DeFi goes boom as top tokens crash by 50% in one week

The decentralized finance (DeFi) bubble appears to have popped for the time being, with half a dozen top DeFi tokens shedding half of their fiat value over the past seven days.

According to crypto market data firm Messari’s list of DeFi assets, 32 of 34 markets are down over the past week — with only PowerPool (CVP) and SushiSwap (SUSHI) posting seven-day price gains.

The markets hardest hit include Curve — which is down 65% this week, followed by Meta with a 58% loss, Ren with 52%, AirSwap with 51%, and bZx Network and Wrapped Nexus Mutual with a 49% draw-down each.

Rough week in DeFi land with 6 assets dipping more than 50% + over the last 7 days

Where are we going next? pic.twitter.com/3vJiqb4xhr

— Messari (@MessariCrypto) September 8, 2020

The sell-off has erased the gains enjoyed by most DeFi markets during August’s month of record volatility, with more than 60% of the tokens featured in Messari’s DeFi list posting a 30-day loss as of this writing. Curve again leads the monthly losers with a 58% loss, followed by Bancor with 57.8%, Kava with 50%, and Meta with 46%.

Ethereum (ETH) tokens in general have suffered this past week, with only 14 of 178 markets posting a gain — seven of which are stablecoins. Only two Ethereum tokens were able to post double-digit gains this week, with ZB and Origintrail topping the list with roughly 15% each.

Less than one-third of Ethereum tokens have retained 30-day gains.

The publication of Messari’s findings sparked a variety of responses on Twitter, with user ‘stackthosesats’ replying:

DeFi is going straight into the ground. Just another series of scams.

Other traders appear to view the price slump as an opportunity to stockpile discounted tokens, with ‘Ms. Coins’ asserting it is a “great time to scoop up some at those prices.”