GM Digest #78
Gm with Valuable Alphas / Insights — Make Sure to DYOR. All of This is Not Financial Advice. Ape at Your Own Peril
Velodrome Relay
• @VelodromeFi introduces Relay which will transform the protocol and user experience by automating the process of managing veNFT
• With Relay, users can deposit veNFTs into automated vaults → Relay votes and claims rewards each epoch → Relay can convert rewards into more veVELO or to preferred tokens like ETH. You can set your own voting strategies
• Velodrome is the #1 DEX on Optimism and also the #1 Solidly Fork. It has recently launched Aerodrome on Base which has skyrocketed to become the #1 DEX on Base as well
Thoughts: Velodrome is at it again with new technology. There has been a problem with ve voter participations, on average only ~5% of veCRV participants vote in every epoch. Having automated strategies / vaults that you can preset, auto-compound rewards or auto-sell your rewards will go a long way in creating a better environment for the protocol & users
Fungify Trading Competition
• @FungifyNFT is a platform that offers a range of services including a marketplace where NFTs can be instantly sold, a lending protocol backed by NFTs, and an NFT index token that generates yield
• The paper trading competition is set to begin on Oct 10, and the registration window is closing soon. Make sure to interact with the protocol at least once during the competition so that you qualify as an 'active participant'
• The prize chest of the competition consists of blue chip NFTs like MAYC, Pudgys, and Milady. Additionally, it contains $FUNG, the protocol's native token. Oh, and also $vNFTP tokens from @nftperp as well
Galxe DNS Attack
• @Galxe, Web3 Quest Platform’s official website was compromised due to DNS hijack attack on its front-end
• During the attack, hackers executed a DNS exploit to take control of Galxe's official website link and redirected users to a phishing site associated with a malicious contract aiming to steal user funds
• In total, the hacker’s address received over $160,000 in user funds. The same address was tied to the attacker who executed a similar DNS hijack attack on the Balancer exchange on Sep 20
Thoughts: Practice digital hygiene by gauging whether something looks sus before interacting, so many more attacks & exploits these days.
TimeSwap Liquidity Premine
• @TimeswapLabs Liquidity Premine, featuring $TIME tokens, will commence this month, enabling Lenders, Borrowers, and Liquidity Providers to earn boosted reward (Also likelihood to get ARB from ARB STIP grants that could boost the TVL)
• LP feature along with longer duration pools will go live, attracting even more demand from lender and borrowers
• Timeswap is the first oracle-less lending & borrowing platform on Arbitrum. It’s the first protocol to enable fixed-duration borrowing for plsARB (Plutus) & PT-GLP (Pendle) without the risk of liquidation
Thoughts: Since this is the first oracle-less lending & borrowing protocol backed by VCs, the token could be worth $$$. Rumor is that the way token prices are calculated (from points or mining) will be in the same valuation as the seed round ($40m FDV). This means you’re essentially farming these tokens and getting in at the same price as their seed round last year 0.0
Botanix Close to Testnet
• @BotanixLabs is an EVM Layer 2 solution built on top of Bitcoin. It operates entirely on the Bitcoin network, while providing full EVM compatibility. This means that protocols can seamlessly migrate their dApps without needing to make any changes
• Botanix took to Twitter to announce that the launch of their testnet is imminent. You will soon have the opportunity to buy NFTs, participate in DeFi, and earn yield on your staked BTC
• The mainnet launch is planned to coincide with the Bitcoin Halving in April 2024
Range Protocol passed $13M TVL
• @Range_Protocol offers optimized LP strategy vaults built on top of concentrated liquidity AMMs like Uniswap, Quickswap and Pancakeswap
• They have recently expanded to Base, and despite launching only a couple of months ago, they have already surpassed the 13M TVL mark
• In their seed round, they successfully raised $3.2M, with @HashKey_Capital and @NomadCapital_io leading the investment.
Thoughts: While the protocol is currently tokenless, you can already find details about the tokenomics in the docs, along with a mention of an upcoming airdrop. Considering the speculation surrounding a potential Base airdrop in the future as well, depositing funds in one of their vaults on Base could be a wise decision
Evaa Protocol Launch on TON
• @evaaprotocol is the first lending and borrowing money market launching on the TON blockchain
• As we've seen on numerous occasions in the past, every ecosystem needs a money market to help unlock liquidity. Since the TON ecosystem lacked one until now, the launch of Evaa could prove to be a catalyst of sorts for DeFi on TON, and by extension on Telegram
• The Open Network (TON) was started by Telegram in 2018, and it is now managed by the TON Foundation. The blockchain houses a dozen protocols and currently sits at TVL of $10M
Factor x Lodestar
• @FactorDAO announced a partnership with @LodestarFinance, along with a range of new features
• Factor DAO provides auto-compounding vaults for various yield-bearing assets, as well as a selection of Index tokens that consist of the top protocols on Arbitrum
Thoughts: So far the UI/UX of Factor Studio Leverage is still very clunky with no upfront data on how much lending APY, borrowing APY, and net APY the users will be able to generate. Feels like leveraging blind right now. Currently, you can leverage assets & strategies from AAVE, Compound, and Lodestar. Factor TVL has yet to see any improvement since the leverage feature was launched
Tokenized ETF on Base
• @BackedFi is a RWA protocol which tokenized securities that track the value of RWAs such as bonds, stocks or ETFs. The bTokens can only be purchased by investors or licensed retailers who pass KYC and AML checks
• Backed Finance has issued the first tokenized security product on Base named bIB01, which tracks a short-term US treasury bond ETF
• Backed’s bIB01 tokens track the investment results of a short-term iShares treasury bond ETF, an index composed of US Dollar-denominated treasury bonds.
Misc News
• @CoinbaseCloud enables $APT delegation. APTOS staking is available on Coinbase
• September saw an increase in jobs, with the U.S. economy adding 336,000 new positions
• @THORSwap takes action: 'Maintenance mode' activated to stop illicit funds movement
• Officials reveals that retail stablecoin trading is yet to be permitted in Hong Kong
• Leverage HMX HLP Vault is live on @Vaultkaofficial
• @CryptoAlgebra (CLAMM Engine) Welcomes @artherachain (EVM + DAG Chain) to Its Ecosystem
• @Entanglefi testnet oracle is live
• @Aark_Digital TP/SL Orders are Live
• Ostium Labs raises $3.5 million to bring DEX perpetual swaps to oil and gold
• @mummyftm unveiled Navigator (@nav_exchange) a new perp dex with strong focus on community empowerment
• @xperptech secured 69 E as liquidity loan to fuel the platform growth. xperp is FT perp dex on Telegram
• Gitcoin tokens worth almost $500,000 meant to fund a governance work stream were mistakenly sent to a contract address
• @starsarenacom got another major security breach again
ARB STIPs Grants
• @CamelotDEX, 82m ARB (98%) has voted in favor of the proposal, reaching the quorum of 71.51m ARB — 3.09m ARB will be distributed as liquidity incentives over 3 months (i) 50% to Partner Pools (ii) 20% ARB Pools (iii) 20% Core Pools (iv) 10% Reserved for New Pools. $GRAIL has already pumped 9% because of this
• @pendle_fi, 53m ARB (97.7%) has voted in favor of the proposal, about 17m ARB away from the quorum — The proposal will pass (soon) and vePENDLE will be matched with 2m ARB to be used towards increasing yield trading volume, inciting activity on the platform, deepening liquidity on existing pools as well as an additional incentive for users to bootstrap liquidity for newly listed Pendle markets Arbitrum, and finally to encourage activity on protocols built on top of Pendle. $PENDLE has only moved 2.7%
• @GMX_IO, 63m ARB (97.2%) has voted in favor of the proposal, about 17m ARB away from the quorum — The proposal will pass (soon) and 12m ARB will be distributed to attract builder engagement (integration with GMX), trading incentives, and liquidity provisioning
• @RDNTCapital, 44m ARB (97.4%) has voted in favor of the proposal, about 26m ARB away from the quorum — if passed, 37,952 to 2,852,044 ARB can be distributed based on different protocol milestones (New dLP TVL and partnered protocols campaign milestones)
• @magpiexyz_io, 10m ARB (73.6%) has voted in favor of the protocol, about 58m ARB away from the quorum — if passed, 1.25m ARB will be distributed to Magpie, Penpie, Radpie, and Campie to promote sustainable growth and better peg across all SubDAOs
*Reminder to Size Your Entry for Degen Plays and Take Your Principal Out (Take Profits) Whenever You Hit Your Target*