KLend, a decentralized lending protocol, has experienced a significant increase in its total value locked (TVL), reaching $9.5 million, according to DefiLlama. This marks a ninefold surge from mid-October's $1 million. The protocol, active since 2021, surpassed its previous record of $2.4 million set in December 2021.

KLend, forked from Compound v2, operates on OKTChain and BNB Smart Chain (BSC). While OKTChain's TVL remains stable, BSC deposits have skyrocketed to nearly $9 million, driven by Binance Peg Bitcoin Cash (BCH), which constitutes 92% of deposits.

The remarkable APY of 3,900% for BCH lending is likely attracting investors, despite uncertainties about payout.

BlackRock has announced the expansion of its USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) to seven blockchain networks, including Aptos, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism’s OP Mainnet, and Polygon. Launched in March 2024 on the Ethereum blockchain, BUIDL rapidly became the largest tokenised fund, surpassing Franklin Templeton’s On-Chain U.S. Money Market Fund. This expansion allows users across these blockchains to interact natively with BUIDL, enhancing accessibility and potential for real-world asset tokenization. As of now, BUIDL is valued at $510 million, reflecting significant growth in the tokenised fund market.

Overnight Finance, a decentralized asset management protocol, has surpassed the $100 million mark in total value locked (TVL), reaching $120 million as of November 13, according to DefiLlama data. This marks a significant growth, with a 90% increase on Wednesday alone, positioning it as one of the top-performing DeFi applications this week.

The protocol offers various investment strategies, including stablecoin deposits and delta-neutral strategies, with its flagship product, USD+, accounting for over 95% of its TVL. USD+ has seen substantial growth, particularly on the Base chain, where it holds over $112 million in stablecoins.

Eidon, a Web3 AI startup, has successfully raised $3.5 million in a seed round led by Framework Ventures, with participation from Cyber.Fund. The company aims to build a decentralized AI network that incentivizes users to share data for training AI models. Eidon’s platform allows users to submit data, such as fine hand motions, for auditing and authentication by others. The recent funding will be used to establish the foundational elements of this network, with the first version of the platform already live. This development aligns with the increasing interest in the intersection of blockchain and AI technologies.

Animoca Brands has successfully secured an additional $10 million in funding for its Mocaverse project, with participation from investors including OKX Ventures, CMCC Global, and Hong Shan. This latest round brings the total fundraising to $41.88 million, following a previous raise of $31.88 million last year.

The funding was structured through a simple agreement for future equity (SAFE) with a free-attaching utility token warrant. The MOCA coin is valued at an implied fully diluted market cap of $1 billion. The funds will be used to accelerate Mocaverse's operations, aiming to enhance digital property rights and interoperability within decentralized systems.

TAC (TON Application Chain), an EVM layer-2 network, has successfully raised $6.5 million in a seed round co-led by Hack VC and Symbolic Capital. Additional participation came from notable investors such as Primitive, Paper Ventures, and Animoca Ventures. The funds will be allocated to enhance marketing and developer relations, as well as to advance technology efforts connecting EVM dApps across DeFi, GameFi, and SocialFi sectors.

TAC aims to simplify the development of Ethereum-compatible applications on the TON network, leveraging Telegram's vast user base. The project plans to launch its testnet this week, with the mainnet expected in Q1 2025.

Amply Finance, a lending protocol on the Cronos zkEVM chain, has achieved a significant milestone with its total value locked (TVL) reaching a record $20 million on November 11. This marks a 300% increase within a few days, positioning Amply as the largest decentralized application on the newly launched layer 2 network developed with Cronos Labs.

The surge began on November 6, when deposits nearly doubled to $9.2 million following the launch of Amply's native token, AMPLY. Users can convert preAMP to AMPLY and stake rewards for three months to unlock more tokens by mid-February 2025. Amply, a fork of Aave v3, recorded $5.3 million in USD inflows on November 9.

Key tokens contributing to the TVL include vETH, ETH, VUSD, USDC, CRO, and WZKCRO. Amply's growth has also contributed to Cronos zkEVM's TVL doubling to $42 million, highlighting its competitive edge against other DeFi apps like H2 Finance. The broader DeFi sector has seen a recovery, with total TVL gaining over $20 billion recently.

Binance Labs has announced its investment in BIO Protocol, marking its initial venture into the decentralized science (DeSci) sector. The investment aligns Binance Labs with other Web3 entities, such as A16z and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who are exploring DeSci. BIO Protocol aims to revolutionize the funding and commercialization of early-stage scientific research using blockchain technology, likened to a "Y Combinator for on-chain Science." The project has raised $13 million to date, with its network comprising seven DAOs on the Ethereum blockchain, focusing on diverse research areas.

Decentralized AI startup Pond has successfully raised $7.5 million in a seed funding round led by Archetype, with additional investments from Cyber Fund, Delphi Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and Near Foundation. Notable angel investors include Chris Yin of Plume Network, Cynthia Wu of Matrixport, and Tesa Ho from Flashbots. Founded in 2023, Pond focuses on developing a comprehensive AI model ecosystem tailored for Web3, utilizing on-chain data to enhance crypto-specific applications. The company aims to simplify complex blockchain data through AI, facilitating better user insights and decision-making in the crypto space.

Magic Labs and Polygon have announced the launch of Newton, a cross-chain network designed to address blockchain balkanization. This initiative aims to simplify the use of cross-chain dApps, making it as seamless as "surfing the web." By partnering with Polygon, Magic Labs leverages the Ethereum layer-2 network's Chain Developer Kit and AggLayer to enable secure liquidity and user sharing across sovereign chains.

Newton represents a significant step towards unifying blockchains, akin to traditional finance systems like ACH or SWIFT. This effort is backed by leading Web3 venture capital firms, including PayPal Ventures.

Avalon Labs, a yield farming and lending protocol for Bitcoin-related tokens, has surpassed the $1 billion mark in total value locked (TVL) as Bitcoin reached a new record of $75,000. According to DeFiLlama, Avalon’s liquidity value increased by over 25% in the past week, reaching $1.1 billion. This growth is attributed to a recovery in token deposits and a significant rise in Bitcoin's price.

Avalon Labs, rebranded from Avalon Finance, launched the first CeDeFi platform in April 2024. The CeDeFi product, focusing on Bitcoin-related tokens, has seen its TVL rise to over $220 million.

Vlayer has successfully raised $10 million in a pre-seed funding round, attracting investment from a16z Crypto Startup Accelerator, Credo Ventures, and BlockTower Capital. The fundraising was executed in two tranches, with $3 million secured in February and an additional $7 million in August. Notable Web3 contributors, including members from World, Tools for Humanity, and Aztec, participated as angel investors.

The company is developing "Solid 2.0," a verifiable data infrastructure aimed at enhancing Ethereum's programming capabilities. This platform introduces functionalities such as Time Travel and Teleport, enabling historical data execution and cross-network smart contract operations. Vlayer is currently in an open alpha phase, with further developments anticipated by 2025.

Michael Cahill, founder of Douro Labs, emphasizes the resilience of the crypto industry amid political changes, drawing parallels to the 2020 U.S. election. He highlights the significant growth in real-world asset tokenization (RWA), which has surged to over $13 billion on-chain, with projections reaching $16 trillion by 2030. Cahill asserts that regulation will be pivotal in realizing this potential. Douro Labs and Pyth Data Association are developing decentralized infrastructure to provide real-time data, crucial for advancing DeFi and crypto adoption. Despite political uncertainties, Cahill remains optimistic about the sector's continued growth.

Agni Finance, a decentralized exchange on the Mantle network, has achieved a new record high in total value locked (TVL) at over $171 million as of October 31, according to DefiLlama. This marks a significant recovery from earlier declines, with TVL dropping below $90 million at the beginning of October. The recent surge is attributed to the Metamorphosis campaign, particularly the introduction of cmETH, a liquid restaking token. Launched on October 29, cmETH quickly attracted substantial deposits, now comprising 25% of Agni's TVL. Despite the growth in TVL, trading volumes remain below July's peak levels.

Me Protocol has developed a rewards platform designed to connect brands, games, and consumer-facing apps, enabling them to offer instant liquidity for their tokens. According to Wesley, this platform can transform traditional rewards programs into a more flexible, blockchain-based system.

Wesley highlighted the limitations of conventional rewards programs, such as Starbucks' Odyssey, which was restricted to Starbucks products. He believes that integrating fungible rewards could enhance the scalability and usability of such programs.

The adoption of cryptocurrencies by payment services like PayPal and Shopify has increased real-life use cases for digital assets. However, Wesley sees significant potential in blockchain-based rewards programs to further drive Web3 adoption. By allowing rewards to be universally redeemable across various brands, Me Protocol aims to simplify the user experience and promote broader acceptance of blockchain technology.

Ellipsis Labs, the developers behind the Solana-based decentralized exchange platform Phoenix, have secured a $21 million funding round. This round includes $20 million from Haun Ventures and an additional $1 million from other investors, as reported by CoinDesk.

The capital will be used to advance their verifiable finance blockchain project, Atlas. Initially built on Ethereum, Atlas now accesses both Ethereum and Solana liquidity pools. It aims to address DeFi issues such as inefficient price discovery and high transaction costs, featuring low fees and high-volume fast transaction execution.

Haun Ventures highlighted that Atlas enables high-performance financial products that can rival traditional finance without sacrificing transparency, auditability, or censorship resistance.

Glow Labs has successfully raised $30 million in a funding round led by Framework Ventures and Union Square Ventures, with contributions from Lattice Ventures, Protocol Labs, Hack VC, HF0, and Alliance DAO. The Ethereum-based decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) plans to allocate $6.5 million to support its operations, while $23.5 million will be used to expand solar energy farms in India.

Glow's decentralized energy distribution network rewards solar farms with GLW tokens for electricity output and USDC for carbon credits. This funding highlights the growing investment in DePINs, with notable recent investments including Borderless Capital's $100 million fund and Daylight's $9 million Series A round led by A16z.

Glow's focus on solar energy distinguishes it from other DePIN projects like Daylight, which integrates various power products. Glow's CEO, David Vorick, emphasized the company's rapid growth and its significant impact on CO2 emissions reduction.

Axal, a Web3 startup specializing in on-chain trading tools, has launched its first product, Axal Autopilot, a verifiable autonomous agent network. This platform enables users to create personalized trading strategies, including yield maximization, portfolio rebalancing, and auto cash-outs.

The launch coincides with a $2.5 million pre-seed funding round led by CMT Digital, with contributions from a16z Crypto Startup School, Escape Velocity, and others. The funds will be used to expand Axal's team.

Axal Autopilot supports multi-chain transactions, allowing seamless buying, holding, and selling of crypto assets across different blockchains.

Franklin Templeton has become the first asset manager to launch a product on Coinbase's Base, expanding its tokenized money market fund, FOBXX, to the Ethereum layer-2 network. This move allows the fund to operate on six blockchain networks, including Avalanche, Arbitrum, Polygon, Aptos, and Stellar, with Stellar serving as the primary network for the $410 million fund.

The expansion to Base, which is part of the Optimism-based Superchain, aims to leverage the benefits of layer-2 blockchains, such as lower transaction costs and faster execution speeds. This development highlights the growing trend of financial institutions adopting on-chain technology to modernize the financial system.

Spire Labs, a Web3 startup focused on Ethereum scaling solutions, has successfully raised $7 million in a seed round co-led by Maven 11 Capital and Anagram. Other notable participants include Digital Currency Group, Bankless Ventures, Volt Capital, Finality Capital, and A16z Crypto Startup Accelerator. Angel investors such as Nick White, Jacob Arluck, and Amrit Kumar also joined the round.

The funds will be used to accelerate the development of Based Stack, a rollup framework designed to help developers deploy app-specific chains on Ethereum. According to co-founder Kaito Yanai, Based Stack differentiates itself by utilizing "based sequencing," which leverages Ethereum Layer-1 as the sequencing layer, providing benefits such as L1 composability, credible neutrality, liveness, censorship resistance, and decentralization.

Based Stack is expected to launch its testnet later this year, with a mainnet launch planned for the first quarter of 2025.