Archblock, a core developer of unsecured lending protocol TrueFi, is working with Adapt3r, a subsidiary of alternative asset manager MJL Capital, to bring U.S.-regulated community banks to decentralized finance (DeFi). The two firms plan to focus on expanding access to on-chain credit products and lower the cost of capital for traditional financial institutions. The partnership highlights an accelerating trend in DeFi to cozy up with old-school banking and bring real-world assets such as bank loans, mortgages and corporate credit to blockchain-based protocols. (source)
ConsenSys unveiled its zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) network for private beta testing via a blog post on Dec. 13. Designed and operated by ConsenSys, developers can deploy and manage decentralized applications using tools such as MetaMask, Truffle and Infura, almost as if they were using the EVM directly. (source)
MakerDAO, the decentralized autonomous organization behind the Maker DeFi project, is set to execute eight governance proposals that have been voted on by the community in what the protocol has called its “most important deployments of 2022.” (source)
DeFi will continue to grow while CeFi consolidates: This past year exposed many of the problems of centralized finance (CeFi), while DeFi at large functioned flawlessly. In light of 2022’s many CeFi collapses, I expect the industry to consolidate into highly regulated players such as Coinbase and Bitstamp. In the period following the FTX collapse, DeFi transactions have already spiked, ‘with volumes up 68% (to $97 billion) from October to November’. (source)
Sooho.io, a provider of decentralized finance (DeFi) services, has raised $4.5 million to help forge links between separate blockchains in its native South Korea. The Seoul-based company, whose clients include Samsung and LG, intends to use the funds to develop a range of blockchain tools, such as software development kits (SDK) and application programming interface (API) for setting up DeFi infrastructure and forging bridges between independent blockchains in South Korea and internationally.Without it, blockchain initiatives in South Korea could see the emergence of numerous competing ecosystems. (source)