Wormhole

In the past week, the cryptocurrency market has seen a surge in interest, particularly in emerging altcoins like DOGS, ZKSync (ZK), and Starlink (STRK).

As Bitcoin’s price remained stable, altcoins took center stage, boosted by steady inflows into spot ETFs. According to CryptoRank, these altcoins have outperformed others, drawing significant investor attention.

DOGS, ZKSync, and Starlink Top the Market

DOGS (DOGS) leads the pack with a market cap of $572 million, gaining 5.2% in price over the last week. This meme coin is gaining traction, developing rapidly within its ecosystem.

ZKSync (ZK), a Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum, surged by 10.6%, reaching a market cap of $423.7 million. This rise is likely fueled by increasing demand for scalable blockchain solutions in decentralized finance (DeFi).

Starlink (STRK), with a market cap of $708.1 million, saw a modest price increase of 3.1%. Investors remain captivated by its potential applications, making it one of the top gainers in the altcoin space.

TOP COIN SEARCHES IN THE LAST 7D ON #CRYPTORANK $DOGS $ZK $STRK $IO $ZRO $TIA $MANTA $ENA $W $NEIRO pic.twitter.com/tDPfrMM44f
— PHOENIX – Crypto News & Analytics (@pnxgrp) September 14, 2024

Rising Stars: LayerZero, Celestia, and Manta Network

Other emerging projects are also gaining momentum. LayerZero (ZRO) recorded a 7.8% price increase, highlighting growing interest in cross-chain technology. Interoperability between blockchain networks is becoming a key focus for developers and investors alike.

Celestia (TIA) and Manta Network (MANTA) also showed strong performance, with increases of 6.5% and 10.0% respectively. Celestia’s modular blockchain design and Manta’s privacy-enhancing features are attracting both developers and users.

Ethena, Wormhole, and Neiro See Moderate Gains

Rounding out the list are Ethena (ENA), Wormhole (W), and Neiro on ETH (NEIRO), each showing moderate price gains. Ethena’s 4.9% rise reflects growing interest in decentralized stablecoins. Wormhole continues to grow, benefiting from its role in connecting blockchain ecosystems.

Neiro on ETH (NEIRO) gained 5.4%, driven by its integration with Ethereum, aligning with the broader trend toward platforms that offer scalability, privacy, and cross-chain capabilities.

Lido’s wrapped staked ETH (wstETH) is set to make its debut on the BNB Chain, marking a significant milestone for the liquid staking token.

On August 9, the Lido community unanimously approved a proposal to bridge wstETH to BNB Chain, with Wormhole and Axelar providing the canonical bridge. This move follows a strong community demand to enhance cross-chain connectivity and unlock new liquidity.

Lido Community Approves Proposal

The proposal, which saw 50 million LDO tokens cast in favor, was driven by the Lido community’s desire to expand wstETH’s reach. The new cross-chain connection is expected to benefit builders and developers across ecosystems once it goes live. According to an official announcement, the BNB connection will function as a public good, with contracts controlled by the Lido DAO.

Heads up, voters:

5 new Snapshots are live and in need of your attention.

1️⃣ Public Delegate Platform & Incentive Program
2️⃣ LIP-25: Staking Router 2.0
3️⃣ Rated Labs' Position in the Oracle Set
4️⃣ wstETH BNB Bridge
5️⃣ wstETH Mode bridge

Vote here: https://t.co/E7cZTHx09k

👇
— Lido (@LidoFinance) August 5, 2024

Lido Finance’s native token, LDO, saw a brief surge in price following the announcement, climbing from $1.03 to $1.13 before settling at $1.06 for a 2.5% daily gain. Despite this short-term gain, LDO has struggled in recent weeks, down 37% over the past month and 42% in 2024, reflecting broader market trends.

Bridging Technology and Market Impact

This integration represents a pioneering collaboration between Wormhole and Axelar, two competing interoperability protocols. Together, they will facilitate cross-chain transfers of wstETH between Ethereum and BNB Chain. According to Dan Reecer, co-founder of Wormhole Foundation, this is the first collaboration of its kind, starting with a crucial asset like wstETH.

4️⃣ wstETH BNB Bridge

A Snapshot vote to recognize the proposed wstETH token bridging endpoints for BNB by the Lido DAO as canonical.

Snapshot: https://t.co/edQW9ThoUO pic.twitter.com/xgDE2Z4bdr
— Lido (@LidoFinance) August 5, 2024

Expanding wstETH to BNB Chain also marks stETH’s first venture onto another Layer 1 blockchain. Previously, wstETH was limited to Ethereum and seven Layer 2 networks, including Arbitrum, Optimism, and Polygon. This expansion is expected to unlock new liquidity and bolster the DeFi ecosystem on BNB Chain, which is currently the fourth-largest DeFi ecosystem with $4.27 billion in total value locked (TVL).

The Significance of Liquid Staking

Liquid staking has become the largest segment in decentralized finance (DeFi), with $42.6 billion locked in protocols. Liquid staking allows users to earn staking rewards while maintaining the flexibility to use their staked assets in DeFi activities. This is achieved by issuing tokens that represent the staked assets, which can be traded or used in various DeFi protocols, bypassing the need to unstake assets manually.

With this expansion, wstETH is poised to tap into the growing DeFi market on BNB Chain, offering users more opportunities to generate yield and participate in the ecosystem.