Nexus Mutual, a decentralized insurance protocol, has paid out over $95,000 in claims following Stream Finance’s $93 million loss, underscoring the growing importance of on-chain coverage in DeFi. The incident occurred on November 4, when Stream Finance halted withdrawals due to a massive liquidity shortfall. The fallout caused its xUSD token to depeg, creating cascading losses across integrated permissionless lending markets, with total potential exposure exceeding $280 million.
Following the Stream Finance exploit Nexus Mutual disbursed claims to protect users in integrated vaults. Beefy users were safeguarded through this coverage, with funds processed and paid out in under a week via partners like OpenCover, showcasing effective DeFi insurance.… pic.twitter.com/xhxNpNDxLa
— Beefy (@beefyfinance) November 29, 2025
Liquidation Failures Trigger On-Chain Coverage
Stream Finance was the central counterparty for xUSD borrowing across multiple lending platforms. The use of fixed-rate oracles prevented automatic liquidations, leading to harmful debt accumulation in connected vaults. While Nexus Mutual does not cover traditional economic losses, on-chain risks, such as liquidation failures, are covered by the protocol. Members with coverage through Nexus Mutual and its partner OpenCover, including vaults on Beefy, Harvest Finance, Euler Finance, and Treevee (formerly Rings), were able to submit claims and receive payouts promptly. Within a week of filing, members had their claims processed and paid, highlighting the efficiency of on-chain insurance in mitigating sudden DeFi crises.
DeFi Risk Management and the Value of Coverage
The Stream Finance incident underscores the interconnected risks inherent in DeFi, where failures on a single platform can propagate across multiple protocols. Nexus Mutual provides coverage precisely for these complex, composable exposures that individual users cannot monitor in real time. By facilitating rapid, reliable payouts, Nexus Mutual demonstrates the critical role of decentralized insurance in maintaining confidence and stability in the DeFi ecosystem. As the sector continues to grow and integrate, on-chain protection remains a key safeguard against systemic risks, underscoring the need for insurance solutions for traders and liquidity providers navigating high-risk crypto markets.
BioNexus Gene Lab Adopts Ethereum as Primary Treasury Asset
Separately, BioNexus Gene Lab announced a pivot in its treasury strategy, prioritizing Ethereum (ETH) over Bitcoin (BTC) as its primary digital asset. Following a directive from former President Trump to establish a U.S. Crypto Strategic Reserve, the company decided to include Ethereum as a core component of its digital asset holdings.