Crypto protocols raised $1.9 billion in August, down 30% from July’s $2.67 billion, according to DefiLlama data.

Despite the monthly drop, August numbers for raises from venture capital funds align with the numbers recorded in July, with $600 million captured from PUMP’s public sale last month.

DeFi protocols dominated August funding with multiple major raises, including Portal’s $50 million round, M0’s $40 million Series B, and aPriori’s $20 million strategic investment.

The sector attracted consistent institutional capital across infrastructure and trading platforms.

Additionally, the third quarter already surpassed the second quarter’s $4.54 billion totals with $4.57 billion captured in just two months.

AI and infrastructure growth

AI protocols secured substantial funding, with Everlyn raising $15 million and multiple AI-focused projects completing seed rounds.

The convergence of crypto and AI continues attracting venture interest as protocols develop decentralized computing and data solutions. Cybersecurity emerged as another major category with IVIX completing a $60 million Series B, the month’s largest traditional venture round.

Stablecoin infrastructure also drew capital, with Rain securing $58 million in Series B funding.

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Payment infrastructure attracted diverse funding. OrangeX completed a $20 million Series B and multiple smaller rounds supporting cross-border and merchant payment solutions. The category benefits from increasing crypto adoption in commercial applications.

Gaming protocols also received some attention, such as Overtake’s $7 million round and continued development funding across multiple projects.

The sector benefits from increased adoption of blockchain-based gaming mechanics and token economies.

Public token sales lose ground

Without a high-profile token sale, such as Pump.fun’s, public token sales represented only $30.7 million across seven projects, including Lombard’s $6.75 million and Almanak’s dual raises totaling nearly $11 million.

Public token sales provide direct community participation while reducing dependence on institutional venture capital.

Layer-2 solutions secured strategic investments with Bitlayer raising $5 million through public token sales and Hemi Labs completing a $15 million growth round.

The third quarter’s performance demonstrates sustained institutional interest despite monthly fluctuations.

Mentioned in this article

Quarterly Report for Synthetix, Quarter 2 of 2025: April — June.

Q2 Highlights

Spartan Council/CCs: Synthetix Relaunch, 420 Pool Adoption

The past few months have been a pivotal period for Synthetix, marked by a focus on ecosystem alignment and key shifts in the core product roadmap. From the successful expansion of the 420 Pool to the upcoming launch of a reimagined perps product on Ethereum Mainnet, the protocol leadership has outlined a comprehensive proposal to streamline product delivery and attract new users. As Synthetix sharpens its focus on Mainnet consolidation and prepares for a new era of decentralized derivatives, let’s review some of the technical highlights for the protocol in Q2.

While previous development efforts have generally been centered around scaling solutions like Base and Optimism, the Spartan Council has signaled that Mainnet will serve as the anchor for Synthetix’s core products moving forward. This pivot reflects a strategic desire to simplify the protocol’s footprint, reduce liquidity fragmentation across chains, and align with Ethereum’s robust security and liquidity base. With the planned development of a new perps market on Mainnet and plans to consolidate staking and governance functionality around this ecosystem, Synthetix is reasserting its commitment to building a streamlined, capital-efficient protocol that leverages Ethereum’s security, liquidity, and credibility.

Make no mistake  – this is a race. The protocol hopes to capture first mover’s advantage, and the market share that comes with it as the sole perps offering on L1. Success depends on precise timing, smooth user onboarding, reliable execution, and, most critically, a real demonstration of high-volume traders being willing to adopt and utilize the product, leaving the comfort of high performance DEXs and centralized exchanges.

Meanwhile, momentum around the 420 Pool has continued to build following its debut last quarter. With the introduction of Simple Staking, even more SNX migrated to the 420 Pool, as the streamlined interface and reduced complexity made it easier for users (even those less familiar with DeFi) to participate in staking and earn rewards without actively managing their debt. As of late June, over 170 million SNX had been migrated, accounting for roughly half of the total supply, and cementing the 420 Pool as the dominant staking mechanism within the Synthetix ecosystem. The increased participation has improved capital consolidation, enhanced system-wide debt efficiency, and allowed governance to operate with clearer insights into collateral allocation.

Challenges

The most significant development of the past few months has been the winding down of all Synthetix L2 products and subsequent refocusing around a new product being built on Ethereum Mainnet. As the protocol pivots back to L1, it faces the logistical complexity of sunsetting legacy systems, coordinating incentives across multiple chains, and keeping users informed during a period of significant transition.

Maintaining sUSD peg stability has also been a persistent challenge over the past several months. The shift to centrally managed staking was designed, in part, to shore up peg stability by enabling a unified approach to debt deployment. However, the rollout of the debt jubilee introduced excess sUSD supply, creating significant price pressure on sUSD. This imbalance was compounded by liquidity fragmentation across chains and the winding down of L2 deployments, which made it even harder to manage sUSD supply and demand effectively. As the protocol continues to grow, preserving sUSD’s reliability as a unit of account will be critical to maintaining trust and utility across its ecosystem.

Complicating matters further, the terms of the debt jubilee have shifted multiple times since its introduction. Initially framed as a clear 12-month path to full forgiveness, eligibility requirements have since changed: first requiring users to deposit 10% of their debt in sUSD, then 20%, with no guarantee that further adjustments won’t be made. While the updated model still offers significant value, effectively 80% forgiveness under the original lock-up terms, it has deviated from early expectations. These changes reflect the technical and economic realities of peg maintenance, but underscore the importance of stable, transparent, and well-communicated incentive structures.

Lastly, community participation has also continued to decline to some extent. Fewer candidates have stepped forward for council elections, SIP presentations have slowed, and community updates have been reduced to monthly calls. This decline in activity stands in stark contrast to the once-vibrant governance ecosystem that Synthetix helped pioneer. Reinvigorating contributor interest and reestablishing predictable, accessible channels for engagement will be essential to reactivating the DAO and ensuring meaningful community involvement as the protocol enters its next phase.

Protocol Stats

Overview of Synthetix Q2 Stats: April 2025 — June 2025.

Spartan Council

Q2 2025 Spartan Councilors: Benjamin Celermajer (Fenway), Brent Maxwell, Cavalier, coKaiynne, Jordan Momtazi, Kain Warwick, MasterMojo

Now that we’ve discussed highlights and challenges Q2, let’s get into a more in-depth review of the major accomplishments from the protocol and Spartan Council.

Big news kicked off the quarter: Synthetix Accounts went live! This new smart wallet was tailor-made for on-chain perps traders. It brought gasless, 1-click trading to over 100 markets, while simplifying onboarding with an email, Google account, or passkey logins — no seed phrases needed.

Synthetix Accounts featured:

• Self-custody with exportable keys
• Fast margin deposits (USDC, ETH, cbBTC, cbETH)
• Instant access to trading without wallet popups or multi-step signing
• Multi-device support for flexible trading

Synthetix Exchange was quietly cooking, and the result was a UX leap forward that made DeFi trading feel like Web2.

Following that major usability win, Synthetix then turned its attention to staking, and two big updates dropped. sUSD staking went live in the 420 Pool, and eligible stakers (those also staking SNX) began earning a share of 5M SNX in rewards over 12 months, or 13,698 SNX daily. Deposits were locked for 1 year, with rewards set to vest over 3 months post-campaign.

Next, SNX staking was also radically simplified. Launched on Ethereum Mainnet, SNX holders are now able to stake directly into the 420 Pool with no debt, no C-ratios, and no liquidations. Withdrawals require a 7-day cooldown, and rewards are set to vest at campaign end in May 2026.

Both pools were made available at 420.synthetix.io. Early participation was strong, and over half the SNX supply ended up staked! With this new model in place, however, it was time to phase out the old one. Legacy SNX staking positions were deprecated, per SCCP-403, so:

• If a user’s C-ratio was under 160%, their position was liquidated and unrecoverable.
• If it was 160% or above, they could recover via the Synthetix Discord ticket system.

This move enabled the protocol to streamline toward automated vaults, V4, and a better UX for stakers.

But upgrading staking wasn’t enough, because the protocol also had to deal with the consequences of the debt jubilee. Following the SIP-420 debt jubilee and delegated staking upgrade, sUSD experienced heavy sell pressure, falling to ~$0.70.

In order to restore the peg, SNX debt holders were required to stake 20% of their original debt as sUSD in the 420 Pool. This strategy (alongside Treasury buybacks, Curve incentives, and Infinex campaigns) has helped repeg sUSD a bit, but reaching $1.00 has remained a bit tricky, hence the increase to 20%.

The effort to restore the peg is still a priority for Synthetix, in order to put the protocol in a better position to pursue yield generation via the 420 Pool and a new Synthetix Perps product on Mainnet.

Despite peg issues, protocol governance carried on and governance elections wrapped up with the following Spartans taking elected seats on the new council:

• Advisory Seats: Kain, Jordan, MasterMojo
• Treasury Seat: cokaiynne

As governance stabilized, community engagement ramped up a bit as Spartan Spaces were more officially rebooted. Some highlights featured Pirate Chain, a privacy-first L1, discussing privacy and censorship resistance in DeFi, and Panoptic, a DeFi-native options trading using Uniswap V3.

But behind the scenes, bigger strategic decisions were on the table. SIP-415, the proposal to acquire Derive (formerly Lyra), was presented and then withdrawn after community feedback. While the move could’ve fast-tracked the V4 timeline and added an off-chain matching engine for L1 perps, concerns about valuation and token dilution led to its cancellation. The proposal offered a $27M valuation that would have been settled via a 29.3M new SNX mint, but community consensus remained a core pillar for Synthetix as voices were heard in opposition.

Shortly after this, however, the vision for V4 on Mainnet took center stage as Synthetix announced a soon-to-be native perps exchange on Ethereum Mainnet, complete with:

• Off-chain matching engine
• Batch on-chain settlement
• Points program to incentivize usage

Phase 0 kicked off with sUSD/sUSDe early deposit vaults, where traders, stakers, and referrers began earning points. The program will also be evolving over time, with more opportunities to earn points and join competitions with juicy prizes in SNX, stablecoins, and more.

But, this isn’t just another “version” update  –  Synthetix Mainnet will mark a full pivot. L1 is the future. To complete the shift, the protocol began retiring its L2 deployments.

Synthetix began sunsetting all L2s except Optimism (for now):

• Arbitrum: Fully deprecated; vaults liquidated. Debt repayment and collateral claims were handled via Discord.
• Base:
• June 30: Perps entered close-only mode; leverage tokens became redeem-only
• July 7: Full deprecation completed; LP vaults liquidated

Synthetix is coming back home to Mainnet, and Spartans are making the move. Soonthetix!

Best Memes from Q2

Lastly, because we can’t close out the quarter without a little humor, here were some of the best memes from the Synthetix community.

Quarterly Report for Synthetix, Quarter 1 of 2025: January — March.

Q1 Highlights

Spartan Council/CCs: 420 Pool, Alpha Calls

We’ve seen some major momentum shifts and meaningful progress at Synthetix in just the first quarter of 2025! From record-breaking migrations and the launch of the 420 Pool, to expanded Perps offerings, platform upgrades, and protocol acquisitions, signs of growth are visible on nearly every front. The strategic vision is on full display — largely fueled by last year’s governance shake-up referendum — and there’s a renewed commitment to improving accessibility, scalability, and user experience. Together, these developments mark a transformative start to the year and lay a strong foundation for what’s ahead.

Among the most impactful milestones was the rapid adoption of the 420 Pool, which saw over 137 million SNX (more than 40% of the total supply) migrated within just two weeks of launching. This remarkable uptake reflects strong community alignment with the protocol’s transition to a delegated staking model. The 420 Pool eliminates liquidation risk and offers debt forgiveness over a 12-month period, making staking simpler and more appealing to a wider range of users. For the protocol, this shift brings enhanced capital efficiency, more predictable system debt management, and tighter alignment between incentives, governance, and user participation.

This transition has also paved the way for the deprecation of solo staking — a key step in reinforcing the protocol’s move toward a more unified and scalable architecture. With the majority of SNX now concentrated in the 420 Pool, the need to incentivize users to manage protocol debt responsibly is no longer necessary. This allows Synthetix to streamline its operations and focus on refining a single, robust capital allocation model. The sunsetting of solo staking reflects the success of this transition and clears the path for a more consistent user experience and a stronger foundation for future product expansion.

This quarter, Synthetix also introduced a new initiative called Alpha Calls — weekly community sessions designed to showcase upcoming features, gather real-time feedback, and foster greater transparency between core contributors and users. Held on Discord, these calls created a space for early previews of UX updates, product experiments, and strategic discussions, giving the community a more active role in shaping the protocol’s development. By establishing a regular feedback loop with engaged users, Alpha Calls have helped the team quickly identify pain points, prioritize improvements, and test ideas in a collaborative environment. This initiative not only strengthens the protocol’s relationship with its community, but also reinforces a more agile, user-driven approach to building DeFi infrastructure.

Challenges

As Synthetix continues to push forward with ambitious upgrades and new product launches, several underlying challenges have surfaced — particularly around capital retention, incentive design, and user expectations. While the protocol has seen strong engagement from its core community, issues with non-stablecoin LP liquidation rewards, declining TVL, and fluctuating trading activity have come into sharper focus. As the protocol matures, addressing these challenges head-on will be essential to solidifying its role in a competitive and fast-evolving DeFi landscape.

One emerging challenge this quarter has been the inconsistency in LP returns due to liquidation rewards being distributed in volatile assets. While incentive programs have successfully attracted liquidity providers, actual returns have varied widely depending on the performance of the reward tokens — particularly ETH. During bullish market conditions, it was an easy sell to receive LP rewards in an appreciating asset. But as the trend shifted, some LPs found that their rewards lost value, which negatively impacted their realized APR. This led to confusion, as the APR that many LPs experienced differed significantly from the published figure, which had been calculated at the time of distribution. In response, the protocol is planning to launch an auto-compounding vault in the coming weeks that will convert all rewards to USDC, helping to alleviate the burden of managing volatile liquidation rewards.

While adoption of the 420 Pool was strong and trading volumes reflected increased product demand, it hasn’t quite begun to bring in significant amounts of external capital. This suggests that while existing SNX holders are actively engaging with new features, external liquidity may be more reactive to broader market sentiment. A big part of the 420 push was designed to consolidate new capital around more compelling yield strategies and improve onboarding for non-SNX-native users. As Synthetix continues to evolve, attracting and retaining outside capital will be critical for deepening liquidity and scaling the protocol’s impact across DeFi.

Lastly, daily trading volume averaged around $10 million in Q1, with major spikes in February and March as traders flocked to futures markets during periods of volatility. By the end of the quarter, however, trading activity had cooled. While some of this is attributable to broader market conditions, it’s also clear that traders are naturally following incentives. These programs have proven effective in generating short bursts of volume, but the fluctuations highlight the challenge of sustaining consistent trading activity without continuous external motivation. Convincing traders to leave the comfort and familiarity of centralized exchanges remains a key hurdle, especially when faced with the occasionally complex UX of on-chain trading. Fortunately, Ethereum’s upcoming Pectra upgrade, scheduled for May 7, promises to unlock a number of improvements on the UX front, potentially making on-chain trading more seamless and accessible.

Protocol Stats

Overview of Synthetix Q1 Stats: January 2025 — March 2025.

Spartan Council

Q1 2025 Spartan Councilors: Benjamin Celermajer (Fenway), Brent Maxwell, Cavalier, coKaiynne, Jordan Momtazi, Kain Warwick, SpartanGlory

While the first quarter of the year brought a few transitions, the Synthetix ecosystem stayed focused on tightening its core offerings and setting the stage for a more efficient, accessible, and unified future. From major system upgrades to protocol acquisitions and the launch of game-changing features, let’s get into exactly what went down this past quarter.

Kwenta & TLX Join the Synthetix Family

One of the biggest moves from last quarter carried into Q1 with the official rollout of Synthetix’s acquisition of Kwenta. The merger wasn’t just about branding — it marked the beginning of a more cohesive DeFi ecosystem. But Synthetix didn’t stop at just acquiring Kwenta and creating Synthetix Exchange, because the protocol wrapped up its acquisition of TLX in January and relaunched it as Synthetix Leverage — a permissionless leveraged token platform built on Optimism. With over 70 assets and up to 10x leverage, this new product line has been simplifying exposure to Perps while leveraging all the composability Synthetix has to offer.

420 Pool Lights Up a New Era of Staking

By far the most transformative protocol update in Q1 was the launch of the 420 Pool, a redesigned SNX staking model that eliminates common risks and complexities (SIP-420).

On day one, the pool saw 100 million SNX in deposits and kicked off a 12-month automatic debt forgiveness schedule:

• 50% forgiven at 6 months
• 100% forgiven at 12 months

Once migrated, stakers:

• No longer face liquidation risk
• Don’t need to manage c-ratios or debt
• Receive yields from external strategies like Ethena, Aave, and Morpho

And the protocol benefits too! Lower c-ratios (200%) mean deeper sUSD liquidity and more efficient capital deployment for new products.

Synthetix Focuses on Base: Sunsetting Arbitrum

This quarter, Synthetix also began the process of winding down its Arbitrum deployment, placing all Perps markets into close-only mode on January 8. While the decision wasn’t taken lightly, it reflected a broader strategic shift toward vertical integration and network consolidation following the Synthetix Reboot.

Maintaining multiple deployments demands significant liquidity and support overhead. By focusing on Base, the largest and fastest-growing Ethereum L2, Synthetix can concentrate development and resources into delivering a unified, streamlined trading experience. With the rollout of V3 features like gasless 1-click trading, multicollateral margin, and the launch of Synthetix Leverage, Base has become the ideal home for the next era of Synthetix.

All existing positions on Arbitrum remain open and can be closed at any time, but no new positions can be opened. All markets are now available on Base, and users can bridge directly from nearly any EVM chain using the Socket-powered swap interface, making migration fast and simple.

Gasless 1-Click Trading Comes to Optimism

Speaking of UX wins, gasless 1-click trading was made available on Optimism this quarter in addition to Base. No wallet pop-ups, no gas fees, no delays. Just click and trade. Alongside this release came performance enhancements and response-time fixes on Base.

V3 Migration: Solo Staking Winds Down

At the end of Q1, solo staking deprecation officially kicked off as the migration to V3 continued. If you’re still staked on V2X, don’t panic — your SNX is safe and still viewable at liquidity.synthetix.io.

However, c-ratios have begun increasing to force liquidations below 160%, and if you’re liquidated above that threshold, you’ll have a 6-month window to recover your position (SNX + debt).

New Faces, Docs, and Alpha Calls

Brent Maxwell Joins the Spartan Council
The long-vacant Technical Core Contributor seat was finally filled on the Spartan Council with the onboarding of Brent Maxwell. A seasoned builder across both Web2 and Web3, Brent brings serious engineering firepower to the Spartan Council. With experience across DeFi, NFTs, token launches, and DevOps, he’s stepping in at a pivotal moment for the protocol’s next phase of development.

New User Docs
The updated Synthetix Docs launched this quarter, making it easier than ever to navigate the protocol, learn the ropes, and explore what’s possible with SNX.

Alpha Calls Debut
As previously mentioned, the new Synthetix Alpha Calls kicked off in Discord, offering early access to new features, live demos, and candid chats with core contributors. Users who want to get in on the early fun can do so by asking Burt for the “Alpha” Discord role — don’t miss the next one!

Snax Broadcast Launches
Need the TLDR straight from the source? Synthetix launched the Snax Broadcast Telegram Channel, a no-fluff feed of key updates and alpha from Kain himself.

What’s Next?

With the 420 Pool live, Kwenta and TLX now part of the family, and V3 rolling out fast, Synthetix is entering Q2 with strong momentum — and no signs of slowing down.

Expect:

• More staking incentives
• Enhanced vault products
• Leveraged token expansion
• Liquidity boosts for sUSD
• Continued focus on Base and Optimism integrations

Whether you’re a veteran staker, a leveraged degen, or just dipping your toes in for the first time, there’s a lot more coming. Stay tuned!

Best Memes from Q1

Lastly, because we can’t close out the quarter without a little humor, here were some of the best memes from the Synthetix community.

Quarterly Report for Synthetix, Quarter 4 of 2024: October — December.

Q4 Highlights

Spartan Council/CCs: Referendum, Protocol Acquisitions

Synthetix has made remarkable progress over the past few months, reinforcing its position as a leader in the DeFi space. Key advancements, including the launch of multi-collateral Perps on Arbitrum, strategic acquisitions, and governance enhancements, highlight the protocol’s commitment to innovation, scalability, and delivering a superior user experience. These achievements underscore Synthetix’s adaptability and dedication to addressing the evolving needs of the market. Let’s take a closer look at some standout highlights from this transformative period.

One of the most significant developments came at the end of the previous quarter with the introduction of a referendum designed to reshape Synthetix’s governance and operational strategy. By the end of November, the newly formed council had approved two major acquisitions: Kwenta and TLX. These decisions aimed to unify the ecosystem under a single governance structure, creating a direct line of accountability between Synthetix leadership and its flagship offering — Perps. While the protocol remains committed to its original vision of delivering an open-source liquidity layer to DeFi, these acquisitions signal a strategic shift towards tighter integration and enhanced oversight of its key products.

The launch of multi-collateral Perps represents another major milestone for Synthetix, significantly expanding its trading capabilities. This feature allows traders to use a variety of assets, including WETH, tBTC, USDx, and Ethena’s USDe, as collateral, providing greater flexibility and access to leverage. To drive adoption, the rollout was accompanied by trading incentives and increased revenue-sharing opportunities for liquidity providers, resulting in a substantial increase in trading volume in December. This long-awaited feature has positioned Synthetix as a stronger competitor in the on-chain derivatives market.

Additionally, Synthetix’s inclusion in the Coinbase 50 Index and, briefly, in the Grayscale DeFi Fund underscores its growing prominence in the DeFi ecosystem. Being listed on the Coinbase 50 Index places Synthetix among the most reputable assets available on one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, enhancing its accessibility and visibility to a global audience. Similarly, its recognition by the Grayscale DeFi Fund highlights Synthetix’s relevance and value within the industry as a top-tier project driving innovation in decentralized finance.

Challenges

While the past few months have been marked by significant progress for Synthetix, they have not been without obstacles. These challenges have highlighted the complexities of balancing innovation with operational execution. From governance restructuring to the technical demands of the V3 migration, as well as maintaining transparency and addressing liquidity needs, the protocol has encountered hurdles that provide valuable lessons for its future trajectory. Let’s look back at some of the key challenges from the quarter as we wrap up 2024.

Governance Growing Pains

There were two big initial promises in the Synthetix Reboot referendum that garnered overwhelming community support. The first was a promise to revitalize community engagement and bring back some of that early Synthetix spark, and the second was delivery of a Synthetix 2025 roadmap by the end of 2024. The quarter began with strong momentum, as over 100 million SNX votes ratified the new governance structure outlined in SR-2. Governance meetings and town halls initially saw robust attendance, signaling a desire to build on this momentum. However, over time the consistency of communication faltered. While significant work was happening behind the scenes, including two major acquisitions, the information pipeline from the Spartan Council to the community slowed, leaving gaps in transparency and engagement.

The Roadmap 2025 Challenge

One of the referendum’s key early deliverables, the Synthetix 2025 roadmap, is yet to be fully fleshed out. In September, before SR-2 even passed, the incoming council shared a blog post outlining strategic objectives for 2025. While the outlined objectives are ambitious, the lack of specifics has made it difficult to track progress or hold the council accountable (Aave’s recently released roadmap is a good example of what to aim for).

Funding Strategic Acquisitions

The acquisitions of Kwenta and TLX sparked debates about how to fund these transactions. Both were executed as token-for-token swaps, but questions arose about whether to use treasury SNX or mint new tokens, which would increase the total supply. Despite previous councils opting to end inflationary tokenomics in order to improve optics and attract passive investors, the current council decided to mint just over 12 million new SNX to fund these purchases, resulting in a 4% supply inflation. This decision was not taken lightly; the rationale was that the acquisitions would generate future growth by enabling Synthetix to directly manage the user experience. While the community has largely supported the strategic vision behind these moves, the reintroduction of inflation sparked some discussion about balancing short-term trade-offs with long-term gains.

By addressing these governance, transparency, and funding challenges, Synthetix has an opportunity to refine its processes and strengthen its position as a leader in decentralized finance. These lessons will be critical as the protocol navigates its next phase of growth.

Protocol Stats

Overview of Synthetix Q4 Stats: October 2024 — December 2024.

Spartan Council

Q4 2024 Spartan Councilors: Benjamin Celermajer (Fenway), Cavalier, coKaiynne, Jordan Momtazi, Kain Warwick, SpartanGlory

Despite a few challenges, the Spartan Council was still chipping away at their new vision for Synthetix during Q4. So let’s review everything they were able to accomplish over the course of the quarter.

In October, the referendum to change the Synthetix DAO structure and operations was implemented with the new Council members taking their seats. One of the biggest changes that SR-2 brought was the consolidation of the 3 Councils (Spartan, Treasury, and Ambassador) into 1 Spartan Council made up of 7 seats with equal voting power — 4 elected and 3 hired Core Contributors (CCs). 3 of the 4 elected Council members were made into Advisory Seats, filled by Kain Warwick, Jordan Momtazi, and SpartanGlory. And the last elected member was coKaiynne, who fills the Treasury Seat. The remaining CC seats were filled by Fenway (Strategy) and Cavalier (Operations), with the Technical CC seat still TBD.

SR-2 boasted future changes such as:

• Core working groups
• SNX token redesign
• Operationalized SNAX Chain
• Renewed work on Synth Teleporters
• Increased focus on business development and marketing
• Perps V3 feature expansion & V2X deprecation
• V3 Perp multichain proliferation

The implementation plan for the referendum began to take place over the course of Q4, with improvements designed to make SNX leaner, more aligned, more focused and consistent in both the short and the long term.

Later in the month, a proposal was published for Synthetix to acquire Kwenta, our leading DEX by volume. The motive behind the acquisition was to improve Synthetix branding and market positioning, align strategic motivations, and merge the communities. This ultimately passed after being voted on by both protocols, and was put into effect in November.

The implementation of the Kwenta acquisition later led to the frontend site being rebranded to the Synthetix Exchange. The site was relaunched with a killer UI, deep liquidity, low fees, and a fresh look, solidifying it as the flagship frontend for decentralized Perps. Gasless 1-click trading was also brought to Base, removing the requirement of signing multiple transactions.

Next, a meme competition was announced in late November where anyone could create a meme related to Synthetix and be entered to win 100 million $PEPE for 1st place or 50 million $PEPE for 2nd place. CryptoNaz came in first with their War Dogs format meme, and jojaysu placed second with their Fudder Fridge meme. Hakari, Ethboi and ilbarri were also awarded 100 SNX each from the Guardians for their entries. This competition brought a lot of interest back to the Synthetix Discord!

Shortly after the meme comp, another acquisition proposal was submitted to the Spartan Council for consideration. It was proposed that Synthetix acquire TLX, a leveraged token protocol powered exclusively by the Synthetix V2X Perps platform on Optimism, and launch “Synthetix Vaults” as the newest product line. This proposal was later approved in December in an exciting first step towards producing native vaults that leverage the composability of Synthetix and give users frictionless access to high-quality structured products.

As the last month of the quarter rolled in, Synthetix was just ramping up with several more exciting ventures. Decembrrrr Base LP incentives was announced to start the month off strong — this was a four-week program to boost liquidity during the busy perps trading season. LPs were able to unwrap new SNX and USDC rewards each week while earning boosted trading fees. In addition to the incentive program, Synthetix also introduced two key changes to improve the LP experience and increase the attractiveness of passive stablecoins entering the Synthetix ecosystem:

• More Fees: The revenue share from V3 trading increased to 60%, up from the previous 40%. This represented a 50% increase, ensuring liquidity providers were being better rewarded.
• Juicier Yields: Synthetix also added stataUSDC as an eligible asset for liquidity provision. StataUSDC is a static, non-rebasing version of Aave’s aUSDC token.

Next, Mobile Synthetix Perps was announced thanks to Mass, one of the protocol’s newest integrators. Mass is the all-in-one DeFi app for iOS & Android, designed to simplify decentralized trading and asset management, making Synthetix Perps V3 more accessible than ever. And it was also announced that the community should be on the lookout for a trading competition coming in January with 25,000 SNX & 25,000 OP in prizes.

Lastly, to end the quarter with a bang, the Synthetix Website got a fresh new look and an expanded product lineup! Everything you need is now in one place — Synthetix Exchange, liquidity opportunities, token leveraging, governance, stats, and more. This cleaner, more intuitive interface brings all the Synthetix products and sites together into one cohesive page.