Landscape · Protocols
Key crypto protocols and infrastructure
Non-exhaustive map of L1/L2, oracles, custody, and analytics that matter for Crypency readers.
Settlement & scaling
Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche and peers provide programmable settlement. L2s (Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, zkSync, Polygon) compete on cost and latency for payments and apps. Visa’s Apr 2026 stablecoin settlement expansion spanned nine chains—multi-chain is a partner default.
Issuance & tokenization
Stablecoin issuers (Tether, Circle, PayPal, others) connect fiat. Tokenization / transfer agents (Securitize, Ondo, Centrifuge) support RWA issuance.
Oracles, custody, analytics
Oracles (Chainlink and peers) price DeFi and RWA. Custody (Coinbase Custody, BitGo, Anchorage, bank custodians) unlocks institutions. Analytics firms (Chainalysis, Elliptic, TRM) support compliance; third-party data dashboards support research.
Where regulation meets protocols (dated)
Protocol teams are mostly affected through the intermediaries around them. In the EU, ESMA’s Sep 30, 2026 response to the Commission’s MiCA review recommended clearer criteria for which activities are genuinely decentralised and a new regulated crypto-asset service for firms that give users access to DeFi protocols (ESMA press release). That is a consultation response, not law. In the U.S., FinCEN on Oct 6, 2026 withdrew its 2023 proposal to treat international crypto mixing as a class of transactions of primary money-laundering concern (FR Doc 2026-20429).
Crypency does not publish chain-share percentages for DeFi. Where a protocol publishes its own deposit or TVL figures, we cite that page with its as-of date.