Weekly DeFi News Recap Ep10

DeFi Statistics

DeFi metrics this week reflect a renewed upswing in TVL growth and overall on-chain activity. Total and lending TVL continued their steady climb, supported by persistent inflows into liquid staking and resilience in stablecoin markets despite subdued price volatility. DEX volumes, however, contracted notably as speculative trading activity cooled following the recent liquidation event.

Polymarket CMO confirms token + airdrop, inspired by Hyperliquid

Polymarket’s CMO Matthew Modabber said the prediction market will launch a token with an airdrop and is taking cues from Hyperliquid’s widely praised HYPE design. He stressed the token should have real utility and longevity, but timing comes after Polymarket completes its U.S. relaunch.

That relaunch is underway via the acquisition of CFTC-licensed QCX and a recent no-action letter, positioning Polymarket to compete head-to-head with Kalshi. If the U.S. push lands, expect the token details to follow, and community expectations are already high given Hyperliquid’s user-heavy distribution model and performance.
Source: dlnews.com

Aave weighs permanent $50M buyback despite mixed results

Aave’s ACI has proposed enshrining a year-round buyback program that would allocate about $50M annually (roughly $250K–$1.75M weekly, market-dependent) to repurchase AAVE with protocol revenue, extending the six-month pilot that ran near $1M/week. The DAO can afford it: revenues are robust this year and treasury balances are sizable, but the pilot is currently underwater by millions, and a brief price pop on the news faded alongside broader risk-off moves.

The idea lands amid a broader DeFi tilt toward “value return” mechanics, even as research shops question whether buybacks systematically boost token value. Supporters argue predictable demand for AAVE strengthens “Aavenomics”; skeptics counter that funds are better reinvested in growth, echoing critiques from Messari, Keyrock, and founders who prefer expansion over payouts.
Source: dlnews.com

Falcon Finance integrates Tether Gold to unlock gold-backed DeFi yield

Falcon Finance has added Tether Gold (XAUt) as collateral for minting its synthetic stablecoin USDf, marking a major step toward bridging traditional assets and onchain liquidity. This integration allows users to tap into gold’s store-of-value qualities while earning yield within Falcon’s expanding DeFi ecosystem.

The change aims to bring the $27 trillion gold market closer to decentralized finance. With over $3 billion already tokenized, Falcon’s adoption of XAUt strengthens the case for productive, yield-bearing gold and broadens USDf’s collateral base. The team says the addition aligns with its goal of building universal collateralization infrastructure that unites tangible and digital value.
Source: thedefiant.io

DeFi perpetuals hit $1T in record-breaking October

Decentralized perpetual trading has surged past $1 trillion in volume for October, marking a record month for DeFi derivatives with a week still remaining. Platforms like Hyperliquid, Aster, Lighter, and edgeX have led the charge, reflecting a major shift toward decentralized venues as traders chase high-leverage opportunities on-chain.

While centralized exchanges such as Binance and Bybit still dominate total perps activity, decentralized competitors are quickly narrowing the gap through improved speed, liquidity, and accessibility. The milestone underscores the maturation of the DeFi derivatives market, with Hyperliquid’s rapid ascent cementing its position at the forefront of onchain trading innovation.
Source: cointelegraph.com

Bunni DEX shuts down permanently after $8.4M exploit

Decentralized exchange Bunni has announced its permanent closure following a $8.4 million flash loan exploit in early September. The attack targeted its Liquidity Density Function across multiple pools, and the team says relaunching would require unaffordable six- to seven-figure audit and development costs.

While users can still withdraw their assets, the team plans to distribute remaining treasury funds to token holders and relicenses its v2 contracts under the MIT license to encourage future use. The incident illustrates the challenges of recovery for smaller teams after major exploits.
Source: decrypt.co

MegaETH to auction 5% of token supply at $1M starting valuation

Ethereum Layer-2 project MegaETH will hold a three-day English auction beginning October 27, offering 5% of its total MEGA supply at a baseline valuation of just $1 million FDV. The sale, hosted on Coinbase-owned Sonar, will start at $0.0001 per token and is capped at a $999 million fully diluted valuation.

The team says the unconventional approach aims to replace traditional airdrops with a model that rewards conviction and participation. Early community members will be prioritized if demand exceeds supply, with at least 5,000 participants guaranteed minimum allocations. The auction will be conducted in USDT on Ethereum, with optional one-year lockups granting a 10% discount to buyers.
Source: theblock.co

Solana co-founder accidentally uploads code for a Hyperliquid rival

Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko sparked speculation this week after he uploaded the code for a decentralized perpetual futures exchange to GitHub, a move many interpreted as a potential challenge to Hyperliquid. Yakovenko quickly clarified that the repository, dubbed Percolator, was made public by accident and that he was only “messing around” with AI tool Claude. He encouraged other developers to “steal the idea,” noting he has no plans to launch the exchange himself.

The accidental upload briefly set off a wave of excitement across the Solana ecosystem, with traders even creating a meme coin based on the project that hit a $6.2 million market cap before crashing nearly 80%. This shows the ongoing mania around perpetual futures DEXs, a booming sector led by Hyperliquid, Aster, and others offering increasingly high leverage, and growing concerns about systemic risk in leveraged trading.
Source: decrypt.co