There are several thousands of cryptocurrencies out there, known also as altcoins. These coins and tokens all have their own unique features and uses, for example, some are used to help decide the direction the creator company should take, others give you discounts or access to special features. The Coin Guide is a concise summary of the aims and technology behind a certain cryptocurrencies. Insight is crucial in this field. Many projects disguise their progress through complicated jargon, making it hard to distinguish those who are building something meaningful from those who are not.
e-Money is aiming to reimagine the stablecoin. Traditional stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a value that is pegged to a particular asset. But this has its drawbacks- for example, sudden market crashes of the underlying asset can result in the stablecoin being unable to keep up and maintain its peg.
e-Money distinguishes itself with its novel token- an interest bearing stablecoin that can shift in value to accommodate economic pressures.
Check out our interview with CTO Henrik Aasted SĆørensen:
Currency-backed Stablecoin: E-money (NGM) w. Henrik Aasted SĆørensen
Background
The team behind e-Money is Block Finance A/S while their motive is to create a platform that can bridge blockchain with the traditional financial system. This way, stablecoins can find a stronger use case and attract greater adoption as it promises an alternative means of exchange, free from the interference of financial middlemen or large institutions.
The platform is built on top of the Cosmos chain, which is also the same network where some of the biggest decentralized exchanges are developed. Furthermore, e-Money promises a faster, easier, and cheaper method of making peer-to-peer transactions worldwide.
What is e-Money?
e-Money is a blockchain-based payment platform that aims to make peer-to-peer payments and money transfers cheaper and more accessible digitally. With e-Money, Block Finance A/S intends to do away with the intermediaries present in most traditional financial services by introducing ācurrency-backedā stablecoins.
Later in this article, we will talk about the difference between this token class, as well as algorithmic and collateralized stablecoins. Basically, eMoneyās own currency-backed stablecoins serve as the backbone of e-Moneyās frictionless digital asset for cross-border transactions.
The team behind e-Money established the coin to usher in a new model for stablecoins that has the following characteristics:
Completely backed with actual bank deposits and government bonds;
Can support multiple currencies;
Lower transaction charges;
Quick transaction settlement times; and
Interest-bearing.
How does the e-money stablecoin work:?
e-Money is an innovation from the original concept modeled for collateralized stablecoins. One of its differences, however, is that it can hold interest. This is similar to how savings accounts in traditional banks work, making them a viable alternative store of value compared to other stablecoins that also fluctuate based on the movements of the whole crypto market.
Bank reserve v Currency-backed tokens
e-Moneyās currency-backed token does not ensure a 1:1 peg with the fiat it represents. Instead, its price depends on the value held by the currency plus the interest accrued on the reserves of e-Money on the represented fiat.
Annually, the supply of the e-Money token will be inflated by 1%. And unlike algorithmic stablecoins, the value of a currency-backed stablecoin does not depend on the need to manage its overall supply, monitor the performance of its underlying reserve, or collect transaction fees.
Features of e-Money
Cosmos and Tendermint Deployment
e-Money is developed on top of the Cosmos chain, making it interoperable with other blockchain ecosystems. However, e-Moneyās system maintains its independence from other chains through the implementation of a āsovereign zone.ā
Cosmos is used to enable inter-blockchain communication (IBC), a feature known to many as the āinternet of blockchains.ā Through the Cosmos Hub, e-Moneyās platform can frictionlessly interact with other blockchain networks should they need to be implemented on different platforms.
Tendermint deployment is also another remarkable feature of the platform as it helps achieve faster transaction settlement times without compromising data integrity and security through a Proof of Stake consensus mechanism.
Validator Network
Since the platform secures blockchain consensus through stakers, validator networks are put in place to ensure the security of the network. Therefore, e-Money implements the validator service accessible in the Cosmos Hub and IRISnetās IRIS Hub.
The main task of validators is to confirm the authenticity of blockchain transactions involving e-Money, as well as to ensure the integrity and health of the whole network. Currently, there are already over 40 validators working to maintain the security of the platform.
e-Moneyās Decentralized Exchange
Along with the currency-backed stablecoin, e-Money also has a decentralized exchange platform where users can access cryptocurrencies available in the Cosmos ecosystem.
It bears some differences from a typical decentralised exchange (DEX). Here are some of them:
Payments needed for trades are only for transaction fees;
Transaction fees can be paid with your preferred token;
There are no listing requirements to use the DEX, any token is already tradeable once supported by the platform;
Higher liquidity since token balances can be sold on different orders; and
Faster transaction throughput through an on-demand block generation method.
Risk Management
To manage the risks that are likely to be experienced by stablecoin holders, e-Money implements an interest mechanism that helps its currency-backed stablecoin maintain its value despite economic fluctuations.
To further mitigate the risks of partnering with single financial institutions to back their stablecoins, e-Money is collaborating with several banks. This spreads the risk that most collateralized stablecoins face when dealing with escrow accounts. e-Money is also putting a portion of their collateral into low-risk government bonds.
Regulatory concerns are also dealt with. In fact, e-Moneyās team has already begun working with regulatory agencies in the EU to determine their status and plan their road ahead. They have legal counsels and advisors who are directly working on EU financial regulations.
Cosmos stacks, like e-Money, have already been audited and subjected to adversarial testnets. This ensures that the risk of users experiencing a problem with the platform is mitigated even before they are rolled out.
2 e-Money Tokens
There are two token classes supported on the e-Money platform. They are (1) Next Generation of Money (NGM); and (2) e-Money, a currency-backed stablecoin, which is a fiat currency represented onchain.
Next Generation of Money (NGM) Tokens
NGM token is primarily used for staking, as well as a reward incentive for users. Users can lock their NGM tokens on smart contracts for staking, or use them to nominate validators they trust to maintain the network. Annually, the NGM supply will be inflated by 10%, and then distributed proportionally to stakers.
NGM tokens will also be the backbone of e-Moneyās operations, with token rewards being the only source of funding for the platform.
NGM token
e-Money Tokens
e-Money, its currency-backed stablecoin, can represent several cryptocurrencies. Its main function is to support the exchange of currencies between e-Money users. They can be used for payments, remittances, and transaction fees.
Supported fiat currencies will have their own representation on the e-Money platform. These are currencies like EUR, CHF, SEK, NOK, JPY, USD, and GBP. Support for more tokens will be introduced soon.
e-Money token class
e-Money Token Metrics
The NGM token has an initial total supply of 100,000,000 $NGM and a circulating supply of 6,364,516 $NGM.
Funding Rounds
Seed Round (concluded) :2,285,000 NGM sold at 0.10 USD per token. 12 months vesting period.*
Private Sale (concluded): 6,700,000 NGM sold at 0.25 USD per token. 6 months vesting period.*
Public Sale (on 19th January 2021): 300,000 NGM to be sold at 0.50 USD per token. No vesting period.*
*The initial vesting date was 4th November 2020 at 1:00pm CET.
Token allocation
Marketing Costs: 280,000 NGM (0.28% of total supply)
Market Making Fees: 33,333 NGM. (0.033% of total supply)
Exchange Listing Fees: 600,000 NGM. (0.60% of total supply)
Liquidity Provisioning (Float): 1,193,026 NGM. (11.9% of total supply)
Customer Acquisition: 8,300,000 NGM. 8.3% of total supply)
Ecosystem Fund (Grants): 10,000,000 NGM. (10% of total supply)
Treasury: 60,000,000 NGM. (60% of total supply)
e-Money Token Sale
On 19th January 2021 at 12:00 CET, e-Money will launch the public sale of its NGM token on Polkastarter. This will be in the form of an Initial Decentralised exchange Offering (IDO). 300,000 NGM tokens will be available for sale at USD$0.50 each.
Conclusion
Stablecoins currently on the market have huge drawbacks. Problems with collateralization and the performance of their underlying assets can cause uncertainty on their value. For instance, MakerDAOās DAI had encountered some problems when ETH crashed last March 2020, creating difficulties in maintaining its peg.
e-Money is proposing a potentially promising alternative. By being collateralized in its issuing currency and interest-bearing, they are resilient against the at-times volatile economic climate. It is also simplified as its underlying fiat reserve is calculated automatically, and transparent with the help of quarterly audits by Ernst & Young to ensure Proof of Funds.
Decentralised Finance (DeFi) series: tutorials, guides and more
With content for both beginners and more advanced users, check out our YouTube DeFi series containing tutorials on the ESSENTIAL TOOLS you need for trading in the DeFi space e.g. MetaMask and Uniswap. As well as a deep dive into popular DeFi topics such as decentralized exchanges, borrowing-lending platforms and NFT marketplaces
More videos and articles are coming soon as part of our DeFi series, so be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube channel so you can be notified as soon as they come out!
Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.
Keep3r Network ($KP3R) (“Keep3r”) appeared out of nowhere on 28th October 2020 with a Medium article by its creator, Andre Cronje. It is described by Cronje as an “…agnostic, easy to implement, incentivization layer for routine ecosystem maintenance.” Cronje is arguably the the “Father” of decentralised finance (DeFi) and Yield Farming, being the creator of the widely successful yEarn Finance ($YFI) which eventually spawned multiple clones and projects inspired by YFI. Keep3r is another one of Cronje’s experiments, and as per his usual “I test in prod” approach- he will launch the product FIRST, then do the necessary testing etc. Despite Cronje’s repeated and clear warnings on this, many still hope for a quick profit and thus throw their cryptocurrencies at the product as soon as it goes live.
Background
As mentioned in the introduction, Keep3r Network had small beginnings as a Medium article and subsequent Twitter post by creator Andre Cronje. Owing to his reputation in this space (his first project YFI grew from USD$0 to USD$300 in market capitalisation in a mere 2 months and spawned the current DeFi wave), many see that whatever Cronje touches turns into gold and so “aped” in by buying up the KP3R token as soon as it listed on Uniswap. Immediately upon launch, prices of KP3R were going up at the rate of around USD$1 per minute. This of course resulted in the word being further spread around social media, and more people decided to join in because they did not want to miss out on this opportunity.
What is Keep3r Network ($KP3R)?
Keep3r Network ($KP3R) can be described as a “job matching” network for Job posters looking for “Keepers” to do tasks for them, together with an incentive mechanism for all the parties involved.
What are Keepers?
Keepers are persons/teams with technical knowledge who are able to take up Jobs, for example, flash liquidation, providing Uniquote price feeds, collecting harvests, and Metawallet batch executions. These are simple manual tasks but can be tedious as it needs to be done regularly. For example, collecting harvests from yield farming is something that generally needs to be done every day. These tasks are usually done by the programmer i.e. Cronje himself, but it would be time-consuming for them to do.
What are Jobs?
In the Keep3r Network, anyone can add a particular Job for someone to do. Jobs are smart contract calls that want an external entity to perform an action in good faith and without any malicious intent or outcome. So they would register themselves as a Job on the Network and provide the relevant documentation and details such as job name, address etc.
The Keeper i.e. the person/team would then register themselves as being able to perform the job and execute on the Job’s contract. Keepers have the freedom to set up their own DevOps, infrastructure and create their own rules to complete the job.
This process is all done on-chain, and the advantage of this is that everyone can confirm that a particular task has been done.
The Keep3r Ecosystem
Having discovered that the Keep3r Network has the potential to be more than a job registry, creator Andre Cronje has decided to combine all of his projects under the Keep3r ecosystem to be one large liquidity ecosystem: options liquidity mining (olm), fixed forex and some other v3 liquidity incentives Cronje has in the works as follows.
Keep3r Eden
Keep3r Eden is a rule set to order transactions within a block in a way that is fair and transparent. This is important for the Keep3r Network since it prevents keepers and jobs from being front-run yet giving them priority access to block space.
Keep3r is partnered with Eden Network. Through Keep3r’s acquisition of 602,409 EDEN, Keep3r is able to guarantee that it will be an anchor slot tenant. This allows Keep3r jobs to by default have the benefits of MEV and front running protection, as well as priority block inclusion. And if users use the Eden RPC, they also have private transactions.
Keep3r’s Fixed Forex
Fixed Forex aims to bring forex markets into DeFi by allowing for deep on-chain forex liquidity- this provides an alternative to USD denominated stable coins (i.e. USDT, BUSD etc).
Keep3r’s Fixed Forex is a liquidity incentive and fee claim system for Iron Bank’s Fixed Forex. The IBFF and veIBFF tokens will be merged with the KP3R and vKP3R tokens. At the same time, the fee claim of approximately $60k/week will move to vKP3R.
Fixed Forex is partnered with zarp.cash, their token ZARP is a cryptocurrency pegged to the price of the South African Rand (ZAR) on a 1:1 ratio. For security, ZARP tokens are stored in a treasury account and are independently audited by Kempen Audit. Therefore, according to the team, “ZARP is the only fully backed, transparent and audited stablecoin for the South African Rand”. ZARP is intended to be used as a representation of the Rand in DeFi. Other currencies such as EUR, KRW, GBP, CHF, AUD and JPY.
Keep3r OLM (Options Liquidity Mining)
Keep3r’s generalized OLM platform for projects allows them to have an instant options-based reward incentivization program. vKP3R holders benefit from this platform as 1% of all exercised option fees will go to them- this will mean around $100k/week in fees will go to vKP3R holders.
Keep3r v3 liquidity incentives
There is a liquidity mining program launched on Keep3r v3 for Uniswap v3. Liquidity providers (LPs) will be able to deposit their UNI v3 NFT positions and earn KP3R. 50% of fees earned will be distributed to vK3PR holders.
Keep3r wonderland
Keep3r Wonderland (also known as DeFi Wonderland) is an activist fund that provides capital and developmental support to protocol development projects.
What are $KP3R tokens?
$KP3R is the native token for the Keep3r Network and having more KP3R represents a higher “reputation” in the Network. As an example, say a Job requires someone to collect a harvest from the YFI contract. This task could impact the prices of different cryptocurrencies and lead to people front running. So you want the person completing this task to act in the interests of everyone and not be selfish.
This is where the KP3R token comes in. Those who complete tasks are rewarded with KP3R, this will be equivalent to the gas spent on the transaction plus a premium, the amount of which depends on the complexity of the Job. The more KP3R tokens you have, the higher your “reputation” in the space and as a result you can take on higher-end jobs. It is also worth noting that there is a mechanism for slashing your bonded KP3R if you are found to be a malicious actor.
By default, this is in the form of bonded KP3R but you can unbond it to become normal KP3R.
Advantages and disadvantages of keeping bonded KP3R
Advantages of keeping bonded KP3R include:
Higher bonds increase the types of Jobs Keepers can qualify to do;
only bonded KP3R grants voting rights in governance; and
bonded KP3R cannot be exploited. This is in case a Job introduces an exploit.
Yet the disadvantage of keeping bonded KP3R is that you cannot immediately recoup ETH for Keeper transactions. Meaning that Keepers had to keep an unbond days amount of ETH as a float. A solution to this is MetaKeep3r (see below).
What are $rKP3R tokens?
rKP3R are redeemable KP3R tokens. They are wrapped KP3R tokens that have the option to be exercised as a KP3R CALL option at a 50% discount at any time. Note however that once created, you only have 24 hours to exercise the CALL, failing which the option will simply expire.
rKP3R can be earned by providing curve.fi/factory. liquidity to ib forex assets or uniswap v3 liquidity to KP3R/ETH (with more pairs to come soon). Furthermore, all distributed KP3R rewards will be in the form of rKP3R for composability with Curve Gauges, Sushi Onsen, etc.
Holders of rKP3R can redeem for the KP3R CALL by selecting “claim” on fixedforex.fi/options. It will then display under “strike” the USDC amount you would have to pay for the amount of KP3R should you choose to exercise the option and the expiry date. If you wish to exercise this option, simply click “redeem”. The amount of USDC would be transferred to the treasury address which then distributes all fees to vKP3R holders.
Keep3r partners with Chainlink
Keep3r tapped into Chainlinkās highly secure and fault-tolerant oracles to advance its services. Although the two have similar functionalities, they serve different target markets.
For example, Chainlink serves companies that require loads of always-online, secure, and fault-tolerant data i.e. the Fortune 500 companies.On the other hand, Keep3r is developed for apps yet to become a Fortune 500. That is, companies still in the research and development stage. Therefore, the coming together of the two protocols smoothens the process of switching to Chainlink when an applicationās off-chain data needs to increase.
Most importantly, the cooperation allows Keepers who have already done a substantial number of jobs to become eligible to be part of Chainlink’s node operators running critical jobs. When Keepers upgrade to become Chainlink node operators, they will transition from using K3PR to using LINK for payment and staking.
$KP3R prices
$KP3R launched at around USD$1 per token. However, due to speculators rushing in after hearing of a new Andre Cronje project, prices for the token shot up by 27x within 40 minutes- at around the rate of USD$1 per minute. As word quickly spread about KP3R, more people bought in for fear of missing out, resulting in prices skyrocketing even higher.
Prices reached an all-time high of USD$1,385.62 on 11th November 2021.
Create a bond by clicking “add”, input your amount of KP3R (you can even join without any tokens by inputting “0”) and confirm by clicking “add” again. After 3 days you will be able to activate your Keeper.
Create a bond
How to perform jobs
Currently available jobs are listed on the main page. You can click on them to find out more details about the job such as the relevant documentation and the credits (in the form of KP3R) you can receive for the job.
Job detail
With the newest update, you can also use OpenZeppelin Defender with Keep3r Network. OpenZeppelin Defender is a wrapper for smart contract developers to automate maintenance tasks such as calling specific functions to manage the protocols on these contracts. This is helpful to developers as traditionally they would have to periodically do these tasks manually. Furthermore, the underline layer is written by the OpenZeppelin team (a security audit firm) which would bring stability to the DeFi ecosystem.
How to register a Job
Jobs can be any system or task that requires external execution. Jobs can be registered in 1 of 2 ways, either through governance or the contract interface.
Registering a job through governance is probably the easiest method as it only requires you to submit a Governance proposal which includes the relevant contract as a job. No further action is required if your governance proposal passes. Cronje has stated in his interview with Synthetix that currently, it is relatively easy to pass this proposal as the quorum requirements are not high.
The other method i.e. contract interface is slightly more complex and requires calling the add liquidity to job function on the Keep3r contract. However, you must not have any current active jobs associated with the account to do this and you can only create a Job through this address every 14 days.
How to collect credits for Jobs?
As seen in the Job interface, completing Jobs gets you credits in return. To collect these credits you will need to provide KPR-WETH liquidity in Uniswap, and you will be given an equal amount of KPR tokens in return. Note you are not required to purchase KPR tokens.
By default, this is in the form of bonded KP3R but you can unbond it to become normal KP3R.
MetaKeep3r: How Keepers can instantly recoup their gas fees
According to Cronje’s Medium article, MetaKeep3r keeps the “maintenance” of Keepers to a minimum. By using MetaKeep3r with OpenZeppelin defender, Keepers can instantly recoup their spent gas in the form of ETH. This is really important considering there had been previous “gas wars” when DeFi fever was at its highest- basically any benefit that could have been derived from a particular transaction was less than the amount of gas fees which was required to execute the transaction.
As mentioned previously, Keepers that complete Jobs are rewarded with KP3R. By default, this is in the form of bondedKP3R, and whilst keeping bonded KP3R has its advantages, one issue is that ETH cannot be immediately recouped.
Now with MetaKeep3r, you can immediately get ETH in return for trading bonded K3PR. How this works is that MetaKeep3r would keep the bonded KP3R and swap it for ETH as compensation for gas spent on Uniswap.
Note however that a minimum bond of 100 KP3R is required for MetaKeep3r.
Special thanks goes to Alvin and Crypto Warrior from our Telegram community for their valuable input into this article!
Decentralised Finance (DeFi) series: tutorials, guides and more
With content for both beginners and more advanced users, check out our YouTube DeFi series containing tutorials on the ESSENTIAL TOOLS you need for trading in the DeFi space e.g. MetaMask and Uniswap. As well as a deep dive into popular DeFi topics such as decentralized exchanges, borrowing-lending platforms and NFT marketplaces
More videos and articles are coming soon as part of our DeFi series, so be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube channel so you can be notified as soon as they come out!
Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.
China’s national digital currency DCEP (Digital Currency Electronic Payment, DC/EP) will be built with Blockchain and Cryptographic technology. This revolutionary cryptocurrency could become the world’s first Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) as it is issued by the state bank People’s Bank of China (PBoC). The goal and objectives of the currency are to increase the circulation of the RMB and its international reach – with eventual hopes that the RMB will a global currency like the US Dollar. China has recently established an initiative to push forward Blockchain adoption, with the goal of beating competitors like Facebook Libra – a currency that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg claims will become the next big FinTech innovation. China has made explicit that Facebook Libra poses a threat to the sovereignty of China, insisting that digital currencies should only be issued by governments and central banks. DCEP is not listed on cryptocurrency exchanges and will not be for speculation of value.
The significance of DCEP is that it’s designed as a replacement for the Reserve Money (M0) system, cutting back the cost and friction of bank transfers. It is suggested that DCEP will alleviate the risks of offline paper money transactions such as anonymous counterfeiting, money laundering and illegal financing. This is because regulators can better monitor digital currency transactions, which some consider will greatly improve financial and monetary supervision. DCEP can also reduce the costs involved in maintaining and recycling banknotes and coins.
Basically, DCEP is poised to become a digital version of the RMB.
Furthermore, the issuance of DCEP is conducive to promoting the internationalization of the RMB and reshaping the current cross-border payment system. This is because prior to the RMB Cross-Border Inter-Bank Payments System (CIPS) going live in early October 2015, RMB cross-border clearing and settlement was mainly done through CHIPS (Clearing House Interbank Payments System) or SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication). However, some consider that both the CHIPS and SWIFT systems have fatal flaws. Firstly, CHIPS is a US company. Whilst SWIFT, in particular, is seen as a cause for concern to the Chinese because due to its foothold in the international banking system, it is almost essential to use SWIFT for inter-bank transfers across countries. Thus whoever controls SWIFT’s data center will have access to information on almost every cross-border remittance, which some in China posit is the US. This is because whilst SWIFT claims to be a neutral international organization, 12 of the 25 directors are either from the US and her allies. Also, its transactional data were found to have been supplied to the US. Hence it is thought that China is being held back by the US via the SWIFT system, and so, in internationalizing the RMB- China requires its own worldwide banking system- i.e. DCEP.
Hence the Chinese consider that it is a requirement to form a new currency clearing network.
According to Chinese media, DCEP is seen as the “3rd Wave” aimed at the US.
A mandate to adopt Blockchain
China has established a countrywide initiative to push forward Blockchain Adoption. President Xi Jinping has mandated that the ‘countryās development of blockchain technology should be sped up ‘ on Oct 24th in front of the Political Bureau. This speech has also been echoed by Li Wei, head of the People’s Bank of China. In April of 2020, China launched the Blockchain Service Network to unify all the Blockchain related projects in the Nation.
China has adopted the “Blockchain, not Cryptocurrency”, whereby the benefits of Blockchain is highlighted. On the other hand, cryptocurrencies that are native to Blockchain are suppressed as Cryptocurrency Exchanges and ICOs are banned in the country.
History and development of DCEP
Development of DCEP started in 2014 with the establishment of a research institute dedicated to digital currencies and looking at how to improve the Chinese Yuan system with blockchain technology. However during 2014 to 2018, the development process slowed down, probably because the decentralised nature of Bitcoin or blockchain is incompatible with the nature of the Renminbi as a legal national currency. Things rapidly picked up towards the end of 2019 however and this was directly attributable to Facebook preparing to launch Libra, particularly as partner members of the Libra Association and the currencies which Libra was to be backed by had consciously rejected China. Hence, feeling the heat of the competition, Chinaās central bank felt immense pressure to urgently speed up in the global competition towards a digital currency.
Former Vice-chair of the PBoC’s National Council for Social Security Fund announced on 22nd June 2020 that China had already completed the backend infrastructure of DCEP.
Uses for DCEP
DCEP will be the only legal digital currency in China
DCEP is a currency created and sanctioned by the Chinese Government. It is not a 3rd party stable coin such as Tether’s cryptocurrency token “CNHT” which is also pegged to the RMB in a 1:1 ratio. DCEP is the only legal digital currency in China (cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are not legal tender in China).
Huang Qifan (Chairman of the China International Economic Exchange Center) said they have been working on DCEP for five to six years now and is fully confident it can be introduced as the country’s financial system. It’s currently being rolled out, with the People’s Bank of China issuing the currency. According to a speech by Huang at the China Finance 40 Forum, “DCEP can achieve real-time collection of data related to money creation, bookkeeping, etc, providing useful reference for the provision of money and the implementation of monetary policies.”
DCEP is not for speculation
China has made it explicitly clear that its National Digital Currency is not for speculation. Mu Changchun, Head of the People’s Bank of China digital currency institute made it as “a digital form of the yuan” and that “The currency is not for speculation. It is different to Bitcoin or stable tokens”. This is to the disappointment of the online community in China, where some netizens commented “So there will be no fun in it” on Sina.com.
It is also not possible to mine DCEP or stake on the DCEP network.
Cross-border payments with m-CBDC Bridge
China has joined forces to explore cross-border payments for digital currencies alongside Hong Kong, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the Bank of International Settlements (BIS).
According to a joint statement in February 2021, the Peopleās Bank of China and the UAEās central bank are taking part in the Multiple Central Bank Digital Currency (m-CBDC) Bridge project initiated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and Bank of Thailand in 2019.
The m-CBDC Bridge project will explore the capabilities of distributed ledger technology, through the development of a proof-of-concept prototype. The project ultimately aims to facilitate cross-border, multi-currency, real-time transactions around the clock.
This move aligns with Chinaās long-term ambition to use DCEP to boost the use of RMB in international payments. While the project is currently an alliance between just Beijing, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Abu Dhabi, it is strongly supported by the BIS, an organisation owned by 63 central banks.
The announcement also comes mere weeks after Chinaās joint venture with SWIFT, the dominant network facilitating international payments between banks. The new entity, Finance Gateway Information Service, was registered in Beijing on January 16 with ā¬10 million (US$12 million) as incorporation capital, according to the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, the Chinese governmentās enterprise credit information agency.
Special features of DCEP
DCEP is a Centralized Currency
DCEP is a digital currency that is run on a centralized private network – the Central Bank of China has complete access and control of the currency. This is a huge contrast to Bitcoin, which has an open decentralized network where there is no centralized leader. In the case with DCEP, the Central bank of China has the ability to create or destroy DCEP.
NFC Contact based payment
According to Official Sina Blockchain, DCEP will have NFC based payment options that don’t require devices to be online during the transfer. This will be poised as a direct replacement of paper money, as DCEP will be usable in areas without internet coverage. In addition, DCEP doesn’t require the mobile device to be bound to a bank account – meaning the unbanked population will also have access to the digital currency.
With DCEP’s tap payment feature people can transfer money simply by tapping two phones together, without the use of the Internet. So DCEP is not exactly like blockchain either, rather it is their own variant.
China Construction Bank launches DCEP wallet
On 29th August 2020, China Construction Bank (CCB) had a soft launch of the DCEP wallet. Users of one of China’s big four state-owned commercial banks found a DCEP wallet feature was available inside their mobile app. Users were even able to navigate to the digital yuan wallet and activate it through registering their mobile phone numbers.
Finally, users can send/receive digital currency to others by inputting their unique wallet ID or the phone number associated with the bank account.
CCB DCEP wallet
However, CCB has disabled the DCEP wallet feature from public access, but not before it gained huge attention. Users searching for this wallet now will only get an error message saying that the function is not yet officially available to the public.
Tencent to be a major partner of DCEP
Tencent’s Meituan Dianping has been in talks with the research wing of the PBoC on real-world uses for DCEP. Meituan Dianping boasts billions of dollars in daily transactions on their mobile app platform offering services such as food delivery (similar to UberEats), B&B bookings (similar to AirBnb), ride hailing services, bike sharing, grocery shopping and more. Basically for those in China, all your daily necessities can be met on the Meituan ecosystem.
The PBoC’s research wing is also in talks with another Tencent-backed company, Bilibili Inc. which provides video streaming services. So whilst the specifics of the partnership are yet to be finalised, it is likely that such cooperation is going to be huge for the mass use of DCEP in China.
According to Caijing magazine, the pilot institutions for DCEP will be the 4 major state-owned banks i.e. China Construction Bank, the Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. This initial deployment will serve as an official production test for the currency system, where the network and security will be validated. In the second phase, DCEP will be distributed to large fintech companies such as Tencent and Alibaba to be used in WeChat Pay and AliPay respectively.
DCEP will operate on a two-tiered system
The issuance and distribution of DCEP will be based on a two-tiered system.
The first tier would be transactions between the PBoC and intermediaries. These intermediaries would be financial institutions (e.g. the 4 major state-owned banks i.e. China Construction Bank, the Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China) and non-financial institutions such as Alibaba, Tencent and UnionPay. Here, the PBoC would issue DCEP to the intermediaries.
The second tier would be between the above-mentioned intermediaries and participants in the retail market such as companies (e.g. retail stores) and individuals. In this tier, the intermediaries that have received DCEP will distribute it to retail participants so that it would circulate through the market e.g. through people purchasing items at stores etc.
The main difference in the issuance and distribution of DCEP compared to traditional cash however is the fact that DCEP would be transferred through electronic wallets, rather than bank accounts.
The central government has mandated that all merchants who accepted digital payments (such as Apple Pay, AliPay and WeChat) pay must accept DCEP. This will give DCEP a large nationwide acceptance in China, with every merchant obligated to participate or face a potential loss of their business license. This will make DCEP the most accepted digital currency in the world.
DCEP red packets to be launched for Chinese New Year
China’s DCEP app has launched a red packet gifting feature in time for the Chinese New Year on 22nd January 2023. The app will allow users to send the red packets i.e. “hongbao” containing DCEP to others. This is based on the Chinese New Year tradition of gifting lucky money during the annual festival. In fact, WeChat Pay and Alipay already have this feature for gifting CNY. However, it is the first time that e-CNY will be gifted in such a way, with hopes that this will further pave the way for the mass adoption of DCEP.
DCEP can be used to pay expressway tolls
On 28th December 2022, Chongqing Expressway Group announced it has completed the installation of equipment to accept DCEP for expressway tolls. From 30th December 2022, DCEP can be accepted as payment for tolls on the Chongqing Expressway. Users will need to download the e-CNY app and then simply present the payment QR code at the toll booth.
PBoC’s financial statistics reports now include DCEP/e-CNY
On 10th January 2023, the PBoC released its annual Financial Statistics Report for 2022. What is worth noting is that for the first time, the PBoC included statistics on DCEP/e-CNY. The Report states that as of the end of December 2022, the amount of digital currency in circulation was 13.61 billion yuan. This equates to around 0.13% of the total balance of yuan (13.61 trillion yuan) in circulation at the end of 2022.
Are people in China using DCEP?
According to a report on 28th December 2022, there has been over US$14 billion worth of DCEP transactions since its launch in 2020. Meanwhile, 261 million users have already set up an e-CNY wallet. However, this is considered low adoption since around 903.6 million people use mobile payments in China, according to a 2021 UnionPay report.
DCEP scams
Mere hours after DCEP has been announced, various (potentially scam) Chinese exchanges have listed IOUs or knock-offs clones of DCEP. It’s important to know that DCEP is currently only distributed to banks working with the PBoC and will not be available for the public. If you want to find out what are reputable exchanges, check out our top cryptocurrency exchanges guide. It is strongly recommended NOT to trade DCEP until it is officially released as there is no guarantee exchanges have access to the digital currency.
Knock-off clones of DCEP are already trading in (potentially) scam exchanges.
How to buy DCEP?
Currently, DCEP is only available to other banks working with the People’s Bank of China. This will eventually open up to the general public in 2020. There are currently no cryptocurrency exchanges that trade DCEP.
Implications of DCEP?
Is DCEP a challenge to the US monetary system?
The overwhelming view appears to be yes, both from the Chinese and the US perspective. According to statistics from the World Bank, 1.7 billion adults around the world use cash because they don’t have bank accounts. However, two-thirds of this population own a mobile phone, which can be used to make monetary transactions. This is what’s been happening in China, where mobile payments such as Alipay or WeChat Pay have more than 1.7 billion customers across China. Currently, the two online payment companies handle more payments monthly than Paypal did in the whole of 2017 (i.e. USD $451 billion). It’s very common in China to see street vendors accepting Alipay or WeChat pay.
Alipay and WeChat being accepted at an ATV rental shop
With the mobile wallet payment infrastructure in place, their cooperation with the PBoC could be the answer to distributing DCEP overseas. This would fit China’s “Belt and Road Initiative”, the aim of which is to build a new trade route connecting Asia with Europe and Africa. The idea is that with DCEP being used by mobile wallets, populations along the Belt and Road can be connected, bypassing existing financial infrastructures completely and giving an opportunity for the unbanked to pay for online purchases and build their savings.
In the US, the government does not see a demand for digital currencies. In a letter from the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, he took the view that many of the challenges a digital currency intends to solve do not apply to the US. In his view, the US payments landscape is already highly competitive and innovative, with plenty of digital payments options for consumers. Powell also commented, echoing the sentiments of those US lawmakers opposing Libra, that a digital payment where you would know and be able to track each and every payment would be unattractive for the US.
Whilst the House Committee on Financial Services also sees Libra as potentially raising national security concerns, observers consider the challenge from China is not being taken seriously. Because on the other hand, China is worried that Libra will reinforce the dominance of the US Dollar and is therefore working on fast-tracking the launch of DCEP. And it is likely that China will outrun the threat from Libra.
From a wider perspective, some take the view that DCEP can be used as a weapon against the US in an economic war. This is because as DCEP becomes accepted across the Belt and Road, China will have the power of total surveillance and control over the economic activity of potentially half the world’s population. DCEP will allow China to track everyone’s spending and transactions, and can seize or lock customers’ digital assets in their mobile wallets. We’ve already seen this in China, where together with its “social credit system”, millions of individuals have already been barred from purchasing airline tickets using their mobile wallets.
Appearance on Chinese television debate show “Tiger Talk”
On 29th August 2020, I appeared on China’s Phoenix Television show “Tiger Talk” (äøčäøåøč«). Tiger Talk is one of Phoenix TV’s longest-running shows, each week they feature a debate on a major societal issue or event, and would invite experts, academics and guests to participate in the discussion. I was invited by Phoenix Television as an overseas analyst to discuss the topic of the week, namely, “DC/EP: China’s release of digital currency, will it shake the US Dollar’s hegemony?”. You can watch the episode here.
Guest appearance on Tiger Talk
Implications of DCEP on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies
In the first instance, it should always be borne in mind that DCEP and Bitcoin/cryptocurrencies are vastly different. Key differences are that DCEP does not necessarily use blockchain technology and that it is a centralised currency under the control of a centralised authority. Learn more about the differences between DCEP, Libra, Bitcoin and Cash.
However, the large scale promotion of DCEP on national television in August 2020 is certainly bracing and preparing Chinese citizens for a digital version of the RMB. The gradual rollout of DCEP will also get the average citizen accustomed to the actual usage of digital currencies.
As a result, many people are excitedly speculating on the possibility of a bridge between DCEP and various existing blockchain projects- with some projects proclaiming they will be the first project to launch on DCEP. However it must be borne in mind that we do not know the full technical details of DCEP, so we do not know how this bridge between blockchain and DCEP will work, if at all. Also, the fact is that China is currently very hostile towards cryptocurrencies, this is mostly due to a number of cryptocurrency scams- such as Plus Token. As a result, the Chinese government have closed several bank accounts found to be involved in cryptocurrency transfers and banned all ICOs, several major cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance and OKEx and some Over the Counter desks. Hence a lot of cryptocurrency circles and discussions occur underground, such as in private WeChat groups.
In a confusing twist, however, the CCP’s official media outlets åčę¶ęÆ, Xinhua and CCTV have been pushing out headlines that crypto assets are the best-performing asset year to date. Dovey Wan, Founding Partner of Primitive Ventures has observed that the real intent behind this media push is difficult to interpret, but so far the Chinese cryptocurrency community see this as a signal that crypto has reached its top. Meanwhile, on the Western front on Twitter, people have been seeing this as a bull signal. Currently, without any further moves or news in China about DCEP or on the cryptocurrency front, we can only wait and see what China’s next move will be.
Hmm this is an interesting propaganda vibe from CCPās official media outlets as āåčę¶ęÆā, Xinhua and CCTV2
the headline ācryptoasset is the best performing asset YTDā was featured on all avenues, news paper, online media and TV
Will DeFi push governments to finally adopt CBDCs?
Decentralised Finance (DeFi) can be considered the cryptocurrency and blockchain star of 2020, having revived the cryptocurrency market and bringing some much-needed revival and positivity. But what is DeFi? In short, DeFi attempts to bring traditional banking to developing industries, but with a twist: it would be open-source, decentralised, cheap and will cut out the middlemen. (Xanax)
So what can central banks and government do to maintain their dominant status quo whilst benefitting from the technology that DeFi can bring? An answer could be to create a CBDC. In a Forbes article, the author suggests that CBDC would be a positive move for governments since it tokenises money whilst allowing users to enjoy the advantages of cheaper, faster transactions.
The article also touches upon our coverage of DCEP and discusses China’s progress in testing DCEP contrasted with the progress of introducing a CBDC in the US. It suggests that governments and institutions, however, will need to be quick to catch up as new DeFi solutions in payments, mortgage, insurance etc. are being created weekly, and this legion of fintech innovators are growing. These innovators challenge the status quo, and with the mounting advantages of DeFi, there may soon be a real contender vying for the attention of citizen-consumers.
FAQs
Is DCEP backed by Gold?
The simple answer is u0022Nou0022. On a recent episode of Kitco News, journalist Max Kaiser claimed that China will launch a gold-backed cryptocurrency, with the intention of destroying the USD as a reserve currency. He added that China has already amassed as much as 20,000 tons of gold. However this is mere speculation – China has no plans to return to the Gold Standard nor issue gold-backed cryptocurrencies.
Will DCEP be interoperable with other Cryptocurrencies
There are many plans to build gateways that allow the swapping of DCEP to other cryptocurrencies. Projects such as Algorand have stated they want to support DCEP and build possible bridges to swap these currencies. However, as the technical details of DCEP have not been fully revealed, such bridges have not been built yet.
Who can issue e-CNY?
There are 7 Chinese commercial banks that can provide e-CNY. They are: ICBC, Agricultural Bank of China, Postal Savings Bank of China China Construction Bank, Bank of China, Bank of Communications, and China Merchant’s Bank. There are also 2 online banks that can provide e-CNY i.e. WeBank (WeChat Pay) and MyBank (Alipay).
Which Chinese Cities can sign up and use the e-CNY app?
Currently, there are 12 cities and areas in China which can sign up and use the e-CNY app. They are Shenzhen, Suzhou, Beijing Xiong’an, Chengdu, Shanghai, Hainan, Xi’an, Changsha, Dalian, Qingdao, and Zhangjiakou.
Can tourists or non- Chinese locals use DCEP?
No, DCEP is not fully rolled out yet and is only available in select cities in China.
Is China using DCEP?
According to a report on 28th December 2022, there have been over US$14 billion in transactions since the launch of DCEP in 2020 and October 2022. Meanwhile, 261 million users have already set up an e-CNY wallet. However, this is considered low adoption since, according to a 2021 UnionPay report, around 903.6 million people use mobile payments in China.
When will China officially launch DCEP e-CNY?
Whilst there is ongoing DCEP/e-CNY testing on in increasing scale, there is no official announcement as to when and how China will fully roll out DCEP/e-CNY.
Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.
Linear Finance ($LINA) understands that decentralized finance (DeFi) has opened new possibilities for derivative offerings and that many exchanges have the apparent problems of front-running, expensive gas fees, and liquidity issues. Linear Finance seeks to go around those issues with its cheap, quick, and transparent synthetic asset exchange platform. With Linear, users can simply make a synthetic asset that contains a portfolio of different underlying tokens based on the exposure that they are willing to take. This presents new yield-making opportunities for anyone based on their customized financial goals.
Check out our interview with Linear Finance!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcXsEwj5hpI
Background
Drey Ng and Kevin Tai, Co-founders of Linear Finance, built the project with a vision of an inclusive and more democratized access to investment opportunities. By their teamās expertise in different crypto initiatives and financial instruments, Linear made a cross-chain, Ethereum-based protocol that seeks to fulfill their vision.
With Linear, users can make their own portfolio exposures and manage them on their own. This initiative enables investors to easily invest, save, and earn efficient profits from their assets.
What is Linear Finance?
Linear Finance is a decentralized delta-one asset protocol where users can make, manage, and trade synthetic assets. This gives users exposure to different kinds of assets without having to actually own their underlying assets.
An additional feature that Linear Finance has introduced is a cross-chain compatible and decentralized protocol that can support a faster, more affordable, and secure exchange of synthetic assets.
Linear Financeās platform is powered by its native token, LINA. It can be used for many purposes such as payments, staking, liquidity mining, governance, and investing in āLiquids.ā Liquids are Linearās synthetic assets composed of different underlying tokens or investment options.
LinearDAO
LinearDAO is the governance community who controls important platform designs and system parameters including pledge ration, LINA inflation reward and frequency, transactions fees, proposal implementation, and many more. Furthermore, they also regulate the profit and loss regarding liquidation.
Perks and Special Features
The project promises infinite liquidity and no slippage. Here are some of the perks users can find with Linear Finance:
Convenience: The protocol promises quick transactions with low transaction fees. Any kind of user can enjoy the platform as well, whether they are a market maker, staker, or trader.
Transparency: To prevent front-running, every transaction made within the exchange is made transparent to all users. This also reduces systemic risks on the part of each network participant.
Ethereum-based: Because it is built on the Ethereum network with cross-chain compatibility, it can work alongside other DeFi projects too.
User-tailored options: There are different exposure options that users can freely choose from, such as other tokens, commodities, or market indices.
The whole Linear platform is built on two different blockchains but they complement each other thanks to cross-chain compatibility. For users, they only need to open an Ethereum-based wallet and an EVM-compatible wallet.
Linear automatically links these two together through smart contracts. Here are some of the advantages of an infrastructure modeled around that concept. They are:
Maximized DeFi support: While LinearDAO and LINA tokens are based on Ethereum, its use of EVM and smart contracts make it easy for the platform to interact with other DeFi protocols.
Affordability: Buildr and Exchange function through smart contracts on top of EVM-compatible blockchains. This enables Linear to support the building and trading of Liquids at very minimal gas fees.
Fewer risks of front-running: The block time confirmation for other EVM-compatible blockchains are much faster than Ethereum. This allows users to create their own Liquids at more updated prices through the help of oracles. This way, the risk of users front-running the exchange becomes much lower.
LINA Token
LINA can be used for payments, staking, and governance participation. But mainly, LINA functions as the base collateral needed to mint Liquids through Buildr, the decentralized application (dApp) designed to manage synthetic assets.
To create Liquids, users have to āpledgeā 100% of their digital assets, which also means collateralization. This is to ensure that Liquids are fully-backed by an underlying asset, saving the stability of the system from the volatility of synthetic assets. The pledge requirement can be reduced eventually if the LinearDAO deems it necessary.
Collateralization
Buildr takes a hybrid approach in terms of collateralization. For Liquids, users need to deposit a mixture of LINA and other cryptocurrency tokens to generate a synthetic asset. The ratio is 80:20, where at least 80% of the collateral must be in LINA and 20% can be in other cryptocurrencies.
Staking
Staking LINA offers users many incentives. These are the following rewards that users can receive by doing so:
Exchange Fee Reward: The transaction fees collected from users of the Linear.Exchange platform, currently set at 0.25%, is redistributed weekly to LINA stakers on a pro-rata basis. For non-LINA stakers, these rewards can also be provided too but it will depend on the decision of the community governance council.
Inflationary Reward: LINA has a starting inflation rate of 75% which decreases on a weekly basis. The inflation reward is given to LINA stakers on a pro-rata basis as well.
Yield Farming: Yield farmers help maintain Linearās debt pool and the whole platform. For the first two years of the project, users who actively use the exchange can receive token bonuses. These token bonuses can then be deposited by yield farmers in other liquidity pools such as Balancer, Curve, and Uniswap.
In facilitating faster trade activities with almost unlimited liquidity, Linear is building their own exchange. As of now, Liquid is collaborating with other public blockchains to reduce transaction settlement timeframes to as quick as one second every transaction coupled with instant finality.
With a plan of partnering with oracles, Linear also believes that they can solve problems with front-running as they gain the capability of refreshing prices on a frequent and quick basis at much lower prices for the underlying assets.
Linear Finance ($LINA) token public sale
The token public sale took place on 14th September 2020. A total of 47,222,222 LINA tokens were sold in 2 rounds. The first round had 25mil tokens at $0.00400 per token. The second round, 22,222,222 tokens at $0.00450 per token.
The sale was 40 times oversubscribed and closed earlier than expected (it was supposed to last for 24 hours). Each participant in the sale had to purchase 500 USDT/USDC worth of LINA. Hence only 400 participants were able to get the allocation on a FIRST COME FIRST SERVED basis. This was determined by the time/date stamp on their Google Form submission. The first 200 users were allocated LINA tokens from round 1, and the remaining 200 participants from round 2. This was however subject to the registrants completing the KYC process in a period of 24 hours.
$LINA was first listed on Uniswap and reached more than 20x from public sale price (and around 60x from private sale round 1). It is now stabilized at around $0.005 (as at 3 November 2020).
Linear pre-staking platform
Immediately after listing, Linear Finance has launched its staking platform. Holders can participate in the 8 weeks pre-staking program and get rewarded. The APY has been around 600% for weeks and has now decreased around 370%. All the earnings will be claimable 6 months after mainnet launch but users can withdraw their staked funds at anytime.
Partnership announcements
In the weeks following the launch, Linear has announced partnerships with Nervos, Moonbeam and Hex Trust.
Nervos is an open source blockchain that offers security and trustlessness without compromising on scalability and performance with its unique layered architecture. The collaboration is focused on improving Linear’s cross chain capabilities and penetration of the Chinese market.
Moonbeam, an Ethereum ($ETH) compatible smart contract parachain, is a strategic partner to help set the feet into the Polkadot ($DOT) ecosystem and level up Linear’s interoperability. Finally, the partnership with Hex Trust as a custody partner, will give Linear the chance to offer secure, institutional grade custodial services for institutional investors.
A next announcement has revealed a new partnership with 3Commas, a cryptocurrency trading platform that helps users build automated trading bots. The investment is meant “to include future integration of the platforms and tools, streamlining operations and allowing for a greater range of features and offerings”.
Testnet is live
On 16th October 2020, the first testnet for Buildr has been released. Buildr is one of the core dApps of the Linear suite, where users can stake their $LINA (and soon more collaterals) to build āUSD, the base currency of Linear Exchange. Stakers are entitled to rewards and to a part of the transaction fees generated by the exchange. āUSD tokens can be minted to purchase synthetic assets within the exchange itself and can be moved to other protocols.
The last testnet update has just come out allowing users to purchase “Liquids” with āUSD on Linear.Exchange. Meanwhile, mainnet launch is allegedly happening in a couple of weeks.
If you want to read more and discover how to contribute to the testnet, please have a look at the articles here and here.
More than 222 million of $LINA tokens are staked, for a total value of more than USD$1 million.
New Partnership with Band Protocol
In this article dated November 16, Linear Finance has ufficially announced their partnership with Band Protocol, cross-chain decentralised oracle.
The biggest problem this collaboration is trying to solve is front running. As Drey Ng, Co-Founder at Linear Finance said: āFront running is a fundamental problem not just for current synthetic asset trading but all trading in general”. Not solving this problem would jeopardize all “the benefits of cross-chain compatibility (such as speed and cost), and a superior creative selection of synthetic assets”.
How Band Protocol Oracle works with Linear
Other reasons why Band Protocol was chosen are the minimized network risk., end-to-end customizability for real-time data and truly decentralized oracle mechanism. The partnership will start securing the Linear Protocol on Binance smart Chain, the first project’s cross-integration, where the BEP token has just been created (the common $LINA we see on exchanges is an ERC-20 token).
The team is now working on features to allow users to seamlessly swap chains.
Linear Finance road to mainnet
Mainnet Buildr Launch and new staking program
The Linear Mainnet Buildr v1.0 went live on December the 21st, after months of extensive testing. The Buildr dApp is the heart of Linear’s decentralised application suite. Users can stake $LINA tokens to build āUSD and earn rewards. Here is a complete and detailed guide on how to use Buildr to the fullest.
Linear’s Buildr
All of the $LINA from the pre-staking program were migrated seamlessly to the mainnet and while previously earned rewards will be blocked until next June, new mainnet staking rewards will be locked for 1 year from launch. They will count towards the P-Ratio and can be used to build $LUSD. It is important to note that in order to be eligible for rewards, users are required build āUSD or any subsequent Liquids.
Binance Smart Chain’s Buildr v2.0 launch
As anticipated, Linear wants to bring Cross Chain compatibility and ease of use to Defi and Ethereum users. The team had, in fact, previously declared that “Linear was designed for all users (no matter how much LINA you hold) and transaction costs will not become a barrier to entry. Nobody will get left behind”.
The promise has been kept and Linear.Builder Mainnet v2.0 with full Binance Smart Chain (BSC) integration and swap has gone live on January the 15th, 2021. Users can now enjoy almost gasless fees when interacting with the platform.
The transaction was seamless and old stakers only have to connect to Buildr via MetaMask using the BSC Mainnet (they can also use Binance Chain Wallet) and they will see their Lina tokens and rewards already there. For new holders who would like to stake for the first time, there is an internal ERC-20 -> BEP20 swap whithin Buildr itself. More info and complete instructions can be found on the Medium article.
Be careful!: There are now two versions of the $LINA token. If you send the Etherum version to a BSC wallet or vice-versa (whether it is a custodial or non-custodial address) you will lose your tokens! If in doubt on what to do, contact the support team via the official channels which you can find on their Website.
Linear will be listed on Binance Innovation Zone
Binance has announced it will list Linear Finance’s $LINA token on its Innovation Zone. Trading for $LINA/$BTC, $LINA/$BUSD and $LINA/$USDT trading pairs will start at 12:00pm (UTC) on 18th March 2021.
Furthermore, Binance Launchpad is offering 21,084,000 LINA tokens for sale at at 0.00031044 BNB for 1 LINA. Subscription has already ended at 1:00p.m. (HKT) on 18th March 2021 and tokens will be sent to successful applicants at 6:00p.m. (HKT) on the same day.
Conclusion
With the rising gas prices in Ethereum, as well as the emerging trend of yield farming, the DeFi space is presented with new financial opportunities but is discouraged by its costs. Projects such as Linear is a promising addition to the space as it seeks to go around these problems.
With Linear as a platform to easily build and manage investments, users can now enjoy quick and affordable profit-building opportunities. And in recognition of the real purpose of decentralization, Linear appears to be on the right track after putting in the pipelines a roadmap for a planned transition to community governance.
Linear is certainly on the radar of a lot of renowned investors in this space. They have recently completed a USD$1.8m seed round with notable backers in the investment space such as NGC Ventures, Hashed, CMS Holdings, Genesis Block, Kenetic Capital, Alameda Research, Evernew Capital, Soul Capital, Moonrock Capital, Black Edge Capital and PANONY. According to Linear, this funding will go towards accelerating the development of their testnet and mainnet, as well as promoting their platform. It will certainly be exciting to see what the Linear Finance team will be releasing in the months to come.
Decentralised Finance (DeFi) series: tutorials, guides and more
With content for both beginners and more advanced users, check out our YouTube DeFi series containing tutorials on the ESSENTIAL TOOLS you need for trading in the DeFi space e.g. MetaMask and Uniswap. As well as a deep dive into popular DeFi topics such as decentralized exchanges, borrowing-lending platforms and NFT marketplaces
More videos and articles are coming soon as part of our DeFi series, so be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube channel so you can be notified as soon as they come out!
Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.
Wootrade ($WOO) is a digital asset liquidity pool that partners with cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets and over the counter trading desks (OTCs). They also have a darkpool trading platform which claims to offer zero (or even negative) trading fees and above average liquidity for spot and futures trading.
Check out our interview with Jack Tan, CEO of Wootrade!
Better trading (no strings attached)?-Wootrade
Background
While both automated market makers (AMMs) and decentralized exchanges (DEXs) belong to the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, they are quite distinct from each other.
There is no limit order functionality for AMM providers such as Uniswap, whilest the trading role of DEXs is more complete and closer to that of a common cryptocurrency exchange. At present, AMMs are extremely popular. They draw more consumers and have rates of exchange that outweigh those of DEXs.
Wootrade collaborates with DEXs as they solve their liquidity challenges using Wootrade. Exchanges would find it easy to draw even more customers by providing more liquidity and delivering more full features. In DeFi cryptocurrencies, standard exchanges have smaller trading rates than Uniswap, and even losing customers, owing to the popularity of the DeFi sector.
Although supporting both centralized and decentralized exchanges to improve their AMM competition, Wootrade has already listed DeFi coins and intends to consistently list more.
Team
It is worth noting that Mark Pimentel, Wootrade’s Co-founder, worked at Citadel and Knight Capital (acquired by Virtu in 2017), respectively. Pimentel initially operated in the high-frequency trading department at Citadel, and then went to Knight Capital’s electronic marketing group in the United States. There, he was in charge of operating the substantial dark pool.
When Pimentel stepped into the crypto ecosystem, he came across a common problem between quantitative funds and exchanges i.e. the market liquidity is fragmented. He aimed to add his trading skills and familiarity with the dark pool to Wootrade. The inclusion of Wootrade’s token economy was intended to make this model more robust, fairer, and more efficient.
What is Wootrade?
Built by industry-leading proprietary trading company Kronos Research, Wootrade provides dramatically enhanced liquidity, spreads, and fees. Wootrade is regarded as the next evolution of crypto trading.
Wootrade features specialized market-making skills based on alpha through collaborations with the world’s top proprietary trading teams. A self-reinforcing and mutually-advantageous dynamic between traders, exchanges, market-makers, and investors all connected by the WOO token has been created by this innovative framework.
Mark Pimentel and Jack Tan, Founders of Kronos Research, had invented the Wootrade concept to address the big pain points for more challenging crypto traders. Kronos Research has evolved from a team of 2 to more than 60 persons now and trades over a billion dollars on a daily basis.
How does Wootrade achieve high liquidity and zero fees?
Wootrade claims to have above average liquidity and zero trading fees, but how do they achieve this?
Taking BTC as an example, at a depth of 100 BTC, Wootrade will sustain a spread of 0.2%. In addition, it does not charge any handling costs or operating costs to users. Kronos Research, a quantitative market research institution, has incubated Wootrade. The fact that Kronos excels in a number of trading techniques is popularly known.
In various market conditions, Kronos has a daily trading volume of more than $1 billion and can guarantee substantial returns. Although Wootrade implements zero-fee trading, retail-oriented exchanges do not generally compete with it. In fact, exchanges or DEXs, wallets, brokers, and trading institutions are mostly Wootrade customers.
Currently, over 10 exchanges and institutional customers are linked to the platform. In addition, through the exchanges that collaborate with Wootrade, a total of more than 65,000 end users have used their trading profile. New exchanges were queuing up for entry after releasing Wootrade 1.0, as market demand surpassed the expectations of the team.
Open governance on Wootrade
The aim is for the group to have more and more autonomy to grow the project as it sees fit. Voting power grows exponentially in relation to the amount of time involved, but anyone who buys tokens only to vote would not have any control over decisions.
Instead, those who have carried for the right length of time will be able to control with the greater weight the choices made. Additionally, the incentive scheme is aimed to enable those with the right combination of talent and expertise to engage more effectively in the governance and decision-making process.
The aim of Wootrade is to reach 40% of the cryptocurrency market’s liquidity. This includes a significant number of exchange customers and market makers to be on board. There is a big market for wealth management businesses on both exchange investors and AMMs on the platform.
Since it’s not easy to check and trust the trading staff, investors sometimes skip good opportunities. Wootrade can, therefore, be fitted with an oracle computer to solve this. This helps market makers to submit their NAVs and results to the blockchain. For its retail customers, exchanges may then verify and pick outstanding items.
WOO token ($WOO)
Wootrade has its own native token that will act as a value and rewards carrier generated by the system. The WOO token will be used to vote on governance decisions concerning the platform. WOO can also be used in staking/mining reward systems, retail users can stake WOO and ETH or USDT into an asset managment product and receive rewards.
For those who are interested in spot/futures trading, WOO can be used as collateral on the Wootrade platform.
Customers can also get a discount when using WOO to pay for say management fees for asset management items. For Wootrade’s clients or partners that do not have their native token, they can also choose to adopt WOO as their platform token. Thereby giving consumers another place to use WOO.
Prime Nodes on Wootrade
For B2B clients they are different tiers to stake the WOO tokens on the exchange or platform for eligibility to become a Prime node. In addition to the staking requirement, they also need to demonstrate a unique marketing plan and business proposition.
Wootrade Staking Program: Fee Structure
Once they become a Prime node, every dollar of flow they route to the network gives them a reward of a certain number of WOO tokens. The concept behind this is that after a while of doing this, they would not need to charge their users and fees and simply scale off the rebates provided by Wootrade.
Essentially, Wootrade’s rationale is that they do not think businesses would try and rely on market makers (which require a huge fee for their services). Especially when the alternative provided by Woodtrade is that they would get access to a zero fee trading network with proven liquidity, AND get paid to trade there.
WOO tokenomics
WOO tokenomics
Ticker: WOO
ICO Token Price: 1 WOO = 0.03 USD
Fundraising Goal: $650,000
Total Tokens: 3,000,000,000
WOO is available for spot trading on Uniswap, Huobi, MXC and Gate.io
Conclusion
Wootrade sees the potential for conventional and decentralized finance to incorporate concepts. The crypto industry will increasingly be affected by this new technology. The conventional business of asset management will now pay attention to the optimized use of blockchain technologies and token architecture.
Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.
One notable challenge for every startup is finding the required capital to set up businesses. This is where concepts like venture capital help such businesses to meet the required level of capital to help them blossom. However, this has traditionally been a field accessible by funds and institutions with ample resources.
DAO Maker is here to improve the process for both parties by respectively creating growth technologies and funding frameworks for startups, and reducing risks for investors.
Background and Team
The Founder of DAO Maker is Christoph Zaknun who entered the cryptocurrency space in 2017. The idea of private permissionless money and the gains associated with cryptocurrency lured him further into the creation of ICO DOG, a platform that allowed for investing in token presales.
His Co-founder, Giorgio Marciano, also acts as DAO Maker’s CTO. Marciano has over 16 years of experience in developing software and products.
Other notable team members include Hatu Sheikh, who has overseen over 35 crypto assets marketing campaigns, and Malte Christensen, who works as the COO and Head of Sales, Dima, who works as the Head of Visual Communication.
What is DAO Maker?
DAO Maker is a provider of a participation framework that allows retail investors (small-scale investors) to participate in global retail venture capital. Essentially, the primary goal of DAO Maker is to raise a fundraising platform that would allow for equal participation of crowd equity and tokens.
The reality is that most of these small-time investors are likely unable to afford to invest large sums of money in venture capital. DAO fills the gap by enabling the average man on the street an opportunity to grow his own capital. This creates a win-win situation, the business is able to effectively provide a new source of funding while at the same time helping to improve the lives of many.
Achievements of DAO Maker
The platform has over time proven itself to retail investors. In the last 2 years, over 70,000 unique retail investors were signed up and allowed to participate in the funding of early-stage ventures. Apart from attracting investors, DAO Maker has also been able to attract startups with enormous potential to join the burgeoning ecosystem.
Advantages of DAO Maker
One major reason these startups join the DAO Maker ecosystem is simple: it provides them a safe, decentralized, and free environment that allows them to reach their potentials. In addition, the platform also has one of the leading solutions that would allow for the growth of these companies.
As a result, the ecosystem has seen a marked increase in the demand for its services, which enabled them to begin working on a permission version.
DAO Makerās approach to fundraising stands out since not only does it connect startups with funding, it also assiduously works to assist them in facing challenges in the initial stages of their development.
This is why the track record of the fundraising platform has defied many market cycles.
DAO Maker’s Venture Bond
DAO Makerās new flagship product is Venture Bond. It allows startups to issue bonds that users can access, whilst users benefit from close to zero-risk venture investments.
Venture Bonds work as follows:
startups issue Venture Bonds;
users purchase these bonds, giving the startups a principal sum of money;
startups then use the principal sum generated by bond purchases to generate interest through insured margin funding activities in decentralised finance (DeFi) or centralised finance (CeFi);
the generated interest serves as the funding for the startups;
the startup will then deposit tokens/equity to the Venture Bond holders; and
when the Venture Bond matures, the principal sum is returned to the buyer, so they are left with both their initial funding and also any newly acquired tokens or equity.
DAO Maker’s Venture Bonds (Image credit: DAO Maker)
Other DAO Maker Services
Other notable services of DAO Maker are Refundable Strong Holder Offering and Dynamic Coin Offering.
Strong Holder Offering
Strong holder offerings are designed to build a community that would actively participate in providing an increased level of awareness for a company, and at the same time, induce confidence by imposing a strict refund policy.
DAO Maker strong holder offerings (Image credit: DAO Maker)
Dynamic Coin Offering
For dynamic coin offerings, 100% of the circulating supply is backed by a notable portion of the funds raised during the sale.
DAO Maker then escrows this fund through a trusted and insured custodian, allowing the platform users the opportunity to claim a refund within a specified period.
Social Mining
One of the earliest offerings of DAO Maker is Social Mining, which has played a pivotal role in the successful launch of some tokens in the space. The software was conceptualized in 2018, and since then, it has seen various upgrades and usage, which made it an essential part of the DAO Maker community.
What social mining does is simple; it enables any project to create token-based incentives that encourages community members to offer value. In other words, it helps energize a projectās community to participate in its growth and development.
The first use of this software was with LTO Network, where it served as a core component in the community creation of the project, and subsequently enjoyed tremendous growth despite the bear market of 2018. Despite the notable success of this first project (LTO), there were still some notable lapses like the dependence of the software on centralized involvement, which negated the core idea of building a decentralized and self-organizing community in the first place.
However, since then, the team of developers have developed the software to allow pluggable DAOs and also allowing for stake-based voting. The voting allowed the community to determine the value each token holder contributed to the project. This voting system became a quite effective distribution network that was decentralized as token holders were the ones in charge.
As it stands, work has already begun on the two key pathways social mining is being geared to: granting permissionless support for tokenized startups and permissioned access for equity startups.
DAO Maker Token ($DAO)
DAO, the protocolās native token currently allows its holders to stake in the platform and enjoy governance power in submitting proposals, as well as vote on them.
By participating in governance, stakers would also receive a part of the fee generated from the source. And in order to promote long-term participation, the staked DAO tokens are locked for a period of time.
As can be seen below, more utilities for the DAO token are in the works.
The idea behind DAO Maker is to create a platform where startups can enjoy early stage exposure from retailers. Thus, DAO Maker could be a single platform that elevates the capabilities of ordinary retail investors. The platform would also enable them to be issued with equity, while others are issued with tokens. All in all, the platform will enable varying levels of downside protection as early-stage startups face inevitable risks in their early days.
Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.
CertiK aims to provide a secure platform where blockchain infrastructure and decentralized applications can be developed. Its ecosystem consists of security layers that exist below the blockchain level, including the DeepSEA compiler, the CertiK Virtual Machine (CVM), and CertiKOS. Its native token, $CTK, has launched in Binance Launchpool on 27 October 2020. Below is a detailed overview of the CertiK ecosystem, including the CertiK chain.
The CertiK Foundation supports the CertiK platform. The organization champions trust in blockchain systems. Its efforts are displayed through the development of a secure network that can boost confidence in decentralized systems. Furthermore, the CertiK Foundation is lead by renowned computer professors.
What is CertiK?
CertiK is a decentralized smart contract platform powering Dapps. Additionally, it supports inter-chain communication and runs on the Certik Chain.
The system is primed for highly-specialized use cases. The protocol employs a PoS variation called delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS) and uses the Cosmos software development kit (SDK).
The CertiK Foundation has taken upon itself to restore the trust in distributed platforms by employing cutting-edge security technologies and techniques. A key milestone achieved by CertiK is the provision of provable trust in a decentralized platform. Apart from focusing on security, the network also addresses performance and token economics.
CertiK Token ($CTK)
The economic aspect of the platform relies on the platformās native currency, CTK. CTKās major offering is being a utility token. (Provigil) Therefore, it helps power the crucial aspects of the CertiK ecosystem.
For example, the token provides a mode of payment and settlement among the platformās users.
However, the token does not give its holders the right to interact and does not act as an investment into CertiK Foundation. Being issued inside a PoS-powered system, the token carries various benefits to incentivize holders to participate in staking and securing the network.
Apart from being used on the CertiK protocol, CTK is a significant ingredient in the CertiK Chain. Here, the token is used to pay for transaction fees.
In return, the fees reward staking nodes on the chain. Also, the token is used to reward those who delegate their CTK holding to validator nodes.
The tokenās first issuance was achieved through two private sales that sold a total of 38 million CTK tokens worth a cumulative $39,430,000. Apart from the private sale 1 & 2 (29.0% & 9.0% respectively), the token distribution allocated 1.5% of its total supply to Binance Launchpool, 10.0% to the CertiK team, 25% to the CertiK Foundation, 17.5% to the community pool, and 8.0% to the CertiKShield pool.
What is CertiK Chain?
CertiK Chain is a blockchain protocol powering the CertiK ecosystem. It is highly secure and has cross-chain interoperability. To effectively achieve its mission, the platform incorporates key components such as a security oracle and a CertiKShield pool.
The platformās security oracle compresses audit reports to make them available on-chain. Basically, audit reports hold information as to the reliability of smart contracts. But, the reliability of smart contracts can be sabotaged by the data it uses to make decisions.
With these reports living outside blockchain platforms, it poses a security threat prompting CertiK to bring them on-chain through its security oracle. Consequently, the network can effectively verify the security of a smart contract.
Note that this component allocates scores depending on a smart contractās latest audit report. The scores give an overview of a contractās code reliability.
More than just scoring contracts, the security oracle can track and report unaudited smart contracts. A distributed security team handles such reports. Using the CertiK Oracle Combinator, results from the security team are aggregated into a single score that can be accessed online. And, of course, the security team is rewarded.
Luckily, this functionality is crucial in a decentralized finance (DeFi) setting where unaudited smart contracts are wreaking havoc. For example, by incorporating the CertiKās security oracle, the responsibility of an audit is shifted from the contract creator to the contract users.
CertiKShield Pool
The CertiKShield pool is a unique component meant to minimize the risks emanating from the private nature of (most) cryptocurrencies. This may include losses from both avoidable and unavoidable circumstances such as house fires.
The shield works by providing a flexible pool of CTK tokens. Since the token uses on-chain governance mechanisms, it can be used to compensate losses sprouting from inaccessibility and/or theft.
In other words, this operates as an insurance platform. But, its decentralized nature allows it to receive inputs from all involved individuals before settling a claim.
The CertiKShield Pool is made up of collateral providers and shied purchasers. Collateral providers earn staking rewards while shield purchasers pay for requested protection.
CertiK Chain Architecture
The main components of the CertiK Chain are baked together in an architecture that can achieve provable trust. Apart from the security oracle and the shield pool, the networkās backbone comprises a virtual machine and the DeepSEA toolchain.
CertiK Virtual Machine (CVM)
The CVM effectively eliminates the errors that may be introduced when converting smart contract code from human-based language to machine language. Although these errors may be unknown to contract developers, they pose a severe security risk.
Being a security-first decentralized platform, the CVM relies on the output of DeepSEA, a certified compiler. The compilerās output includes bytecode and mathematical proofs. The proofs can be used to isolate smart contractsā code that doesnāt meet the security standards.
DeepSEA Toolchain
DeepSEA is a compiler and a programming language thatās hailed for its security. Notably, the CertiK-native tool is developed in conjunction with researchers from leading learning institutions such as Columbia and Yale University.
The toolchain can determine the complex correctness properties of smart contracts. As such, it enhances the security of the network and products built on top of it.
CertiK Governance
The CertiK protocol uses on-chain governance methods to enable community involvement in decision-making. However, to vote for proposals, CTK holders can either delegate their voting powers to validators or vote directly. Validator nodes ensure the smooth running of the platform through powering activities such as block production.
CertiK accommodates five types of proposals from its community:
Plain text: These are proposals that request modification of things like altering the number of incentives paid to validators.
Software upgrade: They lead to code modifications. They may include proposals to add new features.
Bounty: Examples of proposals in this category include those touching on creating chain artifacts and conducting security audits.
Community pool spend ā They cater for the transfer of funds from a pool to an individual address, for instance, an individual developing a CertiK-specific product or upgrade.
Certifier: They are submitted by a certifier with a request to add or remove a certifier. Note that certifiers and validators vote on proposals.
Conclusion
In a space where malicious actors are always on the prowl for weaknesses in DeFi-focused smart contracts, CertiK provides the much-needed peace of mind. In addition, enabling a decentralized contract audit removes the need for DeFi users to solely rely on reports provided by the team, which, in some cases, are anonymous.
From the security oracle to the reimbursement pools, to DeepSEA, the network structurally achieves a security-first approach with provable trust.
Decentralised Finance (DeFi) series: tutorials, guides and more
With content for both beginners and more advanced users, check out our YouTube DeFi series containing tutorials on the ESSENTIAL TOOLS you need for trading in the DeFi space e.g. MetaMask and Uniswap. As well as a deep dive into popular DeFi topics such as decentralized exchanges, borrowing-lending platforms and NFT marketplaces
More videos and articles are coming soon as part of our DeFi series, so be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube channel so you can be notified as soon as they come out!
Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.
Coin DeFi ($COIN) aims to disrupt finance services by democratizing the industry, returning financial sovereignty to the people via decentralized Finance (DeFi). Through Coin Protocol, anyone can make cross-border and peer-to-peer transactions with ease and convenience, without incurring expensive fees. It also offers greater profit-generating opportunities through its stake-based incentive program.
Background
Coin DeFi is a project founded by Damon Nam (also the projectās CEO), who worked with Microsoft for 16 years, and has more than 20 years of experience in the tech industry. The teamās CTO, Byron Levels, also worked with Microsoft for 8 years.
A group of advisors coming from different fields of expertise is supporting the development of the platform. These are professionals who have been known to work on blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), and marketing initiatives, such as Christina Apatow, founder of FetchyFox, Pete Cashmore, founder of Mashable, Alex Mashinsky, founder of the Celsius Network, and Jeremy Gardener, founder of Augur.
What is Coin DeFi?
Coin DeFi is an Ethereum-based DeFi platform designed to facilitate a peer-to-peer transaction system that implements a community-based governance model. Through the platform, users can conveniently conduct cross-border money transfers, purchase cryptocurrencies, and earn additional profit from their assets through staking.
There are two main components to the Coin ecosystem, namely, the COIN protocol and COIN token.
COIN Protocol
The COIN protocol is the projectās blockchain platform powered by smart contracts. The deployment of smart contracts enables the network to achieve greater performance and scalability while facilitating peer-to-peer transactions without the need for any third-party oversight.
The COIN token is the backbone of the protocolās economy. It is the platformās native cryptocurrency asset that primarily functions as a medium of exchange as well as a staking token. It is also required for the execution of smart contracts on the platform and in backing the incentive scheme for the protocolās liquidity providers. More details on this later.
COIN Exchange
The platform also features a non-custodial, peer-to-peer crypto-assets exchange. COIN Exchange is a cross-chain, decentralized wallet and exchange supported by smart contracts that enable atomic swaps complemented with AI technology.
Some of the digital assets that can be traded in the protocol are Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and a selection of ERC-20-compliant tokens. Since the platform features cross-chain atomic swaps, a user can trade any token with another digital asset through the platform, even if they belong to different chains.
To facilitate these peer-to-peer trustless, and cross-chain swaps on the exchange, it utilizes Hashed Timelock Contracts (HTLC). Basically, this is a system that requires transaction recipients to first acknowledge payments by way of a cryptographic proof within a defined time period, which is also the same technical framework implemented in Bitcoinās Lightning Network.
Liquidity
Liquidity is a common concern amongst many decentralized exchanges (DEXs). To address this, COIN partnered with Coinbase to leverage their order books. This is facilitated by a matching algorithm that combines the liquidity in COIN and Coinbase order books.
What the platform earns from transaction fees, they use for their COIN buyback programs and pool deposits. Here, half of what they earn is redistributed to liquidity providers and market makers as a reward. The rest is allocated to buy COIN tokens back to support its supply of liquidity and staking reserves.
Governance Model
The governance of the platform follows the Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) model, one that is community-driven.
In this framework, COIN holders are considered the protocolās stakeholders. Developers on the platform can propose protocol amendments, upgrades, features, and other changes, which stakeholders have to vote on before they are deployed. If the community doesnāt agree with any proposed modification on the protocol, it can be rejected by the community if it doesnāt garner enough votes.
Coin DeFiās Native Token ($COIN)
COIN is the platformās native utility token. Apart from functioning as a medium of exchange, the token can be used to pay for the platformās transaction fees, staking, and voting. The incentive system of the platform also utilizes COIN tokens as its rewards.
COIN is also a network access token, which means that the token is required to execute smart contracts, represent their voting rights, and compensate liquidity providers.
$COIN can be used to supply liquidity to the platform. Furthermore, there are smart contracts designed to enable staking functions on the protocol. COIN holders only need to deposit their tokens and lock them in smart contracts. In return, they can earn additional COIN tokens as a reward.
The reward for stakers is in proportion with the amount that they staked, prevailing interest rates, and the duration of their stake.
A portion of the COIN tokens deposited on staking smart contracts goes to the platformās staking reserve. This is used to supply funds that are redistributed to long-term COIN stakers. Around 25% of all COIN tokens in circulation fills the supply of this pool.
The protocol also enables the implementation of a DAO, through a stakeholder model represented by COIN tokens, which enables the community to gain better control over the direction of the platform, including the introduction of new products, amendments to the existing protocol, and other forms of protocol modification, through a stake-based voting system.
COIN holders can deposit tokens in the governance smart contract within the platform. The amount of tokens that holders lock in these contracts guarantee them an equivalent voting power on the platform. For example, a user who has locked 100 COIN tokens gains an equivalent of 100 votes as a consequence.
Conclusion
There are a lot of DeFi projects in the cryptocurrency space today. While Coin DeFiās objective is a promising alternative away from the traditional financial system, it certainly comes with a lot of other competitors in DeFi offering the same financial products and services as well.
From where the project stands today, it still has a lot to prove when compared with the more prominent DeFi platforms and exchanges. Perhaps its biggest strength is its AI assistant implementation to support platform users, but we have yet to see how that will be developed for the benefit of its user base. As a relatively young DeFi project, how it will grow its own community in the months ahead is going to be a significant factor in assessing how successful the project can be.
Decentralised Finance (DeFi) series: tutorials, guides and more
With content for both beginners and more advanced users, check out our YouTube DeFi series containing tutorials on the ESSENTIAL TOOLS you need for trading in the DeFi space e.g. MetaMask and Uniswap. As well as a deep dive into popular DeFi topics such as decentralized exchanges, borrowing-lending platforms and NFT marketplaces
More videos and articles are coming soon as part of our DeFi series, so be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube channel so you can be notified as soon as they come out!
Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.
MahaDAO has a bold mission: to correct the systemic flaw of inflation and hyperinflation in global economic systems. Thereby resulting in currencies across the world continuously depreciating, and reducing their purchasing power in the long run.
Background
Steven Enamakel is the founder and CEO of MahaDAO. His interest in Computer Science and Economics is a driving force behind the development of MahaDAO.
He has written several opinion articles detailing how he thinks the crypto community can help the overall economy.
Prior to the dissolution of the Bretton Woods system, inflation was uncommon and hyperinflation did not exist. This was because governments could only increase their monetary supply in line with those of gold reserves held by them.
Since then, neoliberal and monetary policy has taken over. And whilst they have delivered tremendous growth, it is at the expense of cycles of economic crisis and chronic inflation.
There is no denying that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the worldās financial health. Many countries have seen the value of their currency drastically depreciate as they attempt to stimulate their economy in response to the effects of the virus.
Some of these countries are, unfortunately, resorting to either borrowing or minting new fiat money, which in the end, likely undermines their inflation-infested economy. As it appears, these extreme measures have a negative effect on a stateās financial health, in the long run.
As a response, the team behind MahaDAO has come up with an idea of a valuecoin that ensures stability in buying power over time as opposed to stability in price.
What is MahaDAO?
MahaDAO is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that is managed and governed by members of the MAHA community and is built on the Matic Network. Here, token holders play a central role in the operation and maintenance of the decentralized body.
The community has two major tokens: MAHA and ARTH.
$MAHA
MAHA is the token held by key members of the Maha ecosystem, which plays a very important role in the activities and the overall development of the community.
It is a governance token that allows its holders to vote on major decisions of the ecosystem. Holders are tasked with keeping the ARTH valuecoin (see below) stable at all times, regardless of the economic situations that might be prevalent in the world.
Basically, the success of MahaDAO depends largely on its governors, therefore, MAHA holders are the major determinant of all activities within the space.
$MAHA Tokenomics and Allocation
There will be a total supply of 10 million $MAHA tokens to be accessible over 10 years. The initial allocation is as follows:
70% (7,000,000 MAHA) to MahaDAO community members;
15% (1,500,000 MAHA) to private sale investors:;
7% (700,000 MAHA) to team members and future employees;
5% (500,000 MAHA) to seed investors; and
3% (300,000 MAHA) to advisors.
At the end of year 4, there will be a perpetual inflation rate of 2% (200,000 MAHA) tokens per year.
MAHA 10 year release schedule (Image credit: Medium)
$ARTH
The ARTH Valuecoin is a stablecoin specifically designed to maintain its purchasing power indefinitely, a first of its kind in the world. And with it, the MAHA community intends to revolutionize the current inflated financial landscape.
While there are loads of stablecoins in the crypto space, the reality is that these stablecoins are pegged to the US Dollar which is also very susceptible to the inflation and depreciatory tendencies we spoke of earlier. In fact, 35% of all USD was printed only last year, and more minting events are expected to come shortly in 2021.
This is where ARTH is aimed to make a difference since this valuecoin differs greatly from a normal stablecoin and is geared towards enabling holders to have a constant and stable buying power regardless of the economic situation.
Here, every time a holder of ARTH stakes their volatile collaterals in a Collateralized Debt Position (CDP), they generate ARTH.
What is a valuecoin?
A valuecoin is a currency that is not stable in price, but in value (unlike a stablecoin). Valuecoins never erode its intrinsic buying power.
To put in basic terms, it means that if an item (e.g. a teddy bear) were to cost 3 ARTH now, it would not cost more in the future. So the same teddy bear would continue to cost 3 ARTH- whether 5 years from now or even in 10 years’ time, if not less.
The team of developers at MAHA were able to achieve this through reworking the reserve vault of MakerDAO. The vault of the stablecoin now acts as a regulator and helps to manage the collaterals that might be locked in it and at the same time, help to steadily generate and back the ARTH token.
In essence, the ARTH valuecoin could, in the long run, be a viable and natural successor to stablecoins.
Use cases for MahaDAO
The MahaDAO community would have the following features:
No transaction fees
All transactions on this ecosystem are free, which means that users can receive and send ARTH without being charged a dime for their transaction.
Since MahaDAO is built on Matic Network, the system is effectively able to protect its users from transaction fees while also ensuring the ease for third-party applications to integrate into the system at little to no cost to them.
Fast Transactions
The team at MahaDAO labels transactions on the system as light speed. This is because they have worked on developing the transaction speed of the ARTH coin to be as fast as 3 seconds per transaction.
One of the developersā goals is to make their transaction speeds remain amongst the lowest in the industry.
A Worthwhile User Experience Interface
Many project runners in crypto have been oblivious to the experience of their users. A lot of developers prioritize the implementation of a groundbreaking concept over pleasing their users.
MahaDAO, however, takes user experience very seriously aims to make it as seamless and enjoyable as possible, while at the same time, making use of their platform to disrupt the financial industry.
Maha Liquidity Mining
Generally, DeFi seeks to reward their users who deploy their crypto assets for the running of the system. This is no different in MahaDAO as it takes a community approach towards market making which at the end seeks to reward those who provide liquidity to the markets with MAHA tokens.
It would take farming MAHA token for 5 years by those providing liquidity to create the ARTH token. Mining rewards are going to be distributed weekly, and a miner can also stake the ARTH token to earn interest.
Conclusion
Every year, the buying power of fiat currencies tend to erode. What one US dollar can buy today, it would be unable to do so in 2 or 3 years time because of the level of inflation and depreciation that might have affected the currency.
While the crypto industry has come up with the idea of a Stablecoin that is pegged to these currencies, the problem with this idea is that it is very susceptible to the degradation that happens to those fiat currencies.
This is where the MahaDAO idea of a valuecoin whose buying power remains same for a considerably long time. What one valuecoin is able to buy today, it would be able to buy the same thing in 5 years too.
Decentralised Finance (DeFi) series: tutorials, guides and more
With content for both beginners and more advanced users, check out our YouTube DeFi series containing tutorials on the ESSENTIAL TOOLS you need for trading in the DeFi space e.g. MetaMask and Uniswap. As well as a deep dive into popular DeFi topics such as decentralized exchanges, borrowing-lending platforms and NFT marketplaces
More videos and articles are coming soon as part of our DeFi series, so be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube channel so you can be notified as soon as they come out!
Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.
Yield ($YLD) is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency lending/borrowing platform with incentivized mechanism. Decentralized finance (DeFi) has opened new profit-making avenues for people who have additional funds to spare. Instead of just keeping assets in their wallets, DeFi has introduced several models in facilitating peer-to-peer lending and borrowing. Holders of digital assets can now earn interest income from supplying their funds to those who are willing to borrow. Yield introduced an individualized lending pool for each user who wants to earn interest income from their assets.
What is Yield?
Yield is an Ethereum-based, peer-to-peer cryptocurrency lending platform. It connects available lenders to borrowers without the need for any third-party to permit the approval of loan requests. Lenders can also conveniently place their offers on the platform which will then link to current requests.
Loans made on the platform can be repaid anytime the borrower wishes to. Furthermore, lenders receive a fixed and guaranteed interest income which starts with 2% of the principal amount of the loan.
The borrower also earns YLD as a reward for paying their loans. As of now, the reward for borrowers stands at up to 350 YLD.
This peer-to-peer set-up for a lending platform is cheaper and more profitable for both the lender and borrower, as opposed to the traditional system of lending. After all, in conventional financial firms, looking for available borrowers who will not default on their loans is difficult. On the other hand, borrowers also find it difficult to pass the rigorous financial standards imposed by traditional banking institutions for their lending instruments.
The Yield project is still in its Beta stage. There are no recent updates yet as to when the program will be launched on the mainnet.
With Yield, the power to leverage on oneās assets is vested to the owner. Not any bank nor any other financial institution.
How does Yield Differ from Other Crypto-Lending Platforms?
Loans made on Yield do not follow the money-market model in supplying funds to borrowers. What does this mean? Let us first take a look at how its competitors do it.
The biggest crypto-lending platforms, MakerDAO or Compound Finance, for example, have their own pool of funds for specific digital assets available for lending. This is what users see from dashboards that reflect a list of ERC-20 assets, or whichever asset the platform is supporting.
The pools from these platforms come from users who lock their tokens in smart contracts that are designed to supply the requests of borrowers. The supply of these tokens and the number of its borrowers affect the calculation of its annual percentage yield (APY). So normally, the change in the depth of the pool also impacts its APY.
While the commonly employed method of lending in most platforms ensures that lenders earn interest from their idle assets and borrowers have funds to access, there are some disadvantages as well.
One disadvantage that Yield is trying to address is the potential volatility in lending APY. Since the APY for asset pools are automatically computed, lenders do not have control over it. This affects borrowing rates and the amount of profit lenders can earn from supplying funds to a pool.
And most of the time, borrowers lose out on these market shifts, specifically because this can lead to higher collateralization requirements and risks of liquidation.
Personal Non-Pooled Loans
Loans made on Yield are individualized. This means that the supply of a particular asset that you are offering will not be affected by other loan offers since it is not pooled. There are no supply-to-borrower dynamics that will drive wild fluctuations in a lenderās expected APY as well.
In these loans, borrowers stand to benefit from the transaction too. Yield rewards good peers: those who pay their loans through its native token $YLD. This is expected to incentivize lending and borrowing, a feature that not all crypto-lending platforms have.
$YLD Token
$YLD token is the platformās native utility token. Interest fees on any asset borrowed from the platform are paid in YLD. Transaction fees also use $YLD.
According to the team behind the project, the purpose of these fees is to discourage malicious actors from taking advantage of the platform and incentivize user activity.
YLDās token supply model is deflationary, which means that each time YLD is used to pay for transaction fees, the YLD is burned.
Additionally, holding YLD gives them benefits such as a 25% discount from transaction fees, an increase in YLD rewards for borrowers, and lower collateral liquidation ratios for borrowers.
Yield Garden
Yield has also set up a liquidity staking pool. Through the Garden, users can stake their YLD and earn rewards in doing so. Available staking pairs are YLD-ETH and YLD-RFI.
According to the team, the Garden is powered by a slightly modified version of the smart contract from Ampleforthās (AMPL) geyser. There is a cooldown period for stakers (the time that stakers are not yet allowed to unstake or withdraw) which is set at 7 days.
Unstaking also incurs 0.75% unstaking fees if it is done earlier than 14 days since the initial stake, 0.5% after 14 days but before 27 days, and 0.35% after 27 days.
As of now, there is already a total of $2,456,403.31 staked in the platform.
Conclusion
While the DeFi space is still relatively young, it certainly has a lot of potential in helping cryptocurrency holders make the most out of their assets. There are a lot of projects today in the space that aims to provide passive income to asset owners and Yield is among those. As new as it is, the approach of the project in the business of crypto-lending seems positive and promising.
However, how this new approach will work in maintaining a steady supply of funds for borrowers to tap remains to be seen. As of today, Yieldās individualized pooling method on loan supply cannot assure that there will be enough assets to borrow every time. Even with all things considered, Yield is still definitely a project that the DeFi community has to watch out for.
Decentralised Finance (DeFi) series: tutorials, guides and more
With content for both beginners and more advanced users, check out our YouTube DeFi series containing tutorials on the ESSENTIAL TOOLS you need for trading in the DeFi space e.g. MetaMask and Uniswap. As well as a deep dive into popular DeFi topics such as decentralized exchanges, borrowing-lending platforms and NFT marketplaces
More videos and articles are coming soon as part of our DeFi series, so be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube channel so you can be notified as soon as they come out!
Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.
CUDOS aims to let users sell their excess computing resources through a collaborative consumption network platform.
In the over 11 years since the launch of the first blockchain, Bitcoin, we have seen a need to connect decentralized networks with real-world data to spur the networks’ usage. The first solution is to introduce layer 2 chains to process transactions before committing them on the underlying immutable protocols.
However, in the rapidly changing blockchain and physical world, we need a platform that is Turing complete, unlike Bitcoin. One that can handle virtually anything we throw at it without hitting a memory or processing power bottleneck. This is what CUDOS aims to do.
Background
In 2017 Matt Hawkings founded the CUDOS protocol. In the past, Hawkings worked in different technology companies in various capacities, such as being the chief technical officer of CORETX and the managing director of C4L.
Other team members include Andrew Sturmey (CTO), Pete Willis (Development Manager), Joan Garcia I Tormo (Data Scientist), and Richard Poole (Lead Developer/ Architect). The development team works under Cudo Ventures.
Notably, the project’s advisors come from reputable firms such as AMD, Sony Entertainment, and ESET UK.
What is CUDOS?
The CUDOS network is a decentralized layer two chain bringing cloud computing functionalities to decentralized platforms.
CUDOS uses a group of smart contracts that sit at the center of the computing functionalities. Also, the smart contract acts as oracles to interface off-chain data with blockchains and vice versa.
Since blockchains use different programming languages, CUDOS’ Turing completeness enables data processing for a wide range of distributed protocols regardless of their underlying programming language. This means that you can process data for Python and Go-programmed networks with ease.
How CUDOS Works
To incorporate Turing-completeness and merge blockchain and cloud computing, CUDOS uses validator nodes known as CVNs (CUDOS Validator Nodes).
Smart contracts allow blockchain developers to interact with CVNs by specifying the number of validator nodes to process their desired data.
The benefit of this approach is that it enables developers to choose the ideal configuration depending on the task at hand.
Where a task spreads across multiple nodes, the nodes share individual results with each other for consensus. Note that agreement can either be conducted outside or inside the blockchain. Off-chain consensus minimizes the transaction costs.
Notably, to be eco-friendly, the project taps into the idle computing power of data centers and other computing devices that would wish to contribute their power to earn incentives.
How CUDOS works
On the surface, a developer interacts with Ethereum smart contracts, which in turn pings to the CUDOS oracle contract. From here, it connects to validator nodes, either on-chain or off-chain. Validator nodes then interface with CUDO data centers that operate on top of the CUDOS platform.
CUDOS Use Cases
Being Turing complete means the platform can process almost anything. Consequently, this expands CUDOS’ use cases. At its basic structure, the network can be used as a layer two oracle to deliver data to and from smart contracts.
Furthermore, its computing capabilities make it a perfect fit for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, scientific research, data analytics, artificial intelligence, and video rendering.
Advantages of Using CUDOS
CUDOS has numerous benefits due to its unique approach of connecting off-chain and on-chain systems. Key among them include;
Efficiency enhancement ā The protocol improves efficiency for developers to optimize workflows and improve the accuracy of results.
Cost Reduction ā It is estimated that CUDOS’ users save more than 75% compared to when using traditional cloud computing services.
Flexible management ā With CUDOS, you decide how much computing power you need; there are no limits. In addition, it allows users to compute how much processing power they need before running a task.
CUDOSā Token (CUDOS) and Governance
Interestingly, the network and its native token share the same name, CUDOS.
CUDOS token use cases
The CUDOS token has 3 main use cases.
Gaming: The Cudo platform allows gamers to rent out their spare computational capacity for tasks such as video rendering, AI computing and scientific research. CUDOS tokens are given as a reward for their efforts. These can then be used to access others’ excess computing resources so they can play games that push their hardware past its limits.
Charity: Users can donate their computer’s idle resources to charity. Currently, cryptocurrency miners can use Cudo to contribute the tokens they have mined into their selected charity’s preferred payout currency and deliver this to the charity.
Staking: The CUDOS token can be staked to participate in securing the network.
Note that stakers’ rewards emanate from revenues generated on the protocol. Staking takes two forms. You can stake the base asset to become a validator node, or you can delegate your coins to a staking node to earn staking rewards.
You may have noticed the token doesn’t directly have governance capabilities. This is because CVNs handle the governance aspect. CVNs’ integrity during the decision-making process is determined through a trust score. The score takes into consideration its stake and past behaviors.
How do you become a CUDOS Validator Node?
To become a CUDOS Validator Node, a node has to stake 2 million CUDOS tokens (with a minimum 3-month lockup). Fortunately, a validator node receives a percentage of the transaction fees charged on tasks. Also, they receive staking rewards. On the other hand, developers benefit from enhanced security provided by CVNs’ hardware encryption.
CUDOs’ layer 2 network will run up to a maximum of 100 validators, so slots are limited!
Staking on the CUDOS Protocol
CUDOS supports delegated staking. With this scheme, CUDOS token holders stake their tokens with validators who then interact with the protocol. Validators’ stake amount determines the kind of jobs a CVN will receive. For example, the bigger the stake, the larger the jobs, the higher the rewards.
the CUDOS token also acts as a governance token and the stake size is a measure of a validator’s voice in governance matters. If a validator misbehaves, the network confiscates its stake. For instance, if they fake the outcome of a task to save on computational power.
Note that individual validators can decide whether or not to involve delegators when making decisions.
If you wish to un-stake your CUDOS tokens, be aware that the un-bonding period takes a total of 21 days.
Staking rewards on the CUDOS network
CUDOS will pay out staking rewards over a 10 year period. The first and second year reward levels are fixed, and from year 3 onwards the reward levels will be decided by community vote using the governance mechanism.
CUDOS is also giving a ālockup rewards multiplierā when you have staked your tokens for a set period. Currently, they plan to give a 50% bonus after staking for 6 months and a 100% bonus for a 12 month locked stake.
Conclusion
The CUDOS protocol brings a new dimension to the possibilities of blockchain technology. By being Turing complete, the protocol can handle many tasks from different blockchains regardless of their programming language. Another noble approach is the use of data centers and allowing everyone from desktop PC users to mobile device users to lease their idle computing power.
Its base asset gives holders incentives to either delegate their coins or actively handle tasks on the network. With the current rise in DeFi and blockchain adoption, CUDOS opens the door wider to the world of unlimited possibilities.
Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.
DAOVentures ($DVG) aims to simplify and create easy to use solutions for people to invest and manage their Decentralized Finance (DeFi) portfolio.
DeFi products are difficult and complex for users to interact with, especially for newbies. Quite a number of investors still have some distrusts about the space. Others have to deal with the possibility of risk and expensive gas fees. However, DAOventures was able to identify these problems and come up with solutions.
What Is DAOVentures?
DAOventures is a decentralized protocol that helps liquidity providers invest in DeFi projects by employing automated advisors and robo-fund managers to help users invest in DeFi products with great returns.
DAOventures relies on its beliefs as a guide to provide exceptional services for investors. The system uses the best strategies to consistently monitor performance, manage risk/reward ratios, as well as audit smart contract security. Some perks of the DAOventures platform include:
The risk/reward ratio is a very important aspect of any trade or investment. DAOventures strategies provide users with wide-ranging products based on their risk exposure level: low, medium, or high risk so newbie and intermediate traders can make more informed decisions before executing a trade.
Curated Information
The protocolās team investigates, analyzes, and backtests new Dapps to sift out the bad from the good. They do this by matching up all protocols with the best performing algorithm to meet the demands of investors.
Security
The core value of the protocol is security. The platform audits and reviews all products to ensure that it is safe to deploy their crypto products.
The platform allows audits by third-party firms and performs other security tests to ensure that usersā funds are secure. Since DAOVentures is a decentralized platform, it does not own any private keys as funds are secured by users themselves.
Transparency
DAOventuresā investments are transparent since they can be viewed on the blockchain so users could see where and how their money is being moved, as well as be able to review and improve their portfolio to properly track their capital.
Reduced Gas Fees
Users can save a considerable amount of gas when they use DAOVentures. The protocol allows for a better gas calculation through properly managed pooled investment funds.
DAOventures Tokens ($DVG)
Liquidity providers can earn DAOventures governance tokens, denoted as DVG, which allow them to cast votes regarding changes in the protocolās rules. The Launch for the DVG token would be done on Polkastarter, an auction protocol that is based on the Polkadot blockchain and is used for fund-raising by DeFi projects.
DVGs are basically ātokensā on a smart contract that are developed to follow a fixed set of rules, which can be amended or upgraded through a consensus voting mechanism integrated into the smart contract.
The utility of DVG tokens is numerous. It will be used to incentivize LPs to drive long-term demand of the token, as well as the involvement of the DAOventures community. Users holding $DVG will benefit from staking incentives such as lower transaction fees and rewards.
DAOventures will release a total supply of 444,444 DVG tokens for public sale. The platform will offer a discounted sale of DVG token to POLS token holders and the public before it is listed on Uniswap.
How Does DAOventures Operate?
The protocol works similarly to a normal VC firm in the sense that it searches for better openings for investors to create higher earnings. The technological tools that the platform uses are built through a combined effort from the professional teams.
These tools explore deep into the markets and help liquidity providers deploy their funds into desirable DeFi investments. Examples of the tools used include an automated balancer, liquidity miner, arbitrage bot, and swap token.
DAOVentures employs smart contracts and robo-traders to help investors put money in the top-performing DeFi assets to get the best results. In addition, before smart contracts are deployed for use on the platform, they are first audited and vetted to ensure compliance.
The decentralized processes of the platform help to eliminate counterparty risks. DAOVentures ensures that users have full control of their funds and wallets. As a result, users can interact with smart contracts individually.
While other crypto investors find it difficult interacting with DeFi protocols, DAOventures employs algorithms to manage investorsā funds. Robo-advisors distribute all the pooled funds and deploy them to the DeFi protocol with the best ROI%.
The products and services offered by DAOventures include:
Yield Farming
The platform offers various yield farming strategies for users in order to earn returns. Users can choose a yield farming strategy based on their risk level and profit target. The protocol provides users with investments based on their risk appetite.
Lending And Borrowing
DAOVentures plans to integrate with lending and borrowing protocols such as Uniswap in the near-term. This will help them better manage investor funds and expand the reach of DAOventures operations.
Automated Defi Manager
Through robo-advisors, users have the benefit of investing in the best DeFi projects and products. Investors can profit from the platformās structured products and yield-farming aggregation via automated managers.
With the growth DeFi has seen, there is little doubt that its ecosystem is the future of finance. However, DeFiās rise in popularity also brought along several opportunities, risks, and benefits. With that in mind, DAOventures continues to play its part to speed up DeFiās transition to the much-anticipated future by constantly providing investors with proper solutions. The protocol aims to leverage cross-chain interoperability to provide its users with the best services.
Decentralised Finance (DeFi) series: tutorials, guides and more
With content for both beginners and more advanced users, check out our YouTube DeFi series containing tutorials on the ESSENTIAL TOOLS you need for trading in the DeFi space e.g. MetaMask and Uniswap. As well as a deep dive into popular DeFi topics such as decentralized exchanges, borrowing-lending platforms and NFT marketplaces
More videos and articles are coming soon as part of our DeFi series, so be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube channel so you can be notified as soon as they come out!
Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.
