SNXweave Weekly Recap 174
March 26, 2025
The following post contains a recap of news, projects, and important updates from the Spartan Council and Core Contributors from last week.
👉TLDR
- 420 Pool Update:
- Liquidations were turned back on & have returned to healthy system levels: 160% for BOTH Ethereum Mainnet and Optimism.
- Non-420 staking will be wound down in April; staking positions will be progressively force-closed during wind-down.
- Tune in to today’s governance call to hear more about the deprecation of solo staking & alpha on new staking opportunities.
- Scam Alert
- Scammers have been trying to sell deprecated synths to users.
- Mainnet synths (excluding sUSD) are valueless and cannot be redeemed for anything if they’ve been acquired after the deprecation date (April 29th, 2024).
- Messari Report
- State of Synthetix Q4 2024: Governance overhaul, acquisitions, perp market growth, OI, fees, SNX token, platform enhancements, Arbitrum sunset, financial analysis, and more. Read below for a recap of the report.
Spartan Council and SIP updates
The 420 Pool has been live for 2 weeks now, with more than 40% of ALL SNX in the pool — over 137 million. And liquidations have been turned back on! Liquidations have returned to healthy system levels, which is 160% for BOTH Ethereum Mainnet and Optimism.
And given the success of the 420 Pool, already with an 85% migration rate, non-420 staking will be wound down in April. Staking positions will be progressively force-closed during wind-down mode (but recoverable for a 6-month period). Today’s governance call will go into further detail on the deprecation of solo staking, along with the alpha on new staking opportunities.
Next, just a heads up, there was a scam alert last week, as the protocol was made aware of scammers trying to sell deprecated synths to users. Mainnet synths (excluding sUSD) are valueless and cannot be redeemed for anything if they’ve been acquired after the deprecation date (April 29th, 2024). Stay sharp!
Lastly, Messari published a report on the state of Synthetix for Q4 2024, so let’s briefly recap what was mentioned:
- Governance Overhaul: Synthetix introduced a streamlined governance structure with a seven-member Spartan Council for more effective decision-making.
- Acquisitions: Synthetix acquired Kwenta ($13.2 million) and TLX ($4.0 million), both in token-for-token deals, to expand its offerings in perpetual futures and leveraged tokens.
- Perp Market Growth:
- Perp volume increased by 29% quarter over quarter (daily average of $71.7 million)
- SOL’s perp market outperformed BTC in volume, growing 53% quarter over quarter
- Synthetix added 68 new perp markets, including 24 entirely new assets
- Open Interest: Hit an all-time high of $376.1 million in November, but ended Q4 at $67.5M, down 60% quarter over quarter.
- Fees: Fees on OP Mainnet grew by 64% quarter over quarter to $2.8 million, with the SOL perp market leading in fee generation.
- SNX Token: The market cap of SNX grew 26% quarter over quarter, closing at $649.8 million. The price also rose 21%, signaling market confidence.
- Platform Enhancements:
- Synthetix launched mobile trading with 25x leverage and gasless trading on Base
- Multi-collateral support for perps was added (e.g., tBTC, wstETH)
- Arbitrum Sunset: Synthetix ended its deployment on Arbitrum, shifting focus to Base network for its derivatives.
The report also included some financial analysis, so here’s a quick review of that:
- TVL grew modestly by 1% quarter over quarter, but peaked at $600 million
- Open Interest (OI) was volatile but peaked at $376.1 million in November, showing strong demand for perps during market rallies
- SNX burned dropped by 60% quarter over quarter to 44,000 SNX due to changes in fee allocation
Messari concluded that Synthetix’s Q4 last year saw strong governance reforms, strategic acquisitions, and continued expansion in the perpetual futures market. Despite some volatility in OI and a decrease in SNX burns, the protocol is positioning itself for growth with a focus on liquidity, new markets, and enhanced user experiences. The shift to Base and mobile trading also suggests Synthetix is targeting a more accessible and integrated DeFi platform moving forward. Check out the full report here!