Cryptocurrencies

Crypto Lenders Emerge From the Ashes of Last Speculative Bubble

  • Market rally, increased leverage are driving the demand
  • Decentralized finance applications leading the way this time
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The speculative froth that helped to propel Bitcoin past $100,000 for the first time is spilling over into the long-battered crypto lending sector, with decentralized finance applications leading the way this time.

Bitcoin’s funding rate — the premium paid by traders to open long positions in the perpetual futures market — skyrocketed in November, and is up more than 10 times from what it was in early June, indicating a rising thirst for leverage, according to digital-asset data tracker CoinGlass. Bitcoin has more than doubled this year, topping $100,000 on Wednesday for the first time amid optimism crypto will move further into the mainstream during the upcoming Trump administration.