's KelpDAO exploit sparked a multibillion-dollar exodus of deposits despite Aave itself not being hacked.

Uniswap, Spark aim to build stablecoin FX market as banks, fintechs enter the industry
The protocols are building shared liquidity and trading infrastructure for a future with hundreds of competing digital currencies on blockchain rails.

Aave could soar to $3,500 by 2030 on DeFi revival, says StanChart
Geoff Kendrick said Aave has moved past April's cyberattack-related market disruption and is well positioned to benefit from growth in tokenized assets and DeFi.

Malta's financial regulator explores bringing parts of DeFi under MiCA's orbit
The MFSA is seeking feedback on whether decentralization should be assessed as a spectrum rather than a binary concept.

Bitcoin layer-2s face a bear-market reality check
Botanix's shutdown has raised an uncomfortable question for Bitcoin builders: Does the market actually want programmable BTC, or just a better way to borrow, lend and earn yield on it?

Hyperliquid, Uniswap and Worldcoin buck crypto slump as traders chase AI, DeFi trends
A handful of tokens continued their run while bitcoin and the rest of the crypto market stalled after the early week bounce.

Crypto’s next billion-dollar hacker may move at superhuman speed
Anthropic’s new Claude Fable 5 puts powerful cyber tools behind safety filters. DeFi, already hit by more than $840 million in hacks this year, is one of the industries with the most to lose if the filters fail.

A 'Bitcoin DeFi' project just shut down with a brutal post-mortem: Users just didn't care
"It did not work," Botanix said. "At least not in this market and not in this timeline."

