As DeFi matures, understanding risk is becoming as crucial as chasing yield is. With Credora introducing consensus-driven ratings for Morpho vaults, users now get institutional-grade insights that were once reserved for banks. Alongside other efforts, the trend is toward making DeFi risk transparent, comparable and data-driven.

ETH ETFs Green Day:

ETH bulls largely walk alone these days. After 17 consecutive sessions of net outflows, US spot Ethereum ETFs finally broke the trend on March 28, posting a modest inflow of $4.7 million. The streak — which began on March 6 — wiped out about $400 million in cumulative flows, with Grayscale’s ETHE continuing to account for the lion’s share of redemptions.

It remains to be seen whether the turnaround marks a sentiment shift as ETH grapples with a turbulent month. The total cumulative flow, shown in green, has leveled out since peaking in late February.

Bears like Quinn Thompson argue that ETH's declining revenues signal a bleak investment outlook. Conversely, voices such as Fabrice Cheng at Coinbase Commerce counter that Ethereum is undergoing “transformative design [changes] that ensures its long-term viability.”

— Macauley Peterson

Ship Fast. Show Up. Build Loud.

Permissionless IV is for the ones building quietly, releasing early, and moving fast.
Not “thought leaders.” Not influencers.

Founders with product. Devs with commits. Teams with traction.

🎤 Speaker apps are open. Show what you’re building.
💻 Hackathon = $100K+ in bounties.
👀 We cover your ticket if you're shipping.

📅 June 22–26 | Brooklyn, NY

Know-your-risk DeFi

In the realm of macro risks, this week is stacked with market-moving events — particularly relevant to risk assets. “Liberation Day” on Wednesday could trigger sweeping tariffs and exacerbate trade war fears, while Friday’s US jobs report will test the resilience of the labor market and offer clues into future Fed policy moves. Throw in Eurozone CPI, Fed Chair Powell’s post-jobs report remarks, and a Congressional hearing on the future of stablecoins, and you have a volatile mix of economic, political and regulatory items converging at once.

Oh, and don’t overlook Japan, where a new fiscal year on April 1 could trigger large-scale capital redeployment, notwithstanding headline-driven US tariff chatter. I’m tired, boss!

DeFi, on the other hand, has its own set of risks to worry about. Navigating the part of the crypto game where risks are too often opaque and inconsistent leads the degens among us to simply ignore them. Yet, as protocols like Morpho scale into multi-billion dollar platforms, that problem compounds. The risks aren’t just about smart contracts anymore; they span asset types, market design and human factors like governance and custody.

But things are improving. The latest tool in the toolbox is Credora’s recent launch of risk ratings for Morpho vaults. These aren’t merely marketing labels — they’re probabilistic, institutional-grade assessments that break down risk at the collateral, market and vault level.

A vault rated A+ should be more than a vibe, but a signal derived from a consensus process involving crypto-native and traditional credit experts that simulate real-world defaults and loss probabilities.

This move to pushing risk transparency forward reminds me of other standout projects:

• Bluechip.org is one source for stablecoin analysis, providing transparent and curated risk profiles for fiat-backed and decentralized assets alike. Its community-first model prioritizes credibility over hype — though it’s hard to keep up with all the new launches these days.

• Serenity Research brings a similar rigor to stablecoin yield hunters. Its risk-adjusted yield rankings aim to standardize a discount rate for constructing risk-reward profiles.

Risk curators like Gauntlet and Chaos Labs have spent years advising protocol governance on risk parameters using agent-based simulations. It’s critical work but advice that often stays inside governance forums or within core teams.

What’s new here is the shift toward user-facing, accessible risk signals. A Credora score is an accessible way to help users understand and trade-offs. That opens the door to something bigger: risk-aware capital flows. Firms can build structured products with embedded risk scores. Wallets can surface safer options by default. Insurance markets can price policies with real inputs.

Risk, in other words, becomes composable. DeFi players have spent years optimizing for yield. The next phase is about risk-adjusted yield — and how to verify it. By translating complexity into standardized, transparent metrics, we can set the stage for more intelligent capital allocation.

The dream isn’t risk-free DeFi. It’s know-your-risk DeFi.

— Macauley Peterson

Do VCs still matter?

Live from DAS, Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi and 6MV’s Mike Dudas tackled the growing skepticism around crypto venture capital — from fair launches to memecoins and Echo sales.

Qureshi argued that VCs remain essential signalers: “Retail investors don’t have time to read every white paper. They look for who the VCs are.” He dismissed the idea that VC-less launches like Hyperliquid are replicable, noting: “The number of founders who can do that is basically zero.”

Dudas echoed the need for long-term alignment, while criticizing moral posturing in the space: “Be fucking honest about the industry. I’m getting tired of it.”

On memecoins, they split: Qureshi sees the phase fading, while Dudas believes attention-driven tokens are only getting started.

The takeaway? Good VCs still matter — but the industry needs to be more self-aware, honest and selective if it wants to evolve.