Despite the current market conditions, the decentralized finance space is still alive with developers’ heads down working on improving their protocols, and end users still taking advantage of opportunities as they arise. While the total value locked (TVL) in DeFi protocols has fallen from $180 billion at the end of 2021 to just over $41 billion in mid-2023, there are still over 4 million users that process an average of over $3 billion in transaction volume per day. In this edition of ‘The Cortex Connection’, we'll highlight some of the most prominent DeFi platforms responsible for this attention as they shape this growing industry. Let's dive in!
Uniswap (UNI)
Uniswap continues to dominate the decentralized exchange (DEX) space, with its automated market maker (AMM) model. Uniswap provides users with seamless and permissionless trading of tokens. Its v3 upgrade introduced concentrated liquidity, allowing liquidity providers to offer more capital-efficient liquidity pools with a v4 recently announced that will allow developers to custom integrate their own applications directly with the Uniswap protocol.
TVL: $3.72b
24-hour Volume: $1b
Available On: Ethereum, Polygon, Optimism, Arbitrum, Celo, BNB Chain
Compound (COMP)
As a leading lending and borrowing protocol, Compound empowers users to lend and borrow a variety of cryptocurrencies. It operates with algorithmically determined interest rates based on the supply and demand dynamics of each asset. Compound was also one of the first and most notable DeFi projects to completely turn over protocol decisions to community governance through the release of the COMP token. COMP holders hold the power to propose and vote on new changes to the network's protocol.
TVL: $1.78b
24-hour Volume: $224m
Available On: Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum
Aave (AAVE)
Aave is a decentralized lending protocol that enables users to lend, borrow, and earn interest on a wide range of digital assets. Aave's unique feature is the concept of "flash loans," allowing users to take out loans without collateral as long as the borrowed funds are returned within the same transaction. The protocol also introduced staking and governance capabilities through its native token, AAVE.
TVL: $7.5b
24-hour Volume: $1b
Available On: Ethereum, Avalanche, Optimism, Polygon, Arbitrum, Metis
MakerDAO (MKR)
MakerDAO is the pioneer of decentralized stablecoins, with its flagship stablecoin DAI pegged to the US dollar. Operating on the Ethereum blockchain, MakerDAO achieves stability through a system of collateralized debt positions (CDPs) and over-collateralization. MKR token holders participate in the governance of the protocol, shaping its parameters and risk management.
TVL: $5.45b
24-hour Volume: $1.7b
Available On: Ethereum
Synthetix (SNX)
Synthetix is a decentralized synthetic asset issuance platform that enables the creation and trading of synthetic assets representing real-world assets, such as fiat currencies, commodities, and stocks. The protocol relies on SNX tokens as collateral to issue and manage these synthetic assets. Synthetix has gained attention for its innovative approach to asset tokenization within the DeFi ecosystem.
TVL: $320m
24-hour Volume: $205m
Available On: Ethereum, Optimism
JustLend (JST)
JustLend is a decentralized lending protocol built on the TRON blockchain. JustLend enables users to lend and borrow a variety of digital assets in a secure and efficient manner leveraging the TRON network's scalability and low transaction fees. With its native token, JST, JustLend facilitates the governance and incentivization of the protocol. Token holders can participate in decision-making processes like voting on proposals and determining platform parameters. JustLend also rewards users with JST tokens for participating in liquidity mining, providing additional benefits to active participants.
TVL: $3.5b
24-hour Volume: $55m
Available On: TRON
dYdX (DYDX)
dYdX is a decentralized derivatives trading platform that allows users to trade various types of financial instruments, including perpetual contracts and options, with leverage. Built on the Ethereum blockchain, dYdX offers non-custodial trading, meaning users have full control over their funds throughout the trading process. The platform has gained popularity for its robust trading infrastructure and advanced features, attracting both retail and institutional traders in the DeFi space.
TVL: $342m
24-hour Volume: $1.6b
Available On: Ethereum
Curve Finance (CRV)
Curve Finance focuses on efficient stablecoin swaps and low-slippage trades. It operates as an AMM optimized for stablecoin trading pairs, providing low fees and minimal price slippage. Curve's design targets the specific needs of stablecoin users, enabling them to swap between stablecoins with minimal loss.
TVL: $3.7b
24-hour Volume: $1b
Available On: Ethereum, Arbitrum, Polygon, Optimism, Celo, Fantom, Kava, Avalanche, Gnosis, Moonbeam, Aurora, Harmony
Balancer (BAL)
Balancer is a decentralized portfolio manager and liquidity protocol. It allows users to create and manage liquidity pools with multiple tokens and different weightings, making it possible to construct dynamic asset allocations. Balancer's flexible nature has gained popularity among users seeking more customizable liquidity solutions than what is offered by other decentralized exchanges.
TVL: $910m
24-hour Volume: $350m
Available On: Ethereum, Gnosis, Polygon, Polygon zkEVM, Arbitrum
PancakeSwap (CAKE)
PancakeSwap is built on the BNB Chain (formerly Binance Smart Chain), which is a fast and inexpensive alternative to Ethereum. Users can swap BEP-20 standard tokens on PancakeSwap. PancakeSwap has innovative features such as a lottery to win free tokens, an NFT marketplace, and yield farming. Users can also earn income by staking CAKE tokens in liquidity pools or yield farms.
TVL: $1.5b
24-hour Volume: $205m
Available On: BNB Chain, Ethereum, Aptos
Wrapping Up
These protocols represent just a fraction of the thriving ecosystem driving the future of finance. Their groundbreaking features and relentless pursuit of innovation continue to push the boundaries of decentralized finance. In future editions of ‘The Cortex Connection’ we’ll cover these protocols in more depth, digging into their core products, their history, and the teams behind the magic.
As always, we hope you find the information in these issues valuable and welcome any feedback and suggestions you may have. If there are any topics related to crypto or DeFi that you would like us to cover in future issues, please feel free to visit our Discord channel to let us know! We want to make sure we’re providing content that you care about.
Thank you for reading!