Aptos, a layer-1 blockchain, has announced the integration of Circle's USDC stablecoin and Stripe to enhance its DeFi ecosystem and global payment capabilities. Circle will incorporate Aptos into its cross-chain transfer protocol (CCTP), facilitating seamless USDC movement across blockchains. This integration aims to strengthen Aptos' connection with decentralized finance applications. Additionally, Stripe's involvement is expected to improve crypto on-ramp services, enabling direct conversion of fiat currencies into USDC via Aptos-enabled wallets. This strategic move highlights Aptos' commitment to expanding its market reach and enhancing global fund flows with stablecoins.

Digital Currency Group (DCG) has announced the launch of Yuma, a new subsidiary aimed at supporting startups and projects on the Bittensor network. Bittensor is a decentralized open network for creating, training, and accessing AI models. DCG founder Barry Silbert will lead Yuma as CEO, leveraging his experience in digital assets to foster decentralized AI development.

Yuma will provide capital, infrastructure, and technical resources to projects, having already assisted startups like Sturdy and Infinite Games. This initiative underscores DCG's commitment to advancing decentralized intelligence as an economic catalyst and equitable digital ecosystem.

Valantis Labs, a modular decentralized exchange (DEX) protocol, has successfully raised $7.5 million across pre-seed and seed funding rounds. The pre-seed round, led by Cyber Fund and Kraken Ventures, closed at a $20 million valuation, while the seed round, led by SevenX Ventures, valued the protocol at $40 million. Additional investors include Semantic Ventures, Figment Capital, and Robot Ventures, with angel investors Anthony Sassano and Sandeep Nailwal participating.

Valantis offers a modular framework for developers to build DEXes using composable modules, distinguishing itself from Uniswap's hook-based customization. The protocol's first modular DEX, HOT-AMM, has already facilitated over $50 million in trading volume.

OpenLayer, a Web3 startup founded by former Robinhood employees, has successfully raised $5 million in a seed round. The funding was led by a16z Crypto Startup Accelerator, with participation from Geometry, IOSG Ventures, Spartan Group, and LongHash Ventures, alongside undisclosed angel investors. OpenLayer aims to decentralize data access by allowing users to earn points through data contribution and validation via a Chrome extension. This data can then be utilized by app developers for AI model training and user targeting, contingent on user consent. The initiative addresses the current AI industry's data access challenges.

DeSyn Protocol, a decentralized asset management and restaking platform, has reached a significant milestone with its total value locked (TVL) surpassing $1 billion, according to DefiLlama data. This marks a substantial increase from $220 million in mid-September, positioning DeSyn among the top 40 DeFi applications by TVL.

The protocol offers diversified passive income opportunities across eight major blockchains, with Bitlayer contributing a third of its TVL. DeSyn's product offerings include Simple Deposit, Liquid Fund, and Basis Trading pools, catering to various investor strategies. The recent surge in TVL underscores the platform's growing influence in the DeFi sector.

Sky's USDS Stablecoin Expands to Solana

Sky, previously known as Maker, has announced the deployment of its USDS stablecoin on the Solana blockchain, marking a significant shift from its Ethereum exclusivity since 2014. This move is part of a broader trend among stablecoin issuers, including PayPal's PYUSD, to leverage Solana's high processing speed and low transaction costs.

To foster adoption, Sky has entered liquidity incentive agreements with Solana-based DeFi platforms such as Jupiter, Orca, Kamino, and Drift, distributing over 300,000 USDS weekly. This expansion reflects the growing stablecoin market, with global transaction volumes exceeding $22 trillion.

Euler, an Ethereum-based lending protocol, is experiencing a resurgence after a prolonged period of inactivity. The protocol's total value locked (TVL) in its version 2, launched in August, reached a record $77.3 million on November 18, as reported by DefiLlama.

Beginning the month at $14 million, Euler's TVL has increased by over 500% in the past month, marking it as a top-performing decentralized application (dapp) on Ethereum and within the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector.

Despite past challenges, including a significant hacking incident, the launch of Euler v2 has revitalized the platform, now holding more than 99% of its TVL.

Goldman Sachs is advancing its blockchain strategy by developing a platform for large financial institutions to create, trade, and settle financial instruments like bonds and cash. This initiative includes a partnership with Trade Markets to explore new digital use cases. Additionally, Goldman aims to facilitate secondary transactions in privately held digital companies and plans to resume Bitcoin-backed lending. Mathew McDermott, Global Head of Digital Assets, revealed plans to spin out the digital asset unit within 12 to 18 months, pending regulatory approval. This move aligns with industry trends, as other major banks like JPMorgan are also expanding into blockchain-based businesses.

Wyden, a prominent provider of institutional digital asset trading infrastructure, has successfully closed a CHF 14.5 million Series B funding round, led by Truffle Capital. New investors such as SBI-Sygnum-Azimut Digital Asset Opportunity Fund and FiveT Fintech participated, alongside existing investor C3 Venture Capital. The company aims to expand its services in markets with stringent digital asset regulations, including the EU, Switzerland, Turkey, the UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Brazil. Wyden plans to integrate up to 20 additional banks, brokers, and exchanges, enhancing its sales and product delivery functions.

BlackRock has announced the rapid expansion of its USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), which has become the largest tokenised fund within 40 days of its launch in March 2024. Initially launched on the Ethereum blockchain, BUIDL is now accessible on six blockchains, including Aptos, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism’s OP Mainnet, and Polygon. This expansion enables native interaction for users across these ecosystems. The fund, valued at $510 million, surpasses Franklin Templeton’s On-Chain U.S. Money Market Fund, which recently expanded to similar blockchain networks.

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.