This Week in Crypto: Groundbreaking Initiatives Push the Boundaries of DeFi and Blockchain Adoption

This week, the spotlight shined on groundbreaking crypto initiatives pushing the boundaries of decentralized finance and blockchain adoption.

OKX Ventures invests in USUAL, a decentralized stablecoin platform

OKX Ventures, the investment arm of leading crypto exchange OKX, has announced its latest investment in USUAL, a decentralized stablecoin issuer. The move is part of OKX Ventures’ strategy to bridge traditional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi) while promoting greater decentralization.

Chart: OKX Ventures latest portfolio revealed

USD0, USUAL’s flagship stablecoin, is fully collateralized by tokenized real-world assets such as U.S. Treasury Bills. Meanwhile, USUAL’s native token, $USUAL, provides users with governance and ownership rights over the platform, enabling community-driven decision-making.

According to OKX Ventures, USUAL’s innovative blockchain integrations have the potential to revolutionize the way stablecoins are issued and governed. The investment will also support USUAL in expanding its product offerings and community initiatives.

“We believe that the next generation of financial primitives will be built on decentralized technology. Stablecoins are a crucial part of this new financial system, and we are excited to support USUAL in their mission to make decentralized stables a reality,” an OKX Ventures spokesperson said in a statement.

Founded in 2022 by a team of experienced engineers and finance professionals, USUAL is building a decentralized stablecoin ecosystem that combines the stability and liquidity of centralized stablecoins with the transparency and security of decentralized finance. The platform recently launched its testnet and plans to deploy on Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon, and Arbitrum in 2025.

“We are thrilled to have OKX Ventures join our mission to make decentralized stables a reality. Their expertise in the crypto industry and commitment to innovation will be invaluable as we continue to grow and expand our platform,” said Alex, co-founder of USUAL.

The investment in USUAL marks OKX Ventures’ continuous efforts to identify and support promising projects at the forefront of Web3 and the decentralized economy. To date, OKX Ventures has invested in over 300 projects across various sectors, including DeFi, nonfungible tokens, GameFi, infrastructure, and tools.

Among its latest portfolio additions are decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator OpenOcean, multi-chain decentralized application THORWallet, GameFi platform ChainBoosters, and decentralized derivatives exchange Deri Protocol.