ShapeShift, a cryptocurrency exchange, has reached a settlement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over a lawsuit dating back to 2021. The settlement was made before ShapeShift became a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).
The UNI token of Uniswap, a decentralized exchange (DEX), has surged to its highest level in two years, benefiting from the overall bullish market sentiment. Supporters of Solana, another blockchain network, believe that it needs a groundbreaking consumer application to compete with Ethereum.
Industry experts have expressed concerns about the negative impact of pump-and-dump schemes on the crypto industry. Additionally, the total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols has surpassed $100 billion for the first time in three years.
According to proponents of Solana, a major upgrade planned for 2024 that aims to enhance transaction processing, along with the introduction of a potential breakthrough consumer app, could help Solana fulfill its potential as an “Ethereum killer.” This belief is supported by increased on-chain activity, a growing number of developers, and a rise in users, partly due to the resurgence of memecoins in December 2023.
The DeFi space is often compared to the Wild West, characterized by its freewheeling trading activity. Pump-and-dump schemes and wash trading are common, where actors manipulate investors with false claims and excitement to drive up token prices before secretly selling their holdings at higher prices.
Uniswap’s UNI token has reached its highest level in two years, trading above $17, a level last seen in January 2022. The token has experienced a 120% increase in trading volume in the past 24 hours, amounting to $1.18 billion. Its market capitalization has risen by 44% in the past week, reaching $9.4 billion, making it the 16th-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
ShapeShift, a cryptocurrency exchange, has settled with the SEC over securities charges dating back to its pre-DAO days. The exchange has agreed to the SEC’s cease and desist order and has agreed to pay a penalty. The operations in question ceased in 2021 when ShapeShift transitioned into a DAO. The SEC alleged that ShapeShift operated an online platform similar to a crypto “vending machine” from 2014 to January 2021, acting as a market maker and counterparty for trades, profiting from the price spreads.
The DeFi market has shown positive signs, with the top 100 tokens by market capitalization experiencing a bullish week. Most tokens have seen gains on the weekly charts. The TVL in DeFi protocols has surpassed $100 billion for the first time in three years.
That concludes our summary of this week’s significant developments in the DeFi space. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights, and education on this rapidly evolving industry.