One player has emerged to claim a niche because it helps users capture real value as they offer liquidity, especially within the Solana network. Often called the Aave of Solana by DeFi diehards, Kamino Finance has established itself as the go-to yield automation tool offering automated liquidity strategies, pegged as a yield optimizer and auto-compounder offering concentrated liquidity to the Solana Network.

But what is Kamino Finance, and what role does it play in the ever-dynamic Solana ecosystem? This guide explains its key features and outlines the prime strategies you can use to optimize your profit potential in yield farming.            

What is Kamino Finance?      

Kamino Finance is a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform based on the Solana ecosystem designed to automate and optimize concentrated liquidity management. The platform simplifies the complex process by combining liquidity provision, decentralized lending, and leverage to create an easy-to-use DeFi product suite for all users.

As a result, DeFi users get to enjoy the best of both worlds since they can earn compounded yields without struggling to deal with puzzling barriers to entry. The project was initially designed to demystify liquidity provision and simplify auto-compounding on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) using the renowned Concentrated Liquidity Market Maker (CLMM) models. It has since metamorphosed into the lending and leveraged product niches.

DeFi enthusiasts consider Kamino the best Solana DEX and recognize it as the next-gen platform for retail and institutional users.

What is Concentrated Liquidity?

Liquidity is the lifeblood of any financial system, and DeFi is not an exception. The more liquidity, the more stable the ecosystem, which makes Liquidity providers (LPs) an important cog of the system. Concentrated liquidity is a feature for trading in automated market makers (AMMs). It enables liquidity providers to provide their assets to liquidity pools within specific price ranges instead of allocating them throughout the entire spectrum of potential prices.  

In the conventional AMM, liquidity providers distribute their assets uniformly across the entire price curve, making them available for random prices from zero to any price that could happen.  While the traditional method looks practical and effective, it has several disadvantages because trading activities could happen within a slim price range. As a result, a larger amount of liquidity remains unutilized, meaning liquidity providers won’t receive their dues.

Concentrated liquidity positions change the entire picture by allowing LPs to decide on the specific price ranges in which they would be comfortable providing liquidity. Rather than provide liquidity randomly, concentrated liquidity empowers providers by enabling them to choose the price curve at which they can allow swaps to occur. Once they build automated liquidity strategies, a larger portion of their deposited liquidity can be used. The benefits include:

• Higher Capital Efficiency: Concentrated liquidity improves capital efficiency, as LPs can focus their assets within a specified price range, leading to higher returns.
• Increased Fee Earnings: LPs can concentrate their liquidity where greater trading happens, meaning they can earn more fees.

The Role of Kamino Finance in Solana DeFi  

The Kamino Finance ecosystem plays an integral role within the Solana DeFi ecosystem by introducing a concentrated liquidity layer that enhances users’ experience in decentralized lending from the increased liquidity depth. By providing one-click liquidity strategies, Kamino Solana becomes a one-stop-shop for DeFi users interested in optimizing liquidity and their potential return on investment. The Kamino Solana products contain four key primitives, as follows:

Automated Liquidity Vaults

Kamino’s Automated Liquidity Vaults is one of the core primitives of the Solana network that issues yield-bearing LP tokens to depositors. Known as ‘kTokens,’ and used as collateral in Kamino Lend, they become the foundation of Kamino’s DeFi strategies, including delta-neutral liquidity provision, leveraged liquidity provision, and other DeFi applications where users earn yield from LP positions.

K-Lend

Kamino Lend (K-Lend) is the core lending infrastructure that operates on a peer-to-peer basis. It enables users to borrow and lend assets with high leverage using the Elevation Mode mechanism, which groups highly correlated digital assets and optimizes a Loan-to-value ratio (LTV) of up to 95%. The K-Lend protocol is a decentralized matchmaker that unifies lenders, borrowers, and liquidity providers that support LP token collateral and automatic liquidation management.                  

Multiply Vaults

Multiply Vaults are designed to facilitate leveraged positioning to enhance user exposure to selected yield-bearing digital assets. Users are facilitated to open leveraged positions where they can access specific assets. Moreover, users can gain up to 5x leverage besides leverage K-Lend and borrow assets they can reinvest by creating an automatic loop.

Long/Short Vaults

Long/Short Vaults within the Kamino Solana ecosystem are a feature that enables users to make leveraged bets on an asset’s price without owning it directly. Users can speculate on whether the cost of an asset like Solana (SOL) will go down (short) or up (long). The result could be amplifying profits when things go as expected or multiplying losses when you get it wrong.

Key Features of Kamino Finance

One of the prominent features of Kamino Finance is the platform’s suite of easy-to-use products, transparent analytics, and all-inclusive data details on its performance. Among the key features include:  

• Capital Efficiency: Kamino optimizes capital efficiency by letting liquidity providers select their price ranges. The process guarantees LPs their liquidity will be utilized strategically to meet market demands and the highest rates.
• Low Slippage: Since slippage automatically increases during times of high volatility or market liquidity, introducing concentrated liquidity layers helps reduce slippage for traders and enables users to mitigate risk by offering their services at competitive rates.
• Dynamic Range Positioning: LPs can strategically adjust their positions within a price range depending on prevailing market circumstances. With dynamic market positioning, they can provide liquidity in flexible terms to keep up with volatility levels and trading patterns.
• Incentive Mechanisms: Kamino Finance users are incentivized using different mechanisms, such as yield farming or governance participation, to attract them to become and remain liquidity providers.
• Decentralized Governance: Holders of the KMNO token are allowed to participate in the platform’s decision-making process, ensuring that Kamino grows in tandem with the community’s interests.

The KMNO Token

KMNO is the Kamino Finance ecosystem’s native utility and governance token. It plays an integral role in powering the protocol’s DeFi program, which includes liquidity provision, lending, and leveraging. The platform also uses the KMNO token to incentivize participation in its various activities and reward liquidity providers.

Users holding KMNO can earn passive income by staking their tokens or participating in governance decisions that influence the platform’s future. Moreover, the token can be used to access special features and benefits and boost liquidity within the Kamino ecosystem. KMNO continues to play a significant role within the platform’s DeFi suite, thereby promoting its growth and sustainability.   

KMNO Tokenomics    

The token serves different roles within the Kamino ecosystem. Below is a breakdown of KMNO tokenomics:

• Total supply: 10,000,000,000
• Estimated initial circulating supply: 1,000,000,000
• Market cap (as of August 24, 2024): $51,151,602

The team behind Kamino Finance initially distributed 750,000,000 KMNO tokens to the community, representing 75% of its initial circulating supply. The strategy highlights the team’s plan to bootstrap the project’s ecosystem by motivating community members to participate fully in its activities.

The tokens are distributed as follows:

• Community and grants: 35%
• Core contributors: 20%
• Key stakeholders and advisors: 35%
• Genesis community allocation: 7.5%
• Liquidity and Treasury: 10%

How to buy KMNO?

If you plan to buy KMNO tokens, consider some essential factors, like the exchange you’ll buy from and the transaction method. The following is a step-by-step guide for buying KMNO tokens.

• Step 1: Choose an Exchange: Choose a crypto exchange in your country that supports Kamino like Binance, carefully considering factors like security, transaction fees, and user reviews.
• Step 2: Create an Account: Register an account on the platform’s website or mobile app. You’ll need to input personal information for verification.
• Step 3: Fund Your Account: Use the supported method to transfer some funds to your new exchange account.
• Step 4: Navigate to the Kamino Market: Locate Kamino (KMNO) in the crypto exchange’s marketplace.
• Step 5: Choose a Transaction Amount: Enter the amount of KMNO tokens you intend to buy.
• Step 6: Confirm Your Purchase: Review all the details and when satisfied, confirm by clicking “Buy KMNO.”
• Step 7: Complete Transaction: The exchange will process and transfer your tokens to your exchange wallet.
• Step 8: Transfer to a Hardware Wallet: Unless you want to trade your KMNO tokens, it’s advisable to transfer your assets to a hardware wallet, where they will be secure.

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How to Get Started with Kamino Finance     

After understanding the core features of Kamino Finance, it’s time to get started. First, you need to acquire and connect a Solana blockchain compatible wallet to access the Kamino platform and explore its services.

Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Obtain and Connect a Solana Wallet:

• Choose a Solana compatible wallet: Examples include Phantom, Trust Wallet, and many others
• Download and set up: Download and set up by following prompts given by your chosen wallet provider
• Connect to Kamino: Once set up is complete, connect it to the platform

Step 2: Depositing Assets: Once your wallet is connected, deposit supported tokens or coins into your Kamino account. This will give you collateral to borrow or provide liquidity. Now you can choose a product or service from the list of options in the header navigation bar:

• Lending and Borrowing: You can borrow or lend crypto assets
• Liquidity Provision: Provide liquidity to AMM vaults
• Leverage Multiply: Leverage your tokens for staking yield

Step 3: Create a vault: Select the type of vault you desire, deposit the required assets, and configure the parameters like price range or leverage

Step 4: Manage your position: After creating a vault, monitor its performance, adjust the metrics as required, or withdraw the assets when needed. The platform has built-in tools to help users manage positions effectively.

Earn Kamino Points for Potential Airdrop

Kamino Finance has so far conducted three airdrop seasons beginning with its Genesis Airdrop. While we wait for the next Kamino airdrop, you need to prepare if you’re interested in getting some goodies and ensure you’re eligible.

As usual, the premise involves earning points by actively participating in the community and using its products. These points can be converted to KMNO tokens the moment the airdrop goes live. According to the project, the main motivation for its points program is to ensure the platform reaches as many people as possible, attract new users, and reward them for their loyalty.

As we wait for the next Kamino airdrop to be announced, you can earn points in the following ways:

• Provide liquidity to eligible pools: The greater the contribution, the higher the potential reward.
• Stay engaged: Remain engaged in the platform’s trading activities since points are based on trading volumes.
• Participate in yield farming: Earn extra points by staking your tokens.

Conclusion: The Future of Kamino     

Kamino Finance seems to be the best Solana DEX currently, offering a comprehensive suite of DeFi activities ranging from liquidity provision to lending and leverage. The platform’s unique approach to managing liquidity and focus on user experience makes it a popular platform with a promising future within the Solana DeFi ecosystem.

By dealing with issues affecting CLMMs and introducing a wide range of features, Kamino Finance has differentiated itself from competitors within the Solana DeFi ecosystem. Kamino is an attractive option for anyone interested in maximizing their crypto asset potential.

FAQs                                       

How safe is Kamino Finance?

According to the company’s website, security is a top priority. The platform uses smart contracts audited regularly by leading blockchain security firms like Trail of Bits and Kudelski Security.                              

What is Kamino in crypto?

Kamino refers to Kamino Finance (KMNO), a DeFi protocol on the Solana blockchain. The platform aims to simplify and optimize liquidity provision, lending, and borrowing cryptocurrencies. It also offers advanced tools for managing and earning yields on crypto assets.             

Who are the investors in Kamino Finance?   

According to Tracxn, Kamino is a London-based seed company founded in 2022. It raised $6.1M over 1 round, and eight investors participated in its latest round. Kamino has 8 institutional investors, namely Global Founders Capital, Propel Venture Partners, and Clocktower Technology Ventures.

The post What Is Kamino Finance? A Guide to Solana’s Concentrated Liquidity appeared first on NFT Evening.

Maple Finance is shaking up the cryptocurrency sector, especially global lending, with innovative products designed for institutional borrowers. If you’re an institutional borrower looking to access funds more efficiently or a lender interested in getting guaranteed yields for your efforts, we’ve got you covered. In this guide, we shall answer the question of Maple Finance, how it works, and all other details surrounding it.

What is Maple Finance? 

Maple Finance is a digital asset lending platform within the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector connecting institutions with structured opportunities such as yield-bearing by facilitating capital flow via secured, on-chain loan products. By offering a two-pronged approach targeting permissionless and know-your-customer (KYC) fronts, the platform supports DeFi native users and institutional players looking for loans or yield-generating opportunities from crypto lending pools.

When business people and other investors seek alternative solutions to the challenge of borrowing enough funds to fund their growth, it can be frustrating to feel locked out because of the slow, costly, and sometimes restrictive regulations in the existing marketplace. Maple DeFi has introduced an alternative to help institutions manage their cash flow efficiently and seize investment opportunities by offering an efficient and more flexible alternative than the traditional capital market.

Maple operates a digital lending protocol that goes beyond where other DeFi protocols reach by offering undercollateralized loans to institutions. Select cryptocurrencies fully back loans provided through the Maple and Syrup lending pools after undergoing rigorous assessment, while the permissioned nature of the yield sources guarantees quality and security. Unlike its competitors, Maple is open to anyone interested in becoming a yield earner or liquidity provider participating in lending crypto to prime corporate borrowers.

Who Created Maple? 

Sid Powell, a career institutional banker, is the CEO and co-founder of Maple Finance with Joe Flanagan. Powell’s background in institutional banking initially saw him treat cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology with skepticism and disdain until he became a bank client. After learning about Web3, both Powell and Flanagan were convinced that the traditional finance lacks efficiency and needs an emerging technology as a solution.

To address this, they created Maple Finance, a DeFi protocol designed to introduce debt capital markets 100% on chain via smart contracts, eliminating the time and cost constraints and leveraging blockchain for immutability. Today, Maple is a team run by over 25 experts with staff from leading crypto firms like BlockFi, Kraken, Bank of America, Gemini, and MakerDAO, just a few blue-chip organizations.

How Does Maple Finance Work?

The Maple protocol runs on the Solana and Ethereum blockchains, and like all other DeFi projects, it thrives on the participation of cryptocurrency lovers. Nonetheless, it differs slightly from other DeFi protocols as it primarily targets corporate borrowers and institutional lenders. The primary players within the Maple ecosystem are lenders, institutional, borrowers, pool delegates, and stakers, with each group playing a distinctive role, as explained below.

• Institutional Borrowers: The group mainly consists of market makers, hedge funds, and some cryptocurrency exchanges that take advantage of the platform’s aggregated resources whose financial activities are recorded on the blockchain. Once they procure loans, the borrowers vetted by the platform pay an establishment fee that facilitates pool delegates and Maple’s DAO, which manages the treasury funds.
• Pool delegates: This team, selected by the Maple Finance team to facilitate the platform’s capital efficiency, vets borrowers and assesses their ability to service their loans. They manage lending pools by gathering information that directly influences the terms and conditions of every loan, with funds arriving from selected liquidity policies.
• Lenders: Lenders deposit funds into designated liquidity pools and have the opportunity to earn a fixed yield for providing the funds, which are administered by the pool delegates. In addition to the interest rate lenders receive, lenders receive other incentives, including MPL crypto incentives.
• Stakers: Stakers provide “loss capital” by staking Balancer Pool Tokens (BPT) to cover any eventual losses in the event of a default. Since they take on risks on the loans, the platform rewards their efforts by distributing a portion of the loan yield in addition to MPL token staking rewards.  

How to Use Maple?

If you are interested in becoming a lender, consider Maple DeFi, where lenders receive a stable yield from carefully selected institutional borrowers. All you need to do is join a liquidity pool, deposit your funds, and earn interest depending on the liquidity asset. Pool delegates determine the yield’s value and the loan’s conditions. As a lender, you can also benefit by earning MPL by participating in liquidity mining.

You could also choose to provide pool cover by providing a financial buffer to mitigate risks associated with loans. Pool cover takes care of the losses in the event a borrower defaults, but the positive aspect is that those offering pool cover earn income through MPL rewards.

Staking MPL is another innovative way to receive passive income, such as depositing your idle MPL tokens directly into the platform. Maple says on its website that it plans to employ 50% of its revenue in an MPL buyback plan, which will be distributed to stakers as a reward for supporting the protocol. If you wish to become a pool delegate, you could also be selected based on your reputation for competence, and you can earn by receiving a portion network fees accrued from borrowers or getting a portion of the establishment fee.

What is SYRUP?

SYRUP is a permissionless yield token powered by Maple Finance and specifically designed for the DeFi community. Users who deposit funds on the protocol gain access to yield sourced from the platform’s over-collateralized loans given to large crypto-focused institutions. Since SYRUP ascribes mainly to DeFi, lenders don’t undergo any know-your-customer (KYC) protocols before they can deposit funds and start earning yields.

Besides earning yield by depositing funds, SYRUP users can also earn Drips, a primary procedure for distributing ownership of the Maple DeFi ecosystem. Users can increase the amount of Drips they earn by participating in several actions, such as using one of their wallet integration partners to deposit funds into SYRUP or using DeFi to leverage SyrupUSDC.

The SYRUP token governs the entire Maple ecosystem, which includes both Maple and Syrup. SYRUP was designed to replace the older MPL token, and holders converted their tokens from MPL to SYRUP.

SYRUP Utility

The use of Maple has the potential to expand as the crypto market continually goes mainstream and the project itself develops further. Interested actors can use Maple and SYRUP to achieve some of the following goals:

• Arbitrage Trading: SYRUP is a popular cryptocurrency in the market, and its price is always fluctuating. You can earn extra SYRUP when you buy low and sell high on a cryptocurrency exchange. Look for cryptocurrency exchanges like Bitget and others that provide numerous SYRUP trading pairs to fully benefit from arbitrage trading.
• Stake SYRUP and Earn: Users can generate extra income by staking or lending SYRUP. Numerous exchanges offer these opportunities to help SYRUP holders earn an income using their idle digital assets.
• Send or pay SYRUP: If you feel a little philanthropic and want to gift your friend, donate to a charity, or participate in a fundraiser, SYRUP is an alternative way to achieve your dream. You can send SYRUP tokens to your benefactors through their wallet addresses.                

SYRUP Tokenomics

SYRUP now serves as the native token of the Maple protocol and replaces the MPL token. Upon migration, the proposal was to convert 1 PML to 100 SYRUP, which ensured no dilution for existing MPL holders. The total supply of SYRUP is projected to reach 1.228 billion by September 2026, reflecting a planned 5% annual inflation.

The platform issued approximately 1.15 billion SYRUP during the migration, which included creating at least 1 billion SYRUP tokens during the MPL-to-SYRUP migration. The plan included a well-structured inflation calendar for the allocation of about 100 million tokens scheduled for October 2024. The issuance of SYRP tokens was broken down as follows:

• New SYRUP supply: 1,000,000,000 tokens
• 10% inflation schedule: 100,000,000 tokens
• From inflation to October 2024: 54,930,000 tokens
• Expected supply by September 2026: 1,228,740,800 tokens

SYRUP Listing on Binance

After being longlisted on cryptocurrency exchange Binance’s Alpha list, Maple Finance’s SYRUP was finally listed on May 6, 2025, and started trading at 15:00 (UTC). The relatively successful DeFi platform with a large user base has the potential to generate significant volumes both for the exchange and the protocol itself, in addition to the broad exposure. As it opened for trading, the following pairs, SYRUP/USDT and SYRUP/USDC were available, with many more to be added eventually.

For more info, check out the listing details of Maple Finance (SYRUP) on Binance.

How to Buy Maple Finance (SYRUP)  

If you’re interested in buying Maple Finance (SYRUP), the procedure is simple, but there could be slight differences depending on your location and the exchange you choose. Here is a step-by-step guide to buying Maple (SYRUP):  

• Step 1: Create an account: Download an app from your preferred exchange and proceed with the signup process, which could include needing a valid government-issued ID and proof of address. The process should take a few minutes.
• Step 2: Add a payment method: Click on the payment method box and select your preferred method, whether it’s a bank account or debit/credit card.
• Step 3: Select Buy & Sell: Proceed to the Buy section and click the “Buy “tab.
• Step 4: Select Maple Finance: Search for Maple Finance from the list of assets, and when you locate it, tap to open it.
• Step 5:  Enter the amount you wish to buy. Using the number pad, input the amount of money you want to spend, and the system will convert it into the amount of SYRUP you will receive.
• Step 6: Finalize Purchase: Tap the “Preview Buy” button when you’re ready. Review the details, and once you’re satisfied, click “Buy now” to confirm your purchase.

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What is MPL?             

MPL is the Maple Finance ecosystem’s native token. The ERC-20 token inherited the profit distribution standards of the ERC-2222 token standard. MPL plays an integral role in the platform’s operations and MPL token holders can participate in activities like staking and offering loans and the governance process.

MPL Tokenomics

The MPL tokens have a fine amounting to 10,000,000 tokens, of which some 500,000 were involved in a Balancer liquidity Bootstrapping tool that lasted 72 hours. The distribution schedule for MPL tokens is as follows:

• Maple Treasury 14% – 1,400,000 tokens
• Seed Investors 26% – 2,600,000 tokens  
• Public Auction 5% – 500,000 tokens
• Liquidity Mining 30% – 3,000,000 tokens
• Team and Advisors 25% – 2,500,000 tokens
• Total 100% – 10,000,000 tokens  

Conclusion: The Future of Maple      

Maple saw a problem in the world of finance and stepped in to solve it with the general desire of leveraging over-collateralization, where the firm believes it can help economic actors who feel left out by traditional systems.

Over time, the institution’s TVL has climbed steadily to over $800 million. The growth highlights an increasing demand for DeFi products and high yields, especially among accredited institutional investors from the institutional capital marketplace.

The recent launch of SyrupUSDC, democratizing access to institutional yields for retail investors, has also expanded its user base. If all pieces fall into place and institutional adoption grows, there’s every chance that Maple products will be used across the board by users in the financial sector, from the credit card industry to real estate, lending markets etc.

FAQs   

Is Maple DeFi?

Maple is a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform specifically designed to serve institutional-grade borrowers onchain. The protocol facilitates undercollateralized lending, especially to traditional investors and crypto-focused businesses, by introducing a transparent, scalable option to regular credit facilities.

Is Maple Finance on Ethereum?

Maple is built on the Ethereum and Solana blockchain and offers under-collateralized loans, a rare feature within the DeFi space.

Is Maple Finance safe?          

Maple Finance is a relatively safe and secure platform for institutional lending within the DeFi space. While there could be general risks associated with the cryptocurrency industry, Maple has instituted numerous security protocols, such as KYC for borrowers and lenders and strict due diligence conducted by the platform’s Pool Delegate. The measures have so far succeeded in eliminating fraud, ensuring Maple maintains its reputation as a secure platform.

What is Maple Finance token utility? 

The Maple Finance token (MPL) can be used for different functions within the Maple ecosystem. While it is mainly used as the platform’s governance token, which allows holders to vote on proposals and take part in making protocol decisions, users can earn some passive income by staking MPL, where they earn a share of the platform’s network fees. Additionally, the token can be used to create and participate in the platform’s lending pools.

Who is the founder of Maple Finance?         

Maple Finance was launched in 2021. The founders are Sidney Powell and Joe Flanagan. Powell currently serves as the CEO. Powell has a rich background in debt capital markets and institutional banking.        

Is Maple a good investment?

Maple has enabled loans of over a billion USD and is still growing, meaning there are positive signs of its continued growth. While it’s hard to give a straight answer, the latest developments, including listing in Binance, should be a vote of confidence in the platform, and, as such, it’s something every keen investor can keep an eye on at the very least.

The post What is Maple Finance? The Next DeFi Lending Protocol appeared first on NFT Evening.

With the combination of Sui’s parallel execution with an optimized matching engine, DeepBook is poised to bring exchange-grade pricing to the deep liquidity pools of DeFi protocols. Let’s look deeper at what DeepBook is, how it works within the sui ecosystem, how DEEP fits into the picture, and what benefits it can bring to your portfolio.

What is DeepBook on Sui?

DeepBook is an on-chain order-matching protocol. DeepBook serves as a native liquidity layer on the high-performance Sui blockchain. Unlike decentralized exchanges and automated-market-maker DEXs, the DeepBook protocol uses a more traditional central limit order book (CLOB), which helps create tighter spreads and more familiar trading mechanics.

Orders are stored as objects on Sui, which means they benefit from the blockchain’s parallel execution model, which has low latency and is often sub-second to finality.

Because DeepBook is embedded at the network level, wallets, aggregators, and DeFi protocols can plug directly into its order books, sharing deep liquidity instead of fragmenting it across siloed pools.

This architecture positions DeepBook as a foundational service, much like Uniswap on Ethereum, giving Sui developers a ready-made exchange engine without rebuilding core matching logic.

Benefits of DeepBook

• Deep, shared liquidity: All dApps on Sui can source the same order book, concentrating volume rather than splitting it across multiple DEXs.
• Better price execution: A CLOB model enables limit orders, sophisticated market-making, and minimal slippage, favored by professional traders.
• High throughput, low fees: Sui’s object-based design processes orders in parallel, resulting in microsecond matches and negligible gas costs.
• Composability for builders: Developers can integrate DeepBook via simple APIs, layering lending, leveraged trading, or derivatives on top of its liquidity.
• Transparent on-chain data: Every order, cancel, and fill is recorded on Sui’s ledger, offering auditability and reducing information asymmetry compared with off-chain books.

How does DeepBook work?

DeepBook is an on-chain central limit order book that lives natively on Sui. Instead of the constant-product curve used by automated market makers, it matches discrete bids and asks just like a traditional exchange, so traders get price-time priority and deterministic execution. 

Two mechanisms keep liquidity deep and spreads tight. The first is that everyone starts at a standard fee, but if a taker stakes the minimum DEEP tokens in a pool and then trades past a volume threshold within the epoch, their marginal fee is automatically halved. Active flow, therefore, migrates to DeepBook because costs fall the more you trade.

Next, makers who stake DEEP then earn proportionate token rebates that rise when a pool’s aggregate liquidity is thin and phase out as liquidity improves. This counter-cyclical curve encourages liquidity during quiet periods and avoids overpaying when books are already healthy.

Both of these perks rely on stake-based participation, and without the minimum DEEP deposit, a wallet pays full taker fees and receives no maker rewards, aligning incentives between serious liquidity providers and the protocol. At epoch’s end, any fees not recycled as maker incentives are permanently burned, so wash-trading becomes uneconomical and the token stays deflationary.

Stakers govern the fee bands and staking thresholds for each pool with concave voting rights that give smaller holders meaningful weight while preventing whales from extracting monopoly rents. In practice, this unique blend of fee discounts, adaptive rebates, stake-gated access, fee burns, and pool-level governance orchestrates a self-balancing marketplace where professional market makers, DeFi protocols, and high-frequency traders can all access wholesale liquidity without centralization.

DeepBook Ecosystem

Aftermath Finance all-in-one hub, KriyaDEX’s AMM-plus-limit orders, Cetus concentrated-liquidity DEX, FlowX trading portal, Hop aggregator, Turbos Finance hyper-efficient DEX, and 7K Aggregator route optimizer all plug directly into the shared order book.

DeepBook Token (DEEP)

Utility

DEEP token is the native token for the DeepBook protocol and fuels the economic layer. Maker incentives earn DEEP rebates for liquidity providers, while takers get discounted trading fees.

Token Distribution and Release Schedule

The fixed supply is 10 billion DEEP, which allocates 61.6% to the community airdrop, 10% for the initial airdrop, 7.5% to early contributors, 10% to Mysten Labs, and 10.9% to liquidity-backing partners. Emissions taper over four years, with monthly vesting for contributors and quarterly unlocks that are bound to on-chain volume milestones.

Source: Cryptorank

How to Buy DEEP?

DEEP is tradable on DeepBook itself via the DEEP/USDC pair and on aggregated Sui DEX routers. Bridge USDC to Sui, connect a compatible wallet, and place a limit or market order on any DeepBook front end. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3.

Conclusion

DeepBook brings exchange-grade order-book trading to Sui without sacrificing decentralization. By embedding a fast CLOB at the network layer, it delivers deep liquidity, minimal slippage, and transparent price discovery.

For traders, DeepBook means low transaction fees and tight order spreads. For builders, it means a near-instant plug-and-play liquidity backbone for managing trading activities. In short, DeepBook has a solid position to be the heart of Sui’s DeFi ecosystem.

FAQs

Where can I buy DEEP?

You can purchase DEEP directly on DeepBook’s DEEP/USDC order book or through Sui DEX aggregators that route orders to the same liquidity layer.

What role does DeepBook play in the Sui Network?

DeepBook acts as Sui’s native liquidity engine, offering a shared central limit order book that any wallet, DEX, or dApp can tap for spot trading and price discovery.

Is DeepBook a DEX?

While there are DEXs that operate using the DeepBook protocol, they are separate. DeepBook is the back-end, and anyone can create a front-end to deliver the UX they envision, including features like flash loans.

How to buy DEEP on Sui?

To buy DEEP on Sui, you’ll first need to bridge USDC to a Sui wallet. Then connect that to a DeepBook interface like Turbos or Navitrade, and create a buy order for the DEEP pairing of your choice.

What is the price prediction for DeepBook Sui?

Price depends on adoption, volume growth, staking demand, and countless other variables. That said, if DeepBook remains the primary layer for Sui DeFi liquidity providers.

How much is a DeepBook token worth?

As of April 28, 2025, CoinMarketCap data shows DEEP trading around $0.22.

The post What is DeepBook Protocol (DEEP)? The Order Book on Sui appeared first on NFT Evening.

Come along as we fully explore what Ondo is, how it operates in a practical sense, and how it can be used. We’ll also look at its role in the WLFI Portfolio, the benefits and risks of the token, and its overall impact on global financial markets.

What is Ondo?

Ondo Finance is a decentralized finance platform designed to bridge the gap between traditional financial systems and the crypto space. It’s based on the Ethereum blockchain technology, and has a native token, ONDO.

It offers a unique solution by tokenizing high-quality real-world securities such as government bonds, treasury bills, and other stable collateral. These tokenized assets generate a stable, dollar-denominated yield that appeals to institutional investors and asset managers.

Blending advanced blockchain technology with intensive risk management measures, Ondo is focused on ensuring security, transparency, and efficiency. With an emphasis on cutting reliance on traditional banking systems and frameworks, Ondo is paving the way for a more inclusive and efficient global financial market.

Ondo’s Mission on RWAs

Ondo Finance is committed to unlocking the value of real-world assets (RWAs) by converting traditional financial products into tokenized securities. Its mission is to integrate assets like bank demand deposits, government bonds, and treasury bills into the blockchain ecosystem, creating a stable, synthetic dollar environment. This means that for the first time ever, conventional investments like bonds can now be held and traded onchain, opening up an entirely new landscape for investments in the digital space.

How Does Ondo Work?

Ondo Finance operates by aggregating high-quality collateral from real-world assets and converting them into tokenized securities on a public blockchain. Smart contracts verify the underlying assets and manage the issuance of digital tokens that represent these securities. This tokenization process enables transparent tracking of asset ownership and yields. Moreover, Ondo leverages advanced risk management protocols, ensuring that the collateral backing each token remains robust and secure.

When investors deposit funds, they receive digital tokens that provide predictable, dollar-denominated yield. By integrating decentralized finance with traditional asset management, Ondo delivers an efficient and transparent system that appeals to institutional investors and asset managers. This seamless operation bridges global financial markets with crypto assets, offering a reliable digital currency solution with lower volatility and enhanced investor protections.

How is Ondo Used?

Ondo Finance is used by a diverse range of market participants—from institutional investors and asset managers to crypto enthusiasts seeking stable yields. The platform allows users to deposit collateral in the form of traditional securities, which are then tokenized to generate predictable income streams.

This process creates a synthetic digital currency solution that offers a stable medium, similar to the US dollar, but with the added benefits of blockchain transparency and decentralized governance. Users can trade these tokenized assets, earn yields through staking mechanisms, and reinvest their earnings within the platform.

The seamless integration of traditional financial products and services into decentralized finance enables efficient asset management and real-time tracking of yields. This provides users with a secure and innovative way to access global financial markets.

Ondo in WLF Portfolio, Correlation of Ondo with US Perspectives

Ondo Finance plays a critical role in the WLFI Portfolio, which focuses on high-potential projects that align with global financial trends and stringent investor protections. Its innovative approach to tokenizing real-world assets resonates strongly with US market perspectives, where regulatory compliance and risk management are highly valued.

By offering a stable, dollar-denominated yield through tokenized securities, Ondo addresses key concerns of institutional investors and asset managers. The platform’s seamless integration of traditional finance and decentralized finance makes it attractive for investors seeking both stability and growth in a volatile market.

US investors appreciate Ondo’s transparent methodology, efficient asset management, and adherence to robust compliance standards. This alignment with US market needs, combined with its global accessibility, underscores Ondo’s potential to transform how financial assets are managed, traded, and utilized, making it a standout addition to the WLFI Portfolio.

Pros & Cons of Ondo Finance

Pros

• Provides predictable, dollar-denominated returns by tokenizing high-quality collateral.
• Combines traditional financial risk controls with blockchain transparency for enhanced investor protection.
• Bridges traditional finance and DeFi, enabling access for both institutional and retail investors.
• Utilizes smart contracts for transparent, real-time tracking of tokenized securities.
• Adheres to stringent standards that appeal to conservative, US-based investors.

Cons

• Broader crypto market fluctuations may still impact token values despite underlying stability.
• Merging traditional assets with decentralized technology poses technical and regulatory challenges.
• Resistance from traditional investors may slow the pace of widespread adoption in certain markets.

Use Cases of Ondo in RWAs

• Tokenized Government Bonds: Ondo enables the tokenization of government bonds and treasury bills, offering a stable yield and predictable returns for investors.
• Bank Demand Deposits: By converting bank demand deposits into digital tokens, Ondo creates a reliable, dollar-denominated yield that mirrors traditional banking products.
• Collateral for Lending: Tokenized real-world assets serve as collateral in decentralized finance, providing secure lending and borrowing options with robust risk management.
• Synthetic Asset Strategies: Investors can use tokenized notes secured by high-quality collateral to create synthetic positions, including short positions on traditional assets.

The Ondo Ecosystem

USDY

USDY is Ondo’s proprietary synthetic dollar, designed to ensure stability and predictable yield. It is fully backed by high-quality collateral from tokenized real-world assets. USDY facilitates low-volatility transactions and serves as the backbone for many decentralized financial applications within the Ondo ecosystem, supporting seamless integration between digital and traditional markets.

Flux Finance

Flux Finance is a key component within the Ondo Foundation ecosystem that focuses on managing and optimizing yield from decentralized finance activities. It harnesses advanced analytics and risk management protocols to dynamically adjust positions in tokenized assets, ensuring efficient capital allocation.

The Ondo Bridge

The Ondo Bridge connects traditional financial markets with decentralized platforms by enabling the secure transfer of tokenized assets across public blockchains. It ensures interoperability between different systems, allowing seamless movement of digital assets like USDY. This bridging mechanism expands liquidity options and enhances market accessibility for both institutional and retail investors.

Ondo and Pendle

Ondo has formed strategic integrations with Pendle, a protocol that specializes in tokenized yield trading. This partnership enables the separation of yield and principal components in tokenized real-world assets, offering innovative trading strategies such as future yield derivatives.

The ONDO Token

The ONDO token is the native asset powering the Ondo Finance platform, essential for Ondo DAO governance, transaction fees, and incentive mechanisms. As a utility token, ONDO allows holders to participate in decentralized decision-making, propose protocol upgrades, and secure the network through staking.

By integrating with existing blockchain infrastructure, ONDO ensures transparent pricing and efficient liquidity, offering users a reliable digital asset that supports both everyday transactions and high-level financial operations.

Where and How to Buy ONDO

1. Sign up on the Ondo Financial platform, or an exchange that supports the ONDO token like Coinbase. Be sure you complete any KYC or AML verifications that are needed.
2. Transfer fiat currency or crypto assets into your account. Many exchanges accept major cryptocurrencies as well, which can be deposited and traded easily.
3. Use the exchange’s search function to find ONDO trading pairs, such as ONDO/USDT or ONDO/ETH.
4. Now, create your order. Use a market order to fill your order at whatever price it takes, or use a limit order to wait for a specific cost. Confirm the details and execute your order.
5. Once your order executes and is filled, you will receive your ONDO tokens. Security best practices suggest withdrawing your ONDO tokens to a secure wallet.

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How to Store ONDO

• Hardware Wallets: For maximum protection, store ONDO offline using devices like Ledger or Trezor.
• Software Wallets: Options such as MetaMask, Trust Wallet, or multi-chain wallets provide convenient storage and management of ONDO tokens.
• Exchange Custody: While not recommended for long-term holding, you can store ONDO on reputable exchanges with strong security measures.

How to Swap ETH for ONDO

1. Create an account on one of the leading exchanges that supports the ETH/ONDO pair (e.g. Kraken, Coinbase).
2. Create an order, either market or limit, for the amount of ONDO tokens you want.
3. Finalize the order and wait for it to be filled.

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ONDO Price History

Ondo’s price trajectory has shown notable volatility. Around late spring 2024, ONDO traded near 0.40 USD, reflecting cautious market sentiment and moderate trading volume. By early winter 2024, the token rallied significantly—surpassing 1.30 USD at its peak—as market optimism around real-world asset tokenization and strong investor interest drove prices higher.

However, ONDO underwent a correction in early 2025, bringing the price closer to 0.90 USD. Trading volume has been robust throughout this period, with volume surpassing 300m tokens.

Overall, Ondo’s price movements highlight its sensitivity to broader crypto market trends, regulatory developments, and the pace of adoption for tokenized real-world assets. These are factors that prospective investors should monitor closely.

FAQs

What does Ondo Finance do?

Ondo Finance tokenizes real-world assets, creating stable, dollar-denominated yields and interest rates bridging traditional finance with decentralized finance through secure, blockchain-based systems.

Is Ondo crypto a good investment?

Whether ONDO is a good investment will depend on your personal investment goals, risk tolerances, and so on. ONDO token and the Ondo finance platform can be used to invest in nearly any type of conventional asset or security that would be available through the US Treasuries, like a government bond fund.

Is Ondo a good crypto coin?

Ondo offers stability and growth potential by bridging traditional and decentralized finance, with prospects tied to increasing adoption and enhanced ecosystem development.

What blockchain is Ondo on?

Ondo operates on the Ethereum network, using blockchain technology like smart contracts and token minting.

Is Ondo Finance a US company?

Ondo Finance is headquartered in NYC, but the company serves customers and investors around the world.

The post What is Ondo Finance? Future of RWAs and DeFi appeared first on NFT Evening.

In this piece, we will explore how decentralized science operates, why it matters for global collaboration, and how it could radically transform the future of research.

What is Decentralized Science (DeSci)?

Decentralized science represents the emerging concept that leverages blockchain technology to address the inefficiencies and limitations of traditional scientific methods. At its core, the purpose is to decentralize the processes that govern scientific research, making them more transparent, open, and accessible.

This accessibility extends to a global network of researchers, institutions, and innovators. Unlike traditional science (TradSci), which is often confined to centralized institutions or limited access databases, DeSci proposes that scientific knowledge should be shared openly, allowing anyone, anywhere, to contribute, access, and benefit from the discoveries.

DeSci leverages blockchain to offer verifiable and immutable records of scientific data, peer review processes, and research findings. These decentralized networks reduce barriers to entry for researchers, particularly those from underrepresented regions or smaller institutions, who may struggle to access traditional funding sources or gain recognition within the established system.

In DeSci, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) are often employed to govern research projects. These DAOs allow for collective decision-making, ensuring that funding and publication are not controlled by a few central authorities but rather by a community of contributors. By using smart contracts, DeSci ensures that research outcomes are rewarded fairly, encouraging transparency and accountability.

In essence, DeSci provides a new model for scientific progress that emphasizes collaboration over competition and prioritizes open access, paving the way for a more equitable and inclusive scientific landscape.

How Does DeSci Work?

The foundation of DeSci lies in the integration of blockchain technology with scientific research practices. Blockchain offers a decentralized, immutable ledger that transparently records data, creating an environment where research findings can be verified and tracked by anyone, anywhere. This system not only ensures secure data storage but also facilitates greater accountability and data integrity, which are both crucial aspects of scientific progress. Unlike traditional systems, where research can be buried behind paywalls or controlled by powerful institutions, DeSci allows for open access to data and findings, democratizing the scientific process.

In practice, DeSci often involves the creation of DAOs, which govern scientific projects, ensuring decisions are made collectively. Researchers submit their projects, and a community of peers from around the world provides input and funding. This allows for a diverse and inclusive approach to scientific discovery. Since DAOs are based on smart contracts, they can allocate funding to projects based on transparent criteria, reducing bias and increasing the fairness of the funding process.

Another key component of DeSci is the transformation of the peer review process. Traditional publishing often relies on a small pool of gatekeepers who control which research gets published. In a decentralized model, peer review is transparent and verifiable, with multiple reviewers providing feedback. This ensures that scientific data is accurate, unbiased, and open to critique by the broader community.

On top of that, DeSci encourages the use of research data sharing through decentralized repositories, allowing scientists to share findings across different disciplines, fostering cross-collaboration and accelerating innovation. By providing secure, transparent, and accessible platforms for scientific endeavors, DeSci is driving a transformation in how science is conducted, funded, and shared.

The Problems with Traditional Science (TradSci) & The Valley Of Death

Traditional science, or TradSci, has long been the foundation of global research and discovery. However, despite its many achievements, the traditional scientific system faces numerous challenges that hinder progress and limit access to knowledge. One of the most prominent issues is the ‘Valley of Death‘, a term used to describe the gap between early-stage research and successful commercialization. This gap often occurs when promising scientific discoveries cannot secure the necessary funding to transition from laboratory results to real-world applications. Researchers often struggle to attract investors or grant funding, as their projects are seen as too risky, speculative, or underdeveloped for traditional funding mechanisms to support. Consequently, many groundbreaking discoveries never see the light of day.

A related issue is the concentrated control over research funding, publishing, and distribution. Traditionally, academic research is funded by government agencies, private foundations, or large corporations, each of which has its interests and biases. This can lead to conflicts of interest and biased outcomes, as research that doesn’t align with the funders’ priorities often faces difficulty in securing support or publication. The result is that scientific knowledge may be shaped by financial and political agendas rather than objective inquiry.

Not only that, peer review in traditional science is often criticized for being slow, opaque, and vulnerable to biases. High-impact journals and conferences frequently dominate the field, leaving out smaller, innovative voices and reinforcing the status quo. Many researchers, particularly those outside elite institutions, struggle to get their work published or recognized due to the dominance of a few well-funded entities and established scholars.

Blockchain Solutions for TradSci Problems

DeSci aims to tackle these systemic issues by offering a decentralized, transparent model that reduces the bottlenecks of traditional science. By using blockchain technology and decentralized funding mechanisms, DeSci removes many of the barriers that prevent valuable research from progressing. Instead of relying on a few gatekeepers, DeSci projects are governed by decentralized communities and supported by broader, more democratic funding pools. This not only democratizes access to research but also allows for collaborative efforts to address global challenges more efficiently. Therefore, scientific progress can occur without the limitations imposed by the traditional system.

Funding

One of the fundamental hurdles in traditional science is securing consistent and transparent funding. Researchers often depend on grants from governments, private foundations, or large institutions that are influenced by specific agendas. This system makes it difficult for high-risk, high-reward projects to receive support, particularly if they lack immediate commercial appeal. Bureaucratic bottlenecks, lengthy review processes, and potential biases can further impede the flow of capital to innovative research.

Blockchain technology addresses these pain points by introducing decentralized funding mechanisms such as crowdfunding platforms and decentralized autonomous organizations. Through these DAOs, stakeholders can vote on which projects receive grants. So, financial support is distributed more democratically and transparently.

Researchers benefit from faster decisions and broader access to backers who share their vision. This model breaks away from the rigidity of centralized institutions. This ensures more diverse and cutting-edge research to flourish while reducing reliance on traditional gatekeepers for funding approvals.

Research and Publishing

Beyond funding, the research and publishing landscape also suffers from high barriers to entry and opaque peer review processes. Academic journals can be expensive to access, locking away scientific data behind paywalls. Additionally, major journals and publishers may exercise subjective control over which findings are published. Sometimes, they prioritize prestige or commercial interests over scientific merit.

Blockchain-based solutions aim to democratize this system by creating decentralized repositories of research papers and datasets. Researchers can upload findings with time-stamped proofs of authenticity, ensuring a verifiable record of discovery. Peer review processes become more transparent and collaborative, as qualified reviewers across the globe can critique and validate research in an open environment.

Incentivizing contributions—through tokens or reputation systems—encourages more diverse participation, reducing publication bias and promoting robust debate. By embracing transparent, verifiable peer review, decentralized science (DeSci) can help restore trust and rigor in scientific communication.

Best Use Cases For DeSci

• Crowdfunded Clinical Trials: One of the most promising applications involves enabling clinical trials to be funded and managed by decentralized networks. Patients, advocacy groups, and researchers can pool resources on a blockchain-based platform, ensuring transparent and traceable fund allocation. This can be especially impactful in rare disease research, where large pharmaceutical companies often overlook small patient populations.
• Genomic Research: Genomic data is both incredibly valuable and highly sensitive. DeSci platforms allow for the secure and transparent sharing of genomic information among authorized scientists, leveraging encryption and permissioned access. This encourages cross-institutional collaboration while respecting patient privacy.
  
• Drug Discovery & Development: Early-stage drug discovery typically faces the “Valley of Death” gap. By using decentralized funding mechanisms, researchers can sustain promising projects longer. This can bridge the gap from initial laboratory results to more advanced phases of research and eventual commercialization.
• Decentralized Repositories for Academic Publications: Instead of relying on traditional publishers, DeSci platforms let researchers upload preprints or finalized studies directly to a blockchain-based repository, guaranteeing immutability and open access. Readers from across the globe can verify, cite, and review studies, reducing the dominance of paywalls.
  
• Interdisciplinary Collaboration: DeSci fosters collaboration across national and disciplinary boundaries, bringing together experts in biology, computer science, engineering, and more. By cutting through institutional silos, blockchain networks establish a global reach. This can significantly accelerate scientific progress in tackling complex challenges like climate change and pandemic preparedness.
  

Benefits Of DeSci

One clear advantage is transparency. Through verifiable peer review processes, each step of the research cycle becomes traceable. This helps reduce opportunities for biased publishing or hidden conflicts of interest.

Another key benefit lies in democratizing access. DeSci’s decentralized funding mechanisms enable projects that might be overlooked by traditional grant systems to obtain the resources they need. Likewise, open-access repositories ensure that published research is accessible without expensive paywalls, allowing more scientists to collaborate, specifically those in emerging countries. 

Also, DeSci’s focus on secure data sharing and storage helps lower the risk of losing critical findings or otherwise having them locked away in some centralized database. By distributing data across a blockchain or decentralized network, researchers can rely on permanent records and more resilient storage. This leads to better reproducibility of experiments, a cornerstone of scientific progress.

Conclusion

DeSci is ready to reshape the way that we create, share, and apply scientific research and knowledge. Not only does it transform research funding, but it also ensures open access and transparent peer review. By making sure the ‘Valley of Death’ is given a wide enough berth, DeSci helps open the door to more equitable global research funding.

While there are challenges ahead, decentralized networks and blockchain solutions demonstrate strong potential within DeSci. This potential lies in fostering better collaboration, driving innovation, and democratizing access to discoveries that can benefit humanity at large.

FAQs

What is the impact of DeSci on a critical industry?

DeSci can profoundly affect critical sectors such as healthcare, where clinical trials are often underfunded or plagued by transparency issues. By leveraging decentralized funding mechanisms and secure data sharing, researchers can streamline drug development processes and ensure unbiased trial results. This could lead to faster patient access to new treatments and a more equitable distribution of research resources.

What is the difference between DeFi and crypto?

Crypto is a broad term covering all digital assets that rely on cryptographic methods, including NFTs or coins like Bitcoin. DeFi, however, refers only to specific, blockchain technology-based applications that typically bring financial services to the masses.

What is decentralization in simple terms?

Decentralization means shifting control from a single authority to a dispersed network of participants. Rather than depending on one central entity, like a government or a corporation, decision-making and data storage are spread across multiple nodes. This structure aims to increase transparency, reduce single points of failure, and empower users with broader access to resources.

The post What Is DeSci? The Ultimate Guide to Decentralized Science appeared first on NFT Evening.

In this guide, we will explain what is DeFi, how it works, and why it’s becoming popular. You will learn about its benefits, risks, and how it might change the future of finance.

What Is Decentralized Finance (DeFi)?

DeFi is a blockchain-based financial system that attempts to replicate and improve standard financial services without the need for centralized middlemen. Eliminating middlemen from transactions, such as banks and other traditional financial institutions, is the core principle of DeFi. 

Rather, DeFi automates financial services including lending, borrowing, trading, and insurance using smart contracts, which are self-executing contracts written in code. This approach helps customers to access financial services worldwide while maintaining complete control over their assets.

DeFi aims to empower finance by establishing an open, permissionless infrastructure that anybody with an internet connection can leverage without relying on centralized authority. For example, rather than requesting a loan through a bank, you can utilize a DeFi lending protocol such as Aave to provide digital currencies as collateral and borrow directly from a liquidity pool.

How Does DeFi Work?

DeFi works on blockchain technology, where all transactions are stored on distributed ledgers, making everything clear and unchangeable. 

At the heart of DeFi are smart contracts, which are pieces of code on the blockchain. These contracts automatically complete transactions when certain conditions are met, without the need for middlemen like lawyers, bankers, or brokers.

Decentralized Finance vs Centralized Finance

DeFi offers more transparency, decentralization, and control to users, but may carry risks related to security and regulatory uncertainty.

CeFi provides a more traditional, regulated system with greater trust in centralized financial institutions, but with less control for the user and potentially higher fees.

Benefits of Using DeFi

DeFi has a few benefits over traditional financial services:

1. Accessibility: Regardless of location or financial status, anybody with a WiFi or internet connection can use DeFi services. This allows users in remote areas or underbanked populations to access financial tools that were previously unavailable to them.
2. Openness: All transactions are recorded on a public blockchain, providing unparalleled levels of transparency. This transparency helps build trust among users, as anyone can verify transactions and ensure that no hidden activities are taking place.
3. Interoperability: DeFi protocols can readily communicate with one another, resulting in new financial products and services. This seamless integration encourages innovation and allows users to create customized financial solutions tailored to their specific needs.
4. Lower costs: By removing intermediaries, DeFi may be able to provide lower financial service rates. Users can save on costs that are generally levied by banks and other financial organizations, making transactions more reasonable for everyone.
5. Higher Yields: Many DeFi platforms offer lenders higher interest rates than traditional banks. This can provide you with better returns on your investments, helping you to grow your wealth more effectively over time.
6. Programmability: Smart contracts enable the design of complicated financial instruments and automated operations. This programmability can reduce the need for manual intervention, leading to faster and more efficient transaction processes.
7. Innovation: The open-source nature of DeFi allows quick invention and experimentation. Developers can collaborate and build on each other’s work, leading to a rapid evolution of financial technologies and services.
8. Control: Users have complete control over their assets and do not rely on third-party custodians. This direct ownership minimizes the risk of loss due to third-party failures and gives users peace of mind regarding their investments.

Risks of Using DeFi

While DeFi offers many benefits, you should be aware of the risks involved:

1. Vulnerabilities in Smart Contracts: You can lose your digital assets if there are errors or flaws in the programming. Hackers can exploit these vulnerabilities, thus it’s critical to thoroughly review any smart contract before utilizing it.
2. Regulatory Uncertainty: The rules around DeFi are still changing, which could affect how platforms work in the future. As governments look to create regulations, these changes could impact your ability to use certain services or their legality.
3. Volatility: The cryptocurrencies used in DeFi can change in value very quickly, meaning you could face significant losses. This unpredictability makes it hard to stick to a stable investment plan.
4. Lack of Consumer Protections: Unlike traditional finance, DeFi does not have many of the protections that you might expect like insurance funds. This lack of safety measures means you need to be extra careful to protect your investments.
5. Scalability Issues: Blockchain networks can get overloaded, causing higher transaction fees and slower processing times. This can make it hard for you to make trades quickly when market conditions change.
6. Impermanent Loss: This special risk happens when you provide liquidity, and the value of your assets in a liquidity pool can go down compared to holding them separately. Knowing this risk is important, as it can affect your overall returns.
7. Oracle Failures: DeFi depends on oracles to provide outside data, and if these systems fail, it can lead to wrong pricing and possible hacks. If an oracle gives incorrect information, it could greatly affect your trades and investments.

What Is an Example of DeFi?

One of the most well-known examples of DeFi is Uniswap, a decentralized exchange (DEX) built on the Ethereum blockchain. Uniswap enables you to trade cryptocurrencies directly from your wallet without needing a centralized middleman.

Here’s how Uniswap works:

• Liquidity Pools: You can help the platform by adding crypto assets like ETH to liquidity pools. This is done by depositing pairs of tokens like ETH/USDT, which provide the necessary funds for trading.
• Automated Market Making: Uniswap uses an automated market maker (AMM) model to set the exchange rate between tokens. This rate is determined by the amount of each token in the liquidity pool.
• Trading: Other users can trade against these liquidity pools. The exchange rate adjusts automatically based on the size of each trade, ensuring fair pricing.
• Fees: Traders who provide liquidity earn fees from trades made on the platform. This rewards them for keeping their assets in the pools and encourages more participation.

Uniswap follows many important DeFi principles: it is open to everyone, transparent, and operates entirely through smart contracts. As a result, it has grown to be one of the largest DeFi exchanges, handling billions of dollars in trading volume.

DeFi Use Cases and Applications

Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs)

Decentralized exchanges, or DEXs, such as Uniswap, SushiSwap, and PancakeSwap, allow you to trade cryptocurrencies directly from your wallet. You do not need to rely on a central authority to make these trades. 

These platforms use liquidity pools and automated market makers to help you trade, which means you have more privacy and control over your transactions compared to traditional exchanges. 

DEXs also often have lower fees and fewer restrictions, making them accessible to a wider audience. By removing middlemen, DEXs can provide a faster and more efficient trading experience.

Stablecoins

Stablecoins are digital currencies designed to maintain a stable value. They are often pegged to a fiat currency (1:1) like the US dollar. Stablecoins like DAI, USDC, and USDT are a few examples. 

Stablecoins are crucial to the DeFi ecosystem because they offer a stable unit of account, which facilitates trading amongst more volatile cryptocurrencies. You can use them for transactions, savings, or as collateral for loans because they minimize the dangers brought on by market changes. Many users in the DeFi space use them because of their stability.

Lending and Borrowing

Platforms such as Aave, Compound, and MakerDAO let you lend your crypto assets to others and earn interest or borrow assets by putting up collateral.

You can often find better interest rates compared to conventional lending institutions, and these platforms are available 24/7, providing greater accessibility. This means that you can manage your finances at any time without needing to meet specific requirements set by traditional banks.

With Aave, a lending and borrowing platform, you can add cryptocurrency (like Ethereum) into a pool and gradually earn interest. You can also use your ETH tokens as collateral. Then, borrow stablecoins like USDC if you need funds quickly.

Yield Farming

Yield farming is a strategy where you provide liquidity to different DeFi protocols to earn higher returns. By participating in liquidity pools or lending platforms, you can earn additional tokens or fees as rewards. 

While yield farming can be very profitable, it is also complex and comes with risks. You need to carefully manage your investments and understand how each protocol works to avoid potential losses. Many yield farmers keep track of market trends and changes in the protocols to maximize their earnings, making it a more active form of investment.

Gambling/Prediction Markets

DeFi has also enabled the development of decentralized prediction markets and gambling platforms. Projects like Polymarket allow you to bet on the outcomes of real-world events without needing a central bookmaker. 

These platforms use the wisdom of the crowd to determine the likelihood of different outcomes, and they automatically settle bets through smart contracts. 

This means that you can place bets with confidence, knowing that the process is fair and transparent. These platforms have created new opportunities for people to engage in betting and speculation in a decentralized manner.

NFTs

While not typically seen as part of DeFi, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) have begun to integrate with various DeFi protocols. Some new uses include NFT-collateralized loans, where you can borrow against the value of your NFTs, and fractional ownership, which allows multiple people to own parts of high-value NFTs. 

There are also NFT-based yield farming opportunities, which connect unique digital assets with decentralized finance. This blending of NFTs and DeFi creates new possibilities for both digital art and finance.

Best DeFi Platforms to Look For

As the DeFi space keeps growing, several platforms have become popular and widely used. Here are some of the top Decentralized apps you can consider:

1. Aave: Aave is a well-known decentralized platform where you can lend and borrow various cryptocurrencies. It offers unique features like flash loans, and its native token, AAVE, is used for governance and decision-making within the platform.
2. Uniswap: It’s the largest decentralized exchange. It is simple to use, offers a wide range of trading pairings, and has its own governance token, UNI, which allows users to have a say in how the trading platform operates.
3. Compound Finance: Compound is another major platform for lending and borrowing crypto assets. It introduced the idea of “yield farming” through its COMP token, and you can earn interest on your assets by simply lending them.
4. MakerDAO: MakerDAO is known for creating the DAI stablecoin, which maintains a stable value. You can create DAI by locking up other assets as collateral, and it is one of the most trusted and established DeFi platforms.
5. Curve Finance: Curve Finance focuses on stablecoin trading and offers low-slippage trades. You can also earn fees and CRV tokens by providing liquidity to the platform, making it a popular choice for stablecoin holders.
6. Lido DAO: It’s a liquid staking platform. For example, when you stake Ethereum, you receive stETH, a token representing your staked ETH, which you can still use in DeFi. With Lido, you earn staking rewards while maintaining liquidity, and the platform is governed by its LDO token holders.

How to Get Involved in DeFi?

Step 1: Set Up a Crypto Wallet

Create a wallet for cryptocurrencies that works with DeFi. You can install well-known cryptocurrency wallets like Trust Wallet and MetaMask. These wallets serve as your entry point into the DeFi network. Keep the recovery phrase of your crypto wallet in a secure location. If you lose it, you lose access to your stored funds.

Step 2: Buy DeFi Coins

Purchase cryptocurrency like Ethereum (ETH) from a centralized crypto exchange, such as Binance or Coinbase. Once you have bought the crypto, transfer it from the exchange to your wallet by entering your wallet address. This will allow you to use the funds for DeFi activities.

Step 3: Connect Wallet to DeFi Platform

Link your wallet to Compound, Uniswap, or Aave, among other DeFi platforms. The “Connect Wallet” option on the majority of DeFi platforms makes it simple to connect your wallet to the service. You can use your wallet to interact with the platform’s features after you’re connected.

Step 4: Use DeFi Services

Start exploring DeFi by participating in activities such as lending, borrowing, or providing liquidity. For example, you can lend your assets on Aave to earn interest or provide liquidity on Uniswap to receive trading fees. These actions allow you to earn rewards while contributing to the DeFi ecosystem.

Final Thoughts

In a nutshell, DeFi is a big change in how people use and manage financial services, providing a system that is more open, fair, and less expensive. 

However, it also has its own risks, as it is still new and not fully regulated. For those who are ready to handle the challenges and risks, DeFi offers good opportunities, but it’s important to be careful and do proper research.

FAQs

How to make money with DeFi?

You can make money with DeFi by lending, staking, or exchanging cryptocurrencies. For example, you can lend your cryptocurrency to platforms like Aave and get interest, or you can give liquidity to exchanges like Uniswap and receive a portion of the trading fees. You can also get rewards for staking your tokens or participating in yield farming. Another profitable strategy is to trade tokens based on price movements.

Is DeFi safe?

Yes, DeFi is safe but there can be issues like bugs in smart contracts, high price swings in cryptocurrencies, and unclear regulations. Also, unlike traditional banks, there are no insurances for you in DeFi. To stay safer, use well-known platforms with security checks, start with small amounts, and spread your investments across different protocols. 

Is Bitcoin part of Decentralized Finance?

Yes, Bitcoin is part of the world of Decentralized Finance (DeFi), but it’s not the same as DeFi itself. This is because its blockchain doesn’t support extensive smart contracts as Ethereum does. 

However, some projects aim to include Bitcoin in DeFi by using wrapped tokens, like Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), which can be traded on DeFi platforms. These tokens allow Bitcoin to be used in DeFi systems.

What are the top 3 DeFi coins?

The top DeFi coins are Ethereum (ETH), Chainlink (LINK), and Uniswap (UNI). Ethereum is used by most DeFi projects, Chainlink provides smart contracts with external data, and Uniswap powers a major decentralized exchange.

The post What is DeFi (Decentralized finance) and How Does it Work? appeared first on NFT Evening.

But what are DeFi NFTs exactly? This guide will explain how DeFi NFTs work, their benefits, and why they’re changing the future of finance and digital ownership.

Understanding NFTs and DeFi

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized finance (DeFi) are two of the most rapidly evolving sectors in the blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem.

NFTs are unique digital assets recorded on a blockchain or distributed ledgers, making them verifiably scarce and ownership provable. These digital assets can represent anything from artwork and collectibles to virtual real estate and in-game items. The unique nature of NFTs allows for new forms of NFT ownership, monetization, and trading. You can check out our guide on the best NFTs to buy.

Decentralized finance or DeFi stands for financial applications built on blockchain technology. Unlike traditional banking systems that rely on intermediaries, DeFi platforms offer financial services directly to users. These services include lending, borrowing, trading, and asset management. By utilizing smart contracts, DeFi aims to eliminate the need for central authorities, promoting transparency, accessibility, and efficiency in financial transactions.

DeFi vs NFTs: What is the Difference

How do NFTs and DeFi Interact?

Despite their differences, NFTs and DeFi are increasingly being combined to create new applications. This intersection is often called “DeFi NFTs” or “NFT-enabled DeFi”.

Integrating NFTs and DeFi allows you to leverage the unique properties of NFTs within decentralized financial systems. This opens up a range of new use cases and opportunities, such as:

• NFT-Backed Lending and Borrowing: You can use a specific NFT as collateral to borrow funds from DeFi lending protocols, allowing you to access liquidity without having to sell your valuable digital collectibles.
• Yield Farming with NFTs: DeFi platforms can offer yield farming opportunities where you can deposit your NFTs and earn rewards in the form of cryptocurrency or additional NFTs.
• Fractional Ownership of NFTs: DeFi protocols can enable the fractionalization of NFTs, allowing multiple users to own a portion of a single NFT, increasing liquidity and accessibility.
• Decentralized Marketplaces: DeFi-enabled NFT marketplaces can facilitate the trading of NFTs, often with features like automated market-making, royalty payments, and advanced order types.
• NFT-Backed Derivatives: DeFi can be used to create derivative products, such as options or futures, based on the value of NFTs, providing new ways to speculate on and hedge NFT-related risks.
• Dynamic NFTs: NFTs can be programmed to have dynamic properties, such as changing attributes or unlocking new features based on certain DeFi-related conditions or events.

Key Benefits of Combining NFTs with DeFi

The integration of NFTs and DeFi offers several key benefits for users and developers:

1. Increased Liquidity and Access to Capital: By allowing NFT to be used as collateral for loans or as the underlying digital asset for financial products, DeFi can help increase the overall liquidity of the NFT market. This makes it easier for NFT owners to access capital without having to sell their valuable digital collectibles. NFTs act as liquidity providers.
2. New Revenue Streams and Monetization Opportunities: DeFi protocols can offer yield farming, lending, and other financial services. You can earn passive income on your NFT ownership.
3. Enhanced Utility and Use Cases for NFTs: The integration of NFTs with DeFi expands the utility of these digital assets beyond just collection and speculation, providing NFT creators with more opportunities to monetize their work. This opens up new use cases in areas like decentralized finance, gaming, virtual worlds, and more.
4. Improved Price Discovery and Valuation: By introducing financial instruments based on NFTs, DeFi can help establish more accurate price discovery mechanisms. It leads to a better valuation of these digital assets.
5. Interoperability and Cross-Chain Opportunities: Decentralized finance protocols that support NFTs can facilitate interoperability between different blockchain networks. You can leverage your NFTs across a wider range of applications and platforms.
6. Increased Transparency and Automation: The use of smart contracts in DeFi protocols can help automate various financial transactions and processes related to NFTs, increasing transparency and efficiency.

Challenges in Merging NFTs and DeFi

1. Liquidity and Depth of NFT Markets: The current NFT market can be relatively illiquid, with limited trading volume and depth. This can pose challenges for DeFi applications that rely on the ability to quickly buy, sell, or pledge NFTs as collateral.
2. Scalability and Performance: The integration of NFTs and DeFi can put significant strain on the underlying blockchain infrastructure. It can lead to issues with transaction speed, gas fees, and overall user experience.
3. Regulatory Uncertainty: Both NFTs and DeFi are still evolving, creating uncertainty around compliance requirements.
4. Interoperability and Compatibility: Interoperability between different blockchain networks, decentralized finance protocols, and NFT platforms is a significant technical challenge that requires ongoing efforts to develop standards and cross-chain solutions.
5. Security and Risk Management: The combination of NFTs and DeFi introduces new attack vectors and risk factors. This includes smart contract vulnerabilities, oracle manipulation, and collateral liquidation issues. It must be carefully addressed to ensure the safety of user funds and assets.
6. User Experience and Accessibility: Integrating the complexities of DeFi and NFTs into user-friendly and intuitive interfaces remains a significant challenge.

Applications of DeFi NFTs

1. NFTs as Collateral for Loans

NFTs are increasingly used as collateral in DeFi lending platforms. Traditional loans use assets like property or cash as security. NFTs, due to their unique value, can also secure loans. You can use an NFT you own, like digital art or a rare in-game item, as collateral. 

For example, platforms like NFTfi allow you to borrow cryptocurrencies by pledging your NFTs. If you fail to repay the loan, the lender can claim your valuable NFTs. This system provides liquidity to NFT holders without needing to sell their assets.

2. Tokenizing Real-World Assets

NFTs, powered by blockchain technology, can represent real-world assets like real estate, artwork, or even stocks. This tokenization makes it easier to trade, transfer, or even fractionalize these assets. 

In DeFi, this process allows you to own a share of a high-value asset without needing to buy the whole thing. Platforms like RealT enable you to invest in tokenized real estate.

3. Yield Farming and Staking

Staking is common in DeFi, where you lock up your tokens to earn rewards. NFT staking adds a new dimension. You can stake NFTs to earn rewards or yield in the form of cryptocurrencies or other NFTs. 

This method allows you to put your idle NFTs to work and generate passive income through innovated NFT and DeFi integrations. NFTX Yield is one of the best examples of DeFi NFTs used for earning staking rewards.

Future Prospects of NFTs and DeFi

1. Increased Institutional Adoption: As regulations become clearer and infrastructure improves, the potential for NFT and DeFi applications will attract more institutional players like banks, hedge funds, and large corporations. This will drive growth and mainstream acceptance.
2. Enhanced Interoperability and Cross-Chain Integration: Developing stronger cross-chain solutions and adopting interoperability standards will make it easier to integrate NFTs and DeFi across different blockchains. This will open new opportunities and reduce user difficulties.
3. Expansion into New Verticals: DeFi NFTs will extend beyond art, collectibles, and gaming. Expect their use in industries like real estate, supply chain management, insurance, and decentralized identity management within DeFi space.
4. Emergence of Specialized DeFi NFT Platforms: As demand for DeFi-enabled NFT applications rises, dedicated NFT marketplace platforms and ecosystems will likely develop to meet the specific needs of this market.
5. Growth in Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs): DAOs, which are decentralized organizations run by code rather than people, could increasingly use NFTs as governance tokens. This would allow NFT holders to have a say in the direction and decisions of a DAO, blending DeFi, NFTs, and decentralized governance.

Conclusion

DeFi NFTs are a powerful combination of decentralized finance and non-fungible tokens. They offer new ways to use digital assets in finance. With DeFi NFTs, you can borrow money using your digital art as collateral. You can also earn rewards by lending your NFTs. 

These innovations make NFTs more useful and valuable. DeFi NFTs are changing how we think about digital ownership and financial services. While there are still challenges, the future looks bright. As the technology improves, we’ll likely see more people and businesses using DeFi NFTs, as well as the rise of NFT index fund that allow investors to track and invest in a diversified portfolio of NFTs.

FAQs

How are NFTs used in DeFi?

NFTs in DeFi represent ownership of unique assets, like art or real estate. They can be used for staking, where users lock NFTs to earn rewards. Some DeFi platforms allow trading NFTs directly on decentralized exchanges. Some of the best decentralized crypto exchanges include Uniswap, PancakeSwap, Curve Finance, 1inch.

NFTs can also represent shares in decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). They enable fractional ownership, where multiple people own parts of a single asset. NFTs in DeFi also facilitate access to exclusive content or services. 

Some projects use NFTs for governance, letting holders vote on platform changes. They can also back stablecoins or other assets. This use expands the utility of NFTs beyond simple collectibles.

What are the best DeFi projects that use NFTs?

Some of the best DeFi projects using NFTs include Aavegotchi, which combines DeFi with gaming by allowing users to stake NFTs. Uniswap also integrates NFTs for liquidity mining. The project NFTfi allows users to lend and borrow against NFTs. 

Plus, Synthetix enables the trading of synthetic assets through NFT-backed derivatives. Decentraland uses NFTs to represent virtual land and assets within its metaverse. These projects showcase the diverse ways NFTs can enhance DeFi applications.

How are DeFi NFTs different from regular NFTs?

DeFi NFTs differ from regular NFTs by offering financial functionality. While regular NFTs often represent digital art or collectibles, DeFi NFTs can represent ownership of financial products. 

They can be used in yield farming, staking, or as collateral. DeFi NFTs might also offer governance rights in a platform. They often interact with smart contracts to provide liquidity or other financial services. This makes them more dynamic and valuable in the context of decentralized finance. 

Regular NFTs, on the other hand, typically have value based on scarcity and demand for the digital assets they represent.

Can DeFi NFTs be used as collateral for loans?

Yes, DeFi NFTs can be used as collateral for loans. Platforms like NFTfi allow users to borrow funds by locking their NFTs as collateral. The value of the NFT determines the loan amount. If the borrower cannot repay, the lender can claim the NFT. This process is managed by smart contracts, ensuring trustless and automated transactions.

The post What is DeFi NFT? The Ultimate Guide appeared first on NFT Evening.

In this guide, we’ll take you through everything you need to know about DAOs: What is a DAO? How to make A DAO?

What is a DAO?

First things first—What is a DAO?

DAO, short for Decentralized Autonomous Organization, is an organization that operates on the blockchain, following a set of predetermined rules. Notably, it’s run by a group of people sans any hierarchical structure. In other words, no single member enjoys autonomy, although they may have higher voting power.

Usually, DAOs bring together a community of people who are working towards a common goal. For example, to raise funds for a charity or DeFi activities like an Investment DAO. Or to collectively own NFTs and other assets, as with a Collector DAO. Anyone can join a DAO they like as long as they own its native tokens.

Now, let’s see how you can create a DAO of your liking:

How to create a DAO

If the idea of DAOs interests you and you want to create one of your own, this guide is for you. But, before you can create a DAO, there are some pre-requisites. You’ll need a crypto wallet and some crypto to pay for transactions. Apart from this, there are some essentials a DAO needs. Let’s look at these in detail:

What does a DAO need?

Every DAO must have at least the following:

Define the purpose/structure of the DAO: As previously mentioned, all DAOs usually aim to achieve a common goal. Typically, it is to support a project or raise funds. Therefore, before you make a DAO, be clear on one thing: what is the reason you are creating a DAO? 

Establish the DAO tokens and their uses: A DAO needs tokens to offer membership and voting rights. Basically, those who own governance tokens will have voting powers proportional to the number of tokens they hold. It is essential to determine the use cases of each token beforehand. For example, the governance tokens sometimes double up as utility tokens. In other cases, members can stake their tokens for rewards. 

Set up a voting mechanism: Once you have governance tokens, next comes actual voting. How exactly will members vote to make any decisions in the DAO? How will members present their ideas? For these, you will have to set up a voting and governance structure.

Establish a treasury: A DAO treasury is a crucial step while creating your DAO—this is where you will store the organization’s funds. Usually, the funds are kept in a multi-signature wallet wherein you need permission from all signature holders to access the funds. You will also need to set up some treasury management tools.

Build a community: Finally, a DAO’s strength and success depends upon its community. Make sure to use community engagement tools such as social media to attract more members.

How do I make my own DAO?

The easiest way to create a DAO is through an open-source platform. These platforms will allow you to create a DAO in a few simple steps, without having to create a smart contract from scratch. Essentially, these platforms will serve as an interface between you and the blockchain and you can easily deploy your DAO to the blockchain, without any coding.

Here are some of the most common open-source platforms you can use to create your DAO:

Aragon

Aragon is one of the most popular platforms you can use to create a DAO. It is user-friendly and allows you to make a DAO on Ethereum, Polygon, Andromeda, or Harmony. 

Follow the steps below to create your own DAO using Aragon:

• Go to the Aragon website and click ‘Create your DAO’.
• Select the network you want, connect your wallet, and then click on ‘create an organization’.
• Choose a DAO template and an Ethereum Name Service (ENS) as the name for your DAO.
• Finally, configure your template, review and launch the organization, pay for the transaction, and you are good to go!

Snapshot

Snapshot is another popular off-chain voting tool for DAOs. Essentially, it takes a snapshot of token holders’ wallets to cast votes via digital signatures. Usually, Snapshot DAOs use Ethereum. 

To use Snapshot, you’ll first need an ENS domain and link it to Snapshot. Then, on the website, you can create your own “Space”, meaning, your organization’s page. Customize it with voting power, terms, and conditions, admins, and so on. Finally, verify your space!

DAOstack Alchemy

DAOstack Alchemy is a decentralized tool for budgeting, collaboration, and DAO management on Ethereum and Gnosis Chain. Here too, creating a DAO is pretty straightforward. Connect your wallet to the DAOstack dApp, create a DAO, add members, and open your DAO. Unlike the examples above, you don’t need an ENS with this tool. 

The Best Examples Of Successful DAOs

Before creating your DAO, it’s a good practice to understand the models of some of the most successful DAOs already in the crypto space. For example, MakerDAO, which manages the DAI stablecoin, is one of the oldest DAOs in the space. PleasrDAO, UnicornDAO, Uniswap, and Aave are some of the other popular examples. On the other hand, some of the common NFT DAOs are APE DAO, SharkDAO, YGG DAO, and Jenny Metaverse DAO.

Conclusion

As you can see, it is quite easy to create a DAO. However, running a DAO successfully comes with many challenges. For example, as DAOs are decentralized, their legality is of concern, particularly in countries like the US. This means that legal disputes within the organization may be difficult to settle. 

Besides, you will need a strong purpose and community to keep your DAO functioning successfully. Finally, as always, make sure to do your own research before making any decisions. 

The post How to Create A DAO: The Ultimate Guide appeared first on NFT Evening.

What is a DAO?

 The literal meaning of a DAO is ‘Decentralized Autonomous Organization’.  But what is a DAO really? Essentially, a DAO is an organization run by a group of people with no typical company hierarchy. Then, they establish their own rules, and make decisions based on votes.

Essentially, a DAO works like a corporation with no executive board—a company that can seamlessly function autonomously and without leadership. Its main role is to bring together a community of people with similar interests to work towards a common goal. 

The History Of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations in Crypto

Bitcoin is widely considered the first-ever DAO. However, another famous origin of a Decentralized Autonomous Organization dates back to 2016 when few members of the Ethereum community set up what they called ‘The DAO’ on the Ethereum blockchain. The developers founded it to function as a venture capital fund sans any board of directors. Essentially, anyone could pitch their idea to the community to potentially secure funding from The DAO. It launched in late April 2016 after its ICO (initial coin offering) raised close to $150 million—the largest crowdfunding effort at the time.

The organization suffered an attack a few months after it was set up. Credits: Wikimedia Commons

However, due to some vulnerabilities in its code, hackers managed to steal $50 million worth of ETH from the DAO in June 2016. The incident—one of the biggest crypto hacks in history—eventually led to the fall of the organization. Nonetheless, following the mass adoption of DeFi, more and more DAOs are now popping up worldwide. 

How Does A DAO Work?

Decentralized Autonomous Organizations operate on a set of rules and regulations established through smart contracts on a blockchain. Firstly, smart contracts are immutable, open protocols programmed to execute automatically if and when certain pre-established conditions are met. These are publicly available and verifiable, meaning any member can easily view the contract, all decisions, and financial transactions of the DAO. 

Thus, through smart contracts, these organizations are fully transparent. Additionally, as DAOs are decentralized, no central authority can override or make changes to the smart contract. Any change only comes with the community’s majority vote.

Typically, a person will need to own a token to participate in a DAO. Then, token ownership also comes with governance/voting rights. Basically, they can influence decisions in the organization by creating and voting for proposals. Proposals can include decisions about the organisation’s future, how to utilise funds, and much more. The more tokens a person has, the higher will be their voting power. Furthermore, for a proposal to be passed, it must receive votes from the majority of token holders as well as meet the DAO’s rules and regulations. 

In certain cases, like with ConstitutionDAO, people don’t need to invest in the organization to become members. To illustrate, this particular decentralized organisation allowed crypto enthusiasts to buy a first-edition copy of the US Constitution. It went on to raise $40 million in funds but to no avail. 

Now that we know the meaning of a DAO, let’s see how it relates to NFTs and Crypto. 

So, what do DAOs have to do with NFTs?

The short answer? A lot. 

From collective ownership of NFTs to governance and more, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations bring a lot to the NFT world.

Collective ownership

One way Decentralized Autonomous Organizations help the NFT industry is in collective ownership of an asset. Usually, investing in NFTs, especially blue-chip projects, requires significant capital. Of course, not everyone can afford this. Thus, some DAOs were established to allow a group of people to collectively own a high-value NFT without shelling out thousands of dollars. 

Tweet from Edward Snowden via @Snowden

Take PleasrDAO for example. It is a collective of “DeFi leaders, early NFT collectors, and digital artists” that collects funds for highly valuable NFTs. According to its website, the organization collects digital art that “represents and funds important ideas, movements, and causes”. For all the NFTs it buys, PleasrDAO members collectively share the cost and ownership of the assets. The members had originally set up the organization to buy a Uniswap V3 NFT. However, it has now purchased NFTs like Edward Snowden’s NFT “Stay Free”—the only one in existence. PleasrDAO bought it for 2,224 ETH or around $5.4 million at the time!

Community governance 

Another key area where Decentralized Autonomous Organizations help NFTs is community governance. Firstly,  DAOs are a great means for fans and creators of an NFT project to come together and decide its future. Several NFT projects have already established their own Decentralized Autonomous Organizations. 

For example, top collectible, Gutter Cat Gang has the Gutter Cat Gang DAO. The organization, as per its website, aims to take the Gang “beyond that of your standard NFT community or club”. Here, those who own Gutter Cat NFTs get to vote on certain decisions such as community project initiatives. While the smart contract is currently “more controlled”, the project claims it will eventually become 100% decentralized. Furthermore, the Gutter Cat Gang DAO also hosted a Las Vegas party exclusively for the NFT holders!

Gutter Cat Gang has its own DAO! Credits: Gutter Cat Gang

In some cases, the community creates Decentralized Autonomous Organizations and not the project itself. A typical example is MeebitsDAO set up by community members of Larva Labs’ Meebits NFT project. Via the DAO, the community aims to build a metaverse for the avatars. For this, the organization plans to  buy virtual land in various metaverses. 

NFT creator collectives

A strong community backing is essential for an NFT project’s success. For popular artists and celebrities that already have a following, community building is a walk in the park. However, that’s not the case for emerging artists. This is where NFT creator collectives governed by Decentralized Autonomous Organizations come into the picture. Essentially, these are a collective of NFT creators that helps to raise funds, marketing, community building, and more. 

WHALE is the first-ever social token backed by NFTs. Credits: WHALE

Typically, artists have to sell their NFT to the DAO in exchange for the DAO’s tokens. The NFTs, in a way, work as collateral for the issued tokens and give the token value. Additionally, token holders get voting rights in the organization. An example is WHALE, a social token backed by The Vault—the platform’s NFT art collection. A DAO governs the Vault, whose members hold the WHALE tokens and contribute to the project’s growth. 

What are the different types of DAOs?

Let’s take a look at the different types of DAOs.

1. Social DAO

As the name implies, Social DAOs are collaborative platforms for social networking in the crypto space. Often, members of these decentralised organisations have a common interest such as arts and culture. A popular example of a Social DAO is Friends with Benefits (FWB), which focuses on unifying artists and cultural creators who share similar values. The organisation describes itself as a “collective of unique individuals pushing for a bright future”. FWB also has its own social token, $FWB.

2. Investment DAO

In Investment DAOs (or Venture DAOs), a group of people come together to raise money for various DeFi activities. These decentralised organisations are transparent and democratise investing, thereby attracting younger generations who want to make some money. Mostly, these DAOs are inclusive and open to pretty much anyone. Together, the DAO members makes investments decisions—such as which artwork or project to invest in. Honestly, the limit is endless—the DAO could even invest in an entire sports team. Some examples include the Meta Cartel DAO, which invests in Ethereum projects, and The Krause House, a Decentralized Autonomous Organization dedicated to NBA fans.

Meta Cartel DAO invests in Ethereum-based projects.

3. Collector DAO

Collector DAOs focus on collectively buying NFTs, just like the Pleasr DAO mentioned earlier. Essentially, Collector DAOs enable members to fractionally own blue-chip projects or other highly-priced digital assets in the space. This is how these organisations work—memebers collectively pool funds together to invest in an artwork/collectible of their choice. Other examples of Collector DAO includes Flamingo and Constitution DAO.

4. Grant DAO

Grant DAOs represent one of the primary uses of DAOs—to collects funds in the ‘Grant Pool’ and allocate them based on a community vote. Mostly, these DAOs focus on funding interesting DeFi projects. In a way, these organisations function as decentralised Venture Capitalists—the organisations can submit applications and the DAOs pick ones they like and provide funds. Examples include Moloch DAO, Aave Protocol, and Audius Grants.

Grant DAOs pool funds to support innovative DeFi projects. Credits: Unsplash

5. Protocol DAO

In Protocol DAOs, certain smart contract protocols are used to provide decentralised financial services. Typically, they will have tokens that function as a voting metric to bring forth any changes in the protocol and make financial changes. In short, these decentralised organizations enable anyone to become part of the the global financial system. Some Protocol DAOs are MakerDao, Uniswap, SushiSwap, and Olympus.

6. Entertainment DAOs

Entertainment DAOs allow members to put their thinking caps on and let their creativity flow. Meaning, members with shared values come together through these types of DAO to bring a creative project to life. Take for example Fluf World. It allows its members to customize their 3D NFT Flufs and even license them out. Apparently, BAYC also plans to set up its own Entertainment DAO.

Some popular NFT DAOs

Wondering what are some of the most popular NFT DAOs? Here are our picks:

APE DAO

APE DAO was started by Bored Apes collector Kylo.eth. They fractionalized 49 BAYC NFTs and a female CryptoPunk into 1,000,000 APED tokens to launch the decentralised organizations in June this year. Meaning, as part of their DAO, anyone could own parts of these highly sought-after NFTs. The Decentralized Autonomous Organization was a great success with the tokens selling out in just four days! Soon after, the members donated more NFTs, including CyberKongz, Avastar, Punk’s Comic, and more. Furthermore, the community governs the DAO through $APED shards.

APE DAO is meaning to change the game

YGG DAO

As opposed to NFT art and collectibles, YGG DAO focuses on in-game assets from blockchain and NFT games. Currently, Yield Guild’s three co-founders manage all the assets. Furthermore, YGG issues the ‘YGG token’ for members. Accordingly, Token holders can vote on “decisions related to the guild’s business and governance” and participate in various activities.

SharkDAO

SharkDAO brings together a group of strangers to pool together funds to acquire rare NFTs. However, it focuses only on Nouns, a generative art NFT project. So far, SharkDAO has acquired 5 nouns and has 400 members (or as they call it, ‘Sharks’), together raising 1000 ETH. Here, members will receive SHARK tokens in exchange for ETH. Then, with this token, members can vote and “steer the mission” and how they “deploy resources”.

This decentralized organization focuses on acquiring Noun NFTs. Credits: SharkDAO

​​Jenny Metaverse DAO

Jenny Metaverse DAO, set up on the Unicly platform, acquires NFTs and stores them in a vault. Additionally, the native uJENNY token represents the NFTs. As with WHALE, those who hold the token holders get governance rights and can vote on decisions such as releasing NFTs from the vault, acquiring NFTs, and more.

How to Create a DAO

If you want to create a DAO of your own,  easiest way is through an open-source platform.  There are lots to choose from and most of them are no-code solutions. Apart from that, you’ll need to do the following:

• Define the purpose/structure of the DAO
• Establish the DAO tokens and their uses
• Set up a voting mechanism
• Establish a treasury
• Build a community

Of course, there’s actually way more to it than that. If you want a step by step process, check out our full guide on how to create a DAO.

The future of decentralized organizations

Clearly, DAOs have a number of use-cases within the NFT industry. In the coming months and years, these use cases are only going to grow. Moreover, their vision of an organization owned and managed by its members could one day even replace some traditional organizations. In the future, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations could also become a must-have for NFT projects. Meaning, we will likely see a flurry of DAO activity in the next year and further.

The post What is a DAO In Crypto & How Does It Relate to NFTs? appeared first on NFT Evening.

Within five months since its launch in December last year, the game’s user base crossed 2.1 million. Today, the game boasts over 3.3 million users. 

What exactly is Alien Worlds? Moreover, why is this blockchain trading card game so popular?

Alien Worlds is the fastest-growing NFT game. Credits: Alien Worlds

What is Alien Worlds?

Alien Worlds is an NFT DeFi metaverse on the Ethereum, WAX, and Binance Smart Chain blockchains. A play-to-earn, free-to-play browser game, it focuses on exploration and mining. It allows players to own lands, collect tools and avatars, use minions in battles, and earn crypto via Alien Worlds’ expansive system.

Acoording to DappRadar data, Alien Worlds has grown its userbase by 9.87% in the past 30 days to add over 1 million users. Additionally, it has amassed $427.22 million in transactions (at the time of writing).

About Trilium (TLM), Alien Worlds’ In-Game token

In the Alien Worlds Metaverse, you play the role of an explorer in the year 2055. Your aim is to explore the metaverse, go to different planets, and mine their resource: Trilium. 

Trilium (TLM) is an ERC-20 token that works across the metaverse as the game’s native currency. Currently, it spans across Ethereum and WAX Blockchains, enjoying the benefits of both. Similarly to AXS from Axie Infinity,  you can earn the Alien Worlds native token, Trilium, in various ways. Reportedly, Trilium has a finite supply of 5 billion.

Trilium (TLM) is the game’s native token. Credits: Alien Worlds

What is Trilium  For?

Actually, Trilium has lots of uses. You could use it to buy NFTs or exchange it for fiat currency. In fact, you could also stake it in return for many benefits including; voting power in a planet’s activities, and participating in Nebula events.

The Alien Worlds Universe is spread across seven planets, each of which is a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO). Yes, each planet has its own elected government represented by Planetary Councilors. As each planet is independent, each has its own games and NFTs. However, daily Trilium is allocated to planets from the central metaverse.

Actually, as some planets live on different blockchains, they each offer distinctive mechanisms. For instance, on WAX planets users can mine Trilium. Meanwhile, BSC planets offer missions.

Some of the planets in the game. Credits: Alien Worlds

Furthermore, every item in the game, be it land, avatars, or tools, are tradable tokens on the Blockchain. Each NFT has its own purpose in the game and comes with varied attributes. For example, some tools can improve mining efficiency in some terrains, as is the case with using Artunian Shovel on Rocky Desert. These NFT trading cards are available to mint directly or purchase on secondary markets.

NFTs: Land, Tools, Minions, and Weapons

Each NFT in the game comes with six different rarities: Abundant, Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary, and Mythical. Furthermore, there are four different levels of shininess: Stone, Gold, Stardust, and Antimatter. You can combine any four identical NFTs to upgrade it.

The blockchain game has six rarity levels. Credits: Alien Worlds

The following are the various NFTs in the game:

• Land: These represent parcels of land on various planets. You can obtain land by buying land packs or buying Land NFTs on NFT marketplaces.
• Tools: Tools are what you use to mine lands. These come with varied strengths.
• Minions: NFTs you use in battles or the fighting game.
• Weapons: These are also used in the fighting game to battle other explorers.
• Avatars: These are game cards used to play the game. These are: Greys, Reptiloids, Little Green Persons, Nordics, and Robotrons.

Earning Crypto In Alien Worlds

As mentioned earlier, one way you can earn money in the game is by exchanging Trilium for fiat currency. At the time of writing, TLM was priced at $0.3646, with a 24-hour trading volume of $311 million. However, there are plenty more ways to earn TLM.

Mostly, you earn Trilium by mining. Then,  your mining rewards will depend on the land, setup and the tools you use.

If you own Land, you will earn a rental commission every time someone mines on your digital property. Actually, it’s not unlike digital real estate. Essentially, this commission is part of the Trilium mining rewards the miner earns. By default, you get 20% of the rewards but you can adjust this percentage as you like.

Finally, there’s something called the Land Fund. In short, it’s an Alien Worlds crypto fund from the collective commission of  unopened lands. Essentially, Alien Worlds distributes this crypto stash to landowners in an effort to share some wealth.

Some of the land cards available in the game. Credits: Alien Worlds

Meanwhile, you can participate in various missions and battles to win TLM and NFTs. Then, you can earn by selling or trading your NFT game cards on secondary markets. 

How To Play Alien Worlds

 Before you start playing, you’ll need to head to WAX and get a wallet. However, once the wallet is set up, you can go right ahead to play.alienworlds.io and log in.

Step One: Set up your account
Firstly, choose a username and either a male or female character. You will also receive an avatar and a mining tool to start off with. You can find both of these as NFTs in your WAX wallet.

Step Two: Choose a planet to start mining.
Go to the Mining Hub and select Mine to mine your rewards. Once the mining time is over, you will be able to claim Trilium, the Alien Worlds in-game token. 

Step Three: Explore the metaverse!
You can take part in various activities in the Alien Worlds Metaverse. 

You have to follow a few simple steps to start playing Credit: Alien Worlds

Alien Worlds Is The Perfect P2E Game

Play-to-earn blockchain games have been growing exponentially – Alien Worlds included. In fact, the chart-topping blockchain game raised over $2 million in a TLM sale to private investors in March 2021. Some of its prominent investors include Animoca Brands, China’s Meitu app creator Longling Capital, 3Commas, and Digital Assets Group.

Now, Alien Worlds’ crypto metaverse is expanding across the globe. Co-founder Saro McKenna told CoinDesk, “Metaverses are the new social media – where people will come to socialize.”

“We have given them a world, or rather worlds, where people can come together and talk about what they want to do and achieve,” McKenna added. “And the competitive element between the planets makes for interesting conjecture.”

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