Cryptocurrency platforms providing liquid staking services came in second place in DeFi sector by volume of funds sent to them

Staking platforms came in second in terms of funds in the DeFi sector, overtaking lending services. According to DeFi platform Llama, the volume of total blocked value (TVL). Liquid staking platforms exceeded $14 billion, while TVL in cryptocurrency lending protocols is about $13.7 billion.

Liquid staking, allows users to earn from Ethereum stacking without having to make a mandatory deposit of 32 ETH. Users can send any amount of ETH or other Proof-of-Stake cryptocurrency coins to staking. Users will receive tokenized versions of their assets in return. For example, in form of stETH token in a 1:1 ratio. The latter can be used in parallel to generate additional income in DeFi-protocols. At the same time, you will not lose earnings from staking assets in the liquid staking service.

Decentralized exchanges (DEX) lead in terms of funds on DeFi-platforms. TVL on them is $19.3 billion. However, this category includes 716 services. While the staking services whose data is collected by the analytics platform are 71.

Over the last month, TVL of just one stacking protocol Lido increased by $1 billion to $9.3 billion, while this figure for leading DEX is almost twice as low: Curve has $4.9 billion, Uniswap has $4.1 billion, and Pancakeswap has $2.5 billion.

On February 25, the Lido team noted that it recorded the largest daily inflow of funds amounting to more than 150,000 ETH (about $245 million). According to crypto analyst Lookonchain, these funds were contributed by Tron blockchain founder and Huobi exchange chief Justin Sun.

On February 27, cryptoprotocol specialists from 0xScope noted that Sun continues to contribute funds to stake on Lido. Additionally, he sent another 88,000 ETH (about $144 million) there.

Reasons for growth

Our experts point out that the influx of funds into liquid staking protocols is caused by the fact that the Ethereum network is scheduled to start updating Shanghai in April 2023. Which will allow to withdraw previously blocked funds in ETH from staking. After it was revealed in January that developers had decided to focus on this particular upgrade feature, staking platform token rates soared by dozens percent and continue to rise.

Also, the growth in popularity of DeFi-protocols from this category was promoted by rumors about the possible ban on staking in USA. There has been no official confirmation of this yet. But the major U.S. exchange Kraken in early February closed stakng for U.S. customers at the request of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Daily futures trading volume on DeFi platforms reached $5 billion. This is the biggest amount since Terra collapsed in May of this year. Crypto-Upvotes expert review.

DeFi platforms increased revenues amid the outflow of funds from centralized exchanges that occurred due to the collapse of FTX. On-chain data showed an increase in activity on decentralized futures trading platforms and an increase in revenue for DeFi protocols, Cointelegraph reported.

However, not all decentralized applications (DApps) and protocols show such a trend. Because some of them have financial ties to FTX and Alameda. But data on DeFi projects’ revenues show that at least three protocols have exceeded $1 million in the last seven days, including Ethereum and OpenSea Marketplace.

Decentralized futures trading platforms have increased their trading volumes to record levels. Their daily turnover reached $5 billion, the highest since the Terra token crash in May of this year.

Despite the increase in trading volume, the total value of locked-in assets (TVL) at DeFi only increased at seven networks. Gains Network, a futures trading platform on the Polygon network, showed the biggest increase. Its TVL increased 17.3% over the week. And inter-network protocol Ren saw its TVL drop by 50%. This is because Ren worked closely with Alameda. And received quarterly funding and stored its funds directly on FTX.

Blockchain’s profit growth comes on top of an unchanged number of daily active users. Compared to previous weeks, the daily profits of leading blockchains have increased by more than 300%. This suggests that transactions among existing users are occurring more frequently.

Despite growth in profits, only Ethereum made profits among PoS-based blockchains. Other leading networks such as Polygon, BNB Smart Chain and Optimism did not profit. Holders of these tokens suffered inflationary losses.

In what cases is borrowed liquidity useful in DeFi. And also what dangers it brings. And how to borrow for a user who owns Bitcoins. Crypto-Upvotes expert review

Rapid falls and rises in quotations are characteristic of cryptocurrency sector. Part of the high volatility is due to the large share of borrowed capital involved in transactions. Nevertheless, convenient borrowed liquidity is also one of strong points and features of DeFi finance.

Virtually every blockchain ecosystem has its own decentralized finance loan protocol. And the largest blockchains even have several. Such protocols work roughly the same way: by freezing their coins in a smart contract, users can release liquidity. When they receive credit in desired cryptocurrency or stabelcoins, interest accrues on deposit and borrowing. And for using a platform, a bonus is given as tokens to vote on future protocol development. Stablecoin borrowing usually comes at an impressively low interest rate of 1% to 2% per year.

Annual interest rates for coin deposits to the protocol or borrowing are identical for most large and time-tested platforms. Therefore, users can choose a product based solely on the overall usability of a particular blockchain and its software solutions. Thus, if a user, for example, frequently makes coin exchanges on Solana. And on the same blockchain plays some kind of P2E game, then the loan protocol as well, if needed. It will be more convenient for him to choose on the same blockchain.

DeFi borrowing is very easy and fast

This is an extremely convenient and fast process, which speeds up the already rapid movement of liquidity within the cryptocurrency sector.

When the market falls, traders using DeFi loans are forced to close their positions quickly. Because there is a danger of liquidation of collateral, thereby further accelerating the fall. When the market rises, it is also easy for traders to continue to create new buying volume. As the value of collateral assets rises, it makes it possible to increase the size of loans.

Similarly, borrowing protocols have already been used many times in market manipulations to collapse the rate of coins.

Is borrowing a unique advantage of crypto-assets or a dangerous trap?

The practice of borrowing against property or other valuables has been known since ancient times and is still widely used today. However, cryptocurrencies stand out among all other types of assets because of the incredible ease of obtaining borrowed liquidity. And complete freedom of its movement.

Owners of classic stocks in brokerage accounts might object. Because most brokerage platforms also provide credit leverage. Which is based on the capital available to this user. This is true, but there are two key differences that drastically distinguish web2 and web3.

For web2, the annual interest rate on borrowed brokerage funds will be significantly higher. And you will only be able to use the funds conveniently within the original platform. In the case of DeFi, borrowed funds are instantly deposited into the user’s wallet. And immediately can be used and transferred to third-party wallets and services without any restrictions.

When is borrowed liquidity useful?

The most valuable use of DeFi borrowing will be for those wishing to preserve the growth potential of their assets. Since its launch, crypto sector has been in a correction most of the time. Conversely, only briefly at its price peaks. Such moments are easy to miss if you sell an asset when you need dollar liquidity. And hope to buy it again later. And a rapid rise can happen in a few weeks or even days.

Borrowed liquidity can also be particularly useful for emerging market users with small deposits. Who strive to increase their crypto-assets portfolio step by step, if possible. For such category of users, the use of DeFi-protocols allows not to part with crypto-assets during an unfavorable market phase.

Of course, such tools carry a lot of dangers for inexperienced users. It is critical to keep statistics of all borrowings made. As well as to monitor your open positions. Which is based on the ratio of borrowed liquidity to the provided collateral. The safest ratio is no more than 1/3.

We recommend using only the least volatile of the coins, such as ETH or BTC, as collateral. Volatility of BTC has been steadily declining this year, and amid geopolitical instability has fallen below many fiat currencies and even the S&P500 index.

I have Bitcoin, how do I get liquidity and what are these risks?

The crypto sector’s flagship blockchain does not support smart contracts by default. Therefore, the first action for BTC holders on its main network would be to transfer Bitcoin to another network. One that supports DeFi-interactions. It is possible to move to another network in a decentralized way, using one of the bridges. Or by using a centralized exchange. In this case, the user will need to bring your BTCs to exchange, sell them, withdraw amount in main asset of destination network (for example, for Matic it will be Matic). And then exchange the asset back to the “wrapped” BTC on the new blockchain using any of DEX. At the same time, leaving some asset to the network itself to pay subsequent commissions.

Despite the many pros and little studied new ways of using borrowed liquidity. Its use remains extremely dangerous and involves risks every step of the way. Smart contract hacks, credit protocol oracle failures. Which can lead to accidental liquidations. Or the excitement and gambling addiction from feeling the possibility of getting “free funds” . This is just a short list of dangers awaiting users.