TLDR Crypto 2022-03-28

Acala, along with nine Polkadot parachain teams and several venture funds, has launched the $250 million aUSD Ecosystem Fund to support early-stage projects with strong stablecoin use cases on any Polkadot or Kusama parachain. aUSD is an over-collateralized, crypto-backed, decentralized stablecoin that is minted using reserve assets such as DOT, KSM, or cross-chain assets like parachain tokens, BTC, or ETH. aUSD will be used as a building block for the Polkadot ecosystem. More details about the aUSD Ecosystem Fund, including information on how to apply, are available in the article.

Prop 20 on the Anchor protocol has passed. The protocol will now implement a more sustainable semi-dynamic Earn rate. Earn rates will be adjusted every month based on yield reserve performance for that month. There will be a 1.5% cap on rate adjustments. The changes will benefit users by enabling yield reserve growth while continuing to provide an attractive yield on UST.

Aggregation theory suggests that the internet collapsed the cost of distribution and collecting payments, thereby creating new businesses that were previously not possible. In the context of web3, blockchains collapse the costs of verification and trust, making it possible to create businesses that simply index on-chain data, for example, OpenSea. Apps that enable discovery, reduce trust requirements, and make it safer for new market entrants to interact with the industry will eventually become the Googles of DeFi. This Twitter thread discusses aggregation theory and how it is playing out in web3. A link to an expanded version of the article is available.

Borrowing rates for ETH across many DeFi lending protocols are much lower than the interest gained by staking. This Twitter thread shares several yield sources and strategies.

This Twitter thread lists 17 common mistakes that users make when starting out in DeFi. The tips range from the basic, such as not listening to YouTubers for investment advice, to more advanced topics, such as learning to calculate impermanent loss and how to manage risk. Not everyone wins in crypto and there is a steep learning curve with lots of potential to lose money. It is important to play it safe at the beginning and not trust anyone blindly.

LayerZero is a protocol to transmit messages between blockchains. Stargate is a bridge and a decentralized exchange built on LayerZero. It has attracted $2 billion in liquidity in just a few days. This Twitter thread introduces LayerZero and Stargate, explaining how they work, potential applications, and why big investors are bullish on the projects. Links to LayerZero and Stargate's websites and whitepapers are available.

MakerDAO has implemented new updates and is considering proposals to help improve the adoption of its stablecoin. The protocol is adding stETH-ETH liquidity provision tokens as collateral to MakerDAO, expanding the list of eligible collateral for minting DAI, MakerDAO's stablecoin. It is considering turning MKR into a sort of vote-locking token so that users will have to stake their tokens to participate in governance proposals. Stakers would be rewarded with additional MKR generated through a surplus auction. Another proposal, if passed, will onboard more real-world assets as collateral to the Maker protocol. More details about the proposals and updates are available in the article.

The price of real estate in the metaverse has skyrocketed, pricing out many people who would like to own a plot in a virtual world. This has resulted in metaverse decentralized autonomous organizations forming so that groups of people can pool their money together to purchase virtual property. Investors are mainly purchasing virtual land as a long-term speculative investment. Metaverse platforms still lack users, but owning virtual real estate could be profitable once an audience arrives.