I just took a look at the usage of $XPL on DeFiLlama and found it interesting.
Given the current market situation and the fact that XPL staking hasn't started yet, what's the use of it now? This means that holding XPL currently does not come with 'risk-free interest.' But look at what happened in this chart?
Binance CEX (4.94m):
Even without staking rewards, market makers and institutions are still maintaining a depth of $40 million in the exchange. This indicates that they are preparing for large-scale trading rather than simply earning interest.
Uniswap V3 (1.24m):
This point is the most intriguing. While native staking hasn't opened, large holders are eagerly throwing XPL into Aave as collateral and into Uniswap as LP.
This shows that XPL has already acquired the properties of a 'hard currency'—it is recognized as a premium asset in DeFi protocols, and not just a mining token with one purpose.
The current liquidity reflects the real demand in a completely 'incentive-free' state.
Imagine, once the staking functionality officially opens in Q1, when the gate for 'holding coins to earn interest' opens:
The tens of millions of liquidity in the exchange will be instantly drained to lock up, and the circulating supply in the market will sharply deplete. The current Usage data is actually the last calm before the 'supply shock.' Those who understand will naturally get it.
