What is the crypto community discussing? From token burning to expanding product offerings

Recently, the cryptocurrency market has witnessed a series of significant developments, from governance votes with overwhelming approval rates to the growth of DeFi ecosystems and Perp DEX. These events reflect a new direction for maturing protocols: restructuring relationships with token holder communities, optimizing value return mechanisms, and expanding product portfolios into traditional markets.

Governance proposals passed with overwhelming support

Uniswap Unification: Burning 100 million UNI and activating fee mechanisms

Uniswap’s Unification vote just concluded with impressive numbers: 125,342,017 votes in favor versus only 742 against. This proposal is seen as a major milestone, with core components including burning 100 million UNI, activating protocol fee switches, and requiring Uniswap Labs to pay interface fees to focus development at the protocol level.

Hayden Adams, founder of Uniswap, described this outcome as a “Christmas gift” from the community, emphasizing a clear choice toward unification and long-term optimization. Community reactions were mostly sarcastic, with comments around the 742 votes against calling it a “great job,” or comparing this voting structure to elections in third-world countries, highlighting the high level of centralization in consensus.

Hyperliquid burns 10% of supply: Community-led deflation strategy

The Hyperliquid community approved a vote to burn 11.068% of the circulating supply of $HYPE, corresponding to address 0xfefefefefefefefefefefefefefefefefefefefe, officially confirmed by the Hyper Foundation. This vote used a proportional voting mechanism, with 85% in favor, 7% against, and 8% abstaining.

The official announcement considers this a community-led deflation action aimed at reducing supply and increasing token scarcity. Community feedback has been very positive, with many comments emphasizing the impact of “permanent supply disappearance” on long-term value. Some users describe this as a “true model of deflation,” showing optimism about future price appreciation.

Wintermute criticizes Aave, calls for a reform similar to “Unification”

Evgeny Gaevoy, partner at Wintermute, shared deep insights into Aave’s current situation. He stated that Wintermute has participated in Aave governance since 2022 but faces core issues: mismatched expectations on value capture (token holders vs. Labs), an unfeasible dual-structure, and handling external functions.

Gaevoy advocates for a solution similar to Uniswap’s “Unification,” criticizing the lack of communication and politicized behavior. Wintermute will vote against current proposals on the forum due to lack of details and failure to ensure value capture for token holders. He views this as a “temperature check,” calling for calm and restarting dialogue to address long-term value issues. The overall discussion is rational but polarized, with many criticizing Labs’ communication management.

DeFi and Perp DEX ecosystems: Key developments

Maple Finance hits record revenue, expands on-chain asset management scale

Maple Finance has completed its largest loan in history (500 million USD), with the highest outstanding debt ever. Founder Sid Powell, in an open letter, set a goal for 2026: reach $100 million in ARR (annual recurring revenue), positioning Maple as the “standard layer for on-chain asset management.”

Maple’s Syrup lending product continues to demonstrate growth strength. Data from Dune shows that from June 2024, the Syrup debt scale increased rapidly, surpassing $1.5 billion by December, with Syrup USDT and Syrup USDC accounting for significant portions. The overall curve shows a steep growth from nearly zero to over $1.5B, reflecting a clear recovery in the DeFi lending market.

Some institutional perspectives (like Relayer Capital) consider $SYRUP ($0.38 current) to be a highly solid position. Continuous accumulated data reinforces the story of “scale opportunity + team execution capacity.” Discussions highlight Maple’s business breakthroughs, while noting the gap between “protocol performance reaching new highs but token price still well below historical peaks.” 2025 is seen as a landmark year for Maple, further strengthening Ethereum’s position as the core layer of DeFi payments.

Trade.xyz launches SILVER: Opening commodity trading on Perp DEX

Trade.xyz announced the launch of the perpetual contract SILVER, supporting up to 10x leverage and providing uninterrupted 24/7/365 trading experience. Users can trade directly on the Hyperliquid interface, realizing the product vision of “trading any asset anytime.”

This move marks an expansion of Perp DEX’s product scope from native crypto assets to commodity derivatives. Within the Hyperliquid ecosystem, this is regarded as an important addition to asset diversity and trading scenarios. Community feedback is generally positive, focusing on leveraged trading opportunities, although some caution that high leverage structures amplify both opportunities and risks.

Overall, this event reflects the maturity of the Perp DEX race and shows that DeFi derivatives are continuing to penetrate traditional commodity markets, broadening the scope of on-chain finance from crypto roots to larger macro indicators.