Gate Decentralized Finance Daily (, September 1, ): WLFI unlocking is imminent; Hyperliquid's popularity is rising with volume ranking in the top three.

On September 1, the cryptocurrency market overall faced pressure and adjusted, with BTC and ETH and other mainstream assets fluctuating and weakening. However, the DeFi zone performed brilliantly, with major tokens generally rising, and funds concentrated in high-activity tracks during the turbulent market. It is worth noting that the WLFI unlocking window is about to open, with its initial circulating supply and potential selling pressure becoming the focus of the entire market. Meanwhile, the competition landscape between Ethereum and Solana ecosystem DEXs remains tense, with Hyperliquid returning to the top three thanks to strong trading volume.

Decentralized Finance Market Overview

(Source: DeFiLlama)

Total DeFi TVL across the network: approximately 152.699 billion USD, a slight decrease of 0.33% in 24 hours.

DEX 24-hour volume: approximately $11.09 billion, with the top three being: Uniswap ($3.19 billion), PancakeSwap ($1.548 billion), Hyperliquid ($1.224 billion). It is worth noting that Hyperliquid has once again entered the top three, with renewed popularity.

Popular Protocols and On-Chain Performance

The top ten DeFi protocols ranked by TVL are as follows:

(Source: DeFiLlama)

Among them, the top-ranked protocol data performances are as follows:

Aave: TVL approximately $39.129 billion, down 1.48% in a single day, decreased 0.86% over the past week, with 24-hour fees of about $3 million;

Lido: TVL approximately 38.457 billion USD, down 1.68% in a single day, reduced by 5.12% in the past week, with 24-hour fees around 3.04 million USD;

EigenLayer: TVL approximately 19.423 billion USD, down 1.17% in a single day, decreased by 7.72% in the past week, with 24-hour fees around 15,390 USD;

Ethena: TVL approximately 12.589 billion USD, daily rise of 0.6%, growth of 2.86% over the past week, 24-hour fees approximately 9.95 million USD, maintaining a leading position;

ether. fi: TVL approximately 11.26 billion USD, daily decrease of 1.6%, reduction of 6.53% in the past week, 24-hour fees approximately 665,000 USD.

Project News Summary

1. On-chain data shows that approximately 16.88 billion WLFI have been transferred to the Lockbox contract, accounting for 16.88% of the total token supply. Based on the pre-market contract price of $0.324, this is valued at approximately $5.47 billion.

The WLFI Token will officially start unlocking at 8:00 AM Eastern Time on September 1st, and the related feature page (Lockbox) is now live. Users need to activate between August 25th and August 31st in order to receive 20% of the unlocked tokens starting September 1st.

2. According to on-chain analyst Ai Yi (@ai_9684xtpa), the CoinMarketCap page shows that the verified initial Circulating Supply of WLFI TGE is 27.3 billion coins. This figure is significantly higher than the previously estimated theoretical Circulating Supply of 5 billion coins. Based on the current contract price of $0.3599, the opening sell pressure will be $9.83 billion.

Ai Yi stated that CoinMarketCap's algorithm calculates the total supply of tokens by subtracting the tokens held by the team/advisors/partners/Lockbox, which means that all strategic round tokens are counted as circulating supply, which seems to be inaccurate.

Afterwards, CoinMarketCap CEO Rush posted that the circulating data of WLFI has been repeatedly confirmed with the project party, and major CEX and other trading platforms also use this data. CoinMarketCap shows that the initial circulating supply of WLFI is 27.21 billion coins, far higher than the estimated 5 billion coins.

3. On September 1st, in a survey of the Discord group holding at least 1 million WLFI, many small holders indicated that they would choose to sell if the price reached $0.47. Group operator Vincent Deriu revealed that large holders have a target price above $1. Many plan to only sell a portion of the 20% of their Tokens.

Holder Bruno Ver stated that he plans to sell about 10% of his holdings after the trading starts. He predicts that the Token price could reach 0.35-0.5 USD. "It will definitely be used for family consumption," he revealed, "I have already told my wife that we are going on a cruise trip in September."

On September 1, WLFI announced that USD1 is backed 1:1 by reserve assets and integrated with Raydium, BONKfun, and Kamino on the first day of its launch on Solana.

5. WLFI announced that if the official website experiences excessive traffic during the claim window tomorrow, users can still directly claim the unlocked WLFI Token on-chain. Here are the safe operation steps:

Step 1: Visit the official WLFI contract page:

Step 2: Click on "Connect to Web3."

Step 3: Choose your wallet.

Note: All browser extension wallets (including Rabby, etc.) will appear as "Metamask."

Step 4: Scroll down to find the claimVest feature and expand the dropdown menu.

Step 5: Click 'Write'.

Step 6: Your connected wallet will pop up a transaction confirmation window.

After confirmation, the WLFI Token unlocked by the user will be directly sent to the wallet. Important note: This method is only valid if the user has previously activated the wallet on the WLFI website.

6. According to Defillama data, the monthly on-chain DEX trading volume on the Ethereum network in August exceeded 140.1 billion USD, setting a new all-time monthly record. The number of active addresses reached 16.77 million, also matching the historical highest monthly record. The current TVL of Ethereum is reported at 92.58 billion USD, still needing to increase by about 17% to reach the peak of approximately 108.8 billion USD at the end of the bull market in 2021.

Overview of Major Leading DeFi Projects

Ethereum DEX 24-hour volume returns to the first position at approximately 2.578 billion USD, down 21.61% over the past week, with the top three projects being:

Uniswap (24-hour volume $1.77 billion), Fluid (24-hour volume $379.58 million), Ekubo (24-hour volume $180.34 million);

Solana DEX ranks second in 24-hour volume, with approximately $2.434 billion, rising 1.85% over the past week, with the top three projects being:

Meteora (24h volume 835.49 million USD), Pump (24h volume 642.98 million USD), Raydium (463.32 million USD);

Hyperliquid L1 DEX ranked fourth in 24-hour trading volume, approximately 1.353 billion USD, down 6.47% in the past week, with the top three projects being:

Hyperliquid (24-hour volume of $1.224 billion), Project X ($84.58 million), HyperSwap ($24.92 million), mainly from Hyperliquid.

Gate DeFi zone Token market data

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

(Source: Gate DeFi zone market)

As of September 1st, the overall cryptocurrency market is showing a downward trend, while the DeFi zone tokens are performing well, showing a general rise trend, among which:

UNI is currently priced at 9.75 USD, with a 24-hour rise of 1.47%;

AAVE is currently reported at 316.31 USD, with a 24-hour rise of 0.21%;

INJ is currently priced at 13 USD, with a 24-hour rise of 2.53%;

CRV is currently reported at 0.7767 USD, with a 24-hour rise of 2.58%;

SYRUP is currently priced at 0.4665 USD, with a 24-hour rise of 3.92%.

Market Trend Analysis

TVL and trading volume are both under pressure, and the market has entered an adjustment cycle

The total DeFi TVL across the network has fallen to approximately 15.26 billion USD, with a slight decrease of 0.33% over the past 24 hours; the total DEX trading volume has dropped to 11.09 billion USD, and the on-chain activity has significantly slowed down. Market sentiment is becoming cautious due to macroeconomic uncertainties and token unlocking pressures.

WLFI Unlocks to Become a Market Indicator

The WLFI Token will officially unlock 20% on September 1st. On-chain data shows that 16.88 billion tokens have already been transferred to Lockbox, accounting for 16.88% of the total supply. The controversy over the initial Circulating Supply has sparked heated discussions in the community. There are significant differences in strategies among holders, with price expectations concentrated in the $0.35-$0.5 range. Some large holders are looking at prices above $1, and it is expected to become a trading hotspot in the market in the short term.

Ethereum chain active innovation hits new high, multi-chain ecosystem competition is fierce

Ethereum's DEX volume reached a historical high of $140.1 billion in August, with the number of active addresses also hitting a new record; the Solana ecosystem maintained high liquidity through projects like Meteora and Pump. Hyperliquid L1 re-entered the top three in volume after a rebound in contract market activity, reflecting the rapid aggregation capability of emerging public chains in terms of user structure.

DeFi zone funds are flowing back, Token short-term trends are stronger than the market

Despite the overall market decline, leading Tokens such as UNI, INJ, CRV, and SYRUP have recorded a rise, reflecting that funds still favor liquidity-rich and well-established Decentralized Finance projects in a risk-averse atmosphere.

Analyst Views

Unlocking and liquidity games or amplifying short-term fluctuations

The unlocking mechanism of WLFI and the controversy over its initial circulating supply have become the focus of the market recently. Short-term fluctuations are inevitable, especially for small-cap projects that may face spillover risks. However, the stability of mid-term projects still depends on ecological development and capital absorption capacity.

The competition among multiple chains is becoming intense, and the structure of user activity is being reshaped

Ethereum still maintains an absolute advantage in on-chain activity and TVL, but the liquidity aggregation capabilities of Solana and Hyperliquid are rapidly improving, indicating that future user distribution may become more decentralized and the capital allocation logic will be more diversified.

The DeFi zone shows relative strength and is expected to become a safe haven in a volatile market

When the overall market lacks a clear trend, the robust fundamentals and high on-chain activity of leading DeFi projects give them anti-drawdown properties. Investors can focus on high volume chains and leading tokens, which may provide opportunities for excess returns in the short term.

On-chain activity reaching a new high indicates that long-term potential remains unchanged

Ethereum and other public chains have reached new highs in activity, indicating that the utilization rate of infrastructure and the demand for Decentralized Finance are still growing. The market adjustment is more driven by emotions, and in the long run, the capital accumulation and innovation trends in the DeFi industry remain unchanged.