Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of essential decentralized finance insights — a newsletter crafted to bring you the most significant developments from the past week.
This week, Ethereum and Polkadot co-founder Gavin Wood revealed the launch of Parity’s upcoming tattoo-based Web3 individuality solution, which could be among the main missing blocks for Web3 adoption, Wood told Cointelegraph during the Web3 Summit in Berlin.
In other news, the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector could experience a long-awaited resurgence, fueled by declining interest rates and rising Bitcoin (BTC) investments, according to HashKey Capital’s CEO, Deng Chao.
Proof-of-Ink by Gavin Wood: The tattoo that secures your Web3 privacy
Parity Technologies is launching a Web3 individuality solution, which is a crucial missing element for mainstream Web3 adoption.
The new solution, “Proof-of-Ink,” will enable users to prove their digital individuality in a privacy-preserving manner through a unique tattoo serving as proof of digital citizenship.
Proof-of-Ink is set to launch in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to Wood.
Lower interest rates could be the key to DeFi summer: HashKey Capital CEO
As the United States Federal Reserve is forecast to cut interest rates in 2024, the resultant weakening of US Treasury yields is likely to strengthen the spotlight on riskier but higher yield opportunities elsewhere — which means investors could have a greater appetite for cryptocurrencies.
This uncertainty puts the focus on Bitcoin, which is typically seen as a risk-on asset. When interest rates drop, investors pile into riskier asset classes.
ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood joined HashKey CEO Deng Chao for a fireside chat at the 2024 Web3 Festival in Hong Kong. Source: YouTube
That may not always be the case, as ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood pointed out during a fireside chat at the Hong Kong Web3 Festival earlier in 2024. She expressed her belief that Bitcoin could actually function as a risk-off asset, citing its success amid “currency devaluations in emerging markets around the world.”
Franklin Templeton expands blockchain fund to Avalanche network
Franklin Templeton, a global asset management firm, has expanded its Franklin OnChain US Government Money Fund to the Avalanche network.
According to a press release shared with Cointelegraph, the expansion to the layer-1 blockchain will be the “first-of-its-kind onchain money market fund” on Avalanche.
The fund, which launched in 2021, allows institutional investors access to Franklin Templeton’s blockchain-integrated record-keeping system, Benji Investments.
“[Investors] may hold their wallets on the Avalanche network upon request and subject to eligibility.”
Crypto phishing attack drains $55 million from whale’s wallet
A crypto holder who signed an unverified transaction lost $55 million in crypto to malicious actors who employed a phishing attack to steal the whale’s stablecoins.
On Aug. 20, a crypto wallet owner signed a transaction that changed the ownership of 55.47 million Dai (DAI) in the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Maker. Because of the signed transaction, a phishing address took ownership of the wallet’s stablecoins.
The whale seemed to realize the mistake and attempted to withdraw the funds to a new address. However, the transaction failed because of the owner change that had already happened.
Polychain leads $6.7 million investment in new Bitcoin-centric yield network Corn
Polychain Capital has announced a $6.7-million investment into a new Bitcoin-centric, yield-generating network.
The $6.7 million investment was received by Corn, a new Ethereum layer-2 network that uses a tokenized version of Bitcoin for gas fees and economic incentives on the network, tickered BTCN.
Corn launched on Aug. 19 with the goal of enhancing the utility of the world’s first cryptocurrency and introducing new yield-generating opportunities, according to Chris Spadafora, founder of Corn and BadgerDAO.
DeFi Market overview
According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, the majority of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market cap ended the week in the red for the second consecutive week.
Of the top 100, the Klaytn (KLAY) token rose over 31% as the week’s biggest gainer, followed by Polygon’s (MATIC) token in the second place, up over 30% on the weekly chart.
Smart contract blockchain Fantom (FTM) also staged an over 29% weekly rally, with analysts eying more upside potential in anticipation of its upcoming migration to its new Sonic blockchain network.
Total value locked in DeFi. Source: DefiLlama
Thanks for reading our summary of this week’s most impactful DeFi developments. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights and education regarding this dynamically advancing space.