GM Digest #92
GM Digest #92
Gm with Valuable Alphas / Insights — Make Sure to DYOR. All of This is Not Financial Advice. Ape at Your Own Peril
zkSync First Hyperchain
• @grvt_io will launch as the zkSync first Hyperchain
• Hyperchains are custom blockchains that will run either as Layer 2 networks parallel to zkSync Era or as Layer 3 Validiums in the zkSync ecosystem
• Validiums are Ethereum scaling networks that operate much like Layer 2 network zk-rollups, with the key distinction being that in a zk-rollup, data is maintained on-chain, whereas Validiums store it off-chain
• Since Validiums encrypt data before adding it to the blockchain, it helps protect users from front-running and market manipulation, Matter Labs said
• GRVT is a hybrid crypto derivatives exchange (HEX), offering self-custody trading, lightning-fast execution, deep liquidity, capital efficiency, and competitive fees
• Users will be able to access a full suite of perpetual & options products with CEX-like experience while holding custody of your funds. Intuitive-RFQ feature will also be available to further increase capital efficiency
• GRVT raised $7.1 million in funding at a $39 million valuation in pre-seed ($2.1m) & seed round ($5.0m) co-led by Matrix Partners and Delphi Digital. Other investors include SIG, CMS Holdings, ABCDE, Hack VC and Matter Labs. The seed round was led by 500 Startups and Folius Ventures
Sentiment v2
• Introducing @sentimentxyz v2: Unparalleled flexibility and efficiency in DeFi lending
• Sentiment v2 improves upon many limitations of v1 namely; lack of adaptive risk management and high friction onboarding new collateral
• New core features includes: Adaptive Risk Management (Pool manageable by 3rd parties), Permissionless collateral, and isolated pools
• Sentiment is a Defi Lending & Undercollateralized Borrowing protocol. The protocol had over $10.4m TVL in Apr 2023 but got exploited in a re-entrance vulnerability hack, losing half of their TVL in a day.
Thoughts: Sentiment continued to have bad sentiment after & after sentiment (pun intended). Its current TVL is only about $340k. Sentiment would need attractive yield strategies (like TriCRV earning 70% APY from Gearbox) to attract more users to the platform
Seneca IDO
• @SenecaUSD finally announced its IDO date to be on Nov 8
• Live testnet, launchpad partnership, and public sale details will be announced in the coming days
• Seneca is an omnichain isolated lending market for exotic collateral. Users can deposit yield-bearing assets and borrow senUSD. Seneca is a stem that’s part of the @Root_Genesis (Launching on Oct 28)
Thoughts: Finally nigh time for Seneca to launch. Both Root & Seneca (its stem) have delayed its launch for quite a while. Given the improvement in sentiment in the market, this appears to be a relatively good time to launch. Seneca brings in that value proposition of omnichain stables backed by yield-bearing assets. Time to kick start the stables omnichain season like when Lybra kickstarted the stables LST season. + More vaults protocols building out omnichain stable strategies
LayerBank Live on Scroll
• @LayerBankFi is an omni-chain money market aiming to support all EVM Layers
• They have just announced their pre-mining campaign on Scroll, along with their V2 upgrade
• The Pre-mining campaign will last for one month, during which 1% of the total token supply will be distributed. What's interesting is that you can instantly claim mined $LAB.s tokens and lock them to boost rewards or LP on KyberSwap
• If you want to participate, you'll need to bridge to Scroll. Here's a tip: you can do that with @rhinofi, who are currently offering fee-free bridging until Nov 14. Plus, since you can use your deposits as collateral, you can easily boost your rewards by looping
Thoughts: If you're interested in farming the potential $SCROLL airdrop, you might want to consider parking some funds on LayerBank and looping them a few times. This strategy could prove to be profitable. However, I would advise against locking your funds, as this token is likely to be a farm-and-dump scheme for many. It's better to keep your tokens liquid so that you can exit your position in a timely manner
SyncYield Launches on zkSync
• @SyncYield is a yield optimizer and auto-compounder on zkSync
• Their dynamic vaults combine lending and farming strategies to maximize yield. What sets them apart is their ability to re-balance minute-by-minute
• They offer dynamic pools where you can deposit LP tokens such as ETH/USDC and USDC/USDT (all deposited to SyncSwap). Alternatively, they have single-sided vaults where you can deposit WTBC, ETH, and USDC
Thoughts: SyncYield vaults currently have $10k TVL, extremely new. Users can earn 2000% - 4000% APY on different vaults (emissions-driven ofc). Advise cautions when interacting with this, EXTREMELY DEGEN
Loanshark Core
• @loansharktech is a money market that offers risk-isolated lending pools on Scroll
• The isolated pool structure enables a wide range of collaterals without the risk of a single pool jeopardizing the entire hub. In the near future, LSDs and other yield-bearing tokens will also be accepted as collateral, allowing users to borrow against them
• They have recently partnered with @skydrome, the leading ve(3,3) DEX on Scroll. Loanshark will enable support for some of their assets, potentially allowing for leverage or looping strategies to be implemented
Thoughts: Currently, 90% of the protocols on Scroll are decentralized exchanges (DEXes). For Scroll to gain traction, there needs to be a greater variety of projects being built on the platform. However, it is crucial for Scroll to also have a money market in order to unlock liquidity. Currently, Loanshark is one of only two protocols available for this purpose
Linq Updates
• @linq_group is a protocol that shares and distributes liquidity among token holders. The team announced several updates with their protocol
• Visual upgrade: There will be a fresh design for the dApp and LocQer in line with their new visual guidelines
• Community Management: The team will be onboarding a new community management group and users can expect an active discord community, direct participation incentives, exclusive merchandise and enhanced communication channels
• KOL and Marketing: Influencers and KOLs will be provided with the resources they need to effectively communicate LINQ’s advantages to their audiences. The focus will be on clarity and engagement, ensuring the benefits are transparent and compelling
• Tech Insights: Linq mainly uses 3 main contracts which is the factory, the router and the LocQer itself. Users will soon have the ability to create unique, bespoke LocQers. Additionally, there will be an OTC functionality which allows for safe, anonymous interactions and ERC-20 token transfers between project owners or individuals, creating a secure transaction environment
Florence Finance RWA on Arbitrum
• @FinanceFlorence is a DeFi protocol that allows users to put excess stablecoin liquidity to work to fund real-world loans & earn real-world yield
• The team announced that Florence is now native to Arbitrum and has fully migrated their platform and TVL
• The team has submitted a grant proposal from the Arbitrum Foundation which will help with our migration and contribute to a full audit of the protocol deployment on the Arbitrum network
• Users can now begin earning between 7 and 9.5% APR of low-risk, real-world yield on their stablecoins with Florence Finance’s RWA vaults
• More updates in the future would include: Florence Finance NFT incentive program, Partnerships with other Arbitrum projects, More loans written to add to the Loan Vaults, FFM staking rewards
Thoughts: Florence has over $5.4m TVL with 98% of them on Arbitrum. The RWA is heavily targeted towards SMEs whose risks are credit risk. While capital is deployed to SMEs lending and risk is diversified across small & large SMEs with different credit risk. The R/R does not seem to be attractive given you can earn 7-10% yields. Interesting to see nonetheless
Timeswap Pre-Mine Live
• @TimeswapLabs announced that the pre-mine of $TIME is now live and farmers can now earn boosted $TIME rewards
• Currently, the USDC.e/ARB Genesis Pools are live and rewards can be earned by lenders, borrowers and LPs and is the first market to receive pre-mine incentives which will be expiring on 4th December.
• The pre-mined $TIME rewards will be claimable 1:1 for $TIME during TGE which is expected to take place during Q1 2024
Thoughts: This might be a good farm if you have assets on Arbitrum. On top of the boosted pre-mine rewards, Timeswap has also qualified for the ARB STIP and will have a 200k ARB allocation to be distributed as additional rewards
Introducing Gas Pass
• @0xstation introduces Gas Pass — a new reward primitive built on ERC-4337 & ERC-6551 that lets protocols and apps sponsor gas for selected users
• Gas Pass is currently used by @LineaBuild to boost usage across dApps in the ecosystem
• Linea Gas Pass holders are rewarded $500 worth of gas budget to experience Linea gaslessly. They can bring Gas Pass to applications on Linea using Station's Connect as NFT widget
• Additionally, the Linea Gas Pass can be traded on NFT marketplaces like @AlienSwap_NFT
Thoughts: As mentioned in Substack #91 yesterday, dealing with gas is one of the frictions faced by users looking to break into the Web3 space. Similar to what Circle is building with its Gas Station, 0xStation’s Gas Pass also aims to sponsor gas fees to users so that usage across DApps increases. I think this is another good initiative for onboarding the next wave of Web3 users.
Misc News
• @tiltyard_gg new competitive gaming project
• @PlayAptosArena launched on Oct 20
• @Tether_to to publish reserve reports in 2024
• @binance Visa debit card will shut down in EU
• @ArkenFinance x @okxweb3 offering Cross-Chain Integration, Improved Trading Experience, Enhanced Liquidity, and more
• @GemDrop_xyz platform is live
• @synthetify got exploited from $300k+ TVL to $4k. Synthetify is a synthetics platform on Solana
• @ribbonfinance vaults will be transitioning to using @aevoxyz for RFQs and settlement of options trades
• @zkLend live on Starknet
• @Stacks introduces the sBTC developer release allowing select developers to build and test with an early version of sBTC, a 1:1 backed version of BTC on the Stacks layer
• @CogFinance, an isolated lending protocol is live on @Scroll_ZKP
*Reminder to Size Your Entry for Degen Plays and Take Your Principal Out (Take Profits) Whenever You Hit Your Target*