Author: 0xResearcher
Reprinted: Lawrence, Mars Finance
In the process of the crypto market moving from fanaticism to rationality and from concept hype to value precipitation, the blockchain ecosystem is quietly undergoing qualitative changes. In the past few years, DeFi (decentralized finance) has reshaped the rules of the traditional finance game with license-free financial agreements, allowing funds to flow freely around the world. At the same time, RWA's exploration on the chain is trying to break through the barriers between the traditional financial system and the blockchain world, map trillion-dollar real assets to the chain, and further release financial efficiency.
In this change, the flow of capital often implies future trends. Recently, the frequent layout of WLFI, a subsidiary of former US President Donald Trump's family, has become the focus of market attention. Especially the continuous increase in SEI network not only reflects WLFI's long-term optimism for DeFi and RWA tracks, but also reflects that traditional capital is accelerating its penetration into the on-chain world, injecting new narratives and confidence into the crypto market.
Trump family bets: capital, technology and "political premium" resonate
According to on-chain data, WLFI has made many large-scale purchases on the SEI network, and has bought SEI tokens twice in the past two months alone, with a total amount of more than US$225,000. It is worth noting that WLFI is not a pure financial investor. The political influence of the Trump family behind it has given this series of measures a deeper meaning in the market.
In the crypto world, capital inflows often represent bets on future expectations. And when this inflow comes from capital that is closely related to the American political circle, it is more likely to be interpreted as a kind of "political endorsement." The Trump family’s favor for SEI not only adds capital power to SEI, but also invisibly adds a “political premium”, attracting the attention of more traditional investors.
However, WLFI’s entry is not blindly profit-seeking, but a strategic choice based on SEI’s technical advantages and ecological potential in the fields of DeFi and RWA. SEI is becoming a hot "new infrastructure" on the DeFi and RWA tracks with its high-speed throughput, low cost and financial-grade infrastructure.
Technical Field: High Throughput + Low Cost, the ideal soil for DeFi and RWA
In the on-chain process of DeFi and RWA, the performance and cost of public chains are crucial. The core advantages of SEI are reflected in its efficient and low-cost trading environment, making it an ideal carrier for financial-grade applications:
5 Gigas per second throughput: SEI can process thousands of transactions per second, far exceeding Ethereum and most public chains. This high performance gives it significant advantages in high-frequency trading and liquidity protocols, especially suitable for high-frequency clearing scenarios of DeFi.
Native transaction matching engine: SEI's built-in on-chain transaction matching mechanism optimizes order execution efficiency, significantly reduces slippage, and improves capital utilization. This technological advantage makes it more competitive in on-chain order book DEX and RWA asset settlements.
Extremely low transaction costs: SEI's Gas fee is much lower than Ethereum, which allows DeFi and RWA projects to run at a lower cost, attracting a large number of developers and institutions to settle in.
This series of technical characteristics of SEI not only makes it perform well on the DeFi track, but also provides a solid foundation for the on-chain mapping and circulation of RWA assets.
DeFi explosion: Focus on ecological data
SEI’s DeFi ecosystem is experiencing explosive growth. According to a Q4 data report released by Messari, SEI's on-chain transaction volume reached approximately $1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, with 65% of which came from the DeFi protocol. TVL (total locked volume) increased by 3830.9% year-on-year to US$250 million. This means that even in the market environment where currency prices fluctuate, real capital inflows on SEI are still rising significantly.
In terms of specific protocol performance, the DeFi activity of the SEI ecosystem continues to rise:
DragonSwap: As the flagship DEX of the SEI ecosystem, its average daily trading volume increased by 815.9% in Q4, exceeding US$10.1 million, and the market activity continued to rise.
Yei Finance: SEI native lending protocol, Q4 accounts for 88.7% of SEI DeFi active address (DAA), TVL exceeds 210 million SEI, becoming one of the largest DeFi platforms on the SEI chain.
Pit Finance: As a revenue aggregator, TVL reached $12.3 million at the end of the Q4 quarter, showing strong funding appeal.
It is worth noting that although SEI's token price fell by 14.4%, TVL denominated in SEI grew by 17.1%, which means more capital is continuing to pour into the DeFi ecosystem on the SEI chain. This positive cycle of funds and applications not only enhances the financial foundation of the SEI ecosystem, but also is expected to further support the recovery of the value of SEI tokens.
RWA Financialization: Opening up the bridge between on-chain and off-chain assets
In addition to DeFi, SEI is accelerating the on-chain layout of RWA assets and building a connector between real-world and on-chain finance. In SEI's RWA ecosystem, multiple projects have explored the application scenarios of on-chain financial assets:
Elixir: Introducing fastUSD into the SEI ecosystem, providing on-chain stablecoin settlement services for RWA assets, enhancing the stability and reliability of on-chain financial transactions.
Filament Finance: Through on-chain liquidity protocolsProviding more efficient transaction and clearing power for RWA assets accelerates the mapping and circulation of traditional financial assets to the chain.
At the same time, mainstream trading platforms have also increased their investment in the SEI RWA track. The $1.5M SEI DeFi Season campaign initiated by Binance Wallet attracted a large number of TradFi (traditional financial) institutions to pay attention. This shows that SEI's layout in the RWA field is gradually gaining favor from traditional capital.
Future Outlook: Potential Stocks of On-chain Financial Infrastructure
With the trend of parallel explosion of DeFi and RWA, SEI is gradually establishing its position as an on-chain financial infrastructure with its strong technological foundation and ecological growth. In the future, with the launch of Giga upgrades, SEI's transaction throughput will increase by 50 times, further enhancing its competitiveness in financial-grade applications.
WLFI's continued bet on SEI is not only a recognition of its technological potential, but also acknowledges the deep integration of on-chain finance and traditional capital on the SEI network. As the on-chain mapping of RWA assets continues to accelerate, SEI is expected to become the core bridge between traditional finance and the DeFi world
