0x217...33f8
$4000.45
+3.4%
last 24hrs
No Data Yet
Comparison:
ETH
SOL
Supported by
1h
+0.48%
24h
+3.4%
7d
-3.04%
14d
-10.88%
30d
-10.01%
200d
-10.88%
WETH Signals
Advanced Feature
Related News
Oct 09 2025, 11:22
NEAR Intents Activity Surges, Zcash Integration Fuels ZEC's 244% Monthly Gain
## Executive Summary NEAR Protocol's intent-based system has seen a sharp increase in activity, nearly doubling transaction volumes and surpassing 120,000 users. Zcash's mobile wallet, Zashi, has integrated NEAR Intents for private cross-chain swaps and payments, coinciding with a 244% monthly price surge for Zcash (ZEC). ## The Event in Detail Activity on **NEAR Protocol's** intent-based system has experienced a significant increase, with transaction volumes nearly doubling month-on-month. The platform has surpassed 120,000 users, and approximately **$800 million** in swaps and payments flowed through **NEAR Intents** in the last 30 days, contributing to a cumulative total of approximately **$1.8 billion**. In September alone, **NEAR Intents** generated **$483 million** in trading volume. This surge in activity is partly driven by the integration of **Zcash's** mobile wallet, **Zashi**, with **NEAR Intents**. The integration enables "Zashi Swaps," allowing users to convert various assets such as **Bitcoin (BTC)**, **Solana (SOL)**, and **USDC** into **ZEC** for shielded transactions. Additionally, "CrossPay" functionality permits spending shielded **ZEC** with recipients receiving their preferred cryptocurrency on **NEAR**-supported chains. The **Zashi** wallet has recorded over **$9.5 million** in **ZEC** swaps and payments since late August, with an average daily throughput of 1,509 **ZEC** and nearly **$1 million** swapped into **ZEC** in the past week. This integration aims to provide a cleaner user experience for private **ZEC** transactions and establish a model for other privacy-focused wallets. Coinciding with these developments, **Zcash (ZEC)** has seen its price quadruple in the past month. **ZEC** is currently trading at **$171.84**, representing a 31% increase in 24 hours and a 40% gain over the week, pushing its market capitalization to **$2.8 billion**. Trading activity has also intensified, with daily volume climbing 22.4% to **$664.5 million** and derivatives volume increasing by 75.7% to **$1.18 billion**. Open interest in **Zcash** derivatives rose 54.4% to **$227.2 million**. ## Financial Mechanics and Protocol Integration **NEAR Intents** operates as a cross-chain transaction layer designed to enable **AI agents** to execute swaps and payments across multiple blockchains without relying on traditional bridges. This architecture abstracts away the technical complexities of multi-chain operations, allowing users to specify desired outcomes rather than intricate transaction paths. **NEAR Protocol** focuses on ecosystem scaling through **sharding technology** and its intents-based framework, supporting high transaction throughput and predictable low fees. **Zashi's** integration with **NEAR Intents** exemplifies the application of this technology for privacy-preserving transactions. Through "Zashi Swaps," assets from various chains are directed via **NEAR Intents** to be converted into shielded **ZEC**, leveraging **Zcash's zero-knowledge proof (zk-SNARK)** technology for confidentiality. "CrossPay" extends this functionality, allowing users to spend shielded **ZEC** while **NEAR Intents** handles the complex routing and conversion to the recipient's chosen cryptocurrency on a different chain. This streamlines the user experience by reducing friction in cross-chain and privacy-enhanced transactions. ## Market Implications and Strategic Positioning This integration establishes **NEAR Intents** as a critical infrastructure for seamless cross-chain operations, particularly in the context of **AI agent** development and chain abstraction. **NEAR Protocol's** strategic positioning emphasizes an **AI-first vision**, supporting user-owned intelligent agents and cross-chain capabilities. Partnerships with entities like **Aptos** and **Shelby**, and the launch of the **Shade Agent Sandbox**, further underscore **NEAR's** commitment to enhancing **AI-ready infrastructure**. For **Zcash**, the **Zashi** integration and subsequent price performance signal a potential re-evaluation of privacy-focused assets. The market's renewed interest in **ZEC** highlights growing demand for solutions that offer both privacy and compliance, as **Zcash's** optional privacy model allows users to choose between transparent and shielded transactions. This flexibility may contribute to its adoption in an evolving regulatory landscape. The launch of **Grayscale's Zcash Trust** has attracted approximately **$46 million** in assets under management, indicating increasing institutional confidence and providing regulated access to **ZEC** for accredited investors. ## Broader Context: Privacy and Interoperability The developments surrounding **NEAR Intents** and **Zcash** occur within a broader narrative of resurgent interest in privacy coins and advancements in blockchain interoperability. The concept of intent-based protocols is gaining traction across the cryptocurrency market, with the **Ethereum Foundation** launching the **Open Intents Framework (OIF)**. This framework, supported by major **Layer 2s** like **Arbitrum** and **Optimism**, aims to standardize and unify intent-based execution, making cross-chain transactions faster, cheaper, and more secure by abstracting away technical complexity from end-users. **Zcash's** performance and integration reflect a market sentiment increasingly attentive to solutions offering confidentiality in an era of growing digital surveillance. Unlike protocols that enforce privacy by default, **Zcash's** optional privacy model positions it to navigate compliance requirements while meeting user demand for financial discretion. This trend suggests a strategic shift towards privacy assets that can demonstrate both utility and regulatory adaptability. ## Expert Commentary **Electric Coin Company (ECC)** CEO **Josh Swihart** and **NEAR Protocol** co-founder **Illia Polosukhin** have emphasized the importance of user experience and genuine privacy in the evolution of digital assets. **Swihart** highlighted **Zashi's** role in simplifying **ZEC** transactions, particularly when paired with **NEAR Intents** for swapping and spending. **Polosukhin** underscored **NEAR Intents'** ability to abstract complexity, allowing users to focus on desired outcomes rather than the underlying blockchain steps. Their discussions reinforce the idea of "privacy at rest," where funds remain shielded, and the potential of **Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs)** and **AI** to enhance privacy in decentralized applications. This collaborative approach between **Zcash** and **NEAR** aims to expand user options for secure asset exchanges while prioritizing straightforward interfaces and data confidentiality.
Oct 04 2025, 14:49
Fully Homomorphic Encryption Poised to Unlock Trillions in DeFi by Enhancing Confidentiality
## Executive Summary Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) is positioned to revolutionize the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) sector by addressing a fundamental barrier to institutional adoption: confidentiality. The technology allows for data processing without decryption, enabling private transactions and credit assessments on public blockchains. This development could unlock trillions of dollars from traditional finance, facilitating uncollateralized lending and transforming DeFi into a more robust and integrated financial system. ## The Event in Detail DeFi, despite its recent resurgence and a peak Total Value Locked (TVL) of $260 billion, has struggled to attract the vast capital within traditional finance, which sees trillions traded daily in markets like foreign exchange and bonds. The primary impediment has been a lack of confidentiality; public blockchains expose every transaction, deposit, and withdrawal, a transparency level unacceptable to most institutions and high-net-worth individuals. FHE emerges as a privacy-preserving technology that allows computations on encrypted data without ever decrypting it. This means sensitive information, such as credit scores or Know Your Customer (KYC) data, can be processed while remaining encrypted. For instance, a smart contract can verify if a user's encrypted credit score meets a threshold (e.g., above 700) without revealing the actual score. This capability is crucial for enabling uncollateralized lending in DeFi, a cornerstone of traditional finance where risk is managed without requiring excessive collateral. Companies like **Zama**, an open-source cryptography firm, are at the forefront of FHE development. Zama's goal is to enable developers to build "confidential smart contracts" on existing blockchains such like Ethereum and Solana, ensuring end-to-end encryption. Zama Protocol combines FHE with multi-party computation (MPC) and ZK technologies. Zama recently achieved a significant performance breakthrough, reducing the runtime of FHE's core operation, "programmable bootstrapping," from 53 milliseconds to microseconds using GPU acceleration, significantly advancing the practical application of FHE. The public testnet for Zama went live on July 1st, with the Ethereum mainnet expected in Q4 2025 and Solana support planned for 2026. Zama has secured over $150 million in funding. ## Market Implications The integration of FHE into DeFi protocols holds profound market implications. By addressing the confidentiality gap, FHE could facilitate a significant influx of institutional capital into the DeFi ecosystem. This would enable new lending models that mirror traditional finance, such as uncollateralized loans based on encrypted credit assessments, rather than relying solely on overcollateralization. This advancement would make DeFi more flexible, inclusive, and aligned with conventional financial practices. Furthermore, FHE could lead to the rebuilding of DeFi lending foundations with confidential ERC-20s, encrypted credit scores, hidden loan amounts, and Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) protection. This would allow for private collateral pools where institutional positions remain confidential, and retail users could access loans without collateral, shielded from front-running and MEV bots. Public blockchains, traditionally known for openness, could match the confidentiality levels of private chains without sacrificing their core strengths, fostering trustlessness and scalability to trillions. ## Expert Commentary Industry experts view FHE as a critical enabler for DeFi's next growth phase. Jason Delabays is a proponent of FHE's ability to unlock trillions for DeFi markets by enabling confidential transactions, private credit scores, and uncollateralized lending. The consensus suggests that FHE is not merely a feature upgrade but a new primitive for lending, essential for achieving DeFi efficiency, Swiss-bank level confidentiality, and integrating real-world credit on-chain. ## Broader Context While the potential of FHE is significant, several challenges remain. The implementation of FHE-enabled DeFi requires addressing complex design issues, including liquidations, where encrypted values complicate trigger mechanisms. Notifying liquidators discreetly may necessitate encrypted events or off-chain relays. Credit systems also present complexities, requiring legal and technical alignment to structure encrypted KYC and default enforcement while balancing confidentiality. Moreover, the nature of DeFi, with its disintermediated structure and smart contract-driven transactions, poses challenges for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance. DeFi protocols allow users to interact without identity validation, and the composability of applications can facilitate complex layering of transactions, akin to traditional money laundering. The prevalence of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), privacy-preserving tools, and cross-border fluidity further complicates regulatory oversight. While FHE enhances privacy for legitimate institutional use, regulators face an urgent imperative to adapt traditional AML frameworks to the decentralized and confidential logic of DeFi, navigating legal ambiguities and technological complexity to prevent illicit exploitation.
Sep 28 2025, 09:44
Ethena Expands Ecosystem with Converge L2 and GENIUS Act-Compliant Stablecoin Amid USDe Growth
## Executive Summary Ethena Labs is significantly expanding its ecosystem beyond its **USDe synthetic dollar**, which has rapidly ascended to become a top DeFi revenue generator. The company is developing its own Layer 2 blockchain, **Converge**, in partnership with **Securitize**, alongside the introduction of **USDtb**, a new stablecoin designed for compliance with the U.S. **GENIUS Act**. This multi-faceted expansion aims to bridge traditional finance (TradFi) with decentralized finance (DeFi) by offering institutional-grade infrastructure and regulated financial products, while USDe's market capitalization has grown to over $14 billion. ## The Event in Detail **USDe**, Ethena's synthetic dollar, has seen its market capitalization exceed $14 billion, marking a 21% increase in circulating supply over the past month. This growth positions USDe as the third-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, behind **Tether (USDT)** and **USD Coin (USDC)**. Unlike traditional fiat-backed tokens, USDe is collateralized by crypto assets and maintains its peg through a delta-neutral hedging strategy utilizing perpetual futures markets and spot trading. Ethena Labs recently partnered with **Flowdesk** to enhance liquidity and access for its stablecoin products. In a strategic move to attract institutional capital, Ethena Labs, in collaboration with **Securitize**, is developing **Converge**, a high-performance EVM-compatible Layer 2 blockchain. Converge is designed for institutional DeFi accessibility and compliant settlement, aiming to launch its mainnet in Q2 2025. Key technical specifications include a target 100ms block time, scaling to 50ms by Q4 2025, and throughput up to 1Gigagas/s, leveraging **Arbitrum's Rollup** technology and **Celestia's data availability layer**. Converge will utilize USDe and USDtb for gas fees, reducing volatility-related uncertainty in transaction costs. The network will feature a permissioned Proof-of-Stake (PoS) validator network (CVN) requiring KYC/KYB compliance, secured by **ENA** token staking. Further reinforcing its commitment to regulatory alignment, Ethena Labs has partnered with **Anchorage Digital** to launch **USDtb**. This stablecoin is explicitly designed to comply with the **GENIUS Act**, which was enacted in July 2025. The GENIUS Act mandates 1:1 reserves, AML/KYC procedures, and exposes issuers to supervision by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve. USDtb will be backed by low-risk reserves such as cash and U.S. Treasuries, with a planned launch under U.S. regulation by the end of Q3 2025. This initiative represents a significant step towards establishing a regulated standard for U.S. stablecoins. ## Market Implications Ethena's ecosystem expansion carries substantial market implications. USDe's model tokenizes a delta-neutral carry trade, generating yield from **ETH** staking rewards and derivatives market funding rates. This positions USDe as a significant "crypto-native reserve asset." However, the strategy is not without risks. **Chaos Labs** has flagged liquidity risks associated with the rehypothecation of $4.7 billion of USDe's reserves on **Aave**. The report highlights that Aave's $6.4 billion Ethena-linked exposure could trigger redemptions if funding rates turn negative, potentially leading to cascading liquidations or de-pegging events for USDe. The **Converge Layer 2** aims to attract institutional adoption for tokenized assets, fostering a bridge between TradFi and DeFi. Its permissioned validator model and KYC/KYB requirements address stringent institutional demands for security and compliance. However, this design also introduces centralization concerns for some within the crypto community and creates dependency on external technical stacks like Arbitrum and Celestia. The success of Converge hinges on its ability to align with evolving regulatory frameworks and foster robust ecosystem growth. The introduction of **USDtb** under the **GENIUS Act** framework is a pivotal development for the U.S. stablecoin market. While the GENIUS Act bans yield on regulated stablecoins, it provides clear regulatory clarity that can accelerate institutional participation. This regulatory landscape could indirectly boost USDe's appeal by differentiating its yield-bearing nature from regulated non-yielding alternatives. The partnership with federally regulated entities like Anchorage Digital allows Ethena to access traditional financial rails, potentially expanding the reach of its products to a broader institutional investor base. ## Expert Commentary Industry experts acknowledge the dual nature of Ethena's trajectory. **OAK Research** characterizes the market sentiment as "Bullish to Highly Volatile," noting strong growth potential alongside inherent risks from leveraged strategies and nascent Layer 2s. Nathan McCauley, CEO and co-founder of Anchorage Digital, emphasized that the passage of the GENIUS Act provides "the regulatory clarity that enables federally regulated institutions like Anchorage Digital Bank to fully participate in the stablecoin ecosystem." Guy Young, CEO of Ethena Labs, stated that "GENIUS compliance will empower our partners and holders to confidently and significantly expand USDtb's use," underscoring the strategic importance of regulatory adherence for scalability. Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson has also previously highlighted that a clear regulatory framework will promote the integration of TradFi and DeFi, aligning with Converge's design principles. ## Broader Context The Ethena ecosystem is attracting a wide array of DeFi protocols building on its primitives and offering incentives to **ENA** stakers. These include **Ethereal, Strata, Terminal, Derive Protocol, Echelon, InfiniFi, Aave, Pendle, Contango, Plasma**, and **Hyperliquid**. Staked ENA (**sENA**) is designed to accrue value similar to the **BNB** token model, with ecosystem applications allocating portions of their token supply to sENA holders. The integration of generalized restaking pools with **Symbiotic** for staked **$ENA** aims to provide economic security for cross-chain transfers of USDe via **LayerZero**. This broad integration positions Ethena to become a foundational layer for both institutional and retail DeFi. The **Converge L2** has the potential to attract substantial total value locked (TVL) and developer activity, fostering new use cases and financial products. However, the complex "looping" strategies and deep integrations, while driving adoption, also amplify systemic risks if market conditions shift rapidly. Ethena's long-term stability and success will depend on its ability to manage these risks, particularly the reliance on sustained derivatives yields and regulatory flexibility, while navigating the inherent volatility of the crypto market.
Sep 26 2025, 13:30
Project 0 Confirms 20% Token Airdrop for Community, Fueling Solana DeFi Activity
## The Event in Detail Project 0, formerly known as **marginfi**, has officially announced an airdrop for its upcoming native token, earmarking 20% of the total supply for community distribution. This distribution strategy incentivizes user engagement through a comprehensive points system. Participants earn points by lending and borrowing various digital assets on the **Project 0** platform. Notably, existing **marginfi** points will be converted on a 1:1 basis to **Project 0** points. The protocol has attracted significant capital, with over **$250 million** in assets supplied and **$100 million** borrowed, reflecting robust user adoption within the **Solana** ecosystem. Specific promotional campaigns, including partnerships with **Zenrock** and **JitoSOL**, offer point multipliers and enhanced rewards for advanced strategies such as looping positions, though these carry inherent liquidation risks. The official token launch is anticipated later in 2025, with governance discussions slated to commence on October 15 and updated points guidance expected on October 8, coinciding with the integration of **Kamino**. ## Deconstructing the Financial Mechanics The tokenomics of **Project 0** include a substantial commitment of over **50% of the total token supply** to users, with the initial community airdrop comprising **20%**. This 20% allocation is structured as follows: **15%** directly to eligible users with **no vesting schedule**, **4%** to power users and integration partners subject to a **vesting period**, and the remaining **1%** designated for a single randomly selected power user prior to the **Token Generation Event (TGE)**. This multi-tiered distribution aims to reward both broad participation and strategic, high-value contributions. The point accumulation mechanism, such as earning one point per day for every dollar supplied, directly quantifies user contribution. Looping strategies, where users supply and then borrow against their supplied assets to re-supply, can amplify point accrual but also introduce increased exposure to market volatility and potential liquidation, often with penalty ranges between **5.00% and 15.00%** on similar protocols. ## Analyzing Business Strategy and Market Positioning **Project 0**'s airdrop strategy is designed to drive rapid user acquisition and increased Total Value Locked (TVL), a common tactic among emerging DeFi protocols to bootstrap network effects. By converting existing **marginfi** points, the protocol ensures continuity and rewards its established user base while rebranding. The emphasis on "power users" and integration partners, coupled with vested token allocations, suggests a focus on fostering long-term ecosystem development and attracting strategic liquidity providers. This approach positions **Project 0** to become a significant player in **Solana**'s lending landscape, similar to how other protocols have used token incentives to gain market share. The substantial activity, including hundreds of millions in supplied and borrowed assets, indicates successful initial execution of this growth strategy. ## Assessing Broader Market Implications The **Project 0** airdrop is anticipated to have a dual impact on the broader **Solana** DeFi ecosystem. In the short term, it is expected to further boost **Solana**'s overall TVL and transaction volumes as users actively "farm" for points, potentially diverting capital from other protocols or attracting new capital to the chain. This bullish sentiment is likely to translate into increased liquidity and activity across **Solana**-based decentralized exchanges and lending platforms. Long-term, a successful **Project 0** token launch could solidify its position as a core primitive within **Solana**'s DeFi stack, attracting more developers and innovative applications. However, the market also anticipates potential sell-pressure post-airdrop, a common occurrence where recipients liquidate tokens, which could lead to short-term price volatility for the new token. The strategy of distinguishing between unvested and vested token allocations aims to mitigate some immediate sell-side pressure by encouraging long-term holding among key contributors. This event underscores the ongoing trend of incentive-driven growth within the Web3 space, with airdrops remaining a potent mechanism for decentralized community building and market penetration.
Products
Trading Strategies
Markets
© 2025 Edgen Powered by
Ask AI About WETH