Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of essential decentralized finance (DeFi) insights — a newsletter crafted to bring you the most significant developments from the past week.

The surge in DeFi in recent months saw decentralized application (DApp) activity increase by 77% in the fourth quarter of 2023, with a total daily active user wallet count of seven million.

The European Commission is evaluating the DeFi industry and could require protocols to obtain a license in the near future.

According to analysts from investment manager VanEck, Ethereum layer-2 scaling networks could hit a $1 trillion market capitalization in the next six years.

The top 100 DeFi tokens had a bearish week, with most tokens trading in red on the weekly charts, while the total value locked in DeFi protocols remained below $100 billion.

Average daily active unique wallets reach seven million — DappRadar

The latest report from DappRadar highlights several bullish indicators in the DApp and Web3 sectors for the first quarter of 2024.

DApps saw a quarter-over-quarter usage increase of 77%, with a total daily active user wallet count of seven million. This shows an increase of approximately 40% since February 2024, indicating the highest adoption rates since 2022.

Continue reading

Upcoming DeFi rules in Europe could ban non-decentralized protocols

Decentralized finance protocols in Europe could soon fall under new regulations as the European Commission evaluates the space.

According to the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) — the regulatory framework that will govern digital assets within the region — the European Commission is required to prepare a report by Dec. 30 evaluating the decentralized finance market and the feasibility of specific regulations for the sector.

Continue reading

Ethereum layer 2s to hit $1 trillion market cap by 2030 — VanEck

Ethereum’s layer-2 scaling networks will hit a $1 trillion market capitalization in the next six years. According to analysts from investment manager VanEck, they will comprise thousands of use case-specific chains.

Layer-2 blockchains are set to capitalize on Ethereum’s “primary challenge” — its “limited capacity to process, store, and compute data,” VanEck’s senior digital assets investment analyst Patrick Bush and digital assets research head Matthew Sigel said in an April 3 report.

Continue reading

AssangeDAO’s crypto activities suspicious, analysts urge caution

Analysts at SlowMist raised concerns about a possible “soft rug pull” on March 10 when a 100 Ether (ETH) transaction from an AssangeDAO address went to a recipient seemingly associated with the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).

The blockchain forensics firm emphasized that while the true intentions of AssangeDAO are unclear, investors should proceed with caution and conduct comprehensive due diligence before interacting with the organization.

Continue reading

DeFi market overview

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that DeFi’s top 100 tokens by market capitalization had a bearish week, with most trading in the red on the weekly charts. The total value locked in DeFi protocols remained below $100 billion.

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.