defi

This morning, Strategy founder Michael Saylor proposed the concept of "Modern Digital Asset Stack," believing that Bitcoin is not only digital capital but will also become the underlying foundation for financial products such as digital credit, digital money, digital yield, and digital equity, driving Bitcoin's evolution from a single asset to a global financial architecture.Saylor stated that Bitcoin does not require protocol modifications, staking, or issuance increases, and its volatility can be transformed into yield-generating products through capital structure. Among them, digital credit represented by STRC-type products can provide yields, while digital money can build stable value instruments with a yield of about 6%-8% by combining Bitcoin-supported credit assets with cash equivalents.He believes that in the future, stablecoins, payment networks, wallets, exchanges, and DeFi protocols can all operate based on Bitcoin-supported capital structures, providing digital capital, yield products, and stable value assets for investors with different risk preferences.Saylor emphasized that Bitcoin will still maintain a fixed supply cap of 21 million coins, and the vast majority of innovations should occur at the levels of custody, securities, credit, payment systems, and capital markets, rather than changing the Bitcoin protocol itself, stating, "Bitcoin is digital capital, and the world will build a financial system on top of Bitcoin."

Binance Research stated on platform X that the on-chain leverage ratio of DeFi has risen to about 38%, which is on par with the levels of 2021, primarily driven by a contraction in total value locked (TVL) rather than new lending demand. The DeFi attack incident in April resulted in an outflow of about $13 billion in TVL. Despite the overall market correction, substantial deleveraging has not yet occurred.

According to SoSoValue data, most sectors in the cryptocurrency market have risen, with the PayFi sector performing outstandingly, increasing by 4.03% in 24 hours, among which Stellar (XLM) rose by 13.54% and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) rose by 6.45%. At the same time, Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 1.16%, breaking through $66,000; Ethereum (ETH) rose by 4.48%, breaking through $1,700.In other sectors, the DeFi sector rose by 2.48% in 24 hours, with Uniswap (UNI) rising by 10.72%; the Layer1 sector rose by 1.26%, with Zcash (ZEC) rising by 8.46%; the Layer2 sector rose by 0.80%, with Celestia (TIA) rising by 6.91%; the CeFi sector rose by 0.45%, with MX (MX) rising by 3.12%.In addition, the Meme sector fell by 0.44%, but SPX6900 (SPX) rose by 7.57%; the AI sector fell by 0.52%, with Worldcoin (WLD) relatively strong, rising by 6.13%; the NFT sector fell again by 13.12%, within which Audiera (BEAT) fell by 24.25%.The cryptocurrency sector index reflecting the historical market trends shows that the ssiDeFi, ssiPayFi, and ssiLayer1 indices rose by 3.83%, 3.78%, and 2.40%, respectively.

Standard Chartered Bank has initiated coverage of the decentralized trading protocol Uniswap, predicting that its UNI token could rise from the current approximately $2.7 to $100 by the end of 2030, representing an increase of nearly 40 times. Geoffrey Kendrick, the global head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered, stated that the next wave of wealth opportunities in the digital asset space may come from DeFi protocols. The core logic is that the scale of tokenized assets entering DeFi will significantly increase, thereby enhancing the trading asset base and fee potential of protocols like Uniswap.Standard Chartered expects that the scale of on-chain tokenized assets will grow from the current approximately $340 billion to $4 trillion by the end of 2028; of which the proportion entering DeFi will rise from the current approximately 3.5% to 30% by the end of 2030. Coupled with the growth of crypto-native assets, the locked assets in DeFi could reach approximately $2.7 trillion, an increase of about 37 times from the current level. Kendrick believes that if Uniswap can successfully commercialize and establish sufficiently scaled partnerships with traditional financial institutions, the valuation multiple between its market capitalization and trading fees is expected to increase, narrowing the gap with centralized trading platforms like Coinbase.Standard Chartered's projected price path for UNI is: $6.5 by the end of 2026, $20 by the end of 2027, $40 by the end of 2028, $65 by the end of 2029, and $100 by the end of 2030, and it is expected that UNI's performance during this period may outperform ETH and BTC.

According to The Block, investment bank Benchmark pointed out in its latest research report that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed to repeal Rule 611 and Rule 610(e) of Regulation NMS, which could become the "most decisive regulatory change" affecting the market structure of cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets in 2026.The proposal was announced on June 11 and aims to eliminate trading protection and quote constraint rules that have been in place for nearly 20 years in the U.S. stock market. The SEC stated that this move is intended to reduce trading costs and provide greater space for market competition and technological innovation.Benchmark's analysis believes that the current Rule 611 (order protection rule) requires trades to adhere to the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO), while Rule 610(e) restricts "locked/crossed quotes." These mechanisms are effective in traditional matching systems but create structural constraints for automated market maker (AMM) models in decentralized finance (DeFi).The report pointed out that if the relevant rules are repealed, it will significantly lower the compliance barriers for tokenized stocks and on-chain trading systems, making AMM-based trading models easier to access the U.S. capital market system.In terms of potential beneficiaries, Benchmark specifically mentioned Securitize, believing that it will benefit most directly as a provider of tokenized securities infrastructure, while Coinbase and Galaxy Digital will also benefit from the expansion of trading, market-making, and custody infrastructure. However, the report also emphasized that the rule adjustments do not address all core issues, such as the exchange registration system, custody and clearing framework, and the legal positioning of DeFi-native trading still needs further clarification.The industry generally expects that the subsequent "innovation exemption mechanism" will become a key supporting policy. The SEC has currently opened a 60-day public comment period on the proposal, and the market anticipates that the final vote may take place in early 2027.

According to Cointelegraph, Standard Chartered Bank predicts in its latest research report that by 2030, the locked assets in decentralized finance (DeFi) will reach approximately $2.7 trillion, growing about 37 times from current levels. The report points out that this growth will be primarily driven by the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) and the migration of crypto-native assets to on-chain protocols.Geoff Kendrick, Head of Digital Asset Research at Standard Chartered, stated that the next round of "structural growth opportunities" in digital assets will come from DeFi protocols, and it is expected that by 2030, the proportion of tokenized assets entering the DeFi system will increase from the current approximately 3.5% to about 30%.Current data shows that only about 3% of stablecoins and 10% of tokenized real assets are actually used in DeFi protocols, indicating significant room for penetration. The report also emphasizes that achieving the $2.7 trillion target will rely on the rapid expansion of tokenized asset scale and a significant improvement in on-chain capital efficiency. Previously, Standard Chartered predicted that by 2028, the scale of tokenized non-stablecoin real assets would reach $2 trillion, with money market funds and U.S. stocks becoming major components.At the infrastructure level, the report mentions that decentralized trading protocols like Uniswap could become important trading hubs for tokenized assets and notes that traditional financial institutions will focus more on security and stability when entering the on-chain market. However, analysts also warn that tokenization does not necessarily lead to increased liquidity, and fragmentation between different chains and asset standards may still limit market depth and unified pricing capability.

Most institutional investors believe that Bitcoin still has room for further decline, and the overall market sentiment is cautious. Macroeconomic uncertainty, tightening liquidity, ETF fund outflows, and the shift of funds towards areas like AI may still exert pressure on BTC prices. David Grider, a partner at Finality Capital, stated that the firm expects the market bottom in this cycle may not appear until the end of the third quarter or the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2026, and believes that Bitcoin may complete its bottoming process in the range of $45,000 to $55,000. Even among some investors who believe the market is close to the bottom, there is a general expectation of no strong rebound in the short term.Research shows that most funds are currently increasing cash positions, reducing directional risk exposure, and adopting more market-neutral, hedging, and derivative strategies to cope with volatility. Meanwhile, institutional funds continue to focus on fundamentally strong areas such as DeFi, AI, and tokenized assets, rather than purely allocating to Bitcoin. Institutions generally believe that the high interest rate environment, liquidity contraction, geopolitical risks, and the flow of funds towards growth sectors like AI are the main downside risks facing the current market. In addition, some funds have also identified the leverage financing model of Strategy and the development of quantum computing as emerging risk factors in this cycle.Regarding the year-end trend, the funds surveyed did not provide a Bitcoin target price above $100,000. Some institutions expect BTC to fluctuate in the range of $40,000 to $80,000 within the year and believe that improvements in interest rate cut expectations, a recovery in liquidity, and progress on the U.S. CLARITY Act may become important catalysts for market recovery.

According to SoSoValue data, the cryptocurrency market sector generally rose, with the DeFi sector performing exceptionally well, increasing by 3.34% in 24 hours. Among them, LAB (LAB) rose by 17.39%, Genius (GENIUS) rose by 8.29%, and Hyperliquid (HYPE) rose by 4.86%. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 1.53%, breaking through $65,000; Ethereum (ETH) rose by 1.95%, breaking through $1,700. Notably, MAG7.ssi rose by 2.19%, DEFI.ssi rose by 3.01%, and MEME.ssi rose by 0.64%.In other sectors, the DePIN sector rose by 2.64% in 24 hours, with Grass (GRASS) rising by 13.43%; the AI sector rose by 2%, with Worldcoin (WLD) rising by 8.91%; the Layer1 sector rose by 1.95%, with Zcash (ZEC) rising by 10.65%; the PayFi sector rose by 1.76%, with Dash (DASH) rising by 5.89%; the Layer2 sector rose by 1.64%, with Stacks (STX) rising by 4.56%; the CeFi sector rose by 0.52%, with Cronos (CRO) rising by 3.66%; the Meme sector rose by 0.19%, with Banana For Scale (BANANA) rising by 35.77%. Additionally, the previously significantly rising NFT sector fell by 15.58%, with Audiera (BEAT) dropping by 26.56%. The cryptocurrency sector indices reflecting historical market trends show that the ssiDeFi, ssiMAG7, and ssiLayer2 indices rose by 2.71%, 2.38%, and 2.01%, respectively.

According to a report by TheStreet Roundtable, Coinbase's Head of Institutional Sales, John D'Agostino, stated in an interview at the New York Stock Exchange that Coinbase is committed to migrating the existing financial infrastructure from the outdated ledger system of decades ago to a faster, cheaper, and more stable blockchain ledger, with the goal of becoming a fully functional integrated financial platform in the crypto space.D'Agostino pointed out that Coinbase's current growth mainly comes from four directions: first, derivatives; the company acquired the world's largest crypto options exchange, Deribit, for $2.9 billion last year, becoming a market leader in this field; second, tokenized securities; approximately 20 stocks have been tokenized and are continuously expanding, with assets like REITs included in the tokenization scope, claiming the market size is about $15 trillion; third, DeFi; Coinbase has become the official USDC treasury deployer for the Hyperliquid platform, with about $5 billion USDC in revenue used for repurchasing HYPE tokens on the platform; fourth, stablecoins; continuously deepening the coverage of USDC in the on-chain market.He summarized Coinbase's positioning as, "The safest custody for crypto assets is our foundational moat, while hyper-fast growth comes from tokenizing everything and creating universal applications."

Founder of Strategy Michael Saylor discussed the "Strategy selling Bitcoin" related discussions at the BTC Prague event, stating that he has never said the company cannot sell Bitcoin, and has always emphasized that investors should not easily sell their own Bitcoin.Saylor stated that anyone who has followed the company's earnings call or public disclosure documents over the past five years should be clear that Strategy has always clearly stated that the company will certainly sell Bitcoin when necessary, and this statement has never changed.

Alex Thorn, Head of Research at Galaxy Digital, posted on the X platform that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed to abolish Rule 611 of Reg NMS (Order Protection Rule) and Rule 610(e) (Locking/Crossing Market Restrictions). Rule 611 requires each trading center to prevent trades from being executed at prices inferior to protected quotes displayed by other exchanges, and it has been a core rule of the U.S. stock market structure since 2005. Alex Thorn stated that Rule 611 is one of the biggest obstacles to trading tokenized stocks in DeFi. Automated market makers cannot comply with this rule, and any liquidity pool for tokenized stocks would continuously violate the regulation, essentially constituting an illegal trading center.After the abolition of Rule 611, it will be replaced by the "best execution" principle, which applies at the broker level and is based on a rules-based framework rather than a trade-by-trade review, thus being compatible with automated market makers. Alex Thorn mentioned that this is part of the SEC's execution of the "crypto project" plan, first abolishing the most challenging market structure barriers and then addressing venue registration issues through "innovation waivers."

Fortune released the 2026 Cryptocurrency Top 100 list, which is divided into 10 categories: CeFi (Coinbase ranked first, Binance ranked second), TradFi (Franklin Templeton ranked first), FinTech (Robinhood ranked first), DeFi (Hyperliquid ranked first), Venture Capital and Stablecoins (Andreessen Horowitz ranked first), Stablecoins (Tether ranked first), Crypto Services (Chainalysis ranked first), DAT and ETFs (BlackRock ranked first), Mining (MARA Holdings ranked first), Blockchain and Protocols (Bitcoin ranked first).

DeFi analyst Ignas asked on social media about the core narrative of current Bitcoin bulls, to which Curve founder Michael Egorov replied that the logic of Bitcoin is "to replace the dollar as the world's reserve currency."

WINkLink Oracle officially announces the addition of KGST price data support and the simultaneous launch of the KGST / TRX trading pair. By providing a stable, decentralized on-chain price feeding service, WINkLink will help $KGST connect to the TRON DeFi ecosystem more efficiently and securely, widely applied in on-chain financial scenarios such as lending, trading, and stablecoin exchanges.This price service support will officially take effect from May 14, 2026 (Singapore time). Users can now access the price feed details page to view real-time data, and the contract address for the KGST/TRX price pair has also been opened. In the future, WINkLink will continue to provide reliable oracle infrastructure for the TRON ecosystem.