1044783
siddhant
@siddhant98 #1044783
DeFi & Crypto Research | Senior Writer - The Coin Bureau
35 Follower 21 Following
Tracking where new stablecoins actually get used is alpha.
Built my own $USR asset utilization dashboard on Dune to see what's real. 📊
$USR is a new delta-neutral stablecoin from Resolv Labs — backed by a tokenized collateral pool $RLP
I pulled live data from Dune and mapped where USR is actually sitting across DeFi.
This chart shows the Top 10 contracts holding $USR, excluding EOAs — highlighting how much is staked, lent, farmed, or pooled today.
query link: dune.com/queries/5048710/8342081
Built my own $USR asset utilization dashboard on Dune to see what's real. 📊
$USR is a new delta-neutral stablecoin from Resolv Labs — backed by a tokenized collateral pool $RLP
I pulled live data from Dune and mapped where USR is actually sitting across DeFi.
This chart shows the Top 10 contracts holding $USR, excluding EOAs — highlighting how much is staked, lent, farmed, or pooled today.
query link: dune.com/queries/5048710/8342081
Pendle users were signaling a major ETH crash before it happened — and most people missed it.
(Yes, you can spot macro shifts just by tracking Pendle yield flows.) 🧠
Pendle Finance is a revolutionary platform for leveraged yield trading — but it’s more than that.
If you know where to look, Pendle yield flows reveal micro-level sentiment shifts across crypto markets, especially for ETH staking.
The catch?
Pendle’s interface is built for trading, not research.
But Pendle is an on-chain protocol. You can directly query Pendle’s smart contract data through platforms like Dune.
That's exactly what I did.
By writing my own DuneSQL queries, I pulled Pendle's raw transaction-level data and mapped out user behavior across PT (Principal Token) and YT (Yield Token) trades on stETH markets.
Here’s what I uncovered 👇
(Yes, you can spot macro shifts just by tracking Pendle yield flows.) 🧠
Pendle Finance is a revolutionary platform for leveraged yield trading — but it’s more than that.
If you know where to look, Pendle yield flows reveal micro-level sentiment shifts across crypto markets, especially for ETH staking.
The catch?
Pendle’s interface is built for trading, not research.
But Pendle is an on-chain protocol. You can directly query Pendle’s smart contract data through platforms like Dune.
That's exactly what I did.
By writing my own DuneSQL queries, I pulled Pendle's raw transaction-level data and mapped out user behavior across PT (Principal Token) and YT (Yield Token) trades on stETH markets.
Here’s what I uncovered 👇
Ethena Keeps Risk In-House. Resolv Throws it to The Crowd 👇
Both protocols mint ETH-backed, delta-neutral stablecoins — but their approach to risk couldn’t be more different.
Let’s break it down:
Ethena Finance Approach
- Model: centralized and controlled.
- Maintains a ~101% collateral ratio — efficient, tightly managed.
- Houses risk in a $60M insurance fund.
- The fund includes $USDtb, $USTB, and $USDS.
- Minting and redeeming $USDe is gated, whitelisted & KYC’d users only.
- During stress events, only insiders can stabilize the peg via arbitrage.
It’s capital-efficient, but the tradeoff is centralized control over access and risk management.
Both protocols mint ETH-backed, delta-neutral stablecoins — but their approach to risk couldn’t be more different.
Let’s break it down:
Ethena Finance Approach
- Model: centralized and controlled.
- Maintains a ~101% collateral ratio — efficient, tightly managed.
- Houses risk in a $60M insurance fund.
- The fund includes $USDtb, $USTB, and $USDS.
- Minting and redeeming $USDe is gated, whitelisted & KYC’d users only.
- During stress events, only insiders can stabilize the peg via arbitrage.
It’s capital-efficient, but the tradeoff is centralized control over access and risk management.
61.5% APY on ETH Restaking? 🤔
Platform:
Contango 🤝 Ethereum
Contango’s ezETH/wstETH gives 13.8x exposure to $ezETH (6.81% APY) using $wstETH as borrow.
But the buffer before liquidation is just 2.36%.
This isn’t passive income. It’s a high-stakes looping trade. Let’s break the risk 👇
Platform:
Contango 🤝 Ethereum
Contango’s ezETH/wstETH gives 13.8x exposure to $ezETH (6.81% APY) using $wstETH as borrow.
But the buffer before liquidation is just 2.36%.
This isn’t passive income. It’s a high-stakes looping trade. Let’s break the risk 👇
Can Stablecoins be Both Decentralized and Capital Efficient?
That's the promise behind Delta-neutral Stablecoins - But not all designs are created equal.
What’s the most decentralized and capital-efficient stablecoin?
We can think of stablecoins along a spectrum.
- On the far left: fiat-backed stables like USDC or USDT: capital efficient, but not decentralized.
- Toward the middle: Maker's sDAI: decentralized, but not capital-efficient (overcollateralized).
Then there’s what’s emerging on the far right: delta-neutral stablecoins like $USDe and $USR, both decentralized and capital-efficient.
But are they built the same?
Let’s set the stage 👇
That's the promise behind Delta-neutral Stablecoins - But not all designs are created equal.
What’s the most decentralized and capital-efficient stablecoin?
We can think of stablecoins along a spectrum.
- On the far left: fiat-backed stables like USDC or USDT: capital efficient, but not decentralized.
- Toward the middle: Maker's sDAI: decentralized, but not capital-efficient (overcollateralized).
Then there’s what’s emerging on the far right: delta-neutral stablecoins like $USDe and $USR, both decentralized and capital-efficient.
But are they built the same?
Let’s set the stage 👇
New stablecoin on the block: Resolv Protocol
⚖️ Like Ethena — delta-neutral backed (long spot & short perps)
📈 <4 months live, already hit $550M TVL (10% of Ethena)
💰 $RESOLV token coming (TGE TBA)
⌛ Pendle on Base has two point-farming plays live 👀
Solid pickup for early airdrop farmers
⚖️ Like Ethena — delta-neutral backed (long spot & short perps)
📈 <4 months live, already hit $550M TVL (10% of Ethena)
💰 $RESOLV token coming (TGE TBA)
⌛ Pendle on Base has two point-farming plays live 👀
Solid pickup for early airdrop farmers
📉 ETH’s price is lagging—has its role in Web3 changed?
ETH last hit $4,800 during the DeFi boom, but in 2024-25, it’s underperforming BTC. Why?
DeFi is fragmented across multiple chains.
L2s now handle most transactions, reducing mainnet gas demand.
ETH demand is shifting from dApps to staking & settlements.
Ethereum is evolving from a transactional asset to a settlement token, solidifying its role as Web3’s security and data availability layer.
ETH last hit $4,800 during the DeFi boom, but in 2024-25, it’s underperforming BTC. Why?
DeFi is fragmented across multiple chains.
L2s now handle most transactions, reducing mainnet gas demand.
ETH demand is shifting from dApps to staking & settlements.
Ethereum is evolving from a transactional asset to a settlement token, solidifying its role as Web3’s security and data availability layer.
📊 Is ETH becoming more of a speculative asset than a utility token?
Ethereum’s transaction data suggests a shift:
Token transfers up 22.7% in Q4 2024, but 63.95% were wallet-to-wallet & stablecoin moves.
DeFi transactions fell to 17.42%, signaling lower ETH demand in dApps.
MEV activity dropped to just 2.49%, reducing speculative arbitrage.
With DeFi users migrating to L2s & L1s like Solana for cheaper, faster transactions, ETH is increasingly used for asset movement rather than network-driven activity.
Ethereum’s transaction data suggests a shift:
Token transfers up 22.7% in Q4 2024, but 63.95% were wallet-to-wallet & stablecoin moves.
DeFi transactions fell to 17.42%, signaling lower ETH demand in dApps.
MEV activity dropped to just 2.49%, reducing speculative arbitrage.
With DeFi users migrating to L2s & L1s like Solana for cheaper, faster transactions, ETH is increasingly used for asset movement rather than network-driven activity.
🔎Ethereum’s usage is shifting—are we revaluing ETH’s utility?
Key network metrics have plateaued:
- Staked ETH leveled out in mid-2024 after rapid growth.
- Daily active addresses (400.8K) & new addresses (96.4K) are stable but stagnating.
- Contract calls fell 5% in Q4 2024, despite 20.8% YoY growth.
- DeFi & MEV transactions declined, while token-token, wallet-wallet txns & stablecoin transfers increased.
Ethereum is evolving from a DeFi-driven network to one focused on staking & asset transfers.
Key network metrics have plateaued:
- Staked ETH leveled out in mid-2024 after rapid growth.
- Daily active addresses (400.8K) & new addresses (96.4K) are stable but stagnating.
- Contract calls fell 5% in Q4 2024, despite 20.8% YoY growth.
- DeFi & MEV transactions declined, while token-token, wallet-wallet txns & stablecoin transfers increased.
Ethereum is evolving from a DeFi-driven network to one focused on staking & asset transfers.
🟠Yielding $BTC in BTCfi: My 41% APY Strategy
Most $BTC sits idle. But BTCfi unlocks real yield — and I tested one of the cleanest routes out there:
I earned ~41% APY using Infrared Finance on Berachain. Here’s how 👇
🛠️ Setup
To run this strategy, you’ll need:
- $BERA on the Berachain network, or
- Any liquid token on Arbitrum (e.g. ETH/USDC)
- Some $ETH on Arbitrum for gas
- A wallet that supports both networks
🔁 Steps
1. Bridge to Berachain:
- Use Jumper Exchange to swap your token on Arbitrum for $BERA on Berachain.
- Pro tip: Jumper handles gas on destination so no need to worry about it.
2. Open Infrared Finance:
- Connect your wallet on Berachain network and find the WBTC-SolvBTC vault.
3. Stake via Infrared:
- Supply $BERA — that’s it.
- Infrared converts and routes it under the hood to earn yield on your behalf.
💡The Strategy Works
No minting. No LPing. Just ~41% APY on BTC-paired liquidity.
Most $BTC sits idle. But BTCfi unlocks real yield — and I tested one of the cleanest routes out there:
I earned ~41% APY using Infrared Finance on Berachain. Here’s how 👇
🛠️ Setup
To run this strategy, you’ll need:
- $BERA on the Berachain network, or
- Any liquid token on Arbitrum (e.g. ETH/USDC)
- Some $ETH on Arbitrum for gas
- A wallet that supports both networks
🔁 Steps
1. Bridge to Berachain:
- Use Jumper Exchange to swap your token on Arbitrum for $BERA on Berachain.
- Pro tip: Jumper handles gas on destination so no need to worry about it.
2. Open Infrared Finance:
- Connect your wallet on Berachain network and find the WBTC-SolvBTC vault.
3. Stake via Infrared:
- Supply $BERA — that’s it.
- Infrared converts and routes it under the hood to earn yield on your behalf.
💡The Strategy Works
No minting. No LPing. Just ~41% APY on BTC-paired liquidity.
🔗 Ethereum staking is at a crossroads.
Slower staking growth has kept ETH supply in equilibrium, but centralization is tightening its grip. With ETF staking on the horizon, control could consolidate even further.
Vitalik has floated lowering the staking requirement from 32 ETH to 1 ETH to promote solo staking—but more validators = greater latency, slower finality.
Staking rewards are shrinking, and governance risks are rising. Can Ethereum scale staking without sacrificing decentralization?
Slower staking growth has kept ETH supply in equilibrium, but centralization is tightening its grip. With ETF staking on the horizon, control could consolidate even further.
Vitalik has floated lowering the staking requirement from 32 ETH to 1 ETH to promote solo staking—but more validators = greater latency, slower finality.
Staking rewards are shrinking, and governance risks are rising. Can Ethereum scale staking without sacrificing decentralization?
🏦 ETH staking ETFs: A double-edged sword?
Following Trump's return to office, the SEC’s dramatic crypto pivot has fast-tracked ETH ETFs.
Now, issuers want to stake holdings for extra yield. If approved:
✔ More ETH staked → Stronger network security
✔ ETF buyers earn a yield on deposits
But there’s a cost:
🔹Staking rewards dilute as more ETH competes for issuance.
🔹Increasing reward consolidation could further deter solo staking.
Institutions boost security but at the risk of centralization and lower yields.
Following Trump's return to office, the SEC’s dramatic crypto pivot has fast-tracked ETH ETFs.
Now, issuers want to stake holdings for extra yield. If approved:
✔ More ETH staked → Stronger network security
✔ ETF buyers earn a yield on deposits
But there’s a cost:
🔹Staking rewards dilute as more ETH competes for issuance.
🔹Increasing reward consolidation could further deter solo staking.
Institutions boost security but at the risk of centralization and lower yields.
Ask ChatGPT "Describe me based on all our chats" and hear some some good things about yourself
🔗 Ethereum staking is centralizing—killing solo staking rewards.
Lido, Binance, and Coinbase dominate, with Lido alone controlling 9.39M ETH. Binance’s staked ETH surged 21.3% in Q4 2024, consolidating even more power.
Ethereum’s staking issuance depends on:
✔ More individual validators = higher ETH issuance
✔ More ETH staked = lower ETH issuance
With large pools consolidating deposits, fewer new validators are created, slowing ETH issuance while increasing dilution. Solo staking is becoming less profitable and harder to sustain.
Lido, Binance, and Coinbase dominate, with Lido alone controlling 9.39M ETH. Binance’s staked ETH surged 21.3% in Q4 2024, consolidating even more power.
Ethereum’s staking issuance depends on:
✔ More individual validators = higher ETH issuance
✔ More ETH staked = lower ETH issuance
With large pools consolidating deposits, fewer new validators are created, slowing ETH issuance while increasing dilution. Solo staking is becoming less profitable and harder to sustain.
⏳ Ethereum’s supply has hit equilibrium—but what does that mean for staking rewards?
For the first time, ETH is neither inflating nor deflating.
Why?
▫️Fewer new validators → Staking growth is slowing, so issuance isn’t accelerating.
▫️DeFi activity is down → Fewer transactions = less ETH burned via EIP-1559.
With ETH supply no longer shrinking, staking rewards are losing one of their biggest value props: scarcity.
More ETH in circulation, lower APR
For the first time, ETH is neither inflating nor deflating.
Why?
▫️Fewer new validators → Staking growth is slowing, so issuance isn’t accelerating.
▫️DeFi activity is down → Fewer transactions = less ETH burned via EIP-1559.
With ETH supply no longer shrinking, staking rewards are losing one of their biggest value props: scarcity.
More ETH in circulation, lower APR
Trump pauses tariffs...Twitter floods with "we're back tweets"... Crypto degens are addicted to hopium...in a good way 🤘
Ethereum staking isn’t what it used to be
🔹Dec 2023 Staked ETH: ~23.5%
🔹Dec 2024 Staked ETH: 28.54% (+5% YoY)
More validators = APR dilution.
🔹Early 2024 APR: 4.3%
🔹Dec 2024 APR: 3.13%
As gas fees plummet and staking competition rises, staking rewards are heading toward a low-yield future.
The Pectra upgrade in March 2025 might improve staking efficiency, but unless:
🔹DeFi activity rebounds
🔹MEV profits recover
🔹High-value transactions return
Staking rewards will keep declining. At 3% APR, is solo Ethereum staking still worth it?
🔹Dec 2023 Staked ETH: ~23.5%
🔹Dec 2024 Staked ETH: 28.54% (+5% YoY)
More validators = APR dilution.
🔹Early 2024 APR: 4.3%
🔹Dec 2024 APR: 3.13%
As gas fees plummet and staking competition rises, staking rewards are heading toward a low-yield future.
The Pectra upgrade in March 2025 might improve staking efficiency, but unless:
🔹DeFi activity rebounds
🔹MEV profits recover
🔹High-value transactions return
Staking rewards will keep declining. At 3% APR, is solo Ethereum staking still worth it?
Why Did Ethereum Fees Drop? 📉
Ethereum gas fees didn’t just randomly drop—major changes drove this shift:
💡Layer 2 Expansion & Proto-Danksharding (EIP-4844): The Dencun upgrade (Q1 2024) introduced blobs for cheaper data availability, massively cutting costs for L2 rollups. Transactions moved off mainnet, reducing base fees.
💡Network Activity Shift: DeFi usage declined, while wallet-to-wallet and token-token transfers increased. Less complex transactions = lower gas demand.
💡MEV Declined: MEV-related transactions dropped 33.9% in Q4, further slashing validator rewards from priority fees.
Ethereum has never been this cheap to use—but cheap transactions come at a cost for stakers.
Ethereum gas fees didn’t just randomly drop—major changes drove this shift:
💡Layer 2 Expansion & Proto-Danksharding (EIP-4844): The Dencun upgrade (Q1 2024) introduced blobs for cheaper data availability, massively cutting costs for L2 rollups. Transactions moved off mainnet, reducing base fees.
💡Network Activity Shift: DeFi usage declined, while wallet-to-wallet and token-token transfers increased. Less complex transactions = lower gas demand.
💡MEV Declined: MEV-related transactions dropped 33.9% in Q4, further slashing validator rewards from priority fees.
Ethereum has never been this cheap to use—but cheap transactions come at a cost for stakers.
Ethereum staking rewards are shrinking—fast. 📉
Ethereum’s gas fees are at record lows. Staking participation is at record highs. Your ETH is earning less than ever.
The numbers don’t lie:
🔹March 2024: $10.77 avg gas fee
🔹March 2025: $0.37 avg gas fee (-96.5%)
Great for users, terrible for stakers.
Less gas = fewer priority fees = lower staking rewards.
Want better yields? You might need to rethink your ETH staking strategy.
Ethereum’s gas fees are at record lows. Staking participation is at record highs. Your ETH is earning less than ever.
The numbers don’t lie:
🔹March 2024: $10.77 avg gas fee
🔹March 2025: $0.37 avg gas fee (-96.5%)
Great for users, terrible for stakers.
Less gas = fewer priority fees = lower staking rewards.
Want better yields? You might need to rethink your ETH staking strategy.
