DeFi
Jade ARdinals CEO Says Future of Bitcoin Defi Includes Smart Contracts
2024-05-24 03:43:16 ET
Bitcoin is now entering the DeFi space with the introduction of BRC-20 tokens and ordinals. The Taproot upgrade made this possible by enabling the creation of decentralized applications (DApps) on the Bitcoin blockchain. This change enhances Bitcoin’s potential, allowing it to offer diversified financial services. These include decentralized exchanges, automated lending platforms, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
However, challenges remain. Scalability and transaction fees are major concerns. The increased transaction load of
BRC-20
tokens and
Ordinary
could make these problems worse. Solutions like
Layer 2 protocols
And
side chains
, such as Lightning Network, Stacks and Rootstock, are crucial. They help improve transaction throughput and reduce fees, ensuring network efficiency. Despite these obstacles, Bitcoin’s evolution into DeFi is promising, driven by continued innovation.
To dig deeper into these developments, Invezz spoke with Nathan, an analyst at Jade ARdinals, to discuss the opportunities and challenges in Bitcoin’s DeFi space.
Impact of BRC-20 tokens and ordinals
Invezz: BRC-20 tokens and ordinals now enable NFTs and fungible tokens directly on the Bitcoin blockchain. What impact do you see on the DeFi space of Bitcoin in terms of opportunities and challenges that could arise, particularly in terms of scalability and transaction fees?
The integration of BRC-20 tokens and ordinals into the Bitcoin network is a game-changer for Bitcoin’s DeFi space, but it also creates many challenges.
On the opportunity side, developers will be able to create DApps that take advantage of the security and decentralization of Bitcoin. This unlocks new tokenomic models and user engagement strategies, such as staking, farming, and liquidity management, similar to what we see on Ethereum and Solana.
Yet with these opportunities come challenges. Scalability is a major concern: transaction throughput has been the Achilles heel of the Bitcoin blockchain, and the addition of BRC-20 tokens and ordinals could make this problem worse. As more people use the network for these new functions, we may see transaction processing times slow down. Increased demand on the network could also lead to higher transaction fees, making it more expensive for users to process their transactions quickly.
Then there’s the technological complexity: maintaining a fast and efficient system while supporting a large volume of transactions is no easy feat. Solutions such as partially signed Bitcoin transactions (PSBT) and transaction batching manage these challenges, but do not completely solve them. I think layer 2 solutions will be more effective here.
Strategies for Resolving Scalability Issues
Invezz: As more people use Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens on Bitcoin, network congestion and rising fees have become significant issues. What strategies or innovations do you think are crucial to addressing these scalability challenges?
First, it’s crucial that we use layer 2 solutions. The Lightning Network is a good example: it processes instant, low-cost transactions through a network of payment channels that only settle net results on the Bitcoin blockchain. Similarly, projects like Stacks and RootStock (RSK) add programmability to Bitcoin, allowing more complex operations and smart contracts to be executed off-chain and using the mainnet for settlement.
Another solution is to improve the efficiency of blocks on the main chain. The Segregated Witness (SegWit) protocol upgrade, which separates transaction signatures from transaction data, has already helped increase the block size limit and improve transaction throughput. Future developments could also rethink how data is stored and processed within blocks.
Increasing block size or implementing dynamic block size adjustments can also help. By allowing block sizes to scale based on network demand, we can accommodate more transactions per block during peak times. However, it is crucial to maintain this balance: scaling too much could compromise the decentralization and security of the network.
In addition to the above, transaction bundling – in which multiple transactions are grouped into a single transaction – can help reduce the number of individual transactions, reduce congestion and reduce fees.
Invezz: There are obvious differences between BRC-20 tokens on Bitcoin and ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum, particularly regarding smart contracts and integration. How do you think these differences will impact Bitcoin’s ability to develop strong DeFi protocols and applications?
BRC-20 tokens and ERC-20 tokens are like different types of building blocks. For example, Ethereum’s ERC-20 tokens are similar to Lego. They are designed for seamless interoperability, flexibility, and integration, allowing developers to easily build complex DeFi applications.
Bitcoin’s BRC-20 tokens are more like traditional commodities: sturdy and reliable, they reflect the security and robustness inherent in Bitcoin. However, they are not as flexible or easy to use as ERC-20 tokens, making the development of integrated DeFi applications more difficult.
This difference makes Ethereum the preferred platform for DeFi protocols; Bitcoin, on the other hand, requires a more innovative approach to achieve similar functionality. For example, mechanisms such as Partially Signed Bitcoin Transactions (PSBT) and Taproot provide Bitcoin with some level of smart contract capability, although they are not as transparent or intuitive as Ethereum’s solutions.
Despite this, the strong foundations of Bitcoin and the growing use of BRC-20 tokens open up new opportunities for innovative financial solutions. Although it may face a steeper climb in the DeFi space compared to Ethereum, its secure backbone and ongoing innovations suggest a promising future.
Invezz: Layer 2 solutions have played a vital role in improving the scalability of Bitcoin and the implementation of DeFi applications. How do you think these networks will evolve to support a wider range of DeFi functionality on Bitcoin?
Think of Layer 2 solutions as tunnels that help Bitcoin handle more traffic without being too congested. These tunnels, like the Lightning Network, have already made Bitcoin faster and cheaper to use, which is very beneficial for DeFi.
As Layer 2 solutions continue to develop, they will become even more advanced, evolving to support features such as lending, borrowing and trading. This means that Bitcoin will be able to offer its users more convenient tools and opportunities – like Ethereum and its DeFi projects do.
We could also see new networks emerge, each specializing in different DeFi functionalities or serving specific needs. This diversity could make Bitcoin’s DeFi ecosystem richer, more powerful and more versatile.
Invezz: Projects like BitVM are considering adding smart contracts to Bitcoin. How do you think this will influence the development of Bitcoin’s DeFi ecosystem?
Imagine Bitcoin going from being just a currency to automating things like Ethereum does. This is what adding smart contracts, such as those BitVM is working on, could bring to Bitcoin.
If Bitcoin begins to support smart contracts, it could attract developers and users looking to create and use these new tools. Users could access a variety of financial tools and applications directly on the Bitcoin blockchain, without the need for intermediaries.
Bitcoin is already the largest cryptocurrency, so adding smart contracts could make its DeFi ecosystem one of the most robust and influential in the world.
Invezz: As Bitcoin’s DeFi ecosystem continues to evolve, what emerging innovations do you believe will shape Bitcoin’s DeFi landscape and strengthen its position in decentralized finance?
First, I believe we will soon see smart contracts integrated into the Bitcoin blockchain. Bitcoin will then be able to support a wide range of financial applications without relying on third-party platforms.
Second, Layer 2 products are the backbone of Bitcoin’s future. As solutions like Lightning Network are developed and adopted, they will improve scalability and transaction throughput, making DeFi applications on Bitcoin more user-friendly and efficient.
Third, protocols that enable transparent communication and asset transfers between different blockchains will allow Bitcoin to interact more effectively with other ecosystems. Interoperability is key to creating a more diverse and interconnected DeFi environment, where assets can flow freely across various platforms, increasing liquidity and usability.
Fourth, RWA tokenization is another important trend. It expands the range of assets available for DeFi applications, increases liquidity and introduces new financial products to the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Security enhancements such as confidential transactions and zero-knowledge proofs are also essential. They will bring more confidential DeFi transactions, protecting users’ financial privacy and network integrity.
Finally, we cannot overlook the power of community efforts. Just as enthusiasts tinkering in their garages laid the foundation for Silicon Valley, members of the Bitcoin community are experimenting and collaborating, leading to the creation of new protocols, applications, and governance models. This popular spirit is vital for the ecosystem to evolve and strengthen.
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Jade ARdinals CEO Says Future of Bitcoin Defi Includes Smart Contracts
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DeFi
Haust Network Partners with Gateway to Connect to AggLayer
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, August 1, 2024, Chainwire
Consumer adoption of cryptocurrencies is a snowball that is accelerating by the day. More and more people around the world are clamoring for access to DeFi. However, the user interface and user experience of cryptocurrencies still lag behind their fundamental utility, and users lack the simple and secure access they need to truly on-chain products.
Haust Network is a network and suite of products focused on changing this paradigm and bringing DeFi to the masses. To achieve this goal, Haust Network has announced its far-reaching partnership with bridgeseasoned veterans in rapidly delivering revolutionary blockchain utilities for projects. The Gateway team empowers blockchain developers to build DAOs, NFT platforms, payment services, and more. They drive adoption of crypto primitives for individuals and institutions around the world by helping everyone build their on-chain presence.
Gateway specializes in connecting sovereign blockchains to the Aggregation Layer (AggLayer). The AggLayer is a single unified contract that powers the Ethereum bridge of many disparate blockchains, allowing them all to connect to a single unified liquidity pool. The AggLayer abstracts away the complexities of cross-chain DeFi, making tedious multi-chain transactions as easy for the end user as a single click. It’s all about creating access to DeFi, and with Polygon’s technology and the help of Gateways, Haust is doing just that.
As part of their partnership, Gateway will build an advanced zkEVM blockchain for Haust Network, leveraging its extensive experience to deploy ultra-fast sovereign applications with unmatched security, and enabling Haust Network to deliver its products to its audience.
The recently announced launch of the Haust Wallet is a Telegram mini-app that provides users with access to DeFi directly through the Telegram interface. Users who deposit funds into the wallet will have access to all standard send/receive services and generate an automatic yield on their funds. The yield is generated by Haust Network’s interconnected network of smart contracts, Haustoria, which provides automated and passive DeFi yielding.
As part of this partnership, the Haust Network development team will work closely with Gateway developers to launch Haust Network. Gateway is an implementation provider for Polygon CDK and zkEVM technology, which the Haust wallet will leverage to deliver advanced DeFi tools directly to the wallet users’ fingertips. Haust’s partnership with Gateway comes shortly after the announcement of a high-profile alliance with the Polygon community. Together, the three will work to build Haust Network and connect its products to the AggLayer.
About Haust Network
Haust Network is an application-based absolute liquidity network and will be built to be compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Haust aims to provide native yield to all users’ assets. In Telegram’s Haust Wallet, users can spend and collect their cryptocurrencies in one easy place, at the same time. Haust operates its network of self-balancing smart contracts that interact across multiple blockchains and then efficiently funnel what has been generated to Haust users.
About Gateway
bridge is a leading white-label blockchain provider that offers no-code protocol deployment. Users can launch custom blockchains in just ten minutes. They are an implementation provider for Polygon CDK and have already helped projects like Wirex, Gnosis Pay, and PalmNFT bring new utility to the crypto landscape.
About Polygon Labs
Polygon Laboratories Polygon Labs is a software development company building and developing a network of aggregated blockchains via the AggLayer, secured by Ethereum. As a public infrastructure, the AggLayer will aggregate the user bases and liquidity of any connected chain, and leverage Ethereum as the settlement layer. Polygon Labs has also contributed to the core development of several widely adopted scaling protocols and tools for launching blockchains, including Polygon PoS, Polygon zkEVM, and Polygon Miden, which is currently under development, as well as the Polygon CDK.
Contact
Lana Kovalski
haustnetwork@gmail.com
DeFi
Ethena downplays danger of letting traders use USDe to back risky bets – DL News
- Ethena and ByBit will allow derivatives traders to use USDe as collateral.
- There is a risk in letting traders use an asset partially backed by derivatives to place more bets.
Ethena has downplayed the dangers of a new feature, which will allow traders to put up its synthetic dollar USDe as collateral when trading derivatives, which are risky bets on the prices of crypto assets.
While allowing users to underwrite their trades with yield-bearing USDe is an attractive prospect, Ethena said there is potential risk in letting traders use an asset partially backed by derivatives to place even more derivatives bets.
“We have taken this risk into account and that is why Ethena operates across more than five different sites,” said Conor Ryder, head of research at Ethena Labs. DL News.
The move comes as competition in the stablecoin sector intensifies.
In recent weeks, PayPal grown up the amount of its stablecoin PYUSD in circulation 96%, while the MakerDAO cooperative plans a rebrandingaiming to increase the supply of its DAI stablecoin to 100 billion.
US dollar growth stagnates
It comes as Ethena has lost momentum after its blockbuster launch in December.
In early July, USDe reached a record level of 3.6 billion in circulation.
That figure has now fallen by 11% to around 3.2 billion.
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New uses for USDe could boost demand for Ethena’s products.
This is where the new plan, announcement Tuesday with ByBit, one of its partner exchanges, is coming.
Ethena users create USDe by depositing Bitcoin or Ether into the protocol.
Ethena then covers these deposits with short positions – bearish bets – on the corresponding asset.
This creates a stable support for USDe, unaffected by price fluctuations in Bitcoin or Ether.
Mitigate risks
While using USDe as collateral for derivatives trading is proving popular, it is unclear what the effects will be if the cryptocurrency market experiences major fluctuations.
Using derivatives as collateral to place more bets has already had disastrous effects.
In June 2022, Lido’s liquid staking token stETH broke its peg to Ether following the fallout from the Terra collapse.
Many traders who used looping leverage to increase their stETH staking yields were liquidated, creating a cascade that caused the price of Ether to drop by more than 43%.
Ethena Labs founder Guy Young said: DL News His office and his partners have taken many precautions.
Ethena spreads bearish bets supporting the USDe across the five exchanges it partners with.
According to Ethena, 48% of short positions supporting USDe are on Binance, 23% on ByBit, 20% on OKX, 5% on Deribit, and 1% on Bitget. website.
In doing so, Ethena aims to minimize the impact of an unforeseen event on a stock market.
The same theory applies to the distribution of risks across different supporting assets.
Fifty percent of USDe is backed by Bitcoin, 30% by Ether, 11% by Ether liquid staking tokens, and 8% by Tether’s USDT stablecoin.
Previous reviews
Ethena has already been criticised regarding the risks associated with USDe.
Some have compared USDe to TerraUSD, an undercollateralized stablecoin that collapsed in 2022.
“It’s not a good design for long-term stability,” said Austin Campbell, an assistant professor at Columbia Business School. said as the USDe launch approaches.
Young replied to critics, saying the industry needs to be more diligent and careful when “marketing products to users who might not understand them as well as we do.”
Ethena has since added a disclaimer on its website stating that USDe is not the same as a fiat stablecoin like USDC or USDT.
“This means that the risks involved are inherently different,” the project says on its website.
Tim Craig is DL News DeFi correspondent based in Edinburgh. Feel free to share your tips with us at tim@dlnews.com.
DeFi
Cryptocurrency and defi firms lost $266 million to hackers in July
In July 2024, the cryptocurrency industry suffered a series of devastating attacks, resulting in losses amounting to approximately $266 million.
Blockchain Research Firm Peck Shield revealed in an X post On August 1, attacks on decentralized protocols in July reached $266 million, a 51% increase from $176 million reported in June.
The most significant breach last month involved WazirX, one of India’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, which lost $230 million in what appears to be a highly sophisticated attack by North Korean hackers. The attack was a major blow to the stock market, leading to a break in withdrawals. Subsequently, WazirX launched a program in order to recover the funds.
Another notable incident involved Compound Finance, a decentralized lending protocol, which suffered a governance attack by a group known as the “Golden Boys,” who passed a proposal who allocated 499,000 COMP tokens – valued at $24 million – to a vault under their control.
The cross-chain liquidity aggregation protocol LI.FI also fell victim On July 16, a hack resulted in losses of $9.73 million. Additionally, Bittensor, a decentralized machine learning network, was one of the first protocols to suffer an exploit last month, loming $8 million on July 3 due to an attack targeting its staking mechanism.
Meanwhile, Rho Markets, a lending protocol, suffered a $7.6 million breach. However, in an interesting twist, the exploiters research to return the stolen funds, claiming the incident was not a hack.
July 31, reports The Terra blockchain protocol was also hacked, resulting in a loss of $6.8 million across multiple cryptocurrencies. As crypto.news reported, the attack exploited a reentrancy vulnerability that had been identified a few months ago.
Dough Finance, a liquidity protocol, lost $1.8 million in Ethereum (ETH) and USD Coin (USDC) to a flash loan attack on July 12. Similarly, Minterest, a lending and borrowing protocol, saw a loss of $1.4 million due to exchange rate manipulation in one of its markets.
Decentralized staking platform MonoSwap also reported a loss of $1.3 million following an attack that allowed the perpetrators to withdraw the liquidity staked on the protocol. Finally, Delta Prime, another decentralized finance platform, suffered a $1 million breach, although $900,000 of the stolen funds was later recovered.
DeFi
The Rise of Bitcoin DeFi: Then and Now
The convergence of Bitcoin’s robust security and Layer 2 scaling solutions has catalyzed the emergence of a vibrant DeFi ecosystem.
By expanding Bitcoin’s utility beyond simple peer-to-peer payments, these advancements have opened up a new frontier of financial possibilities, allowing users to participate in decentralized lending, trading, and other complex smart contract operations on Bitcoin.
Read on to learn about the rise of Bitcoin-based decentralized finance and how the space has expanded to accommodate a new generation of native assets and features.
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What is DeFi?
Decentralized finance (DeFi) represents a paradigm shift in financial services, offering internet-based financial products such as trading, lending, and borrowing through the use of decentralized public blockchains.
By implementing blockchains, smart contracts, and digital assets, DeFi protocols provide financial services through a decentralized ecosystem, where participants do not have to deal with intermediaries when transacting.
What is Bitcoin DeFi?
The inherent limitations of the Bitcoin mainchain in supporting the intricacies of decentralized finance have created the need to develop smart contract-based Layer 2 solutions.
Additionally, the advent of the Ordinals protocol in 2023, which facilitated the emergence of fungible token standards such as BRC-20 and Runes, catalyzed the growth of DeFi on the Bitcoin blockchain.
This expansion in protocol diversity has broadened the applications of the world’s leading cryptocurrency network beyond the core base-layer use cases around value preservation and transactional capabilities.
Therefore, Bitcoin DeFi has become a nascent sector within the digital asset market, after previously being a missing essential part of the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Bitcoin DeFi in its early days
Integrating decentralized finance (DeFi) concepts into the Bitcoin ecosystem has been a journey of innovation and perseverance. Early attempts to bridge the gap between Bitcoin’s fundamental simplicity and DeFi’s complexities have spawned pioneering projects that, while laying essential foundations, have also encountered significant obstacles.
Colored coins
Colored coins represented an early foray into tokenizing real-world assets on the Bitcoin blockchain. By leveraging the existing network to track ownership of assets ranging from stocks to real estate, this approach highlighted Bitcoin’s potential as a platform beyond digital currency. However, scalability and practical implementation challenges have limited its widespread adoption.
Counterpart
Building on the colored coins, Counterparty has become a platform for creating and trading digital assets, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs), on Bitcoin.
The introduction of popular projects like Rare Pepe NFTs has demonstrated the growing appeal of digital collectibles. However, constraints around user experience and network efficiency have hampered its full potential.
These early experiments, while not fully realizing their ambitions, served as valuable stepping stones, informing Bitcoin DeFi’s subsequent developments. Their challenges highlighted the need for more sophisticated infrastructure and protocols to harness the full potential of decentralized finance on the Bitcoin network.
Bitcoin DeFi Today
Today, building DeFi applications on Bitcoin is primarily done in the realm of Layer 2 (L2) networks. This architectural choice is motivated by the limitations of Bitcoin’s base layer in supporting complex programmable smart contracts.
Bitcoin’s original design prioritized security and decentralization over programmability, making it difficult to develop sophisticated DeFi protocols directly on its blockchain. However, the recent emergence of protocols like Ordinals, BRC-20, and Runes, while not DeFi in their own right, has sparked possibilities for future DeFi-like applications on the main chain.
In contrast, L2 solutions offer a scalable and programmable environment built on Bitcoin, enabling the creation of various DeFi products.
By expanding Bitcoin’s capabilities without compromising its core principles, L2s have become the preferred platform for developers looking to build DeFi applications that encompass trading, lending, staking, and more.
Leading L2 networks such as Lightning Network, Rootstock, Stacks, and Build on Bitcoin provide the infrastructure for these efforts. Some of these L2s have even introduced their own native tokens to the network, further expanding Bitcoin’s DeFi ecosystem.
Essentially, while Bitcoin’s core layer presents challenges for DeFi development, its security and decentralization have provided a foundational layer for the innovative L2 landscape to thrive.
Bitcoin Layer 2 offers a promising path to building a robust and thriving Bitcoin-based DeFi ecosystem that offers trading, staking, lending, and borrowing. All you need is a DeFi Wallet like Xverse to access the new world of decentralized financial services secured by Bitcoin.
Conclusion
The integration of DeFi principles into the Bitcoin ecosystem, primarily facilitated by Layer 2 solutions, marks a significant evolution in the digital asset landscape.
Building on the foundational work of pioneers like Colored Coins and Counterparty, the industry has evolved into more sophisticated platforms like Rootstock, Stacks, and Build on Bitcoin to create a thriving Bitcoin-powered DeFi ecosystem.
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