DeFi Revolution: Watch These Top 5 Projects

DeFi is gearing up for an almighty comeback and yes, you should be excited. This OG crypto sector has long been one of the most promising use cases for blockchain technology, but has been stifled by a lack of coherent regulation and hostility from established TradFi players. But, as the old saying goes, you can’t keep a good system of permissionless and universally accessible financial primitives down for long.

As the US SEC embarks on its post-Gensler cleanse, and stablecoin legislation inches closer to the finish line on Capitol Hill, DeFi is coming in from the cold, as reflected in the recent rallies experienced by a number of prominent tokens. So, how can you capitalise on what could be set to become DeFi Summer, part II?

Well, in today’s video, we talk you through five of the best DeFi projects out there and examine their potential in light of all the positive developments the space is seeing. Consider this your starting point for exploring a sector which is set to finally get the chance to live up to its promises and show people everywhere how crypto can change their lives for the better.

You can watch that video here.

📈 Crypto Market Forecast 📈

The first casualty of war is truth. This is believed to be a quote from US senator Hiram Jonhson, who said it as far back as 1918. This is a problem when it comes to investing, because if you can’t get a sense of what’s going on, it makes it extremely hard to plan for what comes next. In other words, it creates uncertainty, which is kryptonite for investors, regardless of the asset in question.

It goes without saying that there’s no predicting what’s going to happen next with the conflict in the Middle East, and that’s precisely why the markets have been so volatile. Now that the US has become involved, it’s possible that the conflict could stabilize or even pause because further escalation could cause oil prices to rise, which would have many secondary effects, including raising inflation.  

On the other hand, it’s possible that the conflict could indeed escalate still further. Besides the fact that this could cause oil prices to rise, the sentiment among populations globally is that they’re tired of these conflicts and want them resolved ASAP. For these and other reasons, a stabilization or pause will likely come eventually, though much now depends on Iran’s reaction to the US attack on its nuclear facilities.

Aside from the war in the Middle East and the war in Eastern Europe (which could likewise escalate over the summer), there’s another macro headwind that’s buffeting the markets, and that’s the stock buyback blackout period, which occurs at the end of every quarter. Stock buybacks are believed to play a big role in stock market price action.

The stock buyback blackout period began in the middle of last week, and is expected to last into early July. This suggests that the stock market could be a bit more vulnerable to exogenous shocks, such as escalation in the Middle East. And because crypto is highly correlated to the stock market, this could drag down crypto prices the same way it did in some previous quarters.

Thankfully, there are also a couple of macro tailwinds to look forward to this week. The first is the potential introduction of the Supplementary Leverage Ratio (SLR) exemption. For those unfamiliar, the SLR exemption would make it possible for banks to buy more US bonds, which would have the same practical effect of QE. The Fed is expected to discuss this on Wednesday.

The second macro tailwind to watch is the PCE for May. In case you missed the news, the CPI for May came in lower than expected. This suggests that the May PCE could also come in lower than expected. If it does, then headline PCE could fall below the Fed’s target of 2%, increasing the chances of a rate cut in July. The PCE for May will be published on Friday.

This brings us to the crypto side of the equation. In case it wasn’t clear enough, bullish crypto factors will continue to have a minimal effect on prices so long as macro conditions continue to be bearish. Case in point, the passing of the GENIUS Act in the Senate had zero impact on price, despite US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying he’s bullish on stablecoins.

The same is true with the news that JP Morgan had launched a tokenized RWA on Coinbase’s Base layer 2. Tokenized RWA cryptos barely budged despite the fact that the SEC is in discussions to introduce a ‘temporary exemptive framework’ which would basically legalize things like tokenized RWAs and DeFi in the United States until proper regulations are passed.

If you’re wondering which tokenized RWA crypto has the most potential, the answer appears to be Ethereum. That’s simply because most existing tokenized RWAs are being issued on Ethereum and its layer 2s, which leverage ETH for fees. This makes sense considering that Ethereum is the most battle tested and most secure smart contract crypto on the market.

As it so happens, Ethereum has some pretty big events coming up that could help put it in the spotlight. The first is the Permissionless IV conference that will be hosted by Blockworks later this week. If you look at the speaker’s list, you’ll notice that most have something in common - they’re all key players in Ethereum’s ecosystem. So, expect ETH-related announcements.

Another Ethereum conference to keep on your radar is ETHCC, which will take place later this month. If you’ve been keeping up with our videos on the main channel, you’ll know that the XRPL EVM sidechain could launch its main net during ETHCC, and it’s likely that we’ll get big announcements from other massive crypto projects in Ethereum’s ecosystem at that time too.

In sum then, the next week has lots of macro headwinds, but there could be a few tailwinds on both the macro and the crypto fronts that prevent the bottom from falling completely out of the crypto market. Then again, some would say that the bottom fell out a while ago…

🥊 Onchain CEX Wars 🥊

For a long time now, there’s been a clear separation between centralised exchanges (CEXs) and decentralised exchanges (DEXs) in crypto. While CEXs offered user-friendly interfaces, high liquidity, and custodial services, they often came at the cost of transparency and user control. Similarly, DEXs offered open access and self-custody - prioritising decentralisation, but lacking the seamless experience and liquidity of their centralised counterparts.

For crypto investors, each model was distinct from the other with little to no overlap. If you wanted to trade large amounts of crypto with little to no slippage, you had to use a CEX. If you wanted to trade an obscure microcap memecoin, you had to use a DEX. It was impossible to do both from the same platform.

However, in 2025, this divide seems to be disappearing fast. Notably, crypto exchange Coinbase recently announced that users would soon be able to trade assets on its Ethereum layer 2 Base from directly within the Coinbase app. This onchain integration will begin with Base, but is expected to expand to other networks such as Solana and Ethereum in the future. Coinbase is also seeking US SEC approval to offer tokenized equities on its platform. These are but some of a slew of recent developments that contribute to expanding Coinbase’s onchain presence. Notably, they follow an easing regulatory environment for digital assets in the US.

While Coinbase is the first to announce an in-app DEX integration for trading permissionless assets, we could soon see other CEXs following suit. After all, Coinbase is not the only CEX dipping its toes in the DeFi world. Notably, CEXs like Kraken, Bybit, and Binance have all taken steps to include DeFi somewhere in their stack.

In the case of Kraken, it copied Coinbase’s playbook, launching its own Ethereum layer 2 chain Ink just a year after Base was announced. Just last week, the Ink Foundation made a formal announcement about launching an INK token for the network. The token will supposedly act as an incentive designed to drive liquidity and activity on the layer 2. Early users of the network are expected to receive an airdrop of INK tokens when it goes live. The token launch seems to be an attempt to compete with Base’s growing popularity. For context, the Base team has repeatedly denied any plans around launching a native token.

As for Bybit, it made a similar DeFi-related announcement last week: the impending launch of Byreal – a Solana-based DEX that combines CEX-grade liquidity with DeFi transparency. Describing itself as an “onchain extension” of Bybit, Byreal claims to offer traders low-slippage and manipulation-free swaps via more efficient and transparent market-making systems. Specifically, Byreal uses an RFQ + CLMM model to route trades to both centralised (Bybit order books) and decentralised liquidity sources (Solana-based protocols like Raydium, Jupiter, and Meteora). The team has announced that Byreal will go live on testnet on June 30 and on mainnet sometime in Q3 2025. However, it remains unclear if we will see an integration of Byreal with Bybit’s webpage and mobile app.

That said, Coinbase, Bybit and Kraken are relatively new entrants to the DeFi space when compared to global crypto exchange Binance. Notably, Binance was one of the earliest CEXs to announce the launch of its own onchain product. Binance’s layer 1 BNB Chain, which was launched in 2020, was the earliest attempt by the CEX to expand its onchain presence. More recently, Binance has been exploring providing cross-chain DeFi accessibility for its users through its Binance Alpha product.

For context, Binance Alpha is a platform designed to spotlight and promote emerging onchain projects. It enables users to engage in onchain activities, such as trading and staking, to earn airdrops and rewards from curated DeFi and Web3 projects. At its core, Binance Alpha seeks to offer curation of new tokens as a service. According to a report by DWF Labs, roughly 10% of the tokens listed on Binance Alpha end up receiving a spot listing on the CEX. But more notably, Binance Alpha features a points program that rewards users for engaging with tokens on the Alpha page. Onchain tasks, such as buying, holding and providing DEX liquidity for alpha tokens count towards earning points. These points can be exchanged for airdrops, creating a seamless entry point for Binance’s retail user base to explore DeFi.

We believe more CEXs will attempt to introduce onchain features for their users in the near future. The friendly regulatory environment for digital assets in the US under president Trump provides a new opportunity for these CEXs to increase their distribution and accessibility. At the same time, the market dominance of DEXs like Hyperliquid presents a real threat to CEXs that stay limited to traditional, centralised offerings. This is especially true once Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 upgrade goes live. For context, HIP-3 allows anyone to deploy a new perpetual futures market on HyperCore, without seeking approval from a centralised authority.

As for which CEXs are best poised for onchain dominance, Coinbase’s Base holds a clear lead in the CEX-DEX convergence race. Its first-mover advantage, seamless app integration, and massive user base make it the most accessible onchain CEX platform. Not to mention how its recent announcement about introducing crypto perpetual futures in the US could shake Hyperliquid’s dominance in the decentralised perps market. For context, most of Hyperliquid’s users are supposedly based Stateside.

On the other hand, both Byreal and Ink are still in their early stages. Of course, Solana’s smaller DeFi ecosystem compared to Ethereum’s limits Byreal’s reach for now. As for Binance Alpha, it’s a simple curation product – we need to see better DeFi functionality for it to be seen as a real contender in the onchain CEX wars. Nevertheless, this battle is just beginning, so expect to see more developments from CEXs moving onchain in the next few months.

🔥 Hot Deal Of The Week 🔥

Markets took a dip over the weekend, which means only one thing: Crypto is on sale!

This uncertainty could be a blessing as it allows you the opportunity to pick up some attractively priced coins.

To do that, you’ll need a top-notch exchange. One that is enjoying increasing popularity amongst the Coin Bureau Team is Toobit. Not only can you trade pretty much any altcoin you’ll want, but we have been able to secure you guys a really special deal! Sign up and get up to 100,000 USDT as a welcome bonus and a up to 50% fee discount for life!

👉 Get that Toobit deal whilst you can!

🔮 Video Pipeline 🔮

* Circle Stock: Worth it or overhyped?
* The Fourth Turning: Historical cycles and how it could impact the crypto markets?
* Bretton Woods: The rise and fall of the fiat monetary system
* Crypto Trading For Beginners: Key tools, strategies and indicators to crush it!

🏆 What's New at CoinBureau.com This Week? 🏆

* Is BYDFi Worth It? A Comprehensive Review of the Exchange
* The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Successful Crypto Day Trading
* Explore the Best Coinbase Alternatives: Features, Fees, and More
* Explore The Top iOS Crypto Wallets for Secure Transactions
* Why KYC and AML Are Essential for the Integrity of Crypto Exchanges
* Binance or Coinbase? A Complete User-Focused Comparison for 2025

📖 Quote of the Week 📖

As we enter the summer lull and prices chop sideways, it could be the perfect opportunity to upskill your crypto knowledge. It will prelude solid gains in the coming months.

"The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet." - Aristotle

Team Coin Bureau

Disclosure: Authors may own cryptoassets named in this newsletter. These are unqualified opinions, and a Coin Bureau newsletter, is meant for informational purposes only. It is not meant to serve as investment advice. Please consult with your investment, tax, or legal advisor.