Yzi-backed prediction markets launch, paypal backs usdai, Ribbon Finance hacked for $2.7m, and many more…
Launches 🚀
FX100 introduced a non-liquidatable perpetual trading model that combines perp-style exposure with embedded option-like protection, allowing 1x–100x leverage without traditional liquidation risk. Built on the f(x) protocol’s protection-first design, FX100 absorbs volatility through tranche-based liquidity and optionality rather than liquidations.
U Stables launched $U, a new stablecoin live on BNB Chain and Ethereum, backed 1:1 by USD and audited stablecoins including USDT, USDC, and USD1. $U is already integrated across PancakeSwap, Aster, Four.meme, and ListaDAO for trading, liquidity, staking, and lending.
Katana launched its App v1, a public DeFi hub that lets users discover yield opportunities by token, bridge, swap, and deposit in a single flow from any EVM wallet, and track positions across Katana-native protocols in one unified portfolio. Users can start allocating capital today, earn XP through on-chain activity, and prepare for upcoming rewards and quests.
DEIN has launched mainnet, allowing users to start interacting today to earn Points that will convert into $DEIN allocation at TGE, even though the token is not live yet. Users can provide liquidity to underwrite on-chain and off-chain risks across multiple chains, earning real yield from dynamically priced insurance premiums with instant payouts and custom coverage options.
Predict went live on BNB Chain, opening its onchain prediction market to users. The team confirmed eligibility snapshots covering activity across BNB Chain memecoins, Aster perps, and multiple prediction markets including Polymarket, Limitless, Myriad, Opinion Labs, and Predict on Blast, with users now able to check claims.
MegaETH is launching its Frontier mainnet beta, introducing an Ethereum Layer-2 designed to support over 100,000 transactions per second with sub-10 millisecond block times. The network went live with bridge integrations from LayerZero, Stargate, Wormhole (Portal), and Hyperlane, enabling direct liquidity access from Ethereum, Solana, and Base.
Tempo announced the launch of Tempo Transactions on its public testnet, a native on-chain transaction type designed specifically for real-world payment use cases. The system supports gas fees paid in any stablecoin, concurrent and batch transactions, scheduled payments, fee sponsorship, and passkey authentication.
Jump Crypto’s Firedancer client has launched on Solana mainnet, improving validator client diversity and reducing single-client failure risk. The C-based, modular rewrite is designed to significantly increase throughput, with prior demonstrations exceeding 1 million TPS on commodity hardware.
Paradex launched Privacy Perps on mainnet with the v0.14.1 upgrade, making account state, positions, and orders private by default to users and the operator while retaining self-custody.
Fuel Network announced the launch of o2, a fully on-chain spot DEX built around a native orderbook and execution-focused trading. The platform is live for whitelisted users, enabling spot trading with on-chain order matching rather than AMM-based execution.
Updates 📰
PayPal and USD.AI announced a partnership to back USDai with PYUSD, enabling stablecoin-based settlement for AI infrastructure financing. The program includes a 4.5% incentive on up to $1 billion in deposits, expected to launch in early January, and allows AI companies to access PYUSD-denominated loans for GPU purchases and operating expenses with direct settlement into PayPal accounts.
RateX released RTX tokenomics, setting total supply at 100 million with utilities focused on protocol revenue buybacks and RTX staking via Mooncake. Distribution allocates 44.18% to ecosystem and community, including a 6.66% Season 1 airdrop with phased post-TGE releases
Edel Finance has launched USD1 from World Liberty Fi on its testnet, allowing users to borrow mockUSD1 against tokenized stocks to earn points, with a USD1 pre-deposit campaign for Edel mainnet set to start soon. The platform is still in testnet, and all assets are non-redeemable test assets.
Rysk introduced Rysk Premium, extending its V12 system into an institutional-grade volatility income layer that lets users earn recurring volatility yield without managing options, strikes, or expiries. Funds and allocators can also deploy fully customized, on-chain volatility-income strategies as a replacement for OTC option workflows, with testing now live for early users.
Kamino announced a platform expansion, positioning it beyond lending into a full-stack on-chain credit and RWA infrastructure. New products include fixed-rate, fixed-term borrowing, on-chain credit limit orders via Borrow Intents, custody-native borrowing in partnership with Chainlink and Anchorage, and a private credit product connecting Solana liquidity with institutional BTC-backed demand.
Pyth Network launched a token buyback program that will allocate 33% of its DAO treasury balance each month to purchase PYTH on the open market, funded by protocol revenue. The program begins this month, with initial buybacks estimated at $100,000–$200,000 based on a current treasury of roughly $500,000.
BitMine Immersion Technologies added 102,259 ETH, worth roughly $321 million, expanding its Ethereum holdings to 3.97 million ETH acquired at an average price of $3,074. The position represents just over 3.2% of circulating ether, valuing the firm’s ETH treasury near $12.5 billion, alongside smaller BTC holdings and $1 billion in cash.
HyENA perpetuals are now tradable directly through Hyperliquid’s native front-end, expanding access beyond third-party interfaces. The integration allows users to trade HyENA perps within Hyperliquid’s core trading environment, consolidating liquidity and execution.
Sky Protocol reported buying back 34.1 million SKY over the past week using 1.9 million USDS, averaging roughly 0.27 million USDS per day. Since the buyback program began in February 2025, more than 92 million USDS has been deployed to repurchase SKY, equivalent to 5.55% of total supply.
Aave stated that the U.S. SEC has concluded its investigation into the Aave Protocol after roughly four years. No enforcement action was announced, marking the end of a prolonged regulatory review of the protocol and its ecosystem.
Aster introduced Shield Mode, a new protected trading mode for high-leverage perpetuals offering up to 1001× leverage with isolated margin. The mode features off-orderbook execution, zero slippage on supported pairs, and no gas or trading fees during the launch period, initially available for BTC and ETH.
MetaMask added native Bitcoin support, allowing users to buy BTC with fiat, send on-chain Bitcoin transactions, and swap between BTC and EVM or Solana assets directly within the wallet.
Euler Labs announced that its full lending stack has been deployed on Hyperliquid via HyperEVM, powered and operated by HypurrFi. The deployment includes Euler lending, EulerSwap, and EulerEarn, bringing the complete Euler technology suite into one of the highest-velocity on-chain trading environments.
Jupiter positioned itself as the execution layer behind Coinbase’s Solana integration, highlighting that Coinbase routes Solana token swaps through Jupiter to access the best pricing, broad token coverage, and native on-chain liquidity.
dYdX has partnered with BONK to power a new BONK perpetuals DEX at bonk.trade, redirecting 50% of all trading fees to the BONK community while charging no additional platform fees, expanding BONK-linked perp trading using dYdX infrastructure.
Issues ⚠️
Aave community members raised concerns after a frontend swap change routed fees to an Aave Labs–controlled address instead of the DAO, replacing Paraswap, which had shared fees with the DAO since 2022. An investigation found CowSwap fees of roughly 15–25 basis points being redirected, potentially costing the DAO more than $10 million annually across chains.
Critics argue the change diverts value from token holders, while Aave Labs says the frontend is its maintained product that supports user experience and protocol growth.
The debate underscores ongoing tension between DAO governance of protocols and control over frontends, with calls for clearer disclosures about revenue sharing.
Fogo cancelled its December 17 presale and shifted allocation toward an expanded airdrop. The team has taken snapshots of Fogo Fishers, Portal Bridge points holders, and all USDC transfers since the initial presale announcement, with Fogo Flames points allocated to these groups. Initial rewards are scheduled to be distributed alongside the public launch on January 13.
New details emerged from legal filings related to Stream Finance, outlining a dispute between Stream Trading Corp. and operator Caleb McMeans (known as 0xLaw) following significant trading losses. Plaintiffs allege Stream Trading Corp. sold the Stream Finance brand to McMeans in January 2025 via a seller-financed deal with profit sharing, limited transparency, and unclear operational controls, while McMeans operated the business as a sole proprietorship.
The filing claims losses of roughly $93 million tied to leveraged positions, including large stablecoin loans from Little Engine LLC and Elixir Technologies, and alleges subsequent fund movements after losses were discovered.
Separately, on-chain data suggests internal asset returns(from Stream Trading Corp. to Stream Protocol) have begun, and that Stream Finance may be moving toward an orderly wind-down, with restructuring counsel engaged and discussions ongoing around an independent investigation.
Yearn Finance V1 confirmed an exploit affecting an immutable iEarn TUSD contract deployed over 2,100 days ago, resulting in losses of roughly $300,000, as first flagged by PeckShield. The incident is limited to the legacy iEarn contract and does not impact current Yearn vaults or active protocol contracts. Yearn noted the issue is similar in nature to the 2023 iEarn USDT exploit, with the attacker converting the funds into 103 ETH.
Ribbon Finance, now partially rebranded as Aevo, suffered a $2.7 million exploit after attackers manipulated oracle pricing in legacy Ribbon vault smart contracts, draining only the actively deployed vault funds. The team initially communicated an incorrect recovery framework, later issuing a correction after confirming that queued withdrawals and paused funds were not affected by the exploit.
Users who had queued withdrawals before the incident can withdraw 100% of their funds, while roughly $350,000 in paused funds will be fully recoverable following a contract upgrade.
Users with funds actively deployed at the time of the exploit incurred a total loss, with the DAO stating it has notified authorities and exchanges and will assess remediation paths through governance.
0G Foundation disclosed a targeted exploit on December 11 that compromised a reward distribution contract, resulting in the loss of 520,010 $0G tokens, 9.93 ETH, and $4.2K USDT ($500k in total). The breach stemmed from a leaked private key stored on an AliCloud instance and was compounded by a critical Next.js vulnerability that allowed lateral access across multiple services, though core chain infrastructure and user funds were not affected.
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