DEX

On January 30, Lighter announced a collaboration with Axiom to introduce Lighter EVM, an Ethereum-compatible rollup designed to extend the platform into a wider DeFi ecosystem. The system uses Axiom's OpenVM 2.0 and SWIRL proof method to deliver ZK-verified, low-cost, high-throughput execution while enabling rapid interoperability with Lighter's markets. Axiom has also strengthened fiat-to-crypto access via earlier integrations with Onramper and MoonPay, allowing users to fund trading with a broad range of payment options.

Aster (ASTER) is trading at $0.6072 and holding the $0.60 support amid broader market weakness. Technicals point to potential follow-through toward the $0.74 50-day moving average after a 75% slide from the September peak at $2.42. The protocol ranks second among perpetual DEXs with $7 billion average daily volume and a 14% share.

On Jan. 30, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson said he signed an agreement to integrate USDCx, a Circle-linked stablecoin, into the network. The initiative aims to channel sustained on-chain dollar liquidity for DeFi, though rollout timing and scope remain unconfirmed. USDCx is issued on a partner chain and backed one-to-one via Circle's xReserve, which is designed to reduce reliance on traditional bridges.

In the first 30 days of 2026, Solana’s on-chain activity surged, with Nansen reporting active addresses more than doubling to over 5 million and daily transactions rising from 52 million to 87 million. Daily fee revenue also reached about $1.1 million, driven primarily by DEX and DeFi usage, while sectors such as gaming, NFTs and infrastructure showed additional growth. Other L1 networks, including Ethereum, BNB, Tron and Base, recorded their own gains in users and transactions over the same period.

On January 28, 2026, Coinbase integrated Jupiter Exchange into its on-chain trading stack, enabling customers to trade Solana-native tokens using existing account balances and payment methods via self-custodial wallets. Under the new setup, Jupiter aggregates liquidity across Solana DEXs and executes trades on-chain, while Coinbase focuses on distribution, fiat on- and off-ramps, and user experience. The move comes alongside strong crypto M&A activity in 2025, including Coinbase's reported $2.9 billion acquisition of Derbit.

On Wednesday, Hyperliquid's HYPE token climbed 60% from $21.80 to $34.90, with more than $20 million in liquidations hitting bearish leveraged traders and a large staking unlock easing sell pressure. Institutional accumulation tied to Hyperliquid Strategies and a research report describing Hyperliquid as highly revenue efficient have fueled interest, even as onchain DEX metrics like fees and perpetual volumes show limited change and Binance still leads in BTC futures open interest.

Bitwise registered a Delaware trust tied to a potential Uniswap ETF, signaling groundwork without an active SEC review or a disclosed timeline. Around the filing, UNI rose to $4.82, up 3.83% in 24 hours, while altcoin ETP flows split: ETH logged $63.53 million outflows, and XRP, SOL, and LINK posted smaller inflows.

Hyperliquid's HYPE rallied over 60% in the past three days to $34.64 after HIP-3 expanded permissionless listings to include gold and silver. Silver futures posted $1.1 billion in 24-hour volume, while technical signals point to a possible push toward the $35–$36 resistance and a further ~20% move toward $40.

The EU's DAC8, built on the OECD's CARF, requires crypto exchanges and custodians to start gathering user activity data in 2026, while decentralized finance remains out of scope. Taxbit's Colby Mangels, a former OECD adviser, said the intermediary-first approach is intentional and could change as AML standards evolve; a June 2025 FATF report shows regulators still struggle to assign DeFi accountability.

On January 27, 2026, Bitwise Asset Management registered the Bitwise Uniswap ETF in Delaware as an initial legal step that could precede a filing with the SEC. The move is seen as part of Bitwise's broader ETF expansion strategy, while Uniswap's UNI token traded around $4.79 with a market cap of $3.04 billion and a 24-hour volume of $135.71 million. Market watchers report no immediate shift in existing Bitwise products or UNI's trading metrics following the registration.