The DeFi Frontier September 11th, 2023

Welcome to this week's edition of the DeFi Frontier newsletter! 🚀In the previous edition, we dived deep into intriguing news and topics crucial to the evolution of the Web3 landscape. This edition is shaped to be just as exciting, with continuous development, positive results, and sustained progress. Let’s dive in!

Newsletter Highlights:

^{1. Coinbase Crypto-Lending Platform: $57 million raised for a new institutional client-focused platform.}

^{2. Visa's Stablecoin Settlement Expansion: Expansion to the Solana blockchain with Worldpay and Nuvei.}

^{3. Binance CEO's DeFi Prediction: DeFi potentially surpassing CeFi in the next bull run.}

^{4. Ethereum Staking Self-Limit: Several providers imposing self-limit rule, except Lido Finance.}

^{5. MetaMask's 'Sell' Feature: New feature for direct payments to bank or PayPal, despite high fees.}

^{6. Tokenization Advocacy Coalition: Industry leaders forming a coalition to promote public blockchains, asset tokenization, and institutional DeFi.}

💰 Coinbase's New Crypto-Lending Platform 💰

Coinbase successfully raised $57 million to launch a new crypto-lending platform targeting institutional clients. This platform will allow users to lend capital to Coinbase, which will then be lent to institutional trading clients. This move follows the cancellation of its retail lending program in 2021 and the troubled efforts by Genesis and BlockFi to provide crypto-lending services. It is part of Coinbase's broader effort to update the financial system and provide more economic freedom and opportunity by leveraging crypto. [Full Read]

💳 Visa's Stablecoin Settlement Expansion 💳

Visa announced its next step in modernizing cross-border money movement by expanding its stablecoin settlement capabilities to the high-performing Solana blockchain and working with merchant acquirers Worldpay and Nuvei. Visa has already moved millions of USDC between its partners over the Solana and Ethereum blockchain networks to settle fiat-denominated payments authorized over VisaNet. This expansion exemplifies how pairing USDC with Visa's innovation opens up the future of payments, commerce, and financial applications. [Full Read]

🔮 Binance CEO's DeFi Prediction 🔮

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, CEO of Binance, predicts that decentralized finance (DeFi) has the potential to surpass centralized finance (CeFi) in the next bull run. During a live X Spaces session, CZ shared his thoughts on the future of DeFi, stating, “I think the more decentralized the industry becomes, the better,” and adding that the next bull run might make DeFi bigger than CeFi. This prediction follows the recent dismissal of a lawsuit against the decentralized protocol Uniswap and the reallocation of funds from CeFi projects to DeFi projects by venture capitalists. [Full Read]

⚖️ Ethereum Staking Self-Limit ⚖️

At least five Ethereum liquid staking providers, including Rocket Pool, StakeWise, Stader Labs, and Diva Staking, have either imposed or are working to impose a self-limit rule in which they promise not to own more than 22% of the Ethereum staking market. This move aims to address concerns of Ethereum staking becoming increasingly centralized. However, Lido Finance, the largest Ethereum liquid staking provider, voted not to self-limit, expressing an intention to control the majority of validators on the beacon chain. [Full Read]

MetaMask Introduces 'Sell' Feature With Mixed Reactions 🚀💸

Crypto wallet MetaMask has rolled out a feature enabling users to sell crypto and receive payments in USD, EUR, or GBP directly to bank or PayPal accounts. Currently supporting ETH transactions on the Ethereum mainnet, it plans to extend to Layer-2 blockchains. This addition builds on the 2022 PayPal integration, allowing users to buy and sell supported cryptocurrencies directly through MetaMask wallets. Despite the convenience and the upcoming Snaps protocol launch for cross-chain interactions, users criticize the high fees, with one reporting a 9% transaction cost, mostly going to MoonPay. However, the speed of transactions, with funds received in a bank account within five minutes, and the increased accessibility to fiat on and off-ramps were appreciated by some in the community. [Full Read]

Tokenization Advocacy Coalition for Blockchain Growth 🌍💹

Crypto industry leaders, including Coinbase, Circle, and Aave Companies, have formed the Tokenized Asset Coalition to encourage transferring traditional financial assets to the blockchain. The coalition will promote education, advocacy, and the adoption of public blockchains, asset tokenization, and institutional DeFi. With asset tokenization on the rise, the coalition aims to address inefficiencies in traditional financial systems and believes the market for tokenized assets could reach $16 trillion by 2030. [Full Read]

 The Learning Den

1. Tokenization: The process of converting real-world assets (RWAs) into digital tokens on a blockchain, which can be easily traded and managed.

 2. Securitization: The process of pooling various types of contractual debt such as mortgages, bonds, or loans and selling their related cash flows to third-party investors as securities.

3. Asset-backed Securities (ABS): Financial securities backed by a pool of assets, such as loans, leases, or receivables, which are not publicly traded.

4. Collateralization: The act of using real-world assets (RWA) as collateral to secure a loan or other financial obligation.

5. Liquidity: The ability to quickly buy or sell an asset without causing a significant impact on its price. In the context of RWA, it refers to the ease with which tokenized real-world assets can be converted into cash or other assets.

Until next week, stay curious, stay informed, and stay empowered! Remember, the future of Web3 is here, still evolving, and we are all pioneers on this exciting journey. Keep exploring, keep learning, and keep innovating.