Gate DeFi Daily Report ( September 10 ): Solana TVL hits an all-time high; Hyperliquid stablecoin competition intensifies

On September 10, the DeFi market overall maintained a fluctuating rise, with the total TVL across the network slightly increasing to $15.4077 billion. The DEX trading volume rose to $15.412 billion, up 6% from yesterday, but still lower than the level a week ago. On-chain focus is on the Solana TVL hitting a historical high, Kiln initiating the exit of Ethereum verification nodes due to security concerns, the competition for Hyperliquid stablecoin issuance rights escalating, and Ethena and Paxos proposing new solutions in succession. The DeFi zone tokens overall rose, with MYX performing the best, soaring over 34% in a single day.

DeFi Market Overview

(Source: DeFiLlama)

Total DeFi TVL across the network: approximately $154.077 billion, 24H rise of 0.06%, with low volatility.

DEX 24-hour volume: approximately 15.412 billion USD, a rise of about 6% compared to the previous day (14.449 billion USD), and a decrease of 11.13% compared to the previous week. The top three are: Uniswap (3.33 billion USD), PancakeSwap (1.991 billion USD), Meteora (1.045 billion USD).

Popular Protocols and On-Chain Performance

Based on TVL, the data of the top ten DeFi protocols is as follows:

(Source: DeFiLlama)

Among them, the performance data of the top-ranked protocols are as follows:

Aave: TVL approximately $39.651 billion, down 0.65% in a single day, with 24-hour fees around $3.18 million;

Lido: TVL approximately 37.373 billion USD, daily decrease of 0.20%, 24-hour fees approximately 2.96 million USD;

EigenLayer: TVL approximately 1.8817 billion USD, daily decrease of 0.12%, 24-hour fees approximately 836,000 USD;

Ethena: TVL approximately 13.298 billion USD, daily growth of 1.54%, 24-hour fees approximately 150,000 USD;

Pendle: TVL approximately 11.92 billion USD, daily growth of 1.51%, 24-hour fees approximately 70,000 USD.

Project News Summary

1. According to DeFilama data, Solana DeFi TVL has reached 12.257 billion USD, setting a historical high; SOL has broken through 220 USD, reaching a new high since February 1.

2. Crypto KOL Ansem stated that the trading performance of pumpfun seems to have generated revenue comparable to Hyperliquid in the past week, but its market capitalization is 10 times lower.

3. According to Lineascan information, the Linea network has resumed normal block production after a brief downtime.

4. The staking service provider Kiln announced that after SwissBorg suffered a hacker attack resulting in a loss of approximately 41 million USD worth of SOL, it will initiate an orderly exit of all Ethereum validation nodes on September 10, 2025, which is expected to be completed in 10 to 42 days, with an additional 9 days required for withdrawals. This is a preventive measure to ensure asset safety.

The Kiln team stated that rewards will still be obtained during the exit period, and there are currently no signs of other financial losses. Some services are suspended, and infrastructure is being reinforced. A detailed report will be released afterwards. The team emphasized that exiting the validating Node is a responsible measure to protect the safety of stakers, and they are closely monitoring the entire process to ensure the security and reliability of services.

5. The Hyperliquid team announced that all teams bidding for USDH must submit their proposals before 10:00 UTC on September 10; validators will publicly vote on the candidates before 10:00 UTC on September 11.

Users can delegate their stakes to validators that align with their intentions before the start of the validator voting at 10:00 UTC on September 14. Voting weight is calculated based on the amount staked, and the foundation will effectively abstain.

6. Stablecoin issuer Paxos updates USDH proposal v2, which offers three upgrades:

First, the partnership with PayPal, HYPE will be launched on PayPal/Venmo (subject to regulatory approval), and will offer free USDH deposits and withdrawals, a $20 million ecosystem incentive, as well as global payment integration between Checkout, Braintree, Venmo, Hyperwallet, and Xoom.

Second, a clear AF-first incentive structure, Paxos can only earn profits after reaching the TVL milestone, capped at 5%, and all fees are charged in HYPE Token.

Third, Paxos can legally issue stablecoins in Europe, ensuring that USDH can expand globally in a fully compliant manner.

8. Ethena Labs joins the competition for the issuance rights of the USDH stablecoin under Hyperliquid, proposing a bid for the USDH issuance rights.

Ethena Labs stated that if selected as a USDH issuer, USDH will be 100% backed by USDtb, which is issued by Anchorage Digital Bank and fully collateralized by BlackRock BUIDL. Ethena promises to return at least 95% of the net income generated from USDH reserves to the Hyperliquid community through methods such as HYPE buybacks and reward funds. Ethena will cover the costs of migrating USDC and plans to introduce a liquidity support mechanism to enhance the depth of USDH in the perpetual contract market.

Ethena has reserved at least $75 million (composed of cash and token incentives) to support the HIP-3 front-end development based on Ethena-related products (including USDe, hUSDe, and USDH), provided that the proposal is approved. The fee income generated from these front-ends will be 50% shared with Hyperliquid.

9. Former Variant investment partner Derek Walkush announced his joining of Uniswap Labs as the Head of Unichain Growth. Walkush previously worked in investments at Variant Fund and will focus on driving on-chain activity growth for Unichain.

Unichain is developed by the Uniswap team, focusing on low fees and high transaction speed, with Uniswap as the core DEX. Walkush will also participate in Uniswap Labs VC related projects.

10. According to a report by Forbes, WLFI Treasury Company Alt5 Sigma disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that after discussions with Nasdaq, to comply with its listing rules, President Trump's second son Eric Trump will instead serve as a board observer, while Folkman will take on the role of director following shareholder approval. The filing did not specify which Nasdaq rule prompted this change, and the company did not provide further clarification.

Alt5 Sigma, World Liberty Financial, and Eric Trump have not responded to Forbes' request for comment, and a Nasdaq spokesperson also declined to comment.

11. Smart Money, crypto KOL 0xsun.sol (@0xSunNFT) stated, "As mentioned before, I observed that the leading effect of ETH is weakening at the end of August. I still have a positive outlook on ETH in the medium to long term, but it seems to lack momentum recently. After some consideration, I gradually shifted 30% of my ETH long position into several altcoins, which I believe have very good fundamentals and align with the current mainstream narrative, to enrich my bullish portfolio.

I chose XPL, Hype, ENA, Eigen, Bonk, and Ondo, which I am still observing. In the past two months, during this pump driven by ETH, it can be seen that among the strong coins, there are many ETH-related altcoins, which makes a lot of sense. The ETH-related altcoins can be divided into several major categories, mainly L2-related, DeFi-related, and Restaking-related. The quality targets in the first two categories have already risen significantly, whereas, comparatively, there is still considerable room for catch-up in the restaking track.

The leader in ETH re-staking is undoubtedly Eigen. The launch of EigenCloud has made Eigen not only the top re-staking protocol and the fastest DA protocol, but also the first verifiable cloud system capable of completing on-chain or off-chain tasks. This will also be their key development direction moving forward.

In addition, A16Z led the Series B round last year and further invested $70 million in June this year, while ETHZilla chose to re-stake $100 million worth of Ether, which is beneficial for the entire ecosystem.

12. Bubblemaps announced that an entity received airdrops of 170 million MYX, with the on-chain activities of about 100 new addresses being completely identical. These addresses obtained funds through CEX one month prior to the airdrop, and the number of other tokens received by each address was similar, all meeting the airdrop eligibility criteria. These addresses claimed a total of 9.8 million MYX, accounting for about 1% of the total supply, and most addresses initiated their claims almost simultaneously around 5:30 AM on May 7.

Previously, these addresses had no on-chain activity, and the funding acquisition and claiming patterns were highly consistent. Bubblemaps pointed out that such a coincidence is hard to regard as a random event and may represent the largest-scale airdrop witch attack in history.

Overview of Major Leading DeFi Projects

Solana DEX's 24-hour volume has topped the chart for three consecutive days, approximately $4.031 billion, with the top three projects being:

Meteora ($1.074 billion), HumidiFi ($780 million), Raydium ($58.267 billion);

Ethereum DEX ranks third in 24-hour trading volume, approximately 3.612 billion USD, with the top three projects being:

Uniswap ($1.769 billion), Fluid ($786.68 million), Ekubo ($278.77 million);

Base DEX ranks fourth in 24-hour trading volume, with approximately 1.435 billion USD, with the top three projects being:

Aerodrome ($592.19 million), Uniswap ($580.25 million), PancakeSwap ($213.97 million).

Gate DeFi zone Token market data

According to the Gate.io market page data, the price performance of the top ten tokens in the DeFi zone is as follows:

(Source: Gate DeFi zone market)

As of September 10th, the cryptocurrency market has rebounded overall, with the DeFi zone rising simultaneously, specifically:

UNI is currently priced at 9.61 USD, with a 24-hour rise of 0.72%;

WLFI is currently priced at 0.207 USD, with a 24-hour rise of 3.19%;

AAVE is currently reported at 298.64 USD, with a 24-hour rise of 0.21%;

MYX is currently reported at 18.37 dollars, with a 24-hour rise of 34.14%;

INJ is currently reported at 14.04 US dollars, with a 24-hour rise of 0.12%;

CRV is currently priced at 0.7884 USD, with a 24-hour rise of 1.36%;

MORPHO is currently reported at 1.95 USD, with a 24-hour rise of 0.64%.

Market Trend Interpretation

TVL steadily rises, volume moderately recovers

The total DeFi TVL across the network reports at 15.4077 billion USD, with a 24-hour pump of 0.06%; DEX volume reached 15.412 billion USD, increasing by 6% compared to yesterday, but down 11.13% from last week. The activity level of funds is limited, with volume mainly concentrated in leading protocols such as Uniswap, PancakeSwap, and Meteora.

Solana ecosystem is strong, with TVL and Token prices reaching new highs.

Solana DeFi TVL rises to 12.257 billion USD, reaching a historic high, and the SOL price breaks through 220 USD for the first time since February 1. Meteora and HumidiFi contributed the main increments, showing a continuous influx of funds into the Solana ecosystem.

Security risks are escalating, Kiln launches validation node exit.

After SwissBorg suffered a $41 million loss due to a hacker attack on SOL, the staking service provider Kiln announced an orderly exit from all Ethereum validation nodes starting September 10, with an expected completion time of up to 42 days. Although there are currently no signs of other fund losses, this incident highlights the potential security risks in the Ethereum staking ecosystem.

Hyperliquid stablecoin issuance competition has entered a white-hot phase.

Paxos updated its proposal, suggesting upgrades such as collaboration with PayPal, compliance issuance, and profit caps; Ethena Labs promised a 95% profit return to the community and reserved $75 million to support front-end development. As the validator voting on September 11 approaches, the competition for USDH issuance rights has become the core narrative of the market.

Token market differentiation, MYX leads the rise in the DeFi zone

As of the time of writing, mainstream Tokens such as UNI, WLFI, and AAVE have all recorded slight pumps, with MYX performing outstandingly, achieving a 24-hour rise of up to 34.14%, indicating that funds are clearly chasing hot projects.

Analyst Opinions

Capital Focus on Solana and Hot Protocols: Analysts point out that Solana has reached new highs in both TVL and Token prices, validating its ability to attract capital within its ecosystem, and is expected to continue attracting liquidity in the short term.

Risks and Opportunities Coexist: Kiln's proactive withdrawal from the validation Node indicates institutions' preemptive measures against security risks, but it also reflects that the uncertainty in the staking zone may still disrupt market confidence.

Stablecoin Narrative May Become Key Driver in September: The competition for Hyperliquid stablecoin issuance rights is not only related to the development of the protocol ecosystem but may also determine the market performance of HYPE and related tokens. Analysts generally advise investors to closely monitor the voting results.

Market structural trends are evident: Sub-narrative tokens like MYX and ENA have impressive gains, but overall funding in the DeFi zone remains cautious, and a structural rise pattern is expected to be maintained in the short term.

Overall, analysts believe that the DeFi market is currently in a "structural opportunity + potential risk" phase, and investors should pay attention to the mid-term opportunities in the Solana and Hyperliquid stablecoin sectors, while maintaining awareness of staking security events.