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DeFi Begins Recovery As TVL Exceeds $45 Billion

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) has always been the most evolving sector in the Web3 space. With new innovations and protocols popping up in the DeFi industry, the ecosystem total value locked (TVL) continued to increase until the bear market stepped in. 

The bear cycle caused a lot of downturns in many sectors of the We3 industry including DeFi. However, following the ongoing so-called ‘mini bull run,’ we’ve seen DeFi TVL start to recover from the lower lows and surge by nearly 20% since the beginning of the year. 

DeFi TVL Surges Nearly 20%

According to data from DeFiLlama, DeFi TVL has exceeded $45 billion — its highest point in the past two months. Major DeFi protocols such as Lido Finance and MakerDAO played a significant role in the DeFi TVL rise. Lido has amassed double-digit gains over the past week, adding $8.4 billion to the DeFi ecosystem since its lower low late last year. 

Though the TVL rise appears to be mirroring the crypto rally as most of the underlying DeFi tokens have also followed suit in the bullish trend, one thing worth noting is that DeFi TVL is still very far from its all-time high seen in 2021. 

Notably, Liquid staking protocol like Lido Finance is the accelerator of the DeFi ecosystem surge, having the largest DeFi market share with 14.75% dominance and leaving the former king of DeFi, MakerDAO, behind with a share of 13.25%, according to DeFiLlama.

As reported by NewsBTC, the reason behind the rapid increase in the momentum of Lido is the Ethereum Merge, which triggered the popularity of liquid staking protocols such as Lido Finance. Following the merge, the total ETH stake in Lido increased 10% from 4.43 million ETH on September 15, 2022, the date of the merge, to over 4.8 million ETH today.

Other Accelerator Of The DeFi TVL Rise

Aside from Lido’s aid in the DeFi TVL surge, the high-throughput layer-1 blockchain network, Algorand, has also been an assistant following its 123% spike over the past week. It currently has $176 million in TVL, with five of the top six leading DeFi protocols on the network having done significant percentages in gains over the past 7 days.

AlgoFi is up 121% in the last 7 days. Folks Finance is up 490%, Pact 136%, and GARD 202%, driving massive momentum into the ecosystem. 

Aave and Uniswap have always contributed greatly to the DeFi ecosystem TVL, with Aave recording over 10% in gains in the last 7 days and Uniswap recording nearly 7% in gains over the same period. Regarding blockchain, Ethereum is still the top dog with the largest share in the DeFi TVL.

Ethereum has a DeFi market share of over 50%, with a TVL of $27.16 billion. ETH has amassed significant gains in its value in the past few days amid the global market rally. 

ETHUSDT price chart on TradingView

ETH finally broke the $1,300 zone and has climbed to a higher high above $1,500. Though ETH is still far from its peak, the second-largest crypto by market cap is striving to reach its ATH and beyond.

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Lido Token Spikes, Are Whales Actively Accumulating LDO?

Following Ethereum whale interest in the Lido Finance token, LDO has gained massive momentum over the past week, up by 20%. Whalestats recently reported LDO was one of the most used smart contract tokens among the top 5,000 ETH investors.  

While the reason for the token adoption may be quite glaring, its recent spike has begged questions from individuals wondering if whales are actively accumulating the Lido Finance token.

Whales Accumulating LDO?

According to on-chain data, whales are interested in LDO. LookOnChain reported earlier today some investors received a massive amount of LDO tokens. As on-chain data reveals, 3.5 million tokens were received by an investor, and almost half a million were sold on the market at an average selling price of $1.37.

Though the sum was large enough to move the LDO market, given the token is not the most liquid asset, LDO survived the massive sell-off, remaining at a solid price.  

Related Reading: Lido DAO Shows Strength To Breakout; Will The Downtrend Line Be Invalidated?

Aside from that, the rapid increase in trading volume is also a point worth noting on the accumulation of the liquid staking token. LDO trading volume has gone from $9.3 million at the beginning of this year to $85 million at present. 

LDO Gaining Momentum

Just a few days ago, Lido Finance TVL (total value locked) overtook Maker DAO emerging as the largest DeFi protocol in terms of total value locked. The Liquid staking protocol’s TVL went from a ranging $5 billion to $5.99 billion. Alongside the protocol TVL increase, Lido’s LDO token also surged amid its TVL rise up by almost 20% in the past week.

The reason behind the rapid increase in the momentum of Lido is the Ethereum Merge, which triggered the popularity of liquid staking protocols such as Lido Finance. Following the merge, the total ETH stake in Lido increased 10% from 4.43 million ETH on September 15, 2022, the date of the merge, to 4.9 million ETH today.

LDO and Crypto Market Overview

As of now, the momentum on LDO still seems to be solid, sitting at a trading price of $1.39 with a trading volume of $83 million. Regardless, LDO is still down from its historical all-time high of $11. 

LDO Price Chart From TradingView.com

Overall, LDO is not the only token in the market gaining upward momentum. Major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have also gained a few percent to the upside. 

As of the time of writing, Bitcoin is currently trading at $16,819, with a 24-hour trading volume of $15 billion. In contrast, Ethereum currently trades for $1,251, up by 0.25%, with a trading volume of $4.9 billion in the past 24 hours. 

Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView

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Prediction: New Narrative Could See These Altcoins Skyrocket In 2023

A look at the top performers over the past 24 hours reveals a trend that could trigger a boom among certain altcoins in 2023. We’re talking about Lido Finance (LDO), which has risen 7% in the past 24 hours and 17% over the past seven days, making it the 37th largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

Lido Finance is a decentralized liquid staking application that allows users to generate additional yield for staking their assets. The application currently offers support for five cryptocurrencies: Ethereum (ETH), Polygon (MATIC), Solana (SOL), Kusama (KSM), and Polkadot (DOT).

Of particular interest, however, is the first-mentioned altcoin, Ethereum. As Thor Hartvigsen, blockchain and defi researcher, explained, Liquid Staking Derivatives (LSD) altcoins could see a boom in 2023 as the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap implements the Shanghai upgrade.

Of all major layer-1 blockchains, Ethereum has the lowest staking ratio of only 14%. In contrast, 90% of all BNB, 72% of all ADA, 68% of all SOL, and 62% of all AVAX are staked. The huge gap is likely related to the fact that ETH cannot yet be de-staked. However, the Shanghai hard fork planned for March will change that.

While the analyst expects a major unstaking initially, the upgrade could trigger massive growth for liquid staking solutions in the long run. And Lido Finance (LDO) is currently the undisputed leader in the liquid staking of ETH, providing further rocket fuel for the LDO token.

liquid staking

Altcoins Poised To Skyrocket Based On The Narrative

However, not only the LDO but rather small LSD altcoins could benefit from the new narrative. As anonymous analyst “Karl” says, numerous LSD solutions are poised to wobble at the throne of Lido Finance. Currently, LDO’s market share is about 65.62%, followed by Rocket Pool (3.10%), StakeWise (0.9%), Ankr (0.81%), Frax Finance (0.67%), and Stafi (0.25%).

liquid staking altcoins

As the analyst assesses, the market caps of the altcoins Stakewise (SWISE) and Stafi (FIS) are still below $20 million, despite the fact that they control significant market share. “[T]heir tokenomics aren’t the best though, as there is still a considerable portion of the supply to be unlocked as team/investors’ allocation and liquidity mining rewards,” the analyst added.

A look at the market share/market cap ratio also shows that both SWISE and FIS tokens are close behind the market leader, poised for future gains.

liquid staking altcoins MC FDV

Also remarkable is Frax Finance, which recently entered the LSD landscape of altcoins and has already managed to capture a significant market share. Hartvigsen stated that in less than 2 months, Frax has managed to attract more than 45,000 ETH (about $55 million TVL).

According to the analyst, there are “no signs of slowing down” as APRs are consistently at 9-10%, far outperforming any competitor. Frax Finance accomplishes this by giving users frxETH when they are either liquidity pooled on Curve (frxETH/ETH) or staked on Frax Finance (sfrxETH).

“Only sfrxETH receives the ETH staking yield. This results in a higher APR as not all of the staked ETH is receiving the rewards as they are in the curve pool instead,” the analyst explained.

But Rocket Pool is also a prime candidate to grow from the new narrative due to its relative size, recent popularity growth, and several differentiators, Hartvigsen added.

Two Potential Spoilers For LDO

However, in the near term, there could be two spoilers in particular for the price of the Lido Finance token, LDO. Both Nansen and Chain EDGE on-chain data shows that “smart money” has been selling LDO rather than buying it, Twitter user @AvaxGems pointed out.

A second factor for LDO could be Alameda. The ex-company of Sam Bankman-Fried sold 719,498 LDO on December 28, worth about $717,451, for 601 ETH, and currently still has 1.86 million LDO left, the equivalent of about $1.81 million.

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Terra Coin Price Balloons 30% – But Can LUNA Reach Higher Terrain?

Terra (LUNA) woke up to a good day on Wednesday as the token made an impressive 30% jump in its price on the way to tallying a high of $3.08.

  • Terra accounted for 25.06% of the entire token holdings among the top 100 ETH whales
  • LUNA price surged by 30% today and hit $3.08
  • Bullish momentum is possible and trading price might reach $3.25

The crypto, though, immediately experienced price correction as it is trading at $2.69 at press time according to tracking from Coingecko.

Still, Terra is looking at a 5.5% increase for the past seven days and a higher jump of 7.4% for the past two weeks.

It is still miles away from its all-time high of $18.87 attained in March 28 of this year, losing 85.6% of that value.

The good news is that it is currently up by 77.6% of from its all-time low of $1.53 hit on August 29, 2022.

Terra Surges As It Flips Lido Staked ETH Tokens

According to online crypto information source WhaleStats, Terra became the top holding by dollars of the top 100 Ethereum whales, accounting for 25.06% of all token holdings.

In doing so, LUNA was able to edge out Lido staked ETH (stETH) tokens and even surpassed USDC and USDT holdings of the whales.

In total, Ethereum whales included in the top 100 held around $820 million worth of Terra digital coin.

The wormhole interoperability protocol asset was then leveraged by the Ethereum whales to exit liquidity, causing the unprecedented rally that pushed LUNA price to grow by 30%.

Terra also witnessed a 150% increase in its trading volumes for the past hours, contributing to the bullish rally the digital asset made.

Terra Price Action At A Glance

While the Terra coin price ballooned by 30%, it still remains to be seen if LUNA can reach higher terrain during this time when crypto market is looking at high level of uncertainties among market participants.

It can be recalled that during the period of September 10 to 26, there was a massive sell-off involving the altcoin, driving its price all the way down to the $2 psychological support marker.

This led to the formation of a pennant pattern for Terra, indicating a continuance of the bearish momentum it was in before this recent price surge.

But all is not lost for LUNA, as there is a slight chance that the token will break the overhead trendline. If that happens, just like today, Terra might end up in an upward trend, going as high as 20% to hit $3.25.

As for its intraday performance, the altcoin is in a bullish trend but volatility remains high.

Crypto total market cap at $853 billion on the daily chart | Featured image from CafeF, Source: TradingView.com

Disclaimer: The analysis represents the author’s personal views and should not be construed as investment advice.

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Lido (LDO) Price Spikes Over 10% In 24 H, Making It Most Profitable Alt

The broader crypto market showed an impressive price rally mid-day, August 31. Cryptos such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have increased by 0.87% and 2.58%. BTC’s price is $20,319.03, while ETH has regained a hold on $1589.74. The top coins are now trading in the greens. 

But the morning hours of August 31 didn’t sit well with the assets. Many cryptos lost their 24-hour price gain, including BTC and ETH. Bitcoin lost its hold on the $20K mark, while Ethereum followed with a 0.4% loss.

Related Reading: Bitcoin Trades Above $20,000, Has The Fed Failed Again?

Others, such as DOT, DOGE, SOL, and SHIB, lost 2.05%, 2.08%, 1.47%, and 2.21%. But the higher losers were AVAX and SNX, which dropped by 3.34% and 7.5%.  

The Tides Have Turned For DAO 

Lido DAO coins have spiked by over 11% in the past 24 hours. According to analysts, this price gain has made it the top profitable crypto asset. LDO gained support and climbed above its critical resistance level. Also, the Relative Strength Index for LDO on the chart shows that it entered the neutral zone.

These indicators show an imminent acceleration and price increase. Right now, LDO is fluctuating between $1.98 and $2. Also, its trading volume has spiked considerably. By that, there’s a high possibility of a continuing price rally. 

One of the possible reasons for the push on LIDO price is the upcoming Merge. While many analysts already hint that the upgrade has been Priced In for Ethereum, the case might be different for Lido DAO. 

The decentralized organization is among the top holders of Ethereum 2.0 staking contracts. So, as the network upgrades and becomes more scalable, the effect will resound on Lido. 

The organization will become a top shareholder of Ethereum after the upgrade. This means it will have adequate voting power to participate in network activities. That’s why more people are buying into this opportunity by purchasing LDO tokens ahead of time. 

LDO price is currently trading at $1.97. | Source: LDOUSD price chart from TradingView.com
LDO Journey in August 2022

One reason to celebrate the upward momentum in LDO is the poor performance that characterized its August price journey. After shocking its community with a 340% rally in mid-August, the token started a downward trend. 

Related Reading: TA- Near Protocol Struggles With Resistance, Can Bulls Push Price To $6?

The LDO price jump was linked to the Ethereum Merge event. As a major shareholder in Ethereum 2.0, the upgrade favored the decentralized organization. But the token couldn’t sustain the spike and continued losing until it fell below its 50-day moving average on August 26.

At that point, investors lost hope of a reversal until this latest price gain. Currently, the 24-hour gain has attracted more attention toward LDO. The community expects to see more spike in value as the Merge date approach. 

Featured image from Pixabay and chart from TradingView.com

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Lido (LDO) Sheds 58% Of Its All-Time High TVL At $11 Billion

Lido TVL or total value locked, toppled over to new high lows seen in the third week of this month following the bearish movement of the DeFi market.

LDO has shaved off over 58% of its TVL, which registered an all-time high of $20.4 billion on April 6 but dropped down to roughly $8.6 billion on May 22.

Suggested Reading | Ripple (XRP) Plunges To $0.43 With Bears In Full Swing

Lido, a liquidity staking solution, targets orienting people towards staking. It has zero minimum staking requirements which is a great feature, to begin with. The users can freely stake assets in exchange for daily rewards.

A couple of applications and services connected with Lido comprise Anchor Protocol, Curve, MakerDao, 1inch, StakeEther, Ledger, and SushiSwap Onsen.

Lido TVL Down 17%

LDO’s TVL has been dramatically slipping due to the overall crypto market crisis going on for several months now. Its TVL on Ethereum was at $10.32 billion on April 6. After reducing investor interest, its TVL decreased 17% or equivalent to $8.47 billion on May 22.

Meanwhile, its TVL on its all-time high on Terra was at roughly $9.66 billion. However, the figures dropped 99% on May 22, or approximately $14,870 in six weeks.   

LDO TVL on Solana used to be hovering at $417.17 million, but it went down by nearly 70% or roughly $126.24 million on May 22.

LDO total market cap at $395 million on the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com

Lido TVL on Moonriver was at $2.57 million during the height of dApps popularity. However, when investor interest waned, the values also crashed by 27%, equivalent to $1.86 million seen in that same period.

After crashing by more than $11 billion, LDO has been demoted from the ranks close to MakerDAO and Curve.

LDO Still Superior In TVL

On the flip side, despite Lido’s drop in terms of TVL, it still is superior in TVL compared to Convex Finance, JustLend, Aave, SushiSwap, Uniswap, Instadapp, PancakeSwap, Compound, and Just Lend.

It opened on April 6, trading at $4.27. However, the coin dropped on May 12 at $1.23 and seems to be not going over the $1.33 mark today. Looking at those figures, this would give you as much as a 68% loss in LDO price in just six weeks.

Suggested Reading | Bitcoin Reclaims $30K Territory After Recent Weeks’ Struggle – Analysts Weigh In

Polygon Launch This Month

Lido is currently the leading Ethereum liquid staking solution that comprises a large share of over 80% in that space. Moreover, assets staked on Lido are divided into 76,000 crypto wallets and worth $10 billion based on prevailing prices.

Lido also promotes liquid staking on Terra, Kusama, and Solana blockchains. Lido’s launch this month on Polygon is in the works.

Lido is governed by a DAO or equivalent to all the holders of Lido’s token, which collectively makes decisions in the blockchain.

Featured image from BitRss.com, chart from TradingView.com