Hello Defiers! Here’s what we are covering today!

DeFi

Layer 2

NFTs

DeFi Explainer

Podcast

DeFi

MakerDAO

MakerDAO Founder Wants $14M To Fight Climate Change

Pregame Constitution Seeks To Allocate 20,000 MKR To Scientific Sustainability Fund

By Samuel Haig

Rune Christensen, the founder of MakerDAO and former CEO of the project’s now-dissolved foundation, is asking the protocol for $14M worth of MKR tokens to fight climate change.

On Feb. 1, Christensen published a draft of “The Maker Constitution” to the project’s governance forum. The document is described as a tool for aligning “the political and operational interactions and processes that occur in Maker Governance.”

Read the full story in The Defiant

Layer 2

Optimism

OP Hits Fresh Highs After Foundation Unveils ‘Bedrock’ Upgrade

Binance Launches BUSD Stablecoin On Layer 2 Network

By Samuel Haig

Optimism, the second-largest Layer 2 network, is scaling new heights, with both the total value locked (TVL) on the network and its native OP token surging to record highs.

The Optimism Foundation proposed a major upgrade to the protocol on Feb. 1.

Dubbed ‘Bedrock,’ the upgrade proposes to completely rewrite the core components of the Optimism architecture and aims to “offer a new level of modularity, simplicity, and Ethereum equivalence for Layer 2 solutions.”

On Feb. 2, Binance, the leading centralized exchange, launched its BUSD stablecoin on Optimism. The launch was BUSD’s sixth network deployment, following Ethereum, BNB Chain, Avalanche, Polygon, and Tron.

Read the full story in The Defiant

Sponsored Post

JUKE is a new digital collectibles platform built specifically for film & TV fans to celebrate the movies and shows they love! 

They’re going live on Wednesday 2/01 with their officially licensed Ace Ventura: Pet Detective Dynamic Posters featuring artwork by award winning film poster artist Akiko Stehrenberger (DUNE, THE BATMAN, etc). The collectible is an original piece of art and Akiko’s first digital film poster. 

The digital collectible will also unlock the ultimate movie and TV community managed by a team of industry veterans. Utility is, of course, top of mind as JUKE just announced phygital “Connected Shirts” featuring the officially licensed artwork, available exclusively for verified token holders to purchase. They’ve partnered with Brightstream, an intelligent apparel ecosystem connecting digital to physical, to provide a unique interactive experience for the JUKE community. 

Anyone can confirm the authenticity of the shirt by bumping a built-in NFC chip embedded in a patch on the sleeve of the shirt. There will only be up to 1000 editions of the Common shirts and 200 editions of the Rare shirts made available for purchase.

Join the drop here: ow.ly/X1aT50MEOyk

NFTs

NFT Lending

NFTfi Processes Record Number Of Loans In January

Nearly 18,000 ETH Borrowed In January

By Owen Fernau

NFT holders are borrowing more than ever against their digital assets, taking advantage of the uptick in prices this year.

NFTfi, a DeFi protocol which allows users to list their NFTs as collateral in order to solicit loans from would-be lenders, hit a record high of 4,399 loans disbursed in January. That’s nearly double the previous peak of 2,481 loans reached last March.

Read the full story in The Defiant

DeFi Explainer

Fixed Rates

What is Notional Finance?

A Primer on a DeFi Take on Fixed Interest Rates

By Rahul Nambiampurath

Notional Finance is an Ethereum-based lending and borrowing application. Notional has a couple of tricks up its DeFi sleeve to automate permissionless fixed-term loans as well as fixed-term interest rates.

Read the full story in The Defiant

Podcast

Tekin Salimi on Managing $125M Through A DAO