According to blockchain data analytics platform Glassnode, two coins from the Ethereum (ETH) ecosystem are spearheading a new revival in decentralized finance (DeFi).
Glassnode’s Radar: Compound (COMP) and Maker (MKR)
Blockchain data analytics platform Glassnode stated in its latest report that the DeFi index, consisting of the eight largest DeFi tokens by market capitalization, has outperformed Ethereum (ETH), the king of altcoins, in the past two months for the first time since September 2022.
Glassnode, who examined the index closely, highlighted two tokens as the main driving forces behind this trend: the stablecoin governance token Maker (MKR) and the service token of the smart contract DeFi protocol Compound (COMP). The platform noted that the strong performance of these two altcoins could be related to recent fundamental developments in the two crypto projects:
Upon closer examination, we can see that the performance may be more closely related to new project fundamentals rather than broader market developments. On June 28, Robert Leshner, the founder and CEO of Compound, announced his departure from the lending protocol and the launch of a new project focused on bringing regulated finance to blockchain networks. Following this announcement, the COMP token surged by up to 83% within a week.
MakerDAO, during the same period, launched the Smart Burn Engine, a buyback program that uses the excess stablecoin DAI owned by the protocol to buy MKR from the Uniswap pool. The possibility of approximately $7 million worth of MKR being sold off within a month caused the token’s price to increase by up to 43% within a week.
Performance of the Top 8 DeFi Tokens
Meanwhile, cryptocurrency research firm Messari reported a revival in decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges (DEXes) and an increase in market share compared to centralized cryptocurrency exchanges (CEXes).
Messari stated, “When examining the DEX and CEX flows for the top eight DeFi tokens, we can see a renewed interest in DEX activity. The relative share of volume traded on DEXes has increased from 3.75% at the beginning of June to 29.2% today, approaching the highest levels seen in the second half of 2022.”
