- Aptos Network aims to improve its DeFi foundation.
- It must contend with inherent challenges in the DeFi ecosystem.
Aptos [APT] races to update its DeFi foundation in partnership with Econia Labs to attract more next-gen DeFi products to its platform.
While the move is intended to capitalize on ongoing turbulence on CEXs (central exchanges), Aptos must face cutthroat competition and other challenges in the DeFi space.
Read Aptos [APT] Price prediction 2023-2024
Aimed to thrive in the chaos of CEX
DEXs saw increased trading volume during the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) crisis in mid-March 2023. A similar trend can always be seen when CEXs face challenges such as transparency issues. Aptos wants to capitalize on CEX’s trials by ramping up its DeFi base.
Econia Labs, a startup building a decentralized order book infrastructure on the Aptos network, is streamlining integrations to attract more DeFi developers. It recently received $6.5 million in seed funding to enhance the Aptos DeFi foundation.
We are delighted to participate @EconiaLabs$6.5 Million Seed Round!
Econia Labs pioneers a decentralized on-chain order book protocol for the @Aptos_Networkpaving the way for a more efficient and transparent trading ecosystem.
Congratulations Alex, Kiki & the team! 🚀https://t.co/UooDYCLOja
— Wintermute (@wintermute_t) March 29, 2023
Well, Econia already has a design, through the Econia protocol, that enables a wide range of applications on the Aptos blockchain, from spot trading to leveraged perpetual futures. Also dApp integrators have started using the system and DeFi developers will soon be on board to streamline their integrations.
Aptos seems keen on more diversification. It has recently branched into NT and music space too. Expanding into DeFi systems can be beneficial, especially for long-term sustainability.
Cutthroat competition exists in DeFi as some protocols opt for multi-chain strategies. Pancake swap, for example [CAKE] is currently being deployed on BSC, Ethereum and Aptos networks to attract more revenue and users. As such, Aptos must deal with stiff rival competition in addition to attracting more users to DeFi applications on its network.
APT’s price response to DeFi’s surge
The value of APT rose slightly after the news, rising from $11.23, but was rejected at the 50 EMA (exponential moving average) of $11.8.
Overall, at the time of writing, price action was still toiling below the 50 EMA, 200 EMA, and the descending trendline on the 4-hour chart. It shows that APT was trading below its mid- and long-term trend and that bears were slightly leveraged despite the new development.
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Nevertheless, the total value is locked (TVL) rose from $36 million on March 29 to about $42 million on March 30 — an increase of 15.8% in the past 24 hours.
Likewise the open interest rate rose from $160.9 million to $162.4 million before falling to $154 million at the time of writing after BTC was rejected in the $29K zone.
According to Coinglass, between March 29 and March 30, APT saw quite a positive funding rate. However, the announcement of the DeFi startup may have been overshadowed by the BTC price movement.
The move to ramp up the Aptos network’s DeFi system could balance it to attract more players and improve long-term sustainability.
However, the price action of BTC has overshadowed the new development of the APT. In addition, the Aptos network faces cutthroat competition from Ethereum, BSC, and other blockchain networks in the DeFi space.