Raising Rounds and Cutting Checks

A Lending Renaissance, and more

In February, the crypto market saw significant funding trends. Early-stage investments surged, along with the rise of new liquid and restaking protocols. Despite an 8% month-over-month increase in the number of deals, the total deal volume dropped to nearly $800 million. Finance and infrastructure protocols were the primary focus, making up 55% of the total volume. Notable deals included Eigen Labs raising $100 million, Antithesis with $47 million, dYdX Foundation securing $30 million, Avail with $27 million, and Etherfi also raising $27 million.     Explore the full Enterprise report by Micah Casella here. Today in UO! A Lending Renaissance [Aave DAO] Recognize ZeroLend as a Friendly Fork of Aave [Ethereum] Dencun (Cancun-Deneb) MESSARI INSIGHTS A Lending Renaissance. Explore the resurgence of decentralized finance (DeFi) with a focus on Gearbox, an undercollateralized lending protocol poised for a 50% upside. This report delves into key insights, including the integration of liquid restaking tokens (LRT) and the potential for sustained growth in a bullish market. While established lending protocols like Aave and Compound face criticism for their low Loan-to-Value ratios, Gearbox emerges as a promising player with a return on assets seven times higher. Discover the bull case for onchain lending, alternative models like Isolated Pools, and the unique advantages Gearbox holds in the evolving DeFi landscape. Assess the risks and opportunities, with a detailed case study on the impact of different lending models. Finally, gain insights into Gearbox's potential for capitalizing on emerging trends like Liquid Restaking Tokens, Ethena, and general yield farming, projecting a 50% upside for the GEAR token. [Messari Governance] [Aave DAO] Recognize ZeroLend as a Friendly Fork of Aave. This proposal aims to recognize ZeroLend, a lending protocol focused on L2s, as a "friendly fork" of Aave. ZeroLend has offered to give 1% of its ZERO token supply to AAVE stakers, and direct 10% of its revenue to the Aave treasury for one year. [Messari Key Developments] [Ethereum] Dencun (Cancun-Deneb). The Dencun hard fork activation block arrived on Mar. 13, 2024, at approximately 13:56 UTC. Knowledge Seekers Rejoice, It's Quarterly Season!   What are Messari Quarterly Reports? With the arrival of the new year, the Messari team is excited to kickoff the release of our Q4 2023 quarterly reports. Our quarterly reports highlight top crypto protocols and present key metrics & indicators as well as important events to provide a full picture of the project's latest developments. Learn more about projects you are invested in or interested in and receive a clear look at project fundamentals and financial reporting. Dive into our current and past quarterly reports available in our Protocol Reporting research page. Keep an eye out for reports with "🗓️" in Unqualified Opinions so you don't miss them! ALSO POPULAR ON MESSARI Supercharging Smart Contracts: ZK Coprocessors and Verifiable Compute Hooking into the Future: A Uniswap Valuation State of DeFi January 2024 Analyst Note: WHALES Market Exploring Solana Token Extensions 🗓️Q4 2023 Quarterly Reports 🗓️ State of The Sandbox Q4 2023 🗓️ State of Polygon Q4 2023 🗓️ State of Aptos Q4 2023 🗓️ State of Avalanche Q4 2023 🗓️ State of Boba Network Q4 2023 🗓️ State of Stacks Q4 2023 OTHER NEWS AND TOP READS io.net adds Apple chip support to its cloud-based GPU-sourcing network Dencun Upgrade Goes Live, Ushering in New Era for Ethereum Coinbase Wallet quietly integrated Blockaid security tool Tokenized Real Estate Project PropyKeys Announces Public Launch Elixir nears unicorn status following $8 million Series B funding round Vega creates derivatives market for crypto points, starting with EigenLayer MakerDAO To Commence Endgame Overhaul This Summer Ark Invest continues COIN selling spree, offloads another $27 million Bitcoin Eyes $74K as BTC ETFs See Record $1B in Net Inflows OKX gets in-principle approval for payment institution license in Singapore Disclosure: Authors may own cryptoassets named in this newsletter. For more information, please visit messari.io.   Unqualified Opinions, a Messari newsletter, is meant for informational purposes only. It is not meant to serve as investment advice. Please consult with your investment, tax, or legal advisor before making any investment decisions.   Advertising and sponsorship do not influence editorial decisions or content. Third party advertisements and links to other sites where products or services are advertised are not endorsements or recommendations by Messari. Messari is not responsible for the content of the ads, promises made, or the quality or reliability of the products or services offered in any third party advertisement. Copyright © 2023 Messari, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Messari 228 Park Ave S PMB 52631 New York, New York 10003 Unsubscribe 408 Broadway, New York, NY 10013-3699