Boxmining v2

Category: Decentralised Finance (DeFi)

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is a sector within the cryptocurrency and blockchain space which aims to provide a decentralized version of the products available in traditional finance- without central control and at a lower cost with potentially higher returns. These products include loans, interest-bearing deposits and borrowing services.

The advantages of decentralized finance are that it addresses the problems we have with the traditional banking system. For example, decentralized finance protocols are controlled by multiple people, and all participants are required to abide by the rules written into the smart contracts underlying the protocols.

  • ZKsync ($ZK) Token Airdrop Guide: How to claim?

    ZKsync ($ZK) Token Airdrop Guide: How to claim?

    ZKsync is a layer-2 scaling solution designed to speed up transactions and lower gas fees on Ethereum. There are reports ZKsync have have their token generation event (TGE) in the coming few days. Their airdrop is also anticipated to be around 13th June 2024. Meanwhile, ZKsync airdrop could entitle you to both a ZKsync ($ZK) and an ecosystem project airdrop! Here’s how to get a potential ZKsync ($ZK) token and ecosystem airdrop.

    Check out our Upcoming Crypto Airdrops! And our video guide on how to get the ZKsync $ZK token airdrop!

    ZKsync ($ZK) Airdrop Step-by-step Guide

    Here’s how to receive a potential ZKsync ($ZK) token airdrop:

    1. Add ZKsync Era Alpha Mainnet on MetaMask.
    2. Bridge Funds to ZKsync Lite and ZKsync Era Mainnet.
    3. Interact with ZKsync Lite and ZKsync Era Mainnet Alpha.
    4. Interact with the ZKsync ecosystem.
    5. Mint NFTs for ZKsync airdrop.
    6. Complete quests on ZKsync’s Crew3.
    7. Join the ZKsync Guild
    8. Bonus: Complete ZKsync Era tasks on RabbitHole.
    9. Mint Dappad zk-KYC NFT

    See below for more in-depth details!

    What is ZKsync?

    ZKsync is a layer-2 scaling solution designed to speed up transactions and lower gas fees on the Ethereum network while maintaining high security and privacy for users. It does this through Zero-Knowledge Rollup (ZK-Rollup) — transactions on Ethereum are bundled up to be processed off-chain and then sent back to the main chain after validation.

    ZKsync is developed by Matter Labs. The company was co-founded in 2019 by Alex Gluchowski and Alexandr Vlasov. Matter Labs has raised over $58 million. Their latest funding was raised on 8th November 2021 from a Series B round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). Other major investors include Dragonfly Capital, Placeholder, 1kx, and more.

    What is a Zero-Knowledge (ZK) Rollup?

    The ZK-rollup is the core element of ZKsync. ZK-rollups generate cryptographic proofs (ZK-SNARK or ZK-STARK) to verify transactions without revealing the information itself, hence the name “zero-knowledge proofs.” It maintains privacy by making transaction details such as token amounts anonymous. It is also highly secure because compressed transaction data are stored on-chain.

    Unlike other layer-2 solutions, ZKsync relies on math instead of third-party validators to scale computation. Validators are known as “operators” or “sequencers” and are in charge of executing, aggregating, and submitting transactions to the main chain, but they do not validate the transactions themselves — the Ethereum smart contract does. By relying on math and cryptographic security, ZKsync ensures a truly secure and trustless environment for decentralized finance (DeFi).

    What’s the Difference Between ZKsync Era and ZKsync Lite?

    At its inception, ZKsync lacked support for smart contracts, preventing activities such as using DeFi or purchasing NFTs, which are common on Ethereum. However, it did provide significant scaling for Ethereum, leading to its nickname “ZKsync Lite.”

    The ZKsync Era represents an upgrade to the network, delivering all the features of Ethereum while also providing more cost-effective and faster transactions.

    Does ZKsync have a Token?

    ZKsync has a native token known as $ZK, which was launched on 17th June 2024. The $ZK token is the native utility and governance token in the ZKsync ecosystem by maintaining and enhancing ZKsync’s operation. One main use for the ZKsync token is to pay for transaction fees on the ZKsync network and to vote on governance decisions. Users can also stake $ZK tokens and they will be rewarded with additional ZK tokens.

    Is there a ZKsync ($ZK) Token Airdrop?

    The ZKsync ($ZK) token airdrop started on 24th June 2024 and eligible users can claim their airdrop until 5th January 2025. 3.675 billion $ZK tokens i.e. 17.5% of the total token supply will be airdropped to eligible users.

    How to claim ZKsync ($ZK) Token Airdrop

    To check your eligibility and claim your ZKsync ($ZK) token airdrop, connect your wallet or GitHub username HERE.

    How to Receive Potential ZKsync ($ZK) Token Airdrop?

    The best chance to receive $ZKS airdrop is to interact with ZKsync Lite and ZKsync Era Mainnet Alpha. Moreover, many projects in the zkSync ecosystem also do not have a token yet. So, interacting with their ecosystem dApps may entitle you to potential airdrops from zkSync and the ecosystem project. Here’s how to receive a potential ZKsync token airdrop:

    1. Add ZKsync Era Alpha Mainnet on MetaMask.
    2. Bridge Funds to ZKsync.
    3. Interact with ZKsync Lite and ZKsync Era Mainnet Alpha.
    4. Interact with the ZKsync ecosystem.
    5. Complete quests on ZKsync’s Crew3.

    Add ZKsync Era Alpha Mainnet on MetaMask

    You will need to connect ZKsync Era alpha mainnet to your MetaMask. To do this, go to your MetaMask and click on the network button, then “Add network”. Then, click “Add a network manually”. Add the following information and click “Save”:

    • Network Name: ZKsync Era Mainnet
    • New RPC URL: https://mainnet.era.zksync.io
    • Chain ID: 324
    • Currency Symbol: ETH
    • Block Explorer URL: https://explorer.zksync.io/
    • WebSocket URL: wss://mainnet.era.zksync.io/ws

    Bridge Funds to ZKsync Era Mainnet and ZKsync Lite

    Bridge funds from Ethereum Mainnet to ZKsync Era Mainnet at bridge.zksync.io by connecting your wallet. Select the amount you wish to bridge and click “deposit”. Then, swap back to Ethereum Mainnet by clicking the arrows, choosing the amount you wish to bridge back to Ethereum, and click “Withdraw”.

    Bridge funds to ZKsync Lite at https://lite.zksync.io/ by connecting your wallet. Then, top up your balance using the ZKsync bridge. You can also try using other bridges in the ZKsync Lite ecosystem such as Orbiter Finance and ZigZag Exchange.

    Cheapest way to bridge funds to ZKsync Era?

    Here’s a cheaper way to bridge funds to zkSync Era Mainnet:

    1. Buy ETH on a centralized exchange (e.g. Binance or Bybit)- Sign up for a Bybit account HERE!
    2. Send your ETH from the Exchange to your Metamask using the Arbitrum network (fees are around US$1-2)
    3. Use Orbiter Finance to bridge ETH from Arbitrum to ZKsync Era (fees are around US$2-3)
    Bridge to zkSync Era with Orbiter Finance

    Interact with ZKsync Lite and ZKsync Era Mainnet Alpha

    Any user can now use ZKsync Lite (formerly known as ZKsync 1.0) and ZKsync Era Mainnet Alpha. This can be a potential way for users to get a zkSync airdrop even though they missed the whitelist. To interact with zkSync Lite, connect your L1 ETH wallet on ZKsync Lite (note the single-time account activation fee of 1.279 USDT). Then, interact by moving your balances from L1 on ZKsync Lite by depositing ETH or USDT. Or, withdraw your funds back from ZKsync Lite to L1.

    Interact with the ZKsync ecosystem

    ZKsync has an entire ecosystem of protocols. Here are some top ZKsync ecosystem projects you could interact with to maximise your chances of a potential ZKsync airdrop and even double your rewards:

    1. Orbiter Finance
    2. ZigZag Exchange
    3. Bungee
    4. Argent
    5. Onchain Trade
    6. SyncSwap
    7. SpaceFi
    8. Tevaera
    9. Velocore
    10. iZUMi Finance
    11. Mute.io
    12. ZKsync Name Service
    13. GameSwift

    Orbiter Finance

    Orbiter Finance is a decentralized cross-rollup layer-2 bridge that supports ZKsync as well as Arbitrum. You can send ETH, MATIC, BNB and other tokens to ZKsync and other layer-2 blockchains via the bridge. However, these are mainnet tokens (with value) since the bridge is live, but you can always bridge them back to Ethereum. Check out our Orbiter Finance Token Airdrop Guide.

    ZigZag Exchange

    ZigZag Exchange is an orderbook decentralized exchange (DEX) powered by ZK-rollups. You can trade or swap on ZigZag Exchange. Do 1 buy or sell transaction between ETH and USDC every week (gas fees are less than US$0.25). Here’s how to interact with ZigZag Exchange:

    1. Deposit funds to https://lite.zksync.io/. Note you will need to deposit at least US$3 worth of ETH or USDC in order to pay the 1-time activation fee on Zigzag (around US$2.6).
    2. Connect your wallet to https://trade.zigzag.exchange/?market=ETH-USDC&network=zksync.
    3. Do 1 buy or sell transaction between ETH and USDC every week (gas fees are less than US$0.25).

    ZigZag Exchange has also just finished its second round of airdrops (out of 7). So check out our ZigZag Exchange ($ZZ) token airdrop guide so you won’t miss out on their future airdrops!

    Bungee

    Bungee is a tool powered by Socket that helps people find the best way to move a digital token from one blockchain to another. Bungee has recently gone live on ZKsync Era. So sending tokens to and from ZKsync Era (and especially using the Stargate route) could position yourself for potential ZKsync, Bungee, Socket, Stargate AND LayerZero airdrops!

    Check out how with our Bungee Token Airdrop Guide

    Argent

    Argent is the only crypto wallet that offers multi-signature security and social recovery. The wallet is built on ZKsync and is the first wallet for StarkNet. The wallet has a mobile version available on the App Store and Google Play. Download Argent and use their wallet! You can send and receive funds, buy, earn, and stake crypto using Argent.

    Argent recently announced an NFT drop in collaboration with JediSwap, here’s how to get the NFT:

    1. Do a swap on JediSwap using your Argent X wallet on mainnet before 23:59 UTC on 23rd May 2023. Those who have done a swap on JediSwap using Argent X wallet before 1st April 2023 will be automatically eligible for the snapshot and won’t need to do any more swaps.
    2. To do the swap, either use the built-in swap feature in the Argent X wallet or do the swap at https://app.jediswap.xyz/#/swap.
    3. The team will take the snapshot at 23:59 UTC on 23rd May 2023. The claim/mint page will be shared afterwards, and you will have a total of 12 months from then to mint your NFT.

    Onchain Trade

    Onchain Trade is a money market and perps DEX offering up to 50x leverage. Connect your wallet to their protocol and test out their features! Check out our Onchain Trade ($OT) token airdrop guide (now LIVE)!

    SyncSwap

    SyncSwap is a DEX built on ZKsync and has recently announced its launch on ZKsync Era testnet. It is predicted they will be one of the first protocols to launch on ZKsync Era Mainnet since they are one of the first protocols built on ZKsync. Therefore, interacting with SyncSwap will put you in a good position to get a potential ZKsync token airdrop (and possibly a SyncSwap airdrop too)! (fii-institute) Here’s how to interact with Syncswap:

    1. Connect your wallet to Syncswap.
    2. Go to their Swap page. Choose the type and amount of tokens and click “Swap”. We also suggest swapping tokens on the ZKsync network using Paymaster. Paymaster allows SyncSwap users to pay gas fees using other tokens such as $USDT, $USDC and $HOLD in addition to ETH. To do this, first make sure your MetaMask wallet and SyncSwap are both on the ZKsync Era Network. Then, click and hold on your account balance and you can see the fee discounts offered by Paymaster when using other tokens to pay for gas fees. For example, you get a 50% fee discount when paying with $HOLD!
    3. Deposit liquidity to their Pools. On the top bar, click the down arrow, “Positions” and “New Position”. Select USDC and ETH and click “Enter Pool”. Then click “Deposit” located on the left-hand side of the screen and deposit both USDC and ETH. Then, unlock your tokens and deposit them into the pool.
    4. Join their Discord.
    5. Go to their Guild page and complete the tasks.

    Interacting with SyncSwap is one of the best ways to maximize your potential airdrop with the least amount of fees. Learn how with our SyncSwap token airdrop guide!

    SpaceFi

    SpaceFi allows users can trade, earn, mint, stake, sell, create, and invest in a variety of projects. With SpaceFi, users can also swap assets, farm rewards, mint, and stake Planet NFTs, join or create a spacebase, and invest in new projects. SpaceFi has already launched 30 million $SPACE on Evmos mainnet, and will be launching 30 million $SPACE on ZKsync 2.0 (i.e. ZKsync Era) when mainnet goes live. The team has also confirmed they will be doing an airdrop.

    Since the protocol is already live on ZKsync testnet, it may be a good idea to interact with SpaceFi in anticipation of when zkSync Era mainnet goes live. To interact with SpaceFi, request testnet tokens here. Then connect your wallet to Space.io, swap some $tSPACE tokens. Then, add liquidity to their pool. Finally, join the SpaceFi Discord and their Crew3. You can also complete the tasks on Crew3 which include joining their guilds, adding them to your CoinGecko watchlist or inviting friends to their Discord.

    You can check out our SpaceFi token airdrop guide!

    Tevaera

    Tevaera aims to build an EVM-compatible on-chain gaming ecosystem on ZKsync. Their mainnet is now live on ZKsync Era.

    1. Connect your wallet to log in. Make sure you are on the ZKsync Era network.
    2. Mint your Tevan ID and Guardian NFTs.
    3. Connect your citizen ID to Discord.
    4. Play Teva Run to earn Karma Points.
    5. Complete tasks on Tevaea’s Zealy Questboard.
    6. Mint ONFTs by going onto your portfolio and clicking “Mint ONFT bundle”.
    7. Bridge one ONFT from ZKsync Era to Arbitrum network.
    8. Optional: Add KP (Karma) to your web3 vault. Note that 1KP is around 0.021 USD.

    For more details, check out our Tevaera $TEVA token airdrop guide!

    Velocore

    Velocore is the first ever ve(3,3) DEX on ZKsync. They have a native token $VC, so there may be a chance of a Velocore airdrop too? Here’s how to interact with Velocore:

    1. If you don’t have funds on ZKsync Era yet, use Orbiter.finance to bridge funds to ZKsync Era.
    2. Connect your wallet to Velocore’s swap page and swap some tokens. You can swap any token pairings e.g. ETH to USDT, ETH to VC etc.
    3. Go to their Liquidity Pools and add liquidity. There are 30 pools to choose from!
    4. Keep an eye on their Launchpad for upcoming projects and join in.

    Check out our Velocore ($VC) token airdrop guide!

    iZUMi Finance

    iZUMi Finance is a multi-chain DeFi protocol that provides One-Stop Liquidity as a Service (LaaS). iZiSwap, a next-generation DEX on Multi-Chains, is live on ZKsync Era and provides concentrated liquidity AMM and generates extra income for your assets. They also have their own $iZi token. In addition to doing their own airdrop, they have also promised to distribute 50% if any ZKsync and Linea airdrops they receive! Here’s how to interact with iZUMi Finance:

    1. Swap $iZi tokens.
    2. Add liquidity.
    3. Earn iPoints.
    4. Complete Linea Voyage Week 8.

    Check out our iZUMi Finance $iZi token airdrop guide!

    Mute.io

    Mute.io is a AMM DEX with limit orders, a farming and Bond platform. They are live on ZKsync Era. Although the mute.io team have confirmed the will NOT do an airdrop, interacting with this protocol may nevertheless be helpful in getting a ZKsync airdrop. Here’s how to interact with Mute.io:

    1. If you don’t have funds onZKsync Era yet, use Orbiter.finance to bridge funds to ZKsync Era.
    2. Connect your wallet to their Swap page and swap any amount of tokens.
    3. Go to their Pools and add liquidity. You can earn fees for doing this! Click “Manage” and choose the amount of liquidity you wish to add. You can also withdraw your liquidity and check your rewards at any time.
    4. As an optional task, you can buy their $MUTE token and lock it up here.

    ZKsync Name Service

    ZKsync Name Service is an omnichain name service that allows users to establish their Web3 profile. Here’s how to interact with ZKsync Name Service:

    1. Go to https://app.zkns.domains/.
    2. Search for an available domain name. If you find an available one that you want, click “Available”.
    3. Click “Request to register with ETH” and approve the transaction. It will cost around US$6.5 to buy a domain.

    GameSwift

    GameSwift aims to be a one-stop web3 gaming ecosystem based on a modular chain and zkEVM technology. From 28th September 2023, GameSwift will be hosting a GameSwift Multiverse Expansion campaign which will last for 6 weeks. In particular, week 3 of the campaign which goes live on 12th October 2023 will involve bridging to ZKsync! So completing the tasks for week 3 may position yourself for a potential GameSwift and ZKsync airdrop! Here’s how:

    • Swap USDC for $GSWIFT.
    • Bridge 10 $GSWIFT from Arbitrum Chain to ZKsync Network.
    • Go to the “Burn” tab, switch to ZKsync network on your wallet and burn 10 $GSWIFT.
    • Return to the GameSwift Galxe page and claim your Infinity Stone.

    GameSwift also has tasks for interacting with the LayerZero network. So, there is a chance to also get a potential LayerZero airdrop too by doing these tasks!

    Check out our LayerZero ($ZRO) Token Airdrop Guide

    Donate on Gitcoin

    Gitcoin is a community platform that funds and coordinate new open-source developments. To donate, go to the “grants” page. Pay via the ZKsync network for lower transaction fees.

    Donate on Gitcoin
    Gitcoin Grants

    Mint NFTs for a ZKsync airdrop: 3 in 1 airdrop!

    We have found 3 projects which are also doing airdrops! All you have to do is complete the tasks and mint their NFTs! What’s more, these projects require you to interact with ZKsync, so you will be positioning yourself for a ZKsync airdrop as well.

    Hypercomic

    Hypercomic has just announced its collaboration with ZKsync and has launched a NFT minting celebration campaign. The objective is to complete the tasks and mint their exclusive ZK24 NFTs. There are 3 parts to the minting campaign, Part 1: Transaction Maker is LIVE until 9th February 2024, Part 2: ZKsync Expert will run from 5th to 15th February 2024, and Part 3: Dapp Hustler will run from 13th to 23rd February 2024.

    To mint the ZK24 NFTs, connect your wallet HERE to see which NFTs you may already qualify for. For Part 1: Transaction maker, users with 30 or more ZKsync transactions, users with 50 or more ZKsync transaction and users with 100 or more ZKsync transactions will be eligible to mint 1 NFT. So, depending on the number of ZKsync transactions you have, you can get a maximum of 3 NFTs in Part 1. What’s more, the NFT you can mint for having over 100 ZKsync transactions is a Boost NFT which will help boost the cubic mining power in the Hypercomic Dapp.

    To mint the ZK24 NFTs, connect your wallet HERE to see which NFTs you may already qualify for. If you qualify, you will be able to mint the NFT. Then, go to the “Airdrop” page to check your eligibility for the Hypercomic ($HYCO) airdrop. Users who have over 60 transactions are eligible to claim the HYCO token airdrop and are given on a first come first served basis for the first 15,000 people.

    Tabi

    Tabi is the first gaming chain on Cosmos. Whilst you need to be on Binance Smart Chain to complete the tasks, 2 of them are on ZKsync, which will position yourself for any ZKsync related airdrops. Complete the airdrop tasks on Tabi by connecting to their site and completing their tasks. These are mostly social tasks such as connecting your social media profiles and following their social media pages. You will be able to mint the NFT once you have completed the tasks.

    GRVT

    GRVT is an on-chain perpetuals exchange for ZKsync. They are currently running a social airdrop campaign. For now, all you need to do is join their waitlist. Joining their waitlist lets you earn invite points for airdrop rights as well as a ZKsync mystery box.

    Complete quests on Crew3

    Go to ZKsync’s Crew3 Questboard and complete the quests. Tasks include following them on social media, reading their articles, and completing quizzes.

    Join the ZKsync Guild

    Connect your wallet and Google and Discord accounts to https://guild.xyz/zksync-era. Note you will also need at least 20 points on Gitcoin Passport. To check the number of points you have on Gitcoin Passport, connect your wallet to https://passport.gitcoin.co/#/dashboard. On the same page, you can also connect your other accounts to gain more points. However, some accounts require more than just having an account. For some, there are requirements to have a certain age/status/role or completed tasks in those accounts in order to qualify, which will make it difficult. Here’s a list of the easiest/ least requirement accounts to sign up for in order to get 20 points: Twitter, Discord, Google, Github, Facebook, LinkedIn, ENS, BrightID, Proof of Humanity, ETH, ZKsync, Gnosis Safe, Trusta Labs.

    Bonus: Complete ZKsync Era tasks on RabbitHole

    RabbitHole now offers the first ZKsync Era quests, which include SyncSwap, EraLend, and Maverick. Completing each quest earns users NFT rewards and helps build their onchain history in the ZKsync ecosystem. The more quests you complete, the more quest rewards you become eligible for. Note that even if you have done similar tasks before, you will need to do them again to be eligible on RabbitHole. Here’s how to complete the tasks on RabbitHole:

    1. Make sure you are on the Ethereum network and connect your wallet to RabbitHole.
    2. Swap on Uniswap on Optimism.
    3. Deposit on Exactly on Optimism.

    Mint Dappad zk-KYC NFT

    Dappad is running a campaign where you can mint a non-transferable Soulbound NFT powered by ZkPass and Paymaster. Minting this NFT will give you access to future launchpads in ZKsync, and it could be key to qualifying for the potential ZKsync ($ZK) token airdrop. Note you only have 10 days (i.e. until 29th March 2024) to mint the NFT! Here’s how to mint the Dappad zk-KYC NFT:

    1. Go to DappLabs Galxe Page and complete the tasks.
    2. Download the zkPass TransGate Chrome extension HERE.
    3. Go to https://app.dappad.app/kyc and log in with your crypto wallet.
    4. Select 1 of the 5 supported centralized exchange accounts (i.e. Binance, Bybit, KuCoin, OKEx, Coinbase) for KYC verification.
    5. Log in to your selected exchange account when redirected. Make sure your exchange account is at least Level 1 verified.
    6. Approve sharing your KYC details with zkPass by clicking “START”.
    7. Return to the Dappad launchpad page after verification to see the ‘Already Verified KYC’.
    8. Your wallet app will then prompt you to sign a contract. Confirm the transaction and the non-transferable Dappad zk-KYC NFT will be sent to your wallet with 0 fees. The NFT is proof that you have successfully completed the KYC verification process.

    You can also check out our step-by-step video guide HERE.

    Best ZKsync Airdrop Route for swaps?

    Here’s one of the best ZKsync Airdrop routes for swaps. By doing this route you can make the most of the potential ZKsync airdrop and interact with other protocols and possibly get those airdrops too!

    1. Swap ETH for USDC using Syncswap
    2. Swap USDC for WETH using Mute.io
    3. Swap WETH for USDT using Symbiosis
    4. Swap USDT for USDC using SpaceFi
    5. Swap USDC for ETH using Maverick
    6. Swap ETH for BUSD using Velocore
    7. Swap BUSD for ETH using KyberSwap

    LATEST: 4-in-1 airdrop route ($ZNS, $BEE, $ZKP, $ZK)

    Time needed: 10 minutes

    With this latest airdrop route, you will be interacting with 3 different protocols to get 4-in-1 airdrop! These protocols are ZKsync Domain ($ZNS), Beecoin ($BEE), and Passport NFT ($ZKP) in addition to ZKsync.

    1. Mint ZKsync Domain ($ZNS)

      Mint a ZKsync Domain HERE. Minting a domain will cost 0.0028 ETH but this is for lifetime ownership!

    2. Share referral link

      Go to the Airdrop page and share your referral link. You will get more $ZNS rewards for successful invitations.

    3. Claim Beecoin ($BEE)

      Click on “Free Mint $BEE” or to go Bee Coin. Follow their Twitter accounts, select your ZKsync Domain and click “Free Mint” to mint 1 million $BEE coins. Then click, “Add Wallet” to add your $BEE coins to your wallet. Note you will need to pay gas fees and their total supply is 100 billion coins! So, act fast before they are all minted! You can also share your invite link to receive an extra 500,000 Beecoin for each person you invite.

    4. Passport NFT ($ZKP)

      Connect your wallet HERE and click “Free Mint” to get a NFT passport. Note you will need to pay gas fees for this. Then, invite your friends to get 200 $ZKP and boost Passport Rank per friend.

    ZKsync airdrop season 1: Am I eligible?

    Eligibility for season 1 of ZKsync’s token airdrop was based on a snapshot taken on ZKsync Era and ZKsync Lite on 24th March 2024 at 0:00 UTC. 2 categories of users were eligible for the ZKsync airdrop: users (89%) and contributors (11%). Users on ZKSync are those who have made transactions and reached a certain level of activity. Contributors, on the other hand, include individuals, developers, researchers, communities, and companies who have contributed to the ZKSync ecosystem and protocol through development, advocacy, or education, regardless of their network activity.

    The airdrop allocations for ZKsync were calculated using a points system. Here’s how the points were calcualted:

    • Activity-Based Points: Wallets earned points for actions like interacting with smart contracts, depositing liquidity into DeFi protocols, and trading ERC-20 tokens.
    • ZKsync Lite Activity: Points were also awarded for activities on ZKsync Lite, such as donating to a Gitcoin round or transacting over three different months.
    • Bridged Assets: Allocations were based on assets bridged to ZKsync Era, with multipliers for activity on ZKsync and Ethereum mainnet.
    • Minimum and Maximum Allocations: Wallets with fewer than 450 ZK tokens had their tokens recycled, while those with more than 100,000 tokens had excess tokens recycled. The minimum allocation was up to 917 $ZK tokens per wallet.

    ZKsync season 1 airdrop: How to claim?

    ZKsync will conduct a one-time token airdrop of 3.675 billion $ZK tokens (i.e. 17.5%) of the total token supply. Eligible users can claim their airdrop by connecting to their wallet to https://claim.zknation.io/ starting from 24th June 2024. The airdrop claim will be open until 3rd January 2025.

    ZKsync season 2 airdrop strategy guide

    ZKsync season 2 airdrop has already started! 2 main strategies to best position yourself for the token airdrop is to delegate your tokens and to maintain a high time weighted average balance (TWAB).

    In terms of strategies to find the best delegate to delgate your $ZK token, you may want to find delegates that are active in voting on governance proposals.

    How to identify and avoid ZKsync airdrop scams

    ZKsync has not announced its official token yet. However, this has not stopped scammers from enticing unsuspecting victims with airdrops in order to steal their cryptocurrencies. Here are some ways in which you can identify and avoid ZKsync airdrop scammers.

    Look at social media handles

    Many scammers will use social media (e.g. Twitter, Telegram) handles that are confusingly similar to the official ones. For example, spelling the project name incorrectly or using different fonts and hidden characters in the handle. Other fake accounts may have spelled the project name correctly but has other words behind it e.g. ZKsync (@ freetokens). Always check the official ZKsync website.

    Impersonating admins or mods

    Scammers have been known to impersonate admins or mods on ZKsync’s official channels. They may send DMs asking for users’ private information in order to “participate” in airdrops, or send you a link asking you to connect your wallet and drain your funds. zkSync admins or mods would not DM users first.

    Fake accounts tweeting ZKsync airdrop info

    There are fake accounts tweeting ZKsync token airdrops. However, there is no official announcement yet. Always check the official channels.

    ZKsync Airdrop Review

    When reviewing an airdrop, there are several factors to consider. First, the likelihood the project will even do an airdrop in the first place. Then, to look at how many tokens the project intends to allocate towards airdrop campaigns, as well as the difficulty in participating in their airdrop. It is also important to look at the utility of the token so that there will be an actual use and purpose in participating in the airdrop in the first place. Finally, a factor to consider when reviewing an airdrop is whether the airdropped tokens are subject to any lockup period.

    Likelihood of Airdrop: ZKsync has completed season 1 of its token airdrop.

    Airdropped Token Allocation: In season 1 of the ZKsync airdrop, a total of 3.675 billion $ZK tokens will be airdropped. This is equivalent to 17.5% of the total $ZK token supply.

    Airdrop Difficulty: Tasks which allowed you to be eligible for season 1 of the airdrop includes interactions, donations and bridging assets. This would not be difficult for a general crypto trader.

    Token Utility: The $ZK token is used for transaction fees, governance and staking.

    Token Lockup: There is no lockup period for $ZK tokens which were distributed in the airdrop.

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    How do I participate in the ZKsync Airdrop?

    Here’s how to participate in the ZKsync airdrop
    · Add ZKsync Era Alpha Mainnet on MetaMask.
    · Bridge Funds to ZKsync Lite and ZKsync Era Mainnet.
    · Interact with ZKsync Lite and ZKsync Era Mainnet Alpha.
    · Interact with the ZKsync ecosystem.
    · Mint NFTs for ZKsync airdrop.
    · Complete quests on ZKsync’s Crew3.
    · Join the ZKsync Guild
    · Bonus: Complete ZKsync Era tasks on RabbitHole.

    How do I participate in the ZKsync Airdrop?

    ZKsync has not announced details of any potential airdrop yet.

    Is there a minimum amount of tokens I can receive from the ZKsync airdrop?

    This will depend on the rules of the ZKsync airdrop campaign, which has not been announced.

    Which is the best ZKsync ecosystem dApp to interact with for the ZKsync airdrop?

    We find SyncSwap to be the best ZKsync ecosystem dApp to interact with to position yourself for the airdrop. This is because SyncSwap refunds you 50-6 0% of your Ethereum gas fees. We’ve managed to do 30 ZKsync transactions on SyncSwap in 10 minutes for only US$3! Check out our SyncSwap ($SYNC) token airdrop guide!

    When is the ZKsync airdrop?

    The ZKsync airdrop was on 24th March 2024 at 0:00 UTC when the eligibility and allocations snapshot was taken. Eligible users can claim the airdrop from 24th June 2024 to 3rd January 2025.

    Will zkSync do an airdrop?

    ZKsync season 1 airdrop is now available for claim until 3rd January 2025.

    How do I prepare for a ZKsync airdrop?

    Projects often reward early users. Follow our guide to prepare for a potential airdrop.

    Does ZKsync have a token?

    ZKsync has a native token known as $ZK. It is used for paying transaction fees on the network, staking and governance.

    How do I get season 2 of the ZKsync airdrop?

    2 ways to get the potential season 2 of the ZKsync airdrop is to delegate your tokens and to maintain a high time weighted average balance (TWAB).

  • LayerZero ($ZRO) Token Airdrop How to claim

    LayerZero ($ZRO) Token Airdrop How to claim

    Looking for free tokens with huge upside potential? LayerZero is one of the major upcoming crypto airdrops, funded by many reputable global enterprises such as PayPal. The LayerZero airdrop is now available to claim. This is our LayerZero airdrop ultimate guide.

    Check out our zkSync ($ZKS) Token Airdrop Guide for another highly anticipated airdrop.

    LayerZero ($ZRO) Airdrop Step-by-Step Guide

    Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to get a potential LayerZero ($ZRO) token airdrop:

    1. Interact with Stargate Finance
    2. Interact with Stargate Bridge on LayerZero
    3. Use Stargate on Bungee
    4. Use the USDC LayerZero Bridge
    5. Use the Aptos Bridge
    6. Use LiquidSwap Bridge
    7. Use LEVEL Finance Bridge
    8. Use SushiSwap Cross-Chain Swap
    9. Use BitcoinBridge
    10. Interact with other dApps on LayerZero
    11. Get roles on the Stargate Guild

    See below for more details!

    What is LayerZero?

    LayerZero is a trustless omnichain interoperability protocol designed to connect multiple chains. Let’s break it down what this means in simple terms:

    Underlying Issues of Current Interoperability Techniques

    Interoperability is a big problem for blockchains. Blockchains can’t talk to each other in a way that makes sense, so they’re like separate islands. This makes it hard for people to move things like money and data between them. There are two ways to fix this, but they both have problems.

    Middle Chain

    In the blockchain world, there are some protocols that help blockchains talk to each other such as Polkadot or Cosmos. They’re like a middleman that helps different blockchains exchange messages. This is a good way to make sure that blockchains can work together and it’s not too expensive. But it’s not very secure because if something goes wrong with the middleman, then everything can be stolen. It’s like having all your eggs in one basket.

    On-Chain Light Node (Decentralized Bridges)

    Instead of having one person in charge, decentralized cross-chain bridges use on-chain light nodes to communicate between blockchains. A light node is like a small part of the blockchain ledger’s transaction history. It’s connected to a full node to make sure everything is correct.

    To send messages between chains, light nodes on one chain check the metadata of a block from another chain. Then they send proof of the transaction to the other chain. This is a safe way to send messages between chains, but it’s also very expensive. You would need to build a new bridge for every pair of chains, and each one would need its own interface and code.

    LayerZero’s Solution to Interoperability

    Instead of a middle chain or a layer-2 solution, LayerZero provides a massive infrastructure that would seamlessly enable direct, trustless transactions across all chains. Think of it like this: if blockchains are nations and bridges are immigration, then LayerZero would be a global super-passport and air-traffic control that allows communication between all blockchains at once. It focuses more on the communication problem of the interoperability layer (layer 0) rather than providing a third party solution like a bridge or middle chain.

    source: LayerZero Whitepaper

    LayerZero achieves this by using on-chain light nodes in a much more economical way. The team behind LayerZero, LayerZero Labs, coined it Ultra Light Node (ULN). The ULNs are connected to oracles and relayers, both independent off-chain entities in charge of transferring messages from one chain to another.

    Instead of keeping all block headers sequentially, block headers are streamed on demand by decentralized oracles, i.e. Chainlink, allowing the ULN endpoints to be small and cost-effective. The relayers are responsible for moving transaction proofs. Initially, LayerZero Labs will run and maintain the relayers, which will soon be fully open-sourced so that anyone can operate their own relayer.

    source: LayerZero Whitepaper

    Moreover, the use of an oracle-relayer pair provides additional layers of security since responsibilities are broken up. But if both parties are compromised, LayerZero would be vulnerable to attacks–no easy task, given the progressive decentralization of relayers growing in the network.

    Who is the Team behind LayerZero?

    LayerZero Labs, a Vancouver-based startup, developed LayerZero protocols to enable omnichain decentralized applications across multiple blockchains. LayerZero was co-founded in 2021 by Bryan Pellegrino, Ryan Zarick, and Caleb Banister. The three have previously worked together in computer network research labs at the University of New Hampshire.

    LayerZero Labs have recently raised US$120 million in Series B funding at a valuation of US$3 billion. The funding is expected to go towards growth initiatives, in particular expanding the Company’s presence in the Asia-Pacific. In March 2022, LayerZero Labs raised $135 million in a Series B funding round from the likes of FTX Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Uniswap Labs, Sequoia Capital, a16z, PayPal Ventures and more. Interestingly, LayerZero is PayPal’s first ever web3 investment. Seeing as that PayPal is one of the world’s leading payment networks this goes to show LayerZero has huge potential that spans beyond the crypto space.

    Does LayerZero have a Token?

    LayerZero does not have a token YET. But based on their information code we know it will be called $ZRO.

    source: LayerZero Gitbook

    How to Receive Potential LayerZero Token Airdrop?

    Interact with Stargate Finance

    Stargate Finance (Check out our airdrop guide here) is the first live LayerZero protocol. LayerZero Labs believes Stargate will be integral to any dApp that wants to move cryptocurrency across blockchains. Thus, Stargate users, especially DAO voters, could have a very high chance to receive $ZRO airdrops. Here’s how to stake and become a DAO Voter on Stargate:

    1. Buy Stargate’s $STG token (for as little as $0.74) on centralized crypto exchanges like Bybit or on decentralized exchanges like Uniswap. We suggest staking at least 25 $STG because it is the minimum required to get some guild roles.
    2. Stake $STG to get $veSTG. This gives you voting power on Stargate’s staking tab: https://stargate.finance/stake. The staking period can range from 1 to 36 months. You can also browse the pools and farms on the staking page to earn more $STG yields.
    3. Add liquidity to Pools. Go to https://stargate.finance/pool, choose your preferred Pool and add liquidity. You can remove liquidity at any time on the “Remove” tab. You earn LP tokens as a reward, which then be farmed to get $STG. Check our guide here.
    4. Regularly vote on governance proposals. Tip: Select “Turn On My Notifications” so you don’t miss any voting opportunities.

    Interact with Stargate Bridge

    Interact with dApps such as Stargate Finance’s Stargate Bridge by bridging your funds across networks repeatedly to generate volume. To do this, select the “from” token and network, the “to” token and network, and confirm your transaction.

    Bonus: How to save costs when using Stargate Bridge

    Here’s how to save costs when using Stargate Bridge:

    1. Do not transfer assets to/from the Ethereum network as it usually costs the most.
    2. Instead, to save costs when using Stargate Bridge transfer to/from these networks: BNB/AVAX, BNB/MATIC, BNB/FTM, BNB/METIS, AVAX/MATIC, AVAX/FTM, AVAX/METIS, MATIC/FTM, ARB/BNB, ARB/AVAX, ARB/MATIC and FTM/METIS.
    3. Check the estimated gas cost before bridging by clicking “Transfer Gas Estimator” before transferring assets.

    Use Stargate on Bungee

    Bridge tokens on Bungee using the Stargate route. This will also make you eligible for the Bungee, Socket and Stargate potential airdrops. For more details, see our Bungee token airdrop guide.

    Use the USDC LayerZero Bridge

    You can use the USDC LayerZero bridge (https://usdcdemo.layerzero.network/bridge) to transfer USDC between EVM chains.

    USDC Goerli Contract Address: 0x07865c6E87B9F70255377e024ace6630C1Eaa37F
    USDC Avax Contract Address: 0x5425890298aed601595a70AB815c96711a31Bc65

    Use the Aptos Bridge

    The Aptos Bridge is powered by LayerZero. You can move USDC, USDT, and ETH from Ethereum, Arbitrum, Optimism, Avalanche, Polygon, and BSC to the Aptos network. Connect your EVM (e.g. MetaMask) and Aptos wallets (e.g. Martian wallet). Then, choose the number of cryptocurrencies and networks you wish to use. However, keep in mind there is a 3-day transfer window if you want to withdraw your funds out of the Aptos ecosystem. You will also need to pay gas fees in Aptos $APT tokens.

    To use the Aptos Bridge with the least amount of gas fees, transfer USDC from BNB Chain to Aptos network. To do this, you will need USDC and BNB (gas fees) in your EVM wallet (e.g. MetaMask). You will also need $APT to your Martain wallet to pay for gas fees.

    Use the LiquidSwap Bridge

    Go to https://bridge.liquidswap.com/ and bridge USDT, and ETH from Ethereum or Arbitrum to the Aptos network. Connect your EVM (e.g. MetaMask) and Aptos wallets (e.g. Martian wallet), and choose the cryptocurrency and network (Ethereum/Arbitrum to Aptos and vice versa) you wish to bridge tokens. Note you will need to pay gas fees in Aptos $APT tokens.

    Use LEVEL Finance Bridge

    LEVEL Finance is a decentralized perpetual exchange on BNB Chain that provides risk management solutions for liquidity providers and is built by experienced entrepreneurs and contributors. To use LEVEL, you will need to buy their native $LVL token on DEXs such as Uniswap or Pancakeswap. Then, go to LEVEL Bridge and bridge $LVL tokens between BNB Chain and Arbitrum. Note that depending on which direction you are bridging, you will need BNB or ETH for gas fees.

    Use SushiSwap Cross-Chain Swap

    SushiSwap released its SushiXSwap, which is built upon LayerZero’s Stargate protocol. You can swap tokens directly to another network without using a bridge. As such, users are likely to be qualified for a $ZRO token airdrop!

    Use BitcoinBridge

    BitcoinBridge allows users to transfer BTC.b. BTC.b is a new type of wrapped Bitcoin that can be used on the Avalanche Network. It is moved to Avalanche using the Avalanche Bridge. This makes it easy to use Bitcoin on many different networks with the help of LayerZero.

    Meanwhile, BitcoinBridge is a good way for people on a budget to interact with the LayerZero ecosystem. Doing 20 transactions on BitcoinBridge will only cost around US$15! Here’s how to use BitcoinBridge:

    1. Buy BTC.b on Trader Joe here.
    2. Connect your EVM and Aptos wallets here.
    3. Bridge assets between different networks.

    Use Rage Trade

    Rage Trade is a double-legged trading protocol that offers a perpetual ETH swap and a USDC yield-farming product built on Arbitrum and LayerZero. Therefore, interacting with it may qualify you for 3 airdrops at the same time! To use Rage Trade, simply trade and deposit and stake on their platform. Also, contribute to their community.

    For more details check out our Rage Trade Token Airdrop Guide

    Use Altitude

    Altitude ($ALTD) is a dApp built on LayerZero, designed to allow DeFi users to transfer assets with enhanced security features, inexpensive bridging fees, and fast transactions. Altitude have confirmed they will launch its $ALTD token as well as an airdrop when their mainnet launches!

    See: Altitude ($ALTD) Token Airdrop Guide

    Use Dexalot

    Dexalot is a decentralized exchange that uses LayerZero as its default bridge provider. To use Dexalot, you will need to have ETH on the Arbitrum network and AVAX on the Avalanche network. Connect your wallet to Dexalot and go to the “Portfolio” tab, making sure you are on the Avalanche network. At the bottom of the page you will see a list of your tokens, select AVAX and click the 3 points on the right hand side. On the popup window, deposit some AVAX onto Dexalot. Note however depending on the amount of AVAX deposited, it may cost more gas fees to withdraw than the amount itself. So you may need to consider it as a loss for the sake of interacting with Dexalot.

    Interact with Abracadabra

    Abracadabra is intergrated with Layer Zero and allows users to borrow, leverage or earn yield. To interact with Abracadabra, you will need to have their native $MIM token. $MIM can be purchased on several decentralized exchanges such as Uniswap, Sushiswap or Trader Joe. Make sure you are on the Avalanche network, or you will have to first bridge your $MIM tokens there. Back on Abacadabra, send one $MIM token from Avalanche to Arbitrum network. If you don’t want to keep your $MIM tokens, you can proceed to sell it for ETH on Arbitrum.

    Use SteakHut Finance

    SteakHut Finance is a yield optimization protocol that has integrated with LayerZero to launch $STEAK as an omnichain token. On SteakHut, $STEAK will be abe to be bridged across Avalanche, Arbitrum and eventually other blockchains on a 1:1 ratio. To use SteakHut, you will need to buy $STEAK tokens on the Avalanche Network. Note that currently only Trader Joe offers $STEAK tokens. Afterwards, connect your wallet to SteakHut and go to the “Bridge” tab. Send your $STEAK tokens to Arbitrum. You can also send your $STEAK tokens in reverse i.e. from Arbitrum to Avalanche networks. This would increase the number of interactions you have with SteakHut, which may put you in a better position for any potential airdrop. Note that you will need to pay gas fees in AVAX.

    Interact with Mummy Finance

    Mummy Finance is integrated with LayerZero and lets users trade BTC, ETH, FTM, OP, ARB and other cryptocurrencies with up to 100x leverage. To interact with Mummy Finance, you will first need to buy some of their native $MMY tokens on the Arbitrum network here. Then, go to Mummy bridge and bridge your tokens from the Arbitrum to Fantom network. Note it may cost more gas fees transfer back or sell your $MMY tokens. Therefore, you may need to consider it as a loss for the sake of interacting with Mummy Finance.

    Interact with other dApps on LayerZero

    You can also interact with other dApps on LayerZero including Holograph, Mugen Finance, Radiant Capital, Omni X or Angle Protocol. You can make small transactions, deposit funds, provide liquidity, swap assets etc. By actively and consistently using the ecosystem, it is highly likely LayerZero will reward users who genuinely interact with the ecosystem.

    source: TokenHunter

    Get roles on the Stargate Guild

    Here’s how to get roles on the Stargate Guild:

    1. Connect your Ethereum wallet to https://guild.xyz/stargate.
    2. To get the veStaker role, hold at least 25 $veSTG. To do this, buy at least 25 $STG on exchanges such as Bybit, Binance, or Uniswap. Then, stake your $STG here to get $veSTG. For detailed instructions see above.
    3. To get the 100 STG role, you will need to hold at least 100 $STG. Note that staked $STG does not count.
    4. To get the 1k LP Farmer role, supply at least $1,000 of USDC, USDT or BUSD on Ethereum, BNB Chain, Avalanche, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism or Fantom (not Metis) to receive LP tokens.

    How to claim the LayerZero ($ZRO) token airdrop?

    Here’s how to claim the LayerZero ($ZRO) token airdrop:

    • Connect your wallet or paste your wallet address to https://layerzero.foundation/claim to check your eligibility.
    • To claim the LayerZero ($ZRO) token airdrop, those who are eligible must donate US$0.10 in USDC, USDT or native ETH per $ZRO. This is known as LayerZero’s Proof-of-Donation mechanism. Donations would go to the Protocol Guild.
    • Users can claim from the following chains: Ethereum, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, Polygon, BNB Chain, and Avalanche.
    • Once claimed, $ZRO holders can transfer their tokens via the above chains using Stargate.

    LayerZero Airdrop Review

    When reviewing an airdrop, there are several factors to consider. First, the likelihood the project will even do an airdrop in the first place. Then, to look at how many tokens the project intends to allocate towards airdrop campaigns, as well as the difficulty in participating in their airdrop. It is also important to look at the utility of the token so that there will be an actual use and purpose in participating in the airdrop in the first place. Finally, a factor to consider when reviewing an airdrop is whether the airdropped tokens are subject to any lockup period.

    Likelihood of Airdrop: The LayerZero token airdrop is available to claim from 20th June to 20th September 2024.

    Airdropped Token Allocation: 85 million $ZRO are available to claim.

    Airdrop Difficulty: To be eligible for the LayerZero token airdrop, users could submit unique proposals for LayerZero or provided multiple ongoing transactions on the protocol.

    Token Utility: The LayerZero ($ZRO) token acts as a governance token, and to facilitate transactions across different blockchain networks.

    Token Lockup: The token will be unlocked on launch. However, those who are eligible for the airdrop must donate US$0.10 per $ZRO to claim the token

  • Injective ($INJ): Blockchain built for finance?

    Injective ($INJ): Blockchain built for finance?

    Injective ($INJ) aims to create a financial system that is truly free and inclusive through decentralization. With the fastest blockchain built for finance and plug-and-play Web3 modules, Injective’s ecosystem is reshaping a broken financial system with dApps that are highly interoperable, scalable, and truly decentralized.

    Although Injective is a decentralized platform, it moves away from the stereotype definitions of such platforms to bring a new era of DeFi with better functionality. For example, it provides the liquidity that matches that of CEXs. To understand how it achieves this and more, let’s take a more in-depth look into the platform.

    Check out our interview with Co-founder and CEO Eric Chen!

    Injective FRENZY: Interview with CEO Eric Chen

    Background

    Injective was founded in 2018 and incubated by Binance Labs. They are developed by a team with a vast experience in blockchain technology and other closely related technologies. Its Co-founder and CEO, Eric Chen, is a protocol researcher at Investing Capital, while its CTO, Albert Chon, is a software developer at Amazon.

    Others include full-stack developers, Solidity developers, and Golang developers. Moreover, the Injective team comprises members experienced in ASIC design and computer science.

    Apart from the core team members, Injective is supported by notable names in the industry, such as Binance, Pantera, Jump and Mark Cuban.

    What is Injective?

    Injective brings the features of centralized exchanges onto DEXs. The network brings speed, security, and liquidity into DEXs unlike most of the top projects at the moment,  and thus, aiding DeFi adoption. The system achieves this through a layered design and the employment of various technological advancements.

    3 Main Features of Injective

    Inter-chain Trading

    By interfacing with other blockchain-based networks, Injective can support many trading pairs. Consequently, traders can choose between trading pairs considering their profit margin. Ethereum, INJ, MKR, and DAI are the cryptocurrencies tradable on the Injective platform.

    A Combination of DeFi and Derivatives

    Injective has its eyes set on the DeFi space. For this reason, it includes features that enable the interaction between DeFi networks and the digital currency derivatives space, which culminates with an innovative trading offering.

    Distributed Futures and Margin Trading

    This is among the differentiating factors in the Injective ecosystem. It allows traders to trade futures and derivatives while enjoying the fruits of decentralization.

    What’s in it for Users?

    Through its features, it is evident that the platform is focused on end-users. Among the immediate benefits are security, low entry barrier, flexibility, convenience, speed, trust, and liquidity.

    5 Primary Layers of Injective

    The 5 primary layers of Injective are interlinked. Below is its technical architecture.

    injective technical architecture
    Injective’s technical architecture (Image credit: Binance Research)

    Let’s take a look at each of the layers in detail.

    Injective Chain

    The Injective chain forms the network’s core and powers decentralized trading. However, instead of being a full chain per se, it is actually a sidechain that is connected to the Ethereum blockchain. Notably, Ethereum is the home of the vast majority of the DeFi platforms.

    Moreover, the chain, through a connection to the Cosmos IBC, provides cross-chain functionalities. This layer acts as a derivatives platform and holds the exchange’s distributed order book.

    In addition, the Injective chain comprises a system that coordinates the platform’s trades, an execution space for the Ethereum virtual machine (EVM), and a bridge that makes it easier to interact with Ethereum-based tokens on Injective. Note that EVM handles the execution of smart contracts allowing for the creation of decentralized applications (Dapps).

    Other features domiciled in the Injective chain include, but are not limited to, DEX contracts, derivatives contracts, 0x V3 exchange contracts, and the staking contract.

    Exchange Client

    The client allows permissionless participation on the network by supporting an open-source front-end. For ease of use, it has a professionally designed graphical user interface that appeals to both novice and experienced users.

    API Provider

    Application programming interface (API) providers form a key part of the Injective ecosystem by interacting with transactions and acting as a data layer.

    An API node can either provide a transaction relay service or be a data layer. As a transaction relay service, it provides mechanisms for users to interact with the system.

    On the other hand, API providers acting as a data layer provide data and analytic capabilities to external users.

    EVM RPC Provider

    This aspect of Injective deals with the interconnection between Injective and Ethereum.

    Ethereum Bridge

    The bridge provides an interface for exchanging tokens built using the Ethereum standard (ERC-20). Also, it creates a peg-zone where the exchange takes place.

    Injective Token (INJ) and its Use Cases

    Injective has a native token called INJ. It has a maximum circulating supply of 100 million tokens. Though only around 15.2 million tokens are in circulation, it is projected to increase due to inflation, which happens at roughly 7%. Luckily, the platform has instituted measures to reduce inflation to around 2% over time.

    The token was first made available to the public via Binance Launchpad, the exchange’s Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) platform. INJ is currently listed on Binance and on Uniswap.

    INJ Token’s Uses on the Injective Platform

    • Offering discounts on transaction fees – Traders on the platform are charged less when paying their transaction fees using the network’s native currency.
    • Rewarding stakers – Since the platform supports staking, rewards to stakers are paid using INJ.
    • Governance rights – Being a decentralized community-focused platform, governance-related issues are decided by the Injective community. However, to participate, members have to hold INJ.

    The more the tokens held, the stronger the voice on the governance table since INJ is required when submitting a proposal and when voting.

    • Providing passive income – Apart from paying staking rewards in the native token, INJ can be locked in a wallet to attract tips.
    • Incentivizing market makers – Market makers or liquidity providers are key roles. Therefore, to attract more liquidity, the platform uses its native token to incentivize liquidity providers.

    Injective CosmWasm Upgrade

    On 5th July 2022, Injective’s Injective CosmWasm Mainnet upgrade has gone live. As a part of this upgrade, Injective will have, among others, the following updates:

    • Smart contract support with CosmWasm;
    • Automatic smart contract execution;
    • Support for negative maker fees; and
    • Support for binary options markets.

    Smart Contract Support with CosmWasm

    As a result of the latest upgrade, Injective now supports smart contracts by CosmWasm. The name “CosmWasm” comes from the combination of 2 things- Cosmos, and WebAssembly. CosmWasm is a smart contract platform built for the Cosmos ecosystem, its unique feature is that it allows developers to build multi-chain smart contracts using the InterBlockchain Communication (IBC) Protocol. Furthermore, this update will allow developers to build applications on Injective whilst at the same time making use of the existing core modules provided by Injective. For example, developers can use Injective’s decentralized order book module to create other decentralized apps (dApps) such as exchanges, prediction markets, lending protocols etc.

    Automatic Smart Contract Execution

    The latest mainnet upgrade also allows smart contracts to be executed automatically at every block. This is unique because generally, smart contracts require an external agent such as a user to manually invoke the contract and trigger the logic associated with the contract. Now, with the CosmWasm platform, smart contracts can be triggered individually and block by block, meaning that developers can create truly decentralized and permissionless applications.

    Negative Maker Fees

    In cryptocurrency trading, exchanges usually charge trading fees on a maker/taker structure, with maker fees being charged when the user places an order that goes onto the order book (whether fully or partially) i.e. “making” the market or providing liquidity.

    Injective charging negative maker fees mean that instead of users paying, users will receive a percentage of their trade as a rebate. The community will be invited to submit governance proposals for which trading markets they would like to implement negative maker fees, so the decision is left in the community’s hands.

    The overall benefit to the Injective community would be that it would encourage more users, thereby increasing liquidity for more orders and trading options.

    Binary Options Support

    Binary options are a type of financial contract, where there are 2 options based upon the outcome of an underlying asset or question. And when the correct answer occurs, there will be a payoff. Having binary options support on Injective means that new and diverse types of apps can be built on the platform, for example, those involving prediction markets.

    What is the Injective Volan upgrade?

    Injective’s Volan upgrade is expected to be the largest mainnet update in the project’s history. The Volan upgrade comes as the result of months of research and development and will involve a hard fork of the Injective network. Here are some key features that will be introduced in the Volan upgrade:

    1. Sub-second block times: Injective will achieve near-instant finality with sub-second block times, enabling fast and seamless transactions for users and developers. This will also reduce the risk of front-running and MEV attacks, which are prevalent on other blockchains.
    2. IBC integration: Injective will become fully interoperable with the Cosmos ecosystem and other IBC-enabled chains, allowing users to transfer assets and data across different networks. This will open up new possibilities for cross-chain composability and innovation, as well as access to a vast pool of liquidity and users.
    3. CosmWasm and EVM smart contracts:Injective will support CosmWasm, a smart contract framework for the Cosmos ecosystem that allows developers to write smart contracts in any programming language that compiles to WebAssembly. Injective will also maintain its compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), allowing developers to deploy existing Ethereum smart contracts on Injective with minimal changes. This will enable developers to create diverse and complex applications on Injective, such as decentralized exchanges, lending protocols, prediction markets, NFT platforms, and more.

    When is the Injective Volan upgrade?

    The Volan upgrade will take place at block height of 57,076,000, or approximately 2:00pm on 11th January 2024 (UTC). Some exchanges such as Binance will temporarily suspend deposits and withdrawals of tokens on the Injective network from 1:00pm on 11th January 2024 (UTC) to support the network upgrade.

    Injective ecosystem token airdrop?

    Injective is doing an airdrop for the Injective ecosystem. Here are 3 ways you can position yourself for a potential Injective token airdrop:

    1. Staking on Injective validators: We suggest participants mostly focus on this item since staking on Injective validators may qualify you for other token airdrops.
    2. Mainnet interactions: You can position yourself for a potential airdrop and earn yields by depositing $INJ or other cryptocurrencies into the Black Panther vaults. Another option is to trade Injectives NFTs Talis Protocol, which is also very popular amongst users as they have also announced an airdrop. You can also trade or provide liquidity on Helix, which is a decentralized exchange and they are also doing an ongoing airdrop.
    3. Testnet interactions: Some protocols on the Injective ecosystem offer incentivized testnets which allow you to position yourself for airdrops without putting in any actual cryptocurrencies or funds. These include Ninja Blaze and Aeroscraper.

    Learn more with our Injective ($INJ) ecosystem token guide

    Conclusion

    By providing the required liquidity to power an active trading experience on a decentralized platform, Injective can siphon users from CEXs to DEXs. Consequently, cryptocurrency users and traders are hedged away from potential risks.

    In addition, enabling cross-chain interaction opens the platform to DeFi enthusiasts. Additionally, providing support for ERC-20 tokens increases interaction with DeFi tokens and protocols.

    Decentralised Finance (DeFi) series: tutorials, guides and more

    With content for both beginners and more advanced users, check out our YouTube DeFi series containing tutorials on the ESSENTIAL TOOLS you need for trading in the DeFi space e.g. MetaMask and Uniswap. As well as a deep dive into popular DeFi topics such as decentralized exchanges, borrowing-lending platforms and NFT marketplaces

    The DeFi series on this website also covers topics not explored on YouTube. For an introduction on what is DeFi, check out Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Overview: A guide to the HOTTEST trend in cryptocurrency

    Tutorials and guides for the ESSENTIAL DEFI TOOLS:

    More videos and articles are coming soon as part of our DeFi series, so be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube channel so you can be notified as soon as they come out!

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • zkLend ($ZEND) Token Airdrop Guide: How to earn double airdrops!

    zkLend ($ZEND) Token Airdrop Guide: How to earn double airdrops!

    zkLend began its creation in late 2021 with aims to create a layer 2 money-market protocol built on StarkNet. With StarkNet being one of the hottest anticipated airdrops, there is massive speculation that zkLend will also have an airdrop. Particularly since zkLend’s V1 mainnet is fast approaching. This guide will teach you how to get a potential zkLend ($ZEND) token airdrop, which may also increase your potential StarkNet airdrop too!

    Learn more: StarkNet ($STRK) Token Airdrop Guide: How to Qualify?

    zkLend ($ZEND) Airdrop Step-by-step Guide

    Here’s how to receive a potential zkLend ($ZEND) token airdrop:

    1. Go to the zkLend website.
    2. Connect a StarkNet wallet such as Argent or Braavos.
    3. Obtain some testnet ETH tokens and bridge to StarkNet.
    4. Interact with the Artemis testnet by supplying or borrowing tokens.
    5. Complete tasks on zkLend’s Questboard.

    See below for more details.

    What is zkLend?

    zkLend is a money-market protocol built on StarkNet. Its aim is to combine the best of zk-rollups and Ethereum. zkLend will enable users to earn interest on deposits and borrow assets. To achieve this, zkLend will be offering a dual solution in the form of 2 products: Artemis, and Apollo.

    Currently, zkLend has launched the Artemis MVP testnet on StarkNet Goreli testnet. Artemis is designed for regular DeFi users, and enables them to deposit, borrow and lend in a decentralized and permissionless manner on StarkNet.

    zkLend’s other major product, Apollo, is designed for institutional clients. The aim of Apollo is to become a gateway for institutional users into the world of DeFi. It will allow permissioned users to deposit, borrow and lend on StarkNet, but without compromising on compliance and security.

    What is the zkLend ($ZEND) token?

    The zkLend ($ZEND) token has not been launched yet. However, when it does, there will be a total token supply of 100 million tokens. 35% of the total supply of $ZEND tokens will be allocated towards staking and distribution rewards.

    The ZEND token is intended for governance and utility functions on zkLend. In particular, ZEND tokens will be rewarded to users when they interact with the zkLend network. For example, ZEND tokens will be distributed for users when borrowing/lending or providing liquidity to the network. Also, when users participate in community events or marketing/airdrop campaigns. ZEND token holders will also be entitled to voting rights which allow them to vote on future features of zkLend.

    What is the Current Status of the zkLend ($ZEND) Token Airdrop?

    zkLend has not launched its $ZEND token yet. However, the chances of zkLend doing an airdrop are promising. This is because they have already stated in their Whitepaper that a proportion of zkLend’s revenue would be allocated for airdrop campaigns.

    How do I participate in the $ZEND token airdrop?

    As there is no official airdrop announcement yet, many users can only speculate how to become eligible for $ZEND token airdrops. It is speculated that users could participate in the Artemis public testnet. This is in the hopes that completing zkLend testnet actions will inevitably entitle them to airdrops when the $ZEND token is launched. However, users should note that an airdrop is not guaranteed.

    Time needed: 30 minutes

    How to get a potential zkLend $ZEND token airdrop

    1. Go to the zkLend website

    2. Connect a StarkNet wallet such as Argent or Braavos.

    3. Obtain some testnet ETH tokens and bridge to StarkNet.

      Get testnet ETH here and bridge to StarkNet here.

    4. Interact with the Artemis testnet by supplying or borrowing tokens.

      Interact with the Artemis testnet here.

    5. Complete tasks on zkLend’s Questboard

      Connect your wallet to zkLend’s Questboard and complete the tasks. Tasks include joining their Discord, liking and retweeting their Tweets, and submitting your Starknet mainnet wallet address.

    Artemis is still in the testnet stage, and it is hoped that the mainnet will be launched in 2023, as well as the launch of the $ZEND token.

    Meanwhile, check out our picks for the top Upcoming Crypto Airdrops!

    zkLend Airdrop Review

    When reviewing an airdrop, there are several factors to consider. First, the likelihood the project will even do an airdrop in the first place. Then, to look at how many tokens the project intends to allocate towards airdrop campaigns, as well as the difficulty in participating in their airdrop. It is also important to look at the utility of the token so that there will be an actual use and purpose in participating in the airdrop in the first place. Finally, a factor to consider when reviewing an airdrop is whether the airdropped tokens are subject to any lockup period.

    Likelihood of Airdrop: The zkLend ($ZEND) token has not been launched yet. But the team has said that $ZEND tokens would be allocated towards staking and distribution rewards.

    Airdropped Token Allocation: zkLend ($ZEND) will be a total token supply of 100 million tokens. 35% of the total supply of $ZEND tokens will be allocated towards staking and distribution rewards.

    Airdrop Difficulty: It is possible that participating in the Artemis public testnet could make you eligible for a potential $ZEND airdrop. Whilst this requires time and technical knowledge, you will only be using testnet ETH so it does not cost any money on your part. Otherwise, there are simple social tasks on their Questboard which are easy to do. There may also be a possibility that doing zkLend tasks may make you eligible for the potential StarkNet airdrop too!

    Token Utility: The ZEND token is intended for governance and utility functions on zkLend. ZEND tokens will also be rewarded to users that interact with the zkLend network.

    Token Lockup: There is no announcement on the $ZEND token lockup yet. However, it is hoped that the mainnet will be launched in 2023, together with the $ZEND token.

  • Quai Network ($QUAI) Token Airdrop LIVE: Earn $2000 for Free

    Quai Network ($QUAI) Token Airdrop LIVE: Earn $2000 for Free

    Hunting for crypto airdrops is a great way to make free money. Some people have made as high as $10,000 from the Aptos token airdrop. If you missed it, Quai Network is another upcoming project with airdrop qualifications happening right now. Let’s take a look at what Quai Network is and what you can do to receive their token airdrop before it’s too late!

    Quai Network ($QUAI) Airdrop Step-by-step Guide

    Here’s how to receive a potential Quai Network ($QUAI) token airdrop:

    1. Engage with Quai Network’s Twitter
    2. Engage with Quai Network’s Reddit

    See below for more details

    What is Quai Network?

    Quai Network is a decentralized network of multiple proof-of-work (PoW) blockchains running in unison. These blockchains have native interoperability, allowing for cross-chain transactions and messages. It is also fully EVM compatible, allowing any Solidity contract to be ported and deployed.

    Quai Network provides a novel approach to blockchain scaling, different from parallel processing chains such as Aptos and Sui. It aims to maximize the energy efficiency of PoW by introducing the concept of modularity.

    Proof-of-Work 2.0 (PoW2)

    Quai Network sought to improve upon the PoW consensus mechanism by addressing its environmental concerns. For the longest time, Bitcoin’s PoW algorithm has been infallible, but it also consumes massive amounts of energy. And it will continue to rise as mining difficulty increases after every Bitcoin Halving event. This is why Ethereum switched to proof-of-stake (PoS).

    But Quai Network believes that PoS is inherently centralized due to the amount of money it requires to be a validator, creating a gap between the validator “class” and everyday users. Therefore, Quai Network has introduced an upgraded version of PoW called Proof-of-Work 2.0 (PoW2) where hash power can be reused to secure multiple chains. This is achieved by utilizing a novel combination of merged mining and sharding, reducing computational cost while allowing the network to scale more efficiently.

    Merged Mining

    Merged mining is the process of securing multiple blockchains with one miner, allowing miners to earn rewards in multi cryptos without having to switch between networks or use additional hardware. It was first conceived by Satoshi Nakamoto in the Bitcoin white paper, in which a completely seperate blockchain could share CPU power with Bitcoin, inheriting the same security and decentralization of Bitcoin without requiring dedicated miners.

    Quai Network uses this concept, but instead of having Bitcoin as a parent chain, it has its own parent chain (the Prime Chain) which secures the many other chains beneath it by sharing hashrate. This improves throughput over monolithic chains such as Solana without the need for layer-2 solutions. Moreover, Quai Network is horizontally scalable, which means additional chains can be added to meet network demands. This is possible because of their multi-chain architecture.

    Multi-Chain Architecture

    Quai Network’s architecture makes use of sharding by dividing a single blockchain into multiple smaller and faster blockchains to improve network performance, similar to Ethereum and Polkadot. Its network is divided into a hierarchical structure of three different types of chains. At mainnet launch, Quai Network will begin with the single Prime Chain, three Region Chains, and nine Zone Chains.

    • Prime Chain

    The Prime Chain is at the core of the entire network, utilizing a hashing algorithm that is shared across all subordinate chains (Region and Zone). It aggregates and settles state transitions across the network, which means miners are required to mine the Prime Chain to keep the blockchains functional.

    However, it has the highest mining difficulty, which means it has the slowest throughput (one block every 15 minutes). Therefore, it is not ideal for simple transactions and DApp activities. It is mostly for use in situations where the whole network is being addressed and securing the network.

    • Region Chains

    There are three Region Chains at mainnet launch: Cyprus, Paxos, and Hydra. These chains have lower mining difficulty, thus a higher throughput than the Prime Chain (one block every 5 minutes). These chains handle lesser network interactions that are not necessary to address the entire network. They can also interact natively on the network, but each require unique mining power. Therefore, a miner can only mine a single Region Chain at a time, in addition to the Prime Chain.

    • Zone Chains

    At mainnet launch, each Region Chain will have three Zone Chains under it. These Zone Chains have the highest throughput (one block per 10 seconds) and TPS capacity, making them ideal for regular transactions and contract interactions. As such, most activity on Quai Network will occur on Zone Chains. They are also able to interact with other Zone chains, even those under different Region Chains. But similar to Region Chains, miners can only select one Zone Chain to mine.

    • Coincident Blocks

    Coincident Blocks tie the whole hierarchal structure together, linking all chains which enables cross-chain state transfers and periodic pegging of all chains to the Prime Chain’s total work. These blocks allow the entire network to inherit the same security of the Prime Chain, governed by three rules:

    1. All Prime blocks must contain a Region and Zone block.
    2. All Region blocks must contain a Zone block.
    3. Zone blocks can be mined asynchronously without being included in a Prime or Region coincident block.
    Source: Quai Network

    Basically, a Coincident block occurs when (1) a Prime, Region, and Zone block are confirmed at the same time OR (2) when just a Region and Zone block. Each time a Coincident block is mined, all blocks since the last coincident block are then confirmed by the Region Chain, continuing upwards until the Prime Chain — think of it as a roll call. Therefore, chains lower in the hierarchy can inherit the security of the Prime Chain while still conducting independent activities.

    Who is the Team behind Quai Network?

    Quai Network is developed by Dominant Strategies, a technology development company based in Austin. The company was co-founded in 2019 by Alan Orwick, Jonathan Downing, Karl Kreder, Yanni Georghiades, and Sriram Vishwanath, all of whom worked together in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at the University of Texas. They co-wrote and published the white paper for Quai Network in December 2021.

    Dominant Strategies has raised $10 million over two funding rounds — $8 million from Polychain Capital in March 2022 and $2 million from Alumni Ventures in May 2022.

    Does Quai Network have a Token?

    Yes. $QUAI will be used to ensure network security and as an exchange of value in the ecosystem. Their token supply is hard-capped but its total number is not yet determined. According to their tokenomics, 25% is distributed as “adoption incentives”, 3% for “community” and 0.5% for “testnet incentives.” This means token airdrop opportunities for early users of Quai Network!

    Source: Quai Network

    How to Receive Quai Network ($QUAI) Token Airdrop?

    Quai Network has a Social Media Rewards Program that will airdrop $QUAI tokens for engaging with their Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, TikTok, and Instagram. Compared to other projects, this is one of the easiest ways to earn free tokens.

    To begin, join their Discord server and follow their Twitter account. Afterwards, you can check your rewards on the Quai Dashboard. If you have a Citizen role in their Discord server, you will have a 1.5x multiplier for your $QUAI rewards. You can obtain it by completing their survey here. It is easy to do if you have some degree of understanding of the project.

    From here on out, Quai Network will reward you $QUAI tokens for your engagement with their social media platforms. As of now, only Twitter and Reddit rewards are available. YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram rewards will be available soon.

    • Twitter
    1. Follow Quai Network.
    2. Follow additional team accounts.
    3. Liking and retweeting Quai Network’s Tweets that are less than seven days old (limited to twice a day).
    4. Make a Tweet mentioning Quai Network. Original and insightful Tweets that are liked or replied by Quai Network will grant you additional rewards.
    • Reddit
    1. Make a unique post in their channel (limited to twice a day).
    2. Make a post about Quai Network in another approved crypto-related Subreddit (limited to twice a day).

    It is worth noting that your account must have more than 50 post/comment karma, and the post must be approved by their team. Therefore, it will some time for your rewards to show if you make a post on Reddit.

    Quai Airdrop Review

    When reviewing an airdrop, there are several factors to consider. First, the likelihood the project will even do an airdrop in the first place. Then, to look at how many tokens the project intends to allocate towards airdrop campaigns, as well as the difficulty in participating in their airdrop. It is also important to look at the utility of the token so that there will be an actual use and purpose in participating in the airdrop in the first place. Finally, a factor to consider when reviewing an airdrop is whether the airdropped tokens are subject to any lockup period.

    Likelihood of Airdrop: Quai Network’s token airdrop is now live!

    Airdropped Token Allocation: According to Quai’s tokenomics, 25% will be distributed as “adoption incentives”, 3% for “community” and 0.5% for “testnet incentives.” This could mean token airdrop opportunities for early users of Quai Network!

    Airdrop Difficulty: Quai Network has a Social Media Rewards Program that will airdrop $QUAI tokens for engaging with their social media accounts on Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, TikTok, and Instagram. This is one of the easiest ways to earn free tokens compared to other projects!

    Token Utility:  The $QUAI token will be used to ensure network security and as an exchange of value in the ecosystem.

    Token Lockup: Participants of Quai Network’s Social Media Rewards Program will receive their $QUAI tokens upon Quai Network’s Mainnet Launch

  • Sovereign Labs: Unlocking the Potential of ZK-Rollups in 2023 – Why This Project Should Be On Your Watchlist

    Sovereign Labs: Unlocking the Potential of ZK-Rollups in 2023 – Why This Project Should Be On Your Watchlist

    ZK-rollups could be one of the strongest performing sectors in 2023, as demand for Ethereum scaling solutions is increasing. As such, Sovereign Labs is one of the most promising upcoming projects in the ZK-rollup space. The team is well-funded and the development is on track to be completed in Q2 2023. As such, Sovereign should definitely be on your watchlist for 2023.

    Check out our zkSync article for another highly anticipated ZK-rollup project this year.

    What is Sovereign?

    Sovereign Labs, the team behind Sovereign, is creating an open, interconnected rollup ecosystem to make it easier for developers to deploy interoperable and scalable rollups on any blockchain. It’s been compared to Cosmos ($ATOM), but instead of layer-1 chains, Sovereign uses their software development kit (SDK) and inter-blockchain communication protocol (IBC) for ZK-rollups.

    Current Problems of Blockchain Scaling Solutions

    The current blockchain scaling solutions including application-specific layer-1s, optimistic rollups and ZK-rollups, all have their own drawbacks:

    1. Application-specific layer-1s are the easiest to design and implement, but require large amounts of capital from validators to secure the blockchain. This approach is only viable for a few well-funded blockchain apps.
    2. Optimistic rollups produce fraud proofs to prevent misbehavior. However, during an attack, fraud proofs can be censored, leading to long finality delays. This makes bridging out of optimistic rollups slow and costly.
    3. ZK-rollups share the advantages of optimistic rollups, but without the long finality delay. Large batches of transactions can be finalized with validity proof in a matter of seconds. However, ZK-rollups are incredibly difficult to build because it involves a very high level of cryptography and protocol engineering.

    Out of the three blockchain scaling solutions, ZK-rollups prove to be the most promising scaling paradigm despite the massive undertaking it requires to build them. As such, Sovereign aims to make it easier for developers to create secure and interoperable ZK-rollups, just like the Cosmos SDK did for layer-1 chains. As a result, developers do not need to be experts in cryptography to write their apps, allowing them to focus on the business logic of their chain.

    Who is the Team behind Sovereign?

    Sovereign Labs is co-founded by Cem Özer (CEO) and Preston Evans (CTO). Özer had worked as a smart contract and protocol engineer in ConsenSys, the company behind MetaMask. On the other hand, Evans had worked as a software engineer in Amazon, and has years of experience in computer science and machine learning.

    Sovereign aims to make scaling simple, supporting billions of blockchain users without sacrificing security. In late January 2023, Sovereign Labs raised $7.4 million in seed funding led by Huan Ventures with participation from Maven 11, 1KX, Robot Ventures and Plaintext Capital. According to CoinDesk, a spokesperson from Sovereign stated the fundraise puts the company’s valuation in the “eight-figure” range. The fund will be used to build the SDK and hire protocol and researchers with expertise in blockchains and cryptography.

    Properties and Key Features of ZK-Rollup SDK

    The Sovereign SDK will provide a set of default modules, a peer-to-peer network, a database, and an RPC node, and will abstract away the details of zero-knowledge. This way, developers can write their apps in Rust or C++, and the SDK will automatically compile it to an efficient zero-knowledge virtual machine.

    It will also use a novel bridging technique based on proof aggregation to allow rollups on a shared L1 to bridge back and forth at minimal cost without a trusted third party. Off-chain relayers can combine the proofs of all the peer rollups into one proof, which can then be verified on the chain. As the state transitions are proven to be valid, there is no need to pay fees to a liquidity provider or wait a week for transactions to be completed. This means that bridging can be done immediately with no drawbacks.

    The biggest feature here is that Sovereign SDK Rollups are able to be used on any blockchain, as the responsibility of verifying proofs is given to the user, not the original blockchain. This is what sets them apart from smart-contract rollups. As the data availability layer does not need to be able to check proofs, SDK rollups can be used on any blockchain without needing to be rewritten. This makes them incredibly versatile, creating an ecosystem of interoperable and scalable rollups that can run on any blockchain.

    When is Sovereign Launching?

    Sovereign is currently in the process of developing the SDK, which includes designing the default storage module, cryptoeconomics, and core APIs. They are also working on a research prototype which is currently integrating with modular blockchain Celestia for data availability and ZK virtual machine Risc0 for the proving system. This phase is expected to be complete around Q2 2023.

    Initial implementation of the SDK will begin afterwards, which they will implement a peer-to-peer network, RPC node, core APIs, default storage and sequencing modules. Once this feature is complete, the SDK will be repeatedly stress tested and audited for about six months until it is ready to be deployed across all mainnet chains.

  • YF Link ($YFL): Combining the best of Chainlink ($LINK) and Yearn Finance ($YFI)?

    YF Link ($YFL): Combining the best of Chainlink ($LINK) and Yearn Finance ($YFI)?

    YF Link ($YFL) combines Chainlink’s $LINK token with Yearn Finance $YFI’s yield farming/liquidity mining mechanics. The premise of this project was so it would be adapted it for use by Chainlink enthusiasts, known as “Link Marines”. Considering the LINK token itself has done quite well in 2020 so far with prices going from $2 to $15, both Link Marines and other cryptocurrency enthusiasts, of course, are interested in what YF Link is and what it had to offer. So in this article, we will take a look at the background of YF Link, the functions of, and how to get their native $YFL token.

    Background and History of YF Link

    YF Link was forked from Yearn.Finance’s ($YFI) Yearn contract by switching it to accept LINK instead of yCRV tokens. It is a community-based project started by Chainlink enthusiasts, specfically, by a “Bobby Shaftoe” and 4 other anonymous developers who announced the existence of the project and its details in a Medium post “The Idea of YFLINK is Born” on 7th August 2020. Since LINK tokens were required to be locked up to generate yield, it is thought that the launch of YF Link had a positive influence on LINK prices as the demand for these tokens increased. Indeed in the few days following the Medium post, prices for $LINK almost doubled.

    YF Link in a nutshell (Image credit: YFLINK)

    Precursor – Yearn.Finance ($YFI)

    The precursor to YF Link, Yearn Finance (YFI), was launched by Andre Cronje on 17 July 2020 as an experiment in yield farming and liquidity mining. It works by allowing the users to provide funds to a smart contract, which are then automatically distributed between dYdX, Aave, and Compound lending protocols, optimized for maximum yield.

    In return, the users earn yield profits and acquire YFI tokens. The YFI token is used for governance. The total YFI tokens in existence are 30,000.

    Learn more about Andre Cronje’s insights on the DeFi space in his interview with FTX exchange.

    How does YF Link work?

    YF Link’s YFL token provides liquidity to LINK pools on multiple Decentralised Finance (DeFi) protocols such as Aave, Balancer, and Curve Finance. Users provide funds by depositing them into these protocols, which then generate yield profits for the depositors. These users i.e. liquidity providers also receive YFL tokens as a reward, in turn, these YFL tokens can be traded on exchanges such as Uniswap.

    The amount of rewards depends on the amount of liquidity provided and the duration which they are staked. And although users funds are locked in, they can be withdrawn at any time.

    Alternatively, some people simply speculate on YFL tokens and trade them on exchanges.

    The Concepts

    The two underlying concepts used in YF Link are yield farming and liquidity mining. They both work together in synergy to incentivize users to provide liquidity. As we will see later, these 2 concepts come together to enable farmers to earn rewards and potentially gain from these activities.

    Yield Farming

    Yield farming is a method of using otherwise idle assets for beneficial purposes. It involves taking assets from users, lending them to different protocols, in exchange for gaining more assets than initially provided.

    Liquidity Mining

    Liquidity mining is a variation of yield farming, which allows liquidity providers to gain another governance asset, alongside their usual yield rewards.

    The YFL Token

    The $YFL token is the native token for YF Link with a maximum supply of 75,000 tokens. It must be noted that even creators of YF Link have said that the token should be valued at ZERO.

    The YFL token is supposed to be used for governance purposes, i.e. it lets holders submit proposals to vote and make decisions. For example, one of the first governance proposals is to have a LINK meme competition.

    At the outset, a total of 6 pools were emitting YFL tokens, with various parameters. The emission of tokens will last around 15 weeks with most of the emissions occurring in the first 4 weeks. After the YF Link contracts were deployed, the creators burned the contract keys so that no one can change this emission schedule.

    YF Link Pools: What’s the difference?

    As mentioned in the above section, when the YF Link contracts were first deployed, a total of 6 pools would emit YFL tokens. Note that as at 22 August 2020, pools 0, 1 and 2 have exhausted their YFL rewards, this means you cannot mint any new YFL tokens by staking in these pools.

    Pool 0 also called the Genesis pool (15,000 YFL tokens available)— users provide LINK and YFL is returned. This pool has exhausted its YFL rewards.

    Pool 1 LINK Balancer pool (15,000 YFL tokens available)— users provide LINK and YFL is sent to a Balancer pool. Users get BPT tokens and provide them to the YF Link pool. YFL and BAL are then returned. This pool has exhausted its YFL rewards.

    Pool 2 yCRV Balancer pool (15,000 YFL tokens available)— uses yCRV. Returns include YFL, BAL, interest from Curve Protocol, and CRV tokens. This pool has exhausted its YFL rewards.

    Pool 3 LINK Aave pool (15,000 YFL tokens available)— users provide LINK and deposit it to Aave.com to get aLINK tokens. Then you get those aLINK tokens and deposit it in an aLINK Balancer pool with YFL. From this, users will get BPT tokens which they can stake in the YFL pool. In the end, users can earn YFL, BAL and AAVE interest.

    Pool 4 Governance staking pool (20,000 YFL tokens available) — This pool will go live at 26 Aug 2020 at 1400 (UTC). Users have to stake YFL, in order to be able to vote in the Governance contract for the duration of the vote. Users are rewarded with more YFL tokens.

    Pool 5 Unintended pool (5,000 YFL tokens available)— the team deployed this pool accidentally. The creators will mine from this pool to fulfill their early mining program obligations and potentially other purposes which are to be announced.

    Conclusion

    YF Link is an interesting variant of Yearn.Finance. It is likely to enhance the utility and the liquidity of the LINK tokens as well. Some analysts are even terming it the “missing link” between the two most widely used DeFi protocols – Chainlink and Yearn.Finance.

    Since its deployment, the project has functioned normally without any bugs or exploits. It has amassed an impressive Total Value Locked (TVL) in a short period of time. It may even become the go-to protocol for people looking to stake LINK tokens for rewards in the future.

    Decentralised Finance (DeFi) series: tutorials, guides and more

    With content for both beginners and more advanced users, check out our YouTube DeFi series containing tutorials on the ESSENTIAL TOOLS you need for trading in the DeFi space e.g. MetaMask and Uniswap. As well as a deep dive into popular DeFi topics such as decentralized exchanges, borrowing-lending platforms and NFT marketplaces

    The DeFi series on this website also covers topics not explored on YouTube. For an introduction on what is DeFi, check out Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Overview: A guide to the HOTTEST trend in cryptocurrency

    Tutorials and guides for the ESSENTIAL DEFI TOOLS:

    More videos and articles are coming soon as part of our DeFi series, so be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube channel so you can be notified as soon as they come out!

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • Keep3r Network ($KP3R): Everything you need to know about Andre Cronje’s latest experiment

    Keep3r Network ($KP3R): Everything you need to know about Andre Cronje’s latest experiment

    Keep3r Network ($KP3R) (“Keep3r”) appeared out of nowhere on 28th October 2020 with a Medium article by its creator, Andre Cronje. It is described by Cronje as an “…agnostic, easy to implement, incentivization layer for routine ecosystem maintenance.” Cronje is arguably the the “Father” of decentralised finance (DeFi) and Yield Farming, being the creator of the widely successful yEarn Finance ($YFI) which eventually spawned multiple clones and projects inspired by YFI. Keep3r is another one of Cronje’s experiments, and as per his usual “I test in prod” approach- he will launch the product FIRST, then do the necessary testing etc. Despite Cronje’s repeated and clear warnings on this, many still hope for a quick profit and thus throw their cryptocurrencies at the product as soon as it goes live.

    Background

    As mentioned in the introduction, Keep3r Network had small beginnings as a Medium article and subsequent Twitter post by creator Andre Cronje. Owing to his reputation in this space (his first project YFI grew from USD$0 to USD$300 in market capitalisation in a mere 2 months and spawned the current DeFi wave), many see that whatever Cronje touches turns into gold and so “aped” in by buying up the KP3R token as soon as it listed on Uniswap. Immediately upon launch, prices of KP3R were going up at the rate of around USD$1 per minute. This of course resulted in the word being further spread around social media, and more people decided to join in because they did not want to miss out on this opportunity.

    What is Keep3r Network ($KP3R)?

    Keep3r Network ($KP3R) can be described as a “job matching” network for Job posters looking for “Keepers” to do tasks for them, together with an incentive mechanism for all the parties involved.

    What are Keepers?

    Keepers are persons/teams with technical knowledge who are able to take up Jobs, for example, flash liquidation, providing Uniquote price feeds, collecting harvests, and Metawallet batch executions. These are simple manual tasks but can be tedious as it needs to be done regularly. For example, collecting harvests from yield farming is something that generally needs to be done every day. These tasks are usually done by the programmer i.e. Cronje himself, but it would be time-consuming for them to do.

    What are Jobs?

    In the Keep3r Network, anyone can add a particular Job for someone to do. Jobs are smart contract calls that want an external entity to perform an action in good faith and without any malicious intent or outcome. So they would register themselves as a Job on the Network and provide the relevant documentation and details such as job name, address etc.

    The Keeper i.e. the person/team would then register themselves as being able to perform the job and execute on the Job’s contract. Keepers have the freedom to set up their own DevOps, infrastructure and create their own rules to complete the job.

    This process is all done on-chain, and the advantage of this is that everyone can confirm that a particular task has been done.

    The Keep3r Ecosystem

    Having discovered that the Keep3r Network has the potential to be more than a job registry, creator Andre Cronje has decided to combine all of his projects under the Keep3r ecosystem to be one large liquidity ecosystem: options liquidity mining (olm), fixed forex and some other v3 liquidity incentives Cronje has in the works as follows.

    Keep3r Eden

    Keep3r Eden is a rule set to order transactions within a block in a way that is fair and transparent. This is important for the Keep3r Network since it prevents keepers and jobs from being front-run yet giving them priority access to block space.

    Keep3r is partnered with Eden Network. Through Keep3r’s acquisition of 602,409 EDEN, Keep3r is able to guarantee that it will be an anchor slot tenant. This allows Keep3r jobs to by default have the benefits of MEV and front running protection, as well as priority block inclusion. And if users use the Eden RPC, they also have private transactions.

    Keep3r’s Fixed Forex

    Fixed Forex aims to bring forex markets into DeFi by allowing for deep on-chain forex liquidity- this provides an alternative to USD denominated stable coins (i.e. USDT, BUSD etc).

    Keep3r’s Fixed Forex is a liquidity incentive and fee claim system for Iron Bank’s Fixed Forex. The IBFF and veIBFF tokens will be merged with the KP3R and vKP3R tokens. At the same time, the fee claim of approximately $60k/week will move to vKP3R.

    Fixed Forex is partnered with zarp.cash, their token ZARP is a cryptocurrency pegged to the price of the South African Rand (ZAR) on a 1:1 ratio. For security, ZARP tokens are stored in a treasury account and are independently audited by Kempen Audit. Therefore, according to the team, “ZARP is the only fully backed, transparent and audited stablecoin for the South African Rand”. ZARP is intended to be used as a representation of the Rand in DeFi. Other currencies such as EUR, KRW, GBP, CHF, AUD and JPY.

    Keep3r OLM (Options Liquidity Mining)

    Keep3r’s generalized OLM platform for projects allows them to have an instant options-based reward incentivization program. vKP3R holders benefit from this platform as 1% of all exercised option fees will go to them- this will mean around $100k/week in fees will go to vKP3R holders.

    Keep3r v3 liquidity incentives

    There is a liquidity mining program launched on Keep3r v3 for Uniswap v3. Liquidity providers (LPs) will be able to deposit their UNI v3 NFT positions and earn KP3R. 50% of fees earned will be distributed to vK3PR holders.

    Keep3r wonderland

    Keep3r Wonderland (also known as DeFi Wonderland) is an activist fund that provides capital and developmental support to protocol development projects.

    What are $KP3R tokens?

    $KP3R is the native token for the Keep3r Network and having more KP3R represents a higher “reputation” in the Network. As an example, say a Job requires someone to collect a harvest from the YFI contract. This task could impact the prices of different cryptocurrencies and lead to people front running. So you want the person completing this task to act in the interests of everyone and not be selfish.

    This is where the KP3R token comes in. Those who complete tasks are rewarded with KP3R, this will be equivalent to the gas spent on the transaction plus a premium, the amount of which depends on the complexity of the Job. The more KP3R tokens you have, the higher your “reputation” in the space and as a result you can take on higher-end jobs. It is also worth noting that there is a mechanism for slashing your bonded KP3R if you are found to be a malicious actor.

    By default, this is in the form of bonded KP3R but you can unbond it to become normal KP3R.

    Advantages and disadvantages of keeping bonded KP3R

    Advantages of keeping bonded KP3R include:

    • Higher bonds increase the types of Jobs Keepers can qualify to do;
    • only bonded KP3R grants voting rights in governance; and
    • bonded KP3R cannot be exploited. This is in case a Job introduces an exploit.

    Yet the disadvantage of keeping bonded KP3R is that you cannot immediately recoup ETH for Keeper transactions. Meaning that Keepers had to keep an unbond days amount of ETH as a float. A solution to this is MetaKeep3r (see below).

    What are $rKP3R tokens?

    rKP3R are redeemable KP3R tokens. They are wrapped KP3R tokens that have the option to be exercised as a KP3R CALL option at a 50% discount at any time. Note however that once created, you only have 24 hours to exercise the CALL, failing which the option will simply expire.

    rKP3R can be earned by providing curve.fi/factory. liquidity to ib forex assets or uniswap v3 liquidity to KP3R/ETH (with more pairs to come soon). Furthermore, all distributed KP3R rewards will be in the form of rKP3R for composability with Curve Gauges, Sushi Onsen, etc.

    Holders of rKP3R can redeem for the KP3R CALL by selecting “claim” on fixedforex.fi/options. It will then display under “strike” the USDC amount you would have to pay for the amount of KP3R should you choose to exercise the option and the expiry date. If you wish to exercise this option, simply click “redeem”. The amount of USDC would be transferred to the treasury address which then distributes all fees to vKP3R holders.

    Keep3r tapped into Chainlink’s highly secure and fault-tolerant oracles to advance its services. Although the two have similar functionalities, they serve different target markets.

    For example, Chainlink serves companies that require loads of always-online, secure, and fault-tolerant data i.e. the Fortune 500 companies.On the other hand, Keep3r is developed for apps yet to become a Fortune 500. That is, companies still in the research and development stage. Therefore, the coming together of the two protocols smoothens the process of switching to Chainlink when an application’s off-chain data needs to increase.

    Most importantly, the cooperation allows Keepers who have already done a substantial number of jobs to become eligible to be part of Chainlink’s node operators running critical jobs. When Keepers upgrade to become Chainlink node operators, they will transition from using K3PR to using LINK for payment and staking.

    $KP3R prices

    $KP3R launched at around USD$1 per token. However, due to speculators rushing in after hearing of a new Andre Cronje project, prices for the token shot up by 27x within 40 minutes- at around the rate of USD$1 per minute. As word quickly spread about KP3R, more people bought in for fear of missing out, resulting in prices skyrocketing even higher.

    Prices reached an all-time high of USD$1,385.62 on 11th November 2021.

    Keep3r how-to guide and tutorial

    For more details, please check out the Keep3r Network documentation.

    How to register as a Keep3r

    On Keep3r Network, connect your Metamask wallet. If you don’t have one yet, check out our Metamask guide.

    Create a bond by clicking “add”, input your amount of KP3R (you can even join without any tokens by inputting “0”) and confirm by clicking “add” again. After 3 days you will be able to activate your Keeper.

    Create a bond
    Create a bond

    How to perform jobs

    Currently available jobs are listed on the main page. You can click on them to find out more details about the job such as the relevant documentation and the credits (in the form of KP3R) you can receive for the job.

    Job details
    Job detail

    With the newest update, you can also use OpenZeppelin Defender with Keep3r Network. OpenZeppelin Defender is a wrapper for smart contract developers to automate maintenance tasks such as calling specific functions to manage the protocols on these contracts. This is helpful to developers as traditionally they would have to periodically do these tasks manually. Furthermore, the underline layer is written by the OpenZeppelin team (a security audit firm) which would bring stability to the DeFi ecosystem.

    How to register a Job

    Jobs can be any system or task that requires external execution. Jobs can be registered in 1 of 2 ways, either through governance or the contract interface.

    Registering a job through governance is probably the easiest method as it only requires you to submit a Governance proposal which includes the relevant contract as a job. No further action is required if your governance proposal passes. Cronje has stated in his interview with Synthetix that currently, it is relatively easy to pass this proposal as the quorum requirements are not high.

    The other method i.e. contract interface is slightly more complex and requires calling the add liquidity to job function on the Keep3r contract. However, you must not have any current active jobs associated with the account to do this and you can only create a Job through this address every 14 days.

    How to collect credits for Jobs?

    As seen in the Job interface, completing Jobs gets you credits in return. To collect these credits you will need to provide KPR-WETH liquidity in Uniswap, and you will be given an equal amount of KPR tokens in return. Note you are not required to purchase KPR tokens.

    By default, this is in the form of bonded KP3R but you can unbond it to become normal KP3R.

    MetaKeep3r: How Keepers can instantly recoup their gas fees

    According to Cronje’s Medium article, MetaKeep3r keeps the “maintenance” of Keepers to a minimum. By using MetaKeep3r with OpenZeppelin defender, Keepers can instantly recoup their spent gas in the form of ETH. This is really important considering there had been previous “gas wars” when DeFi fever was at its highest- basically any benefit that could have been derived from a particular transaction was less than the amount of gas fees which was required to execute the transaction.

    As mentioned previously, Keepers that complete Jobs are rewarded with KP3R. By default, this is in the form of bonded KP3R, and whilst keeping bonded KP3R has its advantages, one issue is that ETH cannot be immediately recouped.

    Now with MetaKeep3r, you can immediately get ETH in return for trading bonded K3PR. How this works is that MetaKeep3r would keep the bonded KP3R and swap it for ETH as compensation for gas spent on Uniswap.

    Note however that a minimum bond of 100 KP3R is required for MetaKeep3r.

    Special thanks goes to Alvin and Crypto Warrior from our Telegram community for their valuable input into this article!

    Further resources

    Videos

    Boxmining explains Keep3r Network and his story with KP3R
    Synthetix discussion about Keepers with Andre Cronje from Keep3r.network

    Articles

    Andre Cronje Medium
    Keep3r Network documentation

    Decentralised Finance (DeFi) series: tutorials, guides and more

    With content for both beginners and more advanced users, check out our YouTube DeFi series containing tutorials on the ESSENTIAL TOOLS you need for trading in the DeFi space e.g. MetaMask and Uniswap. As well as a deep dive into popular DeFi topics such as decentralized exchanges, borrowing-lending platforms and NFT marketplaces

    The DeFi series on this website also covers topics not explored on YouTube. For an introduction on what is DeFi, check out Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Overview: A guide to the HOTTEST trend in cryptocurrency

    Tutorials and guides for the ESSENTIAL DEFI TOOLS:

    More videos and articles are coming soon as part of our DeFi series, so be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube channel so you can be notified as soon as they come out!

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • Polkastarter ($POLS) – Kickstarter for Cryptocurrencies?

    Polkastarter ($POLS) – Kickstarter for Cryptocurrencies?

    Polkastarter ($POLS) is a cross-chain decentralised protocol, powered by Polkadot, that allows start-ups to raise funds in a decentralised and interoperable environment.

    In 2020, the decentralized finance ecosystem (DeFi) recorded encouraging figures in the number of DeFi protocols, as well as the number of funds locked in these platforms. On the number of protocols, the platforms addressed different spheres such as lending, trading, and insurance.

    Unfortunately, not many protocols touched on revolutionizing conventional fundraising models such as initial coin offerings (ICOs), initial decentralized exchange offerings (IDOs), and initial exchange offerings (IEOs).

    However, projects like Polkastarter are on their way to bring a sigh of relief to startups looking for innovative ways to attract funding. Before we dig deeper into the project and what it brings to startups, let’s take a look at the group behind it.

    Background

    Daniel Stockhaus and Tiago Martins are the top brains behind Polkastarter. As project co-founders, Stockhaus is the CEO, while Martins is the CTO. Notably, the two have vast experience spanning from tech entrepreneurship to software development.

    Other members of the team include Danilo Carlucci and Matthew Dibb. Carlucci is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor, while Dibb is a strategic advisor.

    What is Polkastarter?

    Polkastarter is a decentralized platform enabling startups and other projects to attract capital through token auctions and inter-blockchain token pools. As you would have guessed from its name, the project is built on the Polkadot network that sits on Ethereum.

    Polkadaot Network

    Stockhaus settled on Polkadot because of the network’s major strengths in scalability, speed, interoperability, upgradeability, and governance. To elaborate, Polkadot surpasses Ethereum and Bitcoin transaction speed thanks to its use of parachains, which power horizontal scalability, and Grandpa consensus mechanism, which drives vertical scalability.

    Polkadot’s Proof of Stake consensus, GRANDPA (Source: Polkadot Wiki ‘Polkadot Consensus’)

    Polkastarter taps into these strengths to enable governance through community voting and staking. The network also relies on Polkadot to drive liquidity mining.

    Using these features, the project scores better than existing decentralized exchanges and swap protocols such as Uniswap, Bounce, and Primablock. For instance, these networks don’t support cross-chain pools, while Bounce and Primablock support a limited array of virtual assets.

    Polkastarter’s Use Cases and Major Features

    Polkastarter expands outside the fundraising space to crowdfunding and allows participants to benefit from discounted sales. Additionally, the protocol can increase privacy to over the counter deals by enabling password protection during such trades.

    The network differs from other similar projects since it allows:

    • Inter-chain swaps
    • Fixed and dynamic swaps
    • Community voting on critical governance issues
    • Decentralized and permissionless token listing
    • Comprehensive Know your customer (KYC) procedures
    • Users to spot scams from a distance through a built-in anti-scam feature

    Notably, combining these features brings low-cost transactions, fast cross-chain token swaps, the ability to move virtual assets across decentralized platforms, and a user-friendly design.

    How Polkastarter Handles Fixed Swaps?

    Fixed swaps pools are significant components of the network. Unlike with automated market making, fixed swap counteracts price volatility. Also, fixed swaps provide a greater level of transparency on the amount raised during fundraising.

    Polkastarter employs fixed swap pools instead of AMM swap pools. This approach solves, among other challenges, the risk of private investors artificially inflating the price and dumping their holdings and the cost of token offerings.

    Additionally, fixed swap pools ensure a fair distribution of tokens while eliminating the risk of rug pulls in a liquidity pool.

    Note that instead of using a bonding curve approach to determine token prices in a pool, Polkastarter sets a fixed price when swapping tokens. As such, it’s possible to add other parameters, such as how much a single user can contribute to a project. Additionally, it’s easier to set more parameters to ensure transparency and fairness on new token holders.

    Immediate advantages of using fixed swaps are:

    • The amount raised and tokens sold can easily be calculated.
    • It attracts investors distributed both demographically and geographically.
    • Token holders are given a chance to acquire tokens at a standard price.

    Polkastarter’s Native Token ($POLS)

    Tokenomics

    The network has a native token called $POLS, which it uses for various sections on the platform. POLS’s total supply is 100 million tokens. Exactly 42.5 percent of the tokens were sold during the seed sale, private sale, and Uniswap listing. Other tokens went to the marketing fund, team, advisors, and foundational reserve.

    $POLS Token Distribution & Utility (Source: Polkastarter Docs – What are the Tokenomics?)

    Funds raised during the sales periods went into legal/accountancy (5%), ecosystem growth (20%), liquidity/exchanges (30%), and product development (45%).

    POLS is used on the Polkastarter ecosystem as a utility token. Among its major uses are governance and fees.

    As a governance token, its holders can vote on crucial matters such as protocol features and tokens to be displayed on the network. On fees, transactions on the platform are paid using the native currency.

    Other Utilities

    • Staking – The token can be staked to earn staking rewards on various fronts. For example, it can be staked to receive pool rewards or for pool access. Note that the option to stake POL for pool access is solely upon pool creators. However, the choice is ideal for giving top liquidity providers private access to high-end pools.
    • Liquidity mining – Additionally, Polkastarter’s native currency can be staked to participate in liquidity mining. Rewards are distributed to entities providing liquidity on the secondary markets, among other subsections.

    Two Key Partnerships With Polkastarter

    Although Stockhaus and the team have inked many partnerships with reputable decentralized platforms, two stand out.

    Polkastarter and Covalent

    Covalent is a platform capable of fetching intricate details about a crypto wallet. As such, it allows Polkastarter and its users to check the trustworthiness of a token contract. The users have access to the token contract age, verification, transaction volume, among other details.

    Polkastarter and DIA

    Decentralized Information Asset (DIA) is a platform that provides distributed oracles on Polkastarter. Thanks to the exceptional qualities of its oracles, DIA helps Polkastarter provide warnings against massive price slippage.

    Other partnerships involve Moonbean, Shyft, and Orion Protocol.

    Conclusion

    By using fixed price swaps instead of AMM, Polkastarter sets the bar higher in decentralized funding. It adds the transparency and fairness aspect that has been missing on similar platforms. The projectl’s partnerships with Covalent and DIA gives its users peace of mind knowing that they can pick a suspicious project from the crowd and avoid price slippage.

    Furthermore, Polkastarter’s native token opens the door to distributed governance while giving its holders an extra way to earn rewards through staking.

    Decentralised Finance (DeFi) series: tutorials, guides and more

    With content for both beginners and more advanced users, check out our YouTube DeFi series containing tutorials on the ESSENTIAL TOOLS you need for trading in the DeFi space e.g. MetaMask and Uniswap. As well as a deep dive into popular DeFi topics such as decentralized exchanges, borrowing-lending platforms and NFT marketplaces

    The DeFi series on this website also covers topics not explored on YouTube. For an introduction on what is DeFi, check out Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Overview: A guide to the HOTTEST trend in cryptocurrency

    Tutorials and guides for the ESSENTIAL DEFI TOOLS:

    More videos and articles are coming soon as part of our DeFi series, so be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube channel so you can be notified as soon as they come out!

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • Uniswap v3 DEX: What is it? New features?

    Uniswap v3 DEX: What is it? New features?

    Uniswap v3 is targeting to launch on 5 May 2021 on an L1 Ethereum mainnet, L2 deployment on Optimism is expected to follow shortly afterwards.

    Learn how to use Uniswap with our Uniswap review and tutorial: beginners guide and advanced tips and tricks.

    Since the inception of distributed ledger technologies (DLT), the idea that no single entity controls the ecosystem has been at the center of decentralized finance(DeFi) growth and development. The introduction of automated market makers (AMMs) to blockchain systems expanded that idea by resolving liquidity challenges early DeFi pioneers faced. 

    As of today, AMMs are the primary way to trade digital assets within the DeFi sphere, allowing users to create liquidity pools, which incentivize liquidity providers (LPs) to supply pools with tokens or assets. Therefore, the more assets a pool has the more liquidity within that pool increases, which makes crypto trading easier.

    Powered by a constant product formula, the AMM protocol has reached new heights under Uniswap’s pioneering technology, which has become the most popular AMM model in the DeFi space.

    Background

    Uniswap is a decentralized exchange (DEX) running on the Ethereum blockchain. Its revolutionary technology was first introduced in 2018 through the company’s first iteration, Uniswap v1. Uniswap v1 is an on-chain system of smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain, implementing an automated liquidity protocol based on a “constant product formula”. 

    Uniswap v1 was the first of its kind, a type of exchange where anyone can pool assets into shared market-making strategies. The v1 protocol allowed users to create a liquidity pool with any pair of ERC-20 assets, ensuring the constant (K) that the product of the reserves (X and Y) cannot decrease as shown in “the constant product formula”.

    Two years later, the ambitious Uniswap team again disrupted the international DeFi ecosystem with Uniswap v2, a better and new implementation of the Uniswap algorithm based on the same formula, with new highly-desirable optimizations, setting the stage for exponential growth in AMM adoption.

    V2 enabled the creation of ERC-20 to ERC20 liquidity pools in addition to the previous ERC20 to ETH pools within the DEX, which facilitated over $135 billion in trading volume, becoming the top cryptocurrency exchange in the world.

    Uniswap has inevitably become one the most popular platform on the Etherum blockchain. The platform’s unique infrastructure for DeFi has empowered developers, traders, and liquidity providers to engage in a secure and powerful financial marketplace.

    Despite the astonishing success of v1 and v2, the pioneering Uniswap team seeks to make even more history with the recent introduction of Uniswap v3.

    What is Uniswap V3?

    Uniswap v3 is a noncustodial automated market maker implemented for the Ethereum Virtual Machine. In comparison to earlier versions of the protocol, Uniswap v3 provides increased capital efficiency and fine-tuned control to liquidity providers, as well as improves the accuracy and convenience of its price oracle, with a more flexible fee structure.

    LPs now can provide liquidity with 4000x capital efficiency relative to Uniswap v2, earning higher returns on their capital. The new v3 implementations demonstrate that the Uniswap team values capital efficiency and its ability to pave the way for low-slippage trade execution, surpassing both centralized spot exchanges and stablecoin-focused AMMs.

    Based on the same constant product formula as earlier versions of the protocol, LPs will have better control over price ranges in which their capital is used, with limited effect on liquidity fragmentation and gas inefficiency.

    Additionally, v3 introduces a multiple fee tiers system, where LPs will be duly compensated for taking on varying degrees of risk. This version of the Ethereum-based algorithm seeks to be the most flexible and efficient AMM ever conceived by focusing on the importance of liquidity providers in the DeFi sphere.

    Under v3 new features, LPs will benefit from increased exposure to favored assets and lower their downside risk, granting them the ability to sell one asset for another by adding liquidity to a price range entirely above or below the market price, approximating a fee-earning limit order that executes along a smooth curve.

    Furthermore, v3 platform oracles are better and far more efficient than previous versions, as they are easier and cheaper to integrate providing time-weighted average prices (TWAPS) on demand for any period within the last 9 days, bypassing the need for integrators to checkpoint historical values.

    Overall, Uniswap v3 anticipated groundbreaking innovations, and efficiency is set to impact the DeFi ecosystem in a big way. Despite all the added improvements, the gas cost of v3 swaps on Ethereum mainnet is cheaper than v2, further attesting to the tremendous technological advancements behind the platform.

    Uniswap V3 New Features

    Concentrated Liquidity 

    In Uniswap v3, LPs can centralize their capital within custom price ranges, providing greater amounts of liquidity at desired prices, enabling them to build unique price curves reflecting their preferences. This feature gives LPs the power to estimate the shape of automated market makers.

    Active Liquidity

    This specific feature ensures LPs’ wellbeing in the trading ecosystem. Specifically, when market prices change course and move outside an LPs’ specified price range, their liquidity is effectively removed from the pool and is no longer earning fees. This situation causes the LPs’ liquidity to shift to the less valuable asset while waiting for the market price to bounce back to the specified price range. 

    However, this concept allows LPs to actively update their price range accounting for the current or market set price range, and start earning trading fees again.

    Range Orders

    The idea behind the range orders implementation is to enable LPs to deposit a single token in a custom price range above or below the current price: If the market price enters into their specified range, they sell one asset for another along a smooth curve while earning swap fees in the process.

    Powered by the concentrated liquidity concept, range orders are set to benefit LPs tremendously as it accounts for wider ranges which are particularly useful for profit-taking, buying the dip, and primary issuance events.

    Non-Fungible Liquidity

    The v3 protocol guarantees that LPs’ positions are represented by non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Nevertheless, commonly shared positions can be made fungible (ERC-20) via peripheral contracts or bridged protocols. 

    Flexible Fees

    V3 offers users three separate fee tiers per pair of assets, 0.05%, 0.30%, and 1.00%. These options ensure that LPs model their margins according to expected pair volatility as LPs take on more risk in non-correlated pairs like ETH/DAI and, conversely, take on minimal risk in correlated pairs like USDC/DAI

    Conclusion

    The DeFi space has undoubtedly benefited from the advent of AMMs unique features, which have since given birth to audacious and pioneering platforms like Uniswap. The Uniswap ecosystem provides a complex yet efficient technology that has revolutionized decentralized crypto trading through its distinct implementations of liquidity pools.

    From Uniswap v1 to the anticipated v3, users and LPs are presented with a series of improvements that will facilitate the use of decentralized assets and eventually catapult the DeFi ecosystem to ever newer heights.

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.