The DeFi Collective - January 2026 Report

January was another challenging month for the Collective, closing its book yet again with a sizeable shortfall, this time of - $23 256.04, with a sizable drop of revenues of - 22.2%.

While those figures can seem alarming at face value, they have to be confronted to the increased expenses incurred since April, following investments into growing DeFiScan. The Collective is built to sustain, and still commands enough stable reserves to keep operating in these tough markets. Still, we’ve been collecting challenging months like Pokémons lately, and the situation cannot sustain as such. Several measures are already implemented and will be discussed in the next report covering February.

Expenses and other revenues remained steady, and there were no major strategic adjustments to treasury composition. The focus remained firmly on sustainability and supporting our ecosystem partners.

For a full breakdown of revenue streams, accounting methodology, and Collective activities, please refer to the Reporting Policy.

Treasury Report

The treasury closed January at $1,176,529 (-14.9% MoM*, down from $1,382,487 in December). The bulk of the drop can be attributed mainly to AERO, VELO and LQTY, three assets which witnessed adverse price action this month, and which constitutes core holdings for the Collective’s treasury.

By month’s end, the treasury allocation stood at 30% locked assets, 0% in L2 liquid positions, 47% in L1 liquid positions, 23% in Perma LPs, and the rest held in liquid operational balances. The treasury remains well-structured and stable, with capital consistently deployed across productive assets.

Expenses Report

Total expenses for January came in at $37,186.02 (roughly stable MoM). Contributor compensation accounted for $35,691.28, while operational costs held steady at $1,490. Gas costs remain contained at $4.74, reflecting routine mainnet operations.

Overall, expenses remain stable within expected ranges, and no material increases are anticipated in the short term.

Earnings Report

Revenues totaled $13,929.98 (-22% MoM), resulting in a shortfall of -$23,256.04. Adverse market conditions and decreasing DEX volumes contributed to this underperformance, however, the Collective holds enough stablecoin balance to weather yet another storm.

L2 revenues came in at $5,080.72, roughly stables compared to December ($5439.33).

Donations totaled 7086.26, stemming entirely from the DeFi Collective Liquity’s Protocol Incentivized Liquidity Initiative, supporting BOLD’s liquidity on L2s. No harvest was performed on mainnet, and the permaLP positions returned $2,278.47 this month.

Impact Report

Mainnet

Activity on mainnet remained steady with minimal strategic changes.

Arbitrum

Ramses on Arbitrum is dead and rugged all Arbitrum veRAM holders, in favor of their new Hyperliquid adventure: nothing to report here, just another sunny day in the kingdom.

Optimism

No strategy adjustments were made this month. Support remained consistent across BOLD/USDC, BOLD/LUSD, and POOL/WETH pools.

Base

Activity on Aerodrome was steady. The treasury continued to support BOLD/POOL, BOLD/LUSD, BOLD/BOTTO, and BOLD/USDC.

Linea

Voting on blue-chip pools continued throughout January, although revenues are decreasing.

Perma LPs

The Collective’s Perma LP program continued to perform reliably in January, with positions remaining mostly unchanged across POOL/WETH and BOLD/LUSD on Velodrome, BOLD/POOL, BOLD/LUSD and BOLD/BOTTO on Aerodrome, and PSM/WETH on Ramses.

Parting Words

The broader market remained choppy in January. The underlying structure remains resilient, and with some upcoming adjustments, the the treasury will continue to perform as designed, covering DeFiScan expenses in order to deliver it as a public good.

— TokenBrice, on behalf of the treasury and liquidity management team of the DeFi Collective: Luude and myself.