The decentralized finance (DeFi) sector has been sitting in the backseat since whipping up a frenzy in the summer of 2020 through the first quarter of 2021. Currently, investors are debating whether the crypto sector is in a bull or bear market, meaning, it’s a good time to check in on the state of DeFi and identify which protocols might be setting new trends. Here’s a look at the top-ranking DeFi protocols and a review of the strategies used by users of these protocols. Stablecoins are the foundation of DeFi Stablecoin-related DeFi protocols are the cornerstone of the DeFi ecosystem …

Bitcoin (BTC) has been volatile in the past few days but the long-term investors seem to be using the current weakness to buy. According to Whale Alert and CryptoQuant, about 30,000 BTC left Coinbase and was deposited in an unknown wallet. It is speculated to be a genuine purchase and not an in-house transaction. Although investors may be bullish for the long term, the short-term picture remains questionable. Stack Funds said in their recent weekly research report that they “expect sideways trading and possibly a potential dip” in the short term due to the increase in inflation and the lack …

Recently, media outlet Rekt.news made striking accusations about Fantom Opera, a layer-2 Ethereum scaling solution, after the foundation’s technical adviser Andre Cronje and senior solutions architect Anton Nell announced they were leaving the crypto space entirely. Almost immediately, concerns from the community arose after Nell tweeted, “There are around ~25 apps and services that we are terminating on 03 April 2022.” In the now-deleted Rekt article, it alleged the following: “Fantom, Solidly, SpookySwap, Abracadabra, Geist: multiple projects all entwined into a system designed to extract maximum value for a small set of insiders who are now steadily exiting the stage.” …

Haven Protocol (XHV) showed signs of returning to its bullish form as its price doubled in just five of trading. What's pumping Haven Protocol? XHV's price surged by up to 107% week-to-date to climb above $3.60 this Friday, its highest level in more than three months. Interestingly, the move upside followed a period of aggressive selloffs that saw XHV's value dropping from nearly $20 in November 2021 to as low as $1.60 in early February 2022 — an approximately 90% decline. Interestingly, the move upside followed a period of aggressive selloffs that saw XHV's value dropping from nearly $20 in …

A digital asset’s price rally rarely comes out of the blue. Before the token’s market value explodes, some collateral forces come into motion. The asset can suddenly attract abnormally high online attention, its trading volume can go up dramatically, or some market-moving information can go public that triggers the first two examples. Mastering the art of crypto trading means learning to see those subtle cues early on. Spiking trading volume is one of the signs that something interesting might be brewing around a crypto asset. Often, trading volume simply follows a price trend, with the coin entering a virtuous circle …

Stacks (STX) pared a considerable portion of the gains it made on March 10 as the euphoria surrounding its $165 million pledge to support Bitcoin (BTC) projects showed signs of fading. STX's price dropped by over 30% to reach a level as low as $1.33 on Friday when measured from its week-to-date high of $1.94. The selloff, in part, appeared technical as the $1.94-top fell in the same range that served as solid support between October 2021 and January 2022, only to flip later to become a resistance area. It also appears that traders spotted selling opportunities due to STX's …

Layer-2 Ethereum scaling solution Polygon has not produced a new block for over 11 hours, with developers attributing the issue to a technical upgrade on the network. On March 10 at 4:20 pm UTC, Polygon (MATIC) network developers notified users on the project’s forum that there would likely be downtime starting at about 5:50 pm UTC due to maintenance required on one of the network’s three layers. A recent upgrade is thought to have caused an error in the network’s ability to achieve consensus. “We suspect there may have been a bug in the upgrade which affected consensus and caused …

After a devastating 50% correction between Dec. 25 and Jan. 25, Polygon (MATIC) has been struggling to sustain the $1.40 support. While some argue this top-15 coin has merely adjusted after a 16,200% gain in 2021, others point to competing scaling solutions growth. Either way, Polygon (MATIC) remains 50.8% below its all-time high at an $11 billion market capitalization. Currently, the market cap of Terra (LUNA) stands at $37 billion, Solana (SOL) is above $26 billion, and Avalanche (AVAX) is at a $19 billion market value. A positive note is that Polygon raised $450 million on Feb. 7, and the …

According to a recent report curated by NonFungible, players of the monster-battle nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, game Axie Infinity transacted nearly $3.5 billion worth of NFTs in 2021. This accounts for almost two-thirds of all NFTs transacted in the entire blockchain gaming industry in 2021. In second and third place were sports highlights marketplace NBA Top Shot with $827 million and community gaming platform Loot with $242 million, respectively. Created by Vietnamese video game developer Sky Mavis in 2018, the game contains creatures called "Axies" that players collect and use to complete daily quests, duel other players, etc. Every Axie …

Waves (WAVES) continued its price rally further into this week, even as its top crypto rivals wobbled between losses and gains elsewhere in the market. A 230% Waves boom The WAVES/USD trading pair surged by nearly 75% this week to reach around $31, its best level since Oct. 28, 2021. Its rally came as a part of an upside retracement move that saw it rising by a little over 230% in three weeks. In contrast, Waves' top rival in the smart contracts sector, Ethereum, underperformed, with its native token Ether (ETH) dropping by almost 2% in the last three weeks. …

The market capitalization of gold-backed crypto tokens increased by 60% in 2022 to surpass $1 billion for the first time in history, according to Arcane Research in its latest weekly report. Gold shines, Bitcoin disappoints In 2022, investors have been rushing to the perceived safety of gold-backed crypto assets, whose value is pegged to the price of gold. Namely, PAX Gold (PAXG), Tether Gold (XAUT), and similar precious metal-backed digital assets have been climbing in value as investors "diversify inflation bets" within the crypto sector, explains Arcane Research. PAXG is also outperforming Bitcoin (BTC) this year, as shown in the …

Bitcoin (BTC) reversed in classic fashion on March 10 after bulls failed once again to hold higher levels. Bart's back on the Bitcoin chart Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD forming a characteristic “Bart Simpson” retracement pattern overnight on Wednesday. The pair had managed to pass $42,000 before consolidating, but a lack of support meant that a drop back to its previous trading zone below $40,000 was the grimly familiar outcome. Such “Bart” formations had come several times in the weeks prior, and underscored the difficulty experienced by a market stuck firmly in an established trading range …