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- Bonzo Bytes Newsletter - #25 🐵🗞️
Hello, Bonzo Community!
This week’s Bonzo Bytes X Space was packed with big updates — single-sided staking and Season 1 Bonzo Points claims go live Monday, Hedera’s DeFi scene is heating up with USDC now available on Binance and Crypto.com, and we took a deep dive into the future of institutional DeFi with Horizon.
Listen to the recording here: Weekly Bonzo Bytes X Space
🔥 Single-Sided Staking Launches Monday
The wait is over! $BONZO single-sided staking officially goes live this Monday, March 17, with contract audits completed by Halborn and a smooth UI/UX ready to go.
Staking follows a dynamic APY model, where the yield adjusts based on the total amount staked.
The xBONZO staking mechanism ensures that rewards scale over time, making early participation attractive.
🍌 Season 1 Bonzo Points Claims Open Monday
Following the same claims process as the Preseason, Bonzo Points Season 1 will be available for claim on Monday.
How to claim? Head to the Bonzo Finance Claim Dashboard.
Holders can immediately stake tokens post-claim for additional utility.
🔄 More Assets & Features Coming to Bonzo
The Bonzo Finance team is actively working on:
Safely adding support for additional assets based on community demand.
$USDC liquidity campaigns for a stronger and more efficient DeFi ecosystem.
Developing advanced risk parameter and interest rate models with machine learning insights.
Expect more announcements in the coming weeks! 👀
📊 Bonzo Finance TVL & Scoreboard Update
Despite market volatility, Bonzo is holding strong:
USD-denominated TVL: $31M (down from $43.9M, reflecting broader market conditions).
HBAR-denominated TVL: 162M (showing a continued growth in ecosystem commitment).
💰 Liquidity Incentives Update
Bonzo Finance continues to offer liquidity incentives (✨) for supplying and/or borrowing $HBAR, $USDC, $KARATE, $DOVU, & $STEAM.
HBAR → 5.95% (supply) | 2.12% (borrow)
USDC → 11.28% (supply)
KARATE → 2.65% (supply) | 3.62% (borrow)
STEAM → 7.30% (borrow)
DOVU → 2.37% (supply) | 6.03% (borrow)
Check out current rates: app.bonzo.finance
*Current rates as of Saturday, March 15, 2025, at 11:00 AM ET. APY is subject to change. Bonzo Finance does not endorse any of the assets cited in this newsletter or the utilization of DeFi protocols. Interacting with smart contracts carries inherent risks including total loss of funds. LTV ratios and protocol parameters are subject to change. Users are responsible for understanding the protocol risks, including smart contract vulnerabilities and liquidation mechanisms. Do your own research. Not financial advice.
💰 Hedera native USDC Now on Binance & Crypto.com
We're excited to announce that @hedera USDC is now live on @binance, the largest CEX in the world 🤝
Now integrated with the HTS, users can send and receive USDC on Hedera directly via Binance - all at the speed of the hashgraph.
— HBAR Foundation (@HBAR_foundation)
3:20 PM • Mar 13, 2025
Hedera’s DeFi ecosystem just got a major boost: native $USDC is now supported on Binance and Crypto.com, two of the largest global exchanges. This marks a critical step in onboarding liquidity and making Hedera’s DeFi infrastructure more accessible to both retail and institutional users.
For years, getting USDC into Hedera DeFi meant relying on wrapped assets or manual bridging, barriers that slowed adoption. Now, users can supply, withdraw, and trade native USDC directly from Binance and Crypto.com, allowing for faster transactions, lower fees, and seamless integration with Hedera-based protocols. This change is already catching attention beyond the Hedera community, with major accounts highlighting the new DeFi opportunities available on the network.
🚀 Hedera Unveils USDC on Binance: A Strategic Milestone for Decentralized Finance!
Hedera’s $USDC has launched on @binance, unlocking DeFi potential on @hedera scalable network. Earn 17% APR via @bonzo_finance lending or 20% APR on @SaucerSwapLabs DEX. Transfer your USDC from… x.com/i/web/status/1…
— Coinstages (@Coinstages)
2:53 PM • Mar 14, 2025
During the latest Bonzo Bytes X Space, the Bonzo Finance Labs team reflected on what this means for Hedera’s positioning in the broader DeFi landscape:
“This is something we haven't necessarily seen before—large accounts outside of the Hedera community actually talking about Hedera’s DeFi ecosystem. The accessibility of $USDC on Binance and Crypto.com is huge, not just for existing users but for attracting new participants into the ecosystem.”
With stablecoin liquidity playing a foundational role in DeFi, this move sets the stage for stronger lending, borrowing, and trading activity on Hedera. More importantly, it signals a shift — Hedera is no longer just an enterprise blockchain; it’s becoming a serious player in the broader Web3 industry.
Expect to see even more institutional and retail adoption as liquidity deepens and additional exchanges consider integrating Hedera-native assets. The next step? All eyes on Coinbase.
🌉 Horizon: The Institutional DeFi Bridge for Real-World Assets
Aave Labs is making a bold move into institutional DeFi with Horizon, a new initiative designed to bring tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) on-chain at scale. At launch, institutions will be able to use tokenized money market funds (MMFs) as collateral to access stablecoin liquidity. Horizon aims to bridge the efficiency of DeFi with the compliance and governance standards that institutional players require, positioning Aave as a leader in the evolving RWA space.
Tokenized U.S. Treasuries alone have surpassed $4 billion in TVL, marking a 408% year-over-year increase as institutional investors seek stable, on chain yields. But despite this growth, there’s still a gap between traditional finance and DeFi. The infrastructure that makes DeFi open and permissionless wasn’t built with institutional compliance in mind, and that’s where Horizon steps in.
Bonzo Finance Labs CEO, Brady Gentile, shared his perspective during the latest Bonzo Bytes X Space, highlighting how this shift aligns with what’s already happening on Hedera:
"Hedera started with institutions, building a network designed for high availability, scalability, and fixed fees. Now, as DeFi adoption grows, we’re seeing a shift where institutional-grade networks like Hedera and Aave are aligning DeFi with real-world finance."
Horizon builds on the lessons of Aave Arc, a permissioned DeFi framework, but keeps stablecoin liquidity open to all. Combining on-chain efficiency with structured risk management could be a turning point for how institutions interact with DeFi.
Read more on Horizon’s vision for institutional DeFi: Aave Labs Blog
📺 Explain Like I’m Grelf: Cross Chain Bridging
Watch as Gaurang teaches Gerbert the Grelf why cross chain bridges matter in DeFi.
Your crypto is on Blockchain A, but all the action is on Blockchain B. 🚧
Without a bridge, you’re stuck. No transfers, no trading, no fun. 😵
Gerbert the @GRELF_ just learned how bridges work. Now you can, too! 👇
📺 Explain Like I’m Grelf: Cross Chain Bridging
— Bonzo Finance Labs (@bonzo_finance)
7:02 PM • Mar 13, 2025
🎙️Weekly Bonzo Bytes 𝕏 Space - Friday, March 21
Tune in for more Hedera insights and DeFi updates next Friday!
Thank you for being part of Bonzo Finance and the Hedera DeFi journey.
- The Bonzo Finance Team
The views shared in this newsletter are personal opinions and do not represent official Bonzo Finance advice. Any forward-looking statements about Bonzo Finance and its associated projects involve risks and uncertainties. Please do your own research and consult a professional before making any investment decisions. Bonzo Finance is not liable for any actions taken based on the information provided.