This Week on web3 5min recap

Market information, major news, and fundraising status for 8/24~8/30.

Good morning.
Mitsui from web3 researcher.

Every Monday will be a summary article about the web3 market for the past week.Please use it to catch up on information and trends!

①Pickup
②Market & News
③Projects funded

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①Pickup

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Stablecoin Market Capitalization Reaches All-Time High, Breaks Early 2022 Record

• DefiLlama datashows that stablecoin market capitalization, excluding algorithmic stablecoins, reached a record high over the weekend

• Stablecoin market capitalization expanded 0.8% over the past week to more than $168.1 billion, surpassing the March 2022 record high of approximately $167 billion

• Rachel Lucas, virtual currency analyst at BTCMarkets, told The Block that the rise in stablecoin market capitalization may be an indication that the virtual currency is attracting more money from institutional investors

DeFi Protocol "Maker" Rebrands to "Sky" and Offers Upgraded Tokens for MKR and DAI

• DeFi protocol "Maker" rebranded and distributed protocol "Sky" launched August 27

• This rebranding is the first phase of the Endgame Plan, a major reform plan proposed by MakerDAO, which manages "Maker

• With the launch of "Sky," MakerDAO's Governance Token MKR can now be upgraded to the SKY token.Also, "Maker" issued USD Stable Coin DAI can be upgraded to USDS tokens

EigenLayer's "EigenDA" and ERC-20 tokens can be restaked

• EigenDA Introduces "Custom Quorum" Feature to Restake ERC-20 Standard Tokens

• With the introduction of Custom Quorum, EigenDA users can now restake specific ERC-20 tokens in addition to the previously restakeable ETH and EIGEN tokens.

Aerodrome Tops DEX Revenue Rankings for 2024

• Aerodrome, the DEX on the Base, has generated the largest revenue in this sector so far this year

• Aerodrome has generated nearly $119 million in revenue so far this year, almost 2.5 times the revenue of Uniswap, the top DEX by volume, which is second with $49 million

• Aerodrome has been in existence since 2023, but it has been on an explosive growth trajectory since Coinbase Ventures invested in the native AERO token earlier this year, rising over 1000% in the six weeks since then, and the subsequent meme boom has combined to solidify its liquidity hub on Basesolidified its position as a liquidity hub on the Base.

• However, it also incurs a lot of costs because it offers incentives for providing liquidity.

• According to Token Terminal data, Aerodrome spends $2.65 on incentives for every dollar of revenue

Kakao's Klaytn and Line's Finschia blockchain merge to create Kaia

• Following the integration of Finschia, LINE's blockchain, and Klaytn, a network backed by Korean messaging platform Kakao, the mainnet deployment of Layer 1 network Kaia is completed

• Kaia aims to facilitate an ecosystem of DApps on the Line and KakaoTalk platforms, competing with TON and Telegram

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②Market & News

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⛓️Blockchain

L1

Token prices fell again this week.

• TON blockchain plunges 12% in price, expresses support for detained Telegram CEO

• TON Stops Again, Now Restored

• ETH Foundation transfers ETH worth $14 billion to exchanges.

• Ethernet trading volume and transaction numbers drop in August

• Finschia and Klaytn's integrated chain, kaia (KAIA), to launch mainnet on August 29

• Kakao and LINE's Layer 1 Blockchain to Launch Mainnet, Invite Telegram-like Apps

• Japan Open Chain to Implement Domestic IEO of "JOC Tokens" This Fall

• Japan Open Chain, a domestic blockchain compatible with EVM, to participate in CAC as validator.

L2

TVL has fallen significantly.

• Sony and StarTail's Ether L2 "Soneium" Joint Development, Astar zkEVM Migration

• Sony and StarTail's Ether L2 "Soneium", launch partners and other partnerships continue to be announced.

• Sony and StarTail's Ether L2 "Soneium" Unveils "Minato" Test Net.

• Bitcoin Network Stacks Begins Rollout of Nakamoto Upgrade to Speed Up

• Ether L2 "Starknet" to begin first governance vote for STRK holders

• Privacy-Oriented Nillion Network Integrates with Arbitrum

• Game-specific Layer 3 "YAIBA" to be deployed with "Soneium" developed by Sony Group joint venture.

• Optimism, Superchain revenue exceeds 14,000 ETH｜Base and Soneium also adopt

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💰DeFi

DeFi has also seen a big drop in TVL.

• Aave proposes "GHO stability module" for integration with BlackRock's tokenization fund BUIDL

• AigenLayer's "EigenDA" Enables ERC-20 Token Restake

• Questry and Mizuho Securities to Issue Digital Securities to Fund Animated Film Production on Avalanche Subnet

• DeFi Protocol "Maker" to Rebrand as "Sky" and Offer Upgrade Tokens for MKR and DAI

• Renzo extends REZ governance token to Solana via wormhole

• Verilon Swap Launches Perpetual Trading Offering, in Partnership with Orderly Network

• Stablecoin Market Capitalization Reaches All-Time High, Breaks Early 2022 Record

• Does Ethereum's Founder Like DeFi?Vitalik Buterin clarifies the question

• PayPal and Anchorage Partner on PYUSD Stable Coin Rewards Program

• MakerDAO will optionally re-denominate 1 MKR into 24,000 NGT tokens as part of the end game

• Fantasy.Top Returns with "Tactics V2"

• PayPal USD surpasses $1 billion market cap amid Solana DeFi incentives

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🖼️NFT

Overall transaction volume is falling, but some blockchains and collections are rising.

• Trump's fourth NFT collection rakes in over $2 million in sales, not tradable on secondary market until 2025

• Rarible Integrates with Aptos Blockchain and PetraWallet for NFT Trading

• OpenSea CEO Says NFT Marketplace Received Wells Notice, Pledges $5M to Protect Creators from SEC

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🎮GameFi

Overall, the trend is down, but there are some projects that are up.

• Hamster Kombat token airdrop scheduled for next month

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👀Other

Dapps-related

• KOR Protocol, backed by Animoka Brands, announces new distributed music platform

• FarmVille co-creator crypto game Pirate Nation adds second chain for future growth

State, Legal & Regulatory Affairs

• Arrest of Telegram Founder Causes TON, 10th Largest Crypto Asset by Market Value, Russian Authorities Protest

• Telegram CEO's arrest linked to cybercrime investigation into unauthorized "cryptology" services, French authorities say

• French President Macron: "The arrest of Telegram CEO is not a political decision"

• Kraken blames "unclear" cryptocurrency regulations for court defeat in Australia

• Hong Kong's Project Ensemble Explores Bank Tokenization in New CBDC Sandbox

• Telegram CEO Durov indicted in France, must remain in country under surveillance

Other

• Next time bitcoin crashes, AI could help prevent collapse at Coinbase

• Polygon regains control of Discord servers after $145,000 hack as POL token launch approaches

• Telegram's meme coin Dogs to be listed on Binance

• Toncoin and Ether Lead Decline as Virtual Currency Long Liquidation Surges

• Virtual Currency Longs Increase 95%｜More than 170,000 hold over $1 million

• SVL, the proprietary token for crypto asset payment "slash", to be listed on the international exchange Gate. io

• Cryptocurrency-friendly web startup Brave fires 15% of employees

• Double Jump to develop on Soneium, raises over 1.5 billion yen in funding from SBI Investment, Sony Group and others.

• Ethernet ETF Earns $5 Million, Breaks 2-Week Draw Record

• DeCallet DCP, GMO Aozora, and IIJ Launch Digital Asset of Environmental Value and Digital Currency "DCJPY" Payment Transactions

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③Projects funded

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💥Top 5 projects

1,Bridge

• Overview: A stablecoin-based payment platform designed to simplify the global transfer of funds for businesses.It provides an API that allows seamless integration of stablecoin into existing financial systems, enabling fast, secure and cost-effective transactions across borders.

• Category：Payment、Stablecoin

• Procurement Amount：$58M

• Investment Round：不明

• Investors：Sequoia Capital、Ribbit Capital、Index Ventures、HAUN Ventures

2、Edge Matrix Chain

• Overview: A blockchain-based edge computing networks.

• Category:Infrastructure

• Procurement Amount：$20M

• Investment Round：不明

• Investors：★Amber Group、★P2 Ventures、Cyberrock Venture Fund、Candaq Fintech Group、Raees Chowdhury

3、Space and Time

• Overview: A distributed data platform that combines AI and blockchain technology to provide verifiable and tamperproof data services.Integrates on- and off-chain data to enable secure real-time analysis and SQL-based queries of smart contracts.

• Category: AI, Infrastructure

• Procurement Amount:$20M

• Investment Round:Series A

• Investors: ★Framework Ventures, ★Lightspeed Faction, ★Arrington Capital, M12, etc...

4,Solayer

• Overview: Builds re-staking networks natively on Solana and leverages Solana's economic security and premium execution to provide distributed cloudinfrastructure.

• Category: DeFi, Restaking

• Procurement amount:$12M

• Investment Round: Seed

• Investors: ★Polychain Capital, ★Hack VC, Binance Labs Fund, Maelstrom, etc...

5,Trial Xtreme (Gameplay Galaxy)

• Summary: A gaming platform where players can earn an active income by participating in tournaments and winning races.

• Category:GameFi

• Procurement amount：$11.17M

• Investment Round：Seed

• Investors：★Blockchain Capital、★Merit Circle

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👀Other projects

• Myco io[$10M/Series A]: a decentralized video streaming platform that empowers creators and fans through blockchain technology.

• Double jump tokyo[$10M/Series D]: pioneer in blockchain game development and provides comprehensive support to game developers.

• OneBalance[$5M/Angel]: Framework for creating and managing trusted accounts.

• Quai Network[$5M/Strategic]: a scalable, EVM-compatible, merge-mining blockchain network that enables fast, accessible, low-cost decentralized finance.

• Chainbound[$4.60M/Seed]: an Ethereum R&D company focused on improving blockchain efficiency.Its flagship product, Bolt, introduced pre-confirmation to Ethereum, enabling transaction confirmations in less than one second, significantly reducing the usual seven-second wait time.

• Legend of Arcadia[$4M/Seed]: a multi-chain, free-to-play, play-and-earn casual strategy card game that combines traditional gaming with Web3 GameFi 2.0.

• SnakeLite[$4M/Seed]:Telegram's tap-to-earn game gives players a novel way to explore the Web3 metaverse and earn tokens with screen taps.

• Nectar AI[$3.90M/Seed]: a Web3-generated AI platform that allows users to create and interact with unmodified immersive AI companions.

• Level Protocol[$3.60M/TBD]:Aims to revolutionize the economic security of decentralized networks by integrating dollar-denominated stave coins into the defense mechanism.

• Echelon Market[$3.50M/Seed]:A decentralized financial market written in the Move programming language.

• Verofax[$3M/TBD]:CustomerAI, AR, and blockchain-powered solutions that transform experiences and drive business growth.

• Time fun[$3M/Seed]A time tokenization platform that allows creators, called timeholders, to monetize their time by connecting with fans through one-on-one experiences such as meetings and messages.

• Kredete[$2.25M/Seed]: a financial software platform designed to help African migrants by helping them build credit and send money back home with minimal fees.

• Legion[$2M/Seed]: RegulatoryProvides private investors with a platform to participate in on-chain fundraising with enhanced compliance and investor responsibility.

• Origami Finance[$1.50M/Seed]: automated leverage protocol to be launched in Ethereum and BeraChain.

• ODOS[TBD/Series A]A DEX aggregator that uses advanced smart order routing to optimize cryptocurrency transactions.

• Bware Labs[TBD/M&A]: a decentralized API infrastructure development company that provides an interface between blockchain API consumers and node providers with integrated payment options and verified reliability.

• ATT[TBD/TBD]: RWA andWeb3 projects that integrate DePin technologies to create a new digital advertising ecosystem.

• Adot[TBD/TBD]: The AI era anddistributed AI search engine company focused on creating reliable distributed search engines for the Web3 network.

• Soon[TBD/TBD]Leverages the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) with parallel transaction execution via the Sealevel runtime for enhanced network performance and security.

• Nautilus Chain[TBD/M&A]: A high-performance blockchain platform designed to build payment-focused dApps.

• BSC Station[TBD/TBD]:Aim to build a full stack DEFI with NFT auction on the Binance Smart Chain.

• Mereo[TBD/TBD]: a fanA platform that allows them to profit through actions and reputation.Integrate dynamic ticket sales, interactive quests, and community chat features to enable IP owners to create an immersive fan experience.

• Uniquid[TBD/TBD]: A platform focused on maximizing bitcoin revenue through integrated liquidity management across multipleplatforms focused on maximizing bitcoin revenues through integrated liquidity management across multiple chains and centralized financial (CeFi) platforms.

• Oasys[TBD/TBD]:GamesA public blockchain designed specifically for the purpose, featuring fast transactions, zero gas prices, and an environmentally friendly approach.

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Disclaimer：I carefully examine and write the information that I research, but since it is personally operated and there are many parts with English sources, there may be some paraphrasing or incorrect information. Please understand. Also, there may be introductions of Dapps, NFTs, and tokens in the articles, but there is absolutely no solicitation purpose. Please purchase and use them at your own risk.

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About us
🇯🇵🇺🇸🇰🇷🇨🇳🇪🇸 The English version of the web3 newsletter, which is available in 5 languages. Based on the concept of ``Learn more about web3 in 5 minutes a day,'' we deliver research articles five times a week, including explanations of popular web3 trends, project explanations, and introductions to the latest news.

Author
mitsui
A web3 researcher. Operating the newsletter "web3 Research" delivered in five languages around the world.

Contact
The author is a web3 researcher based in Japan. If you have a project that is interested in expanding to Japan, please contact the following:

• X：@web3researchgl

• Telegram：@mitsui0x

*Please note that this newsletter translates articles that are originally in Japanese. There may be translation mistakes such as mistranslations or paraphrasing, so please understand in advance.