- Talking Tokens
- Posts
- Is privacy a key feature needed in DeFi's future? Aleph Zero thinks so
Is privacy a key feature needed in DeFi's future? Aleph Zero thinks so
The team behind the modular blockchain launched Common, a new privacy-focused DEX
Jacquelyn Melinek
May 23, 2024
Welcome back to Talking Tokens.
We’re building the best place for quick crypto insights, news and in-depth interviews with the best leaders, startups, market players and up-and-coming founders that are changing the industry.
If you haven’t already, subscribe here:
Aleph Zero deepens DeFi privacy focus with its new DEX
Aleph Zero’s new privacy-focused decentralized exchange (DEX), Common, wants to bring the convenience of a centralized exchange (CEX) into decentralized finance (DeFi), Antoni Zolciak, co-founder of Aleph Zero said on Talking Tokens podcast. (Listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube.)
“We’re very fascinated about building this non-custodial open sourced neobanking stack,” Zolciak said. “This is where Common is definitely going to go in the future.”
At the moment, the team launched Common’s automated market maker (AMM) on its blockchain, to move DeFi toward implementing greater privacy and security. It’s live on Aleph Zero’s chain and plans to expand it into other networks and ecosystems in the future, Zolciak shared.
On the DeFi side, Common want to combine “what’s best in price aggregators like 1inch and in various intent-based protocols like Cowswap, then add privacy on top of it, so users don’t have to worry about being tracked,” Zolciak added.
There are a few private DEXs out there, but it’s still a pretty new movement, Zolciak noted. “It hasn’t broken into mainstream yet for several reasons” including poor user experience, which he thinks will be improved over time.
“With Common, we hope this becomes one of the first more broadly adopted protocols that utilizes privacy and enables both retail users as well as institutional ones to trade.”
Check out the next section for more details and the full episode.
The latest Talking Tokens podcast 🎙️
For this week’s Thursday episode, I interviewed Antoni Zolciak, co-founder of Aleph Zero.
We dive into the importance of privacy on blockchains, how the sector has evolved over the years, A0’s new private decentralized exchange, Common, and which areas could see the most growth with ZK technology.
Talking Tokens episodes are released on Spotify and Apple Podcasts at 6AM EST or YouTube at 10AM EST every Tuesday and Thursday. Listen in!
Make sure to subscribe to keep up with the latest episodes. Feel free to leave a review and tell us your thoughts.
Monitoring blockchains
Looking at some of the biggest developments onchain.
Sui hit a new all-time high for total value locked (TVL) at $750M, a day after it hit a new peak for daily active wallets
Aptos surpassed 600 million total transactions, with over 12.6M transactions this week alone, according to a Flipside data analyst
Avalanche DeFi TVL is back over $1 billion, up 14.6% on the week
Taking on the tokens
The total crypto market cap increased less than 1% in the past 24-hours to $2.61 trillion. It is up 9.2% over a 7-day period.
As for the largest cryptocurrencies by market cap…
Token | Price | 24h % | 7-day % |
|---|---|---|---|
Bitcoin (BTC) | $69,925 | - 0.09% | + 5.48% |
Ethereum (ETH) | $3,921 | + 5.53% | + 30.89% |
BNB (BNB) | $611.88 | - 1.22% | + 5.49% |
Solana (SOL) | $176.20 | - 1.63% | + 8.41% |
These metrics were taken at 8:15 AM EST on Thursday.
Other numbers we’re eyeing…
$47 million — that’s the amount of inflows the Ethereum-focused layer-2 network zkSync has seen since Tuesday, as speculation looms about a potential airdrop from the team (it’s expected to happen next month).
Money and people moves
Latest updates on crypto startups that secured funding and industry players who are starting something new.
Andrew Saunders joins SKALE Labs as its chief marketing and growth officer
Lightspeed Faction led WeatherXM’s $7.7M Series A round (The Block)
Farcaster raised $150M at $1B valuation in a round led by Paradigm with participation from a16z, Haun Ventures and others
US prosecutors say former FTX executive Ryan Salame should serve five to seven years in prison (The Block)
Speaking of FTX…Sam Bankman-Fried Being Transferred to New Prison (WSJ)
Talking points for the road
Here’s some headlines and topics that you can talk about at your next dinner party, crypto event or on a first date to look smart (results may vary.)
Trump campaign starts taking cryptocurrency donations, vows to build a 'crypto army’ (CNBC)
Ether Has 1 in 5 Chance of Tapping $5K by End-June, DeFi Options Protocol Lyra Says (CoinDesk)
Why gold, silver, bitcoin and Ethereum prices are all soaring (Axios)
U.S. House Approves Crypto FIT21 Bill With Wave of Democratic Support (CoinDesk)
Get involved and share the newsletter. The more you share, the higher your ranking.
Refer 25 people and get my customized media guide.
Refer 50 people for a chance at a 1:1 meeting with me to dive into best practices when engaging with the media.
Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.
If you do (or don’t) like what you see, let me know by sending feedback to [email protected].
This product was built by Token Relations.
Reply