Topic: #defi
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USDT issuance grew on Ethereum without a sustained rise in contract holdings, BIS finds
A BIS working paper found more USDT was issued on Ethereum without a sustained rise in smart-contract holdings, with the contract-held share slipping to roughly 10% to 15% after late 2024, CryptoSlate reported.
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Venus Protocol Liquidity Hub Merges Yield and Collateral
Venus Protocol launched the Liquidity Hub around August 31, allowing users to earn yield on stablecoin deposits while using those deposits as collateral for loans, addressing a core DeFi capital efficiency challenge.
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Iran crypto mining drains 14% of summer grid deficit, Majlis warns
Iran's Majlis Research Center found that cryptocurrency mining operations consume 930–1,200 megawatts of electricity, representing roughly 14% of the country's power deficit during peak summer months and draining $1.5 billion annually in diesel fuel costs.
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Two XRPL AMM pools account for 97% of volume with just 185 trades
Two pools exchanging TIX for other issued tokens accounted for 97.24% of seven-day automated market maker volume on XRP Ledger, despite recording only 185 total trades and no activity in the latest 24 hours.
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Coinbase Launches Fixed-Rate Bitcoin Loans via Morpho Protocol
Coinbase rolled out fixed-rate USDC loans backed by Bitcoin, marking the first enterprise deployment of Morpho Midnight and a shift from on-chain lending's variable-rate standard.
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Zappin launches on Robinhood Chain with 90% ETH cashback
Zappin, a Telegram-based trading bot built by OnchainLens, launched on Robinhood Chain on September 21, offering users 90% of their trading fees back in ETH for 30 days. The integration brings streamlined token swaps to the Arbitrum Orbit layer-2 network.
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Chainlink's Project Pangea enables T+0 FX settlement, eliminating business-day delays
Chainlink unveiled Project Pangea, a consortium of 50+ banks across 16 countries, to test instant T+0 settlement for cross-border foreign exchange trades using blockchain infrastructure and regulated stablecoins. The initiative targets the EUR-KRW corridor and aims to execute live transactions within 12 months.
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Pendle launches NGI+ market for institutional infrastructure yields
Pendle launched a fixed-yield market around the NGI+ token on September 17-18, offering approximately 19% returns on tokenized private infrastructure assets from Partners Group. The market introduces both opportunities and risks including smart contract vulnerabilities.
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Ethereum staking queue hits 13.6x entry-to-exit ratio
Ethereum's staking queue has reached an extreme imbalance, with 13.6 times more ETH waiting to enter staking than exit. The buildup reflects strong institutional appetite and may reshape the network's liquidity dynamics as over a third of ETH's supply locks into staking.
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FCA sets UK regulatory boundary for offshore crypto platforms in 2027
The UK Financial Conduct Authority published final cryptoasset perimeter guidance on September 16, clarifying when overseas crypto providers fall under UK authorization rules beginning October 25, 2027. Direct consumer access and agency trading can trigger regulatory scope.
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Meta Adds Dedicated Mail Tab to Muse AI Agent
Meta is integrating a dedicated Mail tab into Muse, its personal AI agent, as the company positions email management as central to its AI assistant strategy. The move comes as Muse, which launched in the US on September 8, 2026, continues to expand its multi-tab interface with granular security controls.
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US Treasury yields exceed 5% as Fed raises rates to 3.75%-4.00%
The 10-year US Treasury yield briefly exceeded 5% in mid-September, a level unseen since 2007, signaling tighter financial conditions across mortgages, corporate debt, and digital assets. The Fed raised rates 25 basis points, citing stubborn inflation.
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XRP Ledger Foundation releases lending vaults with 60-second to 30-year lock periods
The XRP Ledger Foundation released code for closed-ended lending vaults that enforce fixed lock-up periods and use cash-basis interest accounting, but the feature remains unactivated and adoption depends on application builders and borrowers.
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Coinbase tokenized stocks see $7.5M deposit on Base DeFi venues
Coinbase-issued tokenized stocks recorded a $7.5 million deposit on Base DeFi venues, representing 42% of their onchain market cap. The activity signals growing confidence in using these assets within DeFi, though prediction markets assign only 8.5% odds to a Base token launch by end-2026.
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Aave's Kulechov pitches DeFi "Uber path" after Senate blocks CLARITY Act
Aave founder Stani Kulechov called on DeFi to build mass-market products and become politically indispensable after senators rejected the CLARITY Act's path to a floor vote. His strategy reveals how Aave's consumer-grade design could sidestep regulatory oversight.
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NOPAL vault surpasses $100M in AUM, tokenizing Brazilian credit card receivables
The Nest BlackOpal LiquidStone II Vault (nOPAL) reached $100M in assets under management, tokenizing Brazilian credit card receivables and distributing yields across five blockchains. The vault's bankruptcy-remote structure and audited smart contracts offer DeFi investors access to real-world assets with yields in the 8–12% APY range.
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Ampleforth Proposal 54 canceled after wallet requests 98% of treasury USDC
A single proposing wallet submitted a request for 2.5 million USDC from Ampleforth's treasury shortly after receiving 87,238 FORTH of delegated voting power, but the proposal was canceled on-chain before voting opened.
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Symbiosis Recovers 15 BTC from Bridge Exploit, Shifts to 20% Recovery Bounty
Cross-chain protocol Symbiosis recovered $1.1 million in Bitcoin from a Friday bridge exploit after an attacker refused a white-hat bounty, now offering 20% for information leading to asset recovery.
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DeFi Audits Miss 72% of Attack Vectors, $885M Study Reveals
A preprint by ack3-affiliated researchers examining 135 DeFi incidents in H1 2026 found that 72.1% of losses in audited protocols came from attack paths never covered by their security reviews, raising questions about what an audit actually guarantees.
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Coinbase launches tokenized stocks on Base for DeFi collateral
Coinbase rolled out tokenized versions of major US equities on its Base layer-2 network in August, enabling DeFi traders to use real equity positions as collateral. The initiative echoes the firm's USDC playbook and competes with emerging offerings from Kraken and Robinhood.
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Tokenized stocks surge past governance tokens to $4.7B market cap
Onchain equities exploded from 0.1% to over 4% of DEX volume in 2026, with monthly trading reaching $7.9 billion in August. But concentration risk looms: a single platform handles 90% of volume, threatening systemic stability if technical or regulatory issues strike.
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Tokenized ETF deposits into DeFi surge 19-fold to $68M on Solana
Tokenized equity and ETF deposits into DeFi protocols have grown roughly 19 times, reaching $67.6 million, with Solana capturing the majority at $68.2 million as of August 2026, according to Token Terminal data.
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Bybit pursues MiFID II license for crypto-stocks trading in Europe
Bybit secured MiCA authorization in May 2025 and launched its European platform at bybit.eu by July. The exchange is now pursuing a MiFID II license to offer regulated derivatives alongside crypto and traditional assets across the EEA.
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Sunrise expands tokenized stocks on Solana to 30-plus listings
Sunrise, a Solana liquidity protocol, listed 20 additional tokenized stocks via Backpack Securities, expanding the ecosystem to 30-plus tickers including Micron, Moderna, and Nike. The move reflects growing DEX trading volume ($734 million by mid-July) and total tokenized equity supply ($465 million) on Solana, though regulatory clarity remains uncertain.