Solana DeFi Renaissance: Taking stock of Q3 progress of ecological projects and Q4 prospects

Original author: FA 2, co-founder of SolanaFM

Compiled by: Odaily Planet Daily

Solana’s DeFi universe was built efficiently in the third quarter, full of creativity and experimental spirit. From experienced developers to passionate community members, everyone is "rolling up their sleeves" to build a solid foundation for the targeted skyscraper of financial innovation.

This is not just a simple stacking of bricks and stones, but like a carefully designed building. Developers and community contributors are working together to ensure unique value is added to the entire structure. The fruit of that labor is an ecosystem that is constantly growing and evolving in exciting and unpredictable ways.

Here are some highlight data:

• TVL growth: TVL in Solana DeFi increased by 21%, from $268 million to $327 million.
• Number of daily active wallets: The number of daily active wallets fluctuates repeatedly between 230,000 and 350,000.
• Trading volume: Even excluding important players like Zeta Markets and Phoenix, trading volume fluctuated between $15 million and $162 million.

In addition to these numbers, there are some noteworthy events that have catalyzed the Solana ecosystem:

• MakerDAO hopes to use Solana's virtual machine (SVM).
• Maple Finance returns to Solana.
• EUROe stablecoin is listed on Solana.
• CNBC’s evaluation of Solana surpasses BCH and LTC.

Let's take a look at what the team built in Q3, and what we can expect in Q4.

Derivatives and synthetic assets

There is a lot of activity in the derivatives and synthetic asset space. Here are the details:

Zeta Markets

Q3 Review:

New V2 upgrade: Enhanced system architecture to improve performance.

New User Interface: Simplified and user-friendly trading experience.

Portfolio Page: Track assets and transactions in real time in one dashboard.

USDC-based perpetual trading: Introducing new USDC-based trading options.

On-chain order book: Nasdaq-like on-chain speed.

Q4 Outlook:

Faster trades: The team plans to speed up trade execution times.

New incentives: Designed to introduce rewards and incentives to attract and retain users.

Drift

Q3 Review:

Weekly active users: reached an all-time high of 1,800 on August 21st.

TVL Growth: TVL increased by 50% and now stands at $13.2 million.

New features:

Leverage Swap: Provide users with more trading options.

Drift Liquidity Provider (DLP): Added over $7 million in liquidity to the platform.

Q4 Outlook:

MetaMask integration: for easier user onboarding and interaction.

Partnering with Circuit Vaults: Introducing additional liquidity.

These developments bode well for Drift's further improvements in utility and user base in the fourth quarter.

Cypher

Q3 Review:

TVL growth: TVL increased 10 times in less than three months

Security Vulnerabilities: The platform was affected by security vulnerabilities that later became the focus of improvements.

Q4 Outlook:

Problem Resolution: We are working to resolve security issues and restore user trust.

IDO: Plans to launch $CYPH token as part of recovery and expansion strategy.

The upcoming IDO and ongoing security improvements are designed to restore confidence and lay the foundation for future growth.

Liquidity Staking Token (LST)

In Q3, there were some key innovations that further expand LST's use cases.

Marinade

Q3 Review:

User Growth: Marinade's user base exceeds 74,000.

TVL: TVL reached $146 million.

New product launch: Marinade Native was launched in July and attracted 1.78 million pledged SOL within a month.

Q4 Outlook:

Upcoming incentives: Marinade said it will launch new incentives in the fourth quarter, but details have not been disclosed.

Marinade achieved significant growth in the third quarter, expanding its user base and launching successful new products. The platform is keeping details of its fourth-quarter plans under wraps, but new incentives are coming.

JitoSOL

Q3 Review:

TVL growth: TVL increased by 100%, from 740,000 SOL to 1.62 million SOL in Q3.

Referral Program: Launched a new referral program to increase user engagement and adoption.

Q4 Outlook:

Potential Developments: The platform is exploring the possibility of launching new tokens and expanding its referral reward system.

JitoSOL made significant progress in the third quarter, particularly in terms of TVL growth and user engagement through its new referral program. It's ready with potential innovations in the fourth quarter to keep the community looking forward to it.

SolBlaze

Q3 Review:

Token Launch: SolBlaze successfully launched its new native token $BLZE.

Market Cap: Initial fully diluted market cap (FDMC) is $2.8 million.

TVL Growth: TVL grew significantly 10x, from $631,000 to $7.29 million.

Airdrops: Introducing a unique SolBlaze score metric for airdropping $BLZE tokens to users based on various factors such as staking and referrals.

Q4 Outlook:

Upcoming features: The platform plans to launch new features, including a BLZE scale for transparent and fair reward distribution, and a bribery mechanism to incentivize staking.

SolBlaze made a splash in Q3 with the launch of the $BLZE token and the rapid growth of TVL. As we enter the fourth quarter, the focus will be on enhancing platform utility and user incentives through the introduction of new features.

Sanctum

Q3 Review:

Reserve Pool: Sanctum has established a reserve of over 200, 000 SOL.

Partnerships: Discussions are ongoing with the NFT market regarding the use of LST.

Q4 Outlook:

Upcoming features: Sanctum hasn’t released specific details yet, but says new features are on the way.

Sanctum made some progress in the third quarter, particularly in amassing a substantial reserve pool and initiating partnership talks. Details of its fourth-quarter plans have still not been disclosed.

Loan

The lending arm has been the driving force behind Solana TVL's rise. TVL in this space has been steadily climbing thanks to the points system and new incentives introduced by the two largest lending protocols on Solana. As we dig deeper into metrics, innovations, and upcoming features, it’s clear that this sub-sector is laying the groundwork for Solana’s DeFi ecosystem to flourish even further.

MarginFi

Q3 review:

TVL surge: MarginFi's TVL has grown 10x, from $2 million in July to $23.82 million currently.

Market background: Of Solana’s $10 billion worth of pledges, only 3% is in LST.

Q4 Outlook:

Upcoming features: The team plans to launch a stable swap platform and their own stablecoin $mUSD in Q4.

Reward system: It is unclear whether the points system introduced will translate into native token or stablecoin rewards for the community.

MarginFi had a very successful third quarter, marked by rapid TVL growth and integration with the Solana staking environment. In the fourth quarter, the platform aims to further diversify its offerings and may introduce a unique rewards system.

Solend

Q3 Review:

TVL growth: Solend's TVL grew 50%, climbing from $30.37 million to $54.23 million.

User Engagement: New features such as margin and points system introduced. The margin feature provides trading views, while a points system rewards users for activities such as depositing and trading.

Q4 Outlook:

Future Developments: Plans for Q4 include more support for Liquidity Staking Tokens (LST), as well as the introduction of a pool for RWA assets.

Solend made significant progress in the third quarter, both in terms of TVL and user engagement capabilities. Q4 aims to build on this momentum with new asset backing and further financial instruments, expanding the platform’s utility and reach.

Kamino Finance

Q3 Review:

Trading volume: Kamino Finance facilitates over $1 billion in trading volume.

Revenue: The protocol generated $1.25 million in fees for its depositors.

User Tools: New features include a creator vault for user-generated marketing strategies and comprehensive analytics for tracking performance metrics.

Q4 Outlook:

The next version: Kamino 2.0 is scheduled to launch in Q4, promising additional features to further expand its usefulness in the Solana DeFi ecosystem.

Kamino Finance made significant progress in the third quarter, particularly in terms of trading volume and user-generated instruments. The Q4 release of Kamino 2.0 is expected to continue this trajectory, adding more functionality and features.

Lifinity

Q3 Review:

Generated $220,000 in protocol revenue in the past 3 months.

90% of this is either distributed directly to token holders or used to buy back LFNTY tokens.

Added pools for JitoSOL, bSOL, HNY, FIDA.

Q4 Outlook:

Lifinity V2: The team has developed a delta-neutral market maker and will launch it in the coming weeks.

in conclusion

All in all, the fourth quarter of the Solana DeFi ecosystem is poised for significant growth, akin to evolving from the foundational stages of a skyscraper to equipping its upper floors with sophisticated features.

With the introduction of a series of incentives, plans to attract liquidity from all aspects, and improvements in user experience, Solana’s DeFi prospects are expected to be optimistic in the fourth quarter.