DeFi

DeFi

Markets

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.

Stani Kulechov, Aave Labs (Olivier Acuna/CoinDesk)

Videos

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.

Does the Clarity Act have a human trafficking blind spot?

Finance

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.

Kraken Co-CEO Arjun Sethi at the Securities and Exchange Commission (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

Finance

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.

Uniswap logo on phone (appshunter.io/Unsplash)

Markets

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.

Stani Kulechov, Aave Labs (Olivier Acuna/CoinDesk)

Policy

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.

Malta. Credit: Shutterstock

Tech

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?

Bitcoin Logo

Markets

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.

(Keenan Constance/Unsplash)

Tech

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.

Montage of a padlock outline superimposed over the face of a dark, hooded figure.

Tech

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."

Closed sign (Tim Mossholder/Unsplashed, modified by CoinDesk)