DeFi Enclave's Chronicles #2
Arbitrum, Vertex, Citadel, Pancake, Parallax, MUXLP, Beefy, Algebra, Camelot Wars, Dyson, Silo.
In this episode:
Voyager's Observations - personal reflections and insights on DeFi and Beyond
Voyager's Vault - Detailed Report on My Investment Moves
DeFi Survivor's Bookshelf - Handpicked must-read threads and articles
DeFi Projects Radar - detailed survey of projects news and developments
Alpha Whispers - unexplored DeFi territory, proceed at your own risk
Voyager's Observations
The madness associated with the giveaway through Arbitrum STIP has begun.
I don't like the idea of short-term incentives for burning commissions; I prefer it when a project invests money in its own development and the development of DeFi as a whole.
But who am I to judge, if they give an opportunity to earn, then we will earn.
My main bets on the giveaway are through:
Silo Finance (I'll tell you how I earn there in the Alpha Whispers section below)
MUXLP through Penpie
Timeswap
Vertex
And, of course, I will try to maximize my deposits in Radiant dLP to get under the snapshot for an airdrop.
So, Vertex.
Just a few days before launching the economic component of its project, they took it upon themselves to rewrite their tokenomics, making some removals and changes. What bothers me the most is the lack of specifics regarding profit distribution and the inability to influence management decisions in any way.
I assume that Vertex is following the path taken by Level Finance - as long as there are rewards for trading, the project will earn well due to wash trading. However, over time, the price will gradually fall due to the increased influx of new tokens into the market.
Personally, I have decided to focus on the token price after launch. If my tokens constitute a significant amount for me, I will sell them.
You can read my detailed articles on this situation:
Combining Excellence. Vertex's Tokenomics Strategy to Forge Industry Leadership
Rewriting the Tokenomics 3 Days Before the LBA. Don't be like that, Vertex.
Will I participate in the CitadelSwap IDO ?
In short, no. Camelot is my one true love.
But let's be serious here, what's the hype around this project ? Just paid ads from influencers, same old story.
By the way, check out my post on this:
3 Types of DeFi Projects I Steer Clear Of
CitadelSwap is basically a Camelot fork on Base. Naive to think it'll take off just because Camelot did.
Times have changed! Aerodrome, Curve, Uniswap, and other DEXes dominate now on Base.
Sure, Citadel has deflationary tokenomics with dividends and all that stuff, but why would anyone trade there instead of trusted DEXes ?
No competitive edge.
Save your money, skip the IDO gamble.
There is a significant movement happening in PancakeSwap.
I followed it closely last year but eventually shifted my attention to other projects. However, during that time, Pancake actively expanded across different chains and made serious modifications to its tokenomics, the token is deflationary now.
Recently, there has been news about the upcoming launch of Cakepie, another subDAO created by the Magpie team. This new platform will aggregate CAKE tokens, but the current yield on them is minimal, so Cakepie will need to strategize how to attract users to its platform.
It should not be forgotten that Pancake is not just another DEX, but a huge matured business. It is a top project in the entire DeFi space with a TVL of 1.5 billion
Therefore, it's definitely worth monitoring this project.
Parallax is shifting its focus towards developing Concentrated Active Liquidity Management (CALM), an automated and actively managed solution for concentrated liquidity.
I must admit, I'm disappointed.
Parallax initially stood out with its complex strategies involving a diverse range of tokens and auto-compounding, making it truly unique in the realm of DeFi.
However, it seems they are now venturing into creating self-rebalancing vaults using standard blue-chip pairs. This is nothing new, as projects like Gamma have been doing the same thing for quite some time now, even boasting a TVL of 100M and a partnership with Camelot where they publish their vaults.
What surprises does Parallax have in store ?
It's worth noting that there hasn't been much activity from them in the past month.
Voyager's Vault
Once a month at the beginning, I make a snapshot of my portfolio with proportions and P/L.
You can check October snapshot here
Today, we'll go through my positions.
I've made quite a few changes:
GNS: Sold
GLP: Sold
I still adore these projects, and I continue to consider GNS very undervalued. I decided to shift from these positions to MUXLP, an aggregator of GMX & GNS. It's incorrect to compare the GNS token with the MUXLP liquidity basket, but this is the case when you sell because something more valuable has appeared.
MUXLP: New position
MUXLP has appeared on Pendle and, accordingly, on Penpie. I am fond of the product from this combination. Now, instead of three positions (GLP, GNS, and planned Vertex) I will have one. This single position will contain several perp dexes inside.
Beefy Finance
I'm planning to open a position in BIFI, specifically in mooBIFI - its version with auto-compound on Optimism.
I have been following Beefy Finance for over a year, and I am tired of ignoring their top-notch management and community (Discord, Docs).
This is a project that has had quite a complicated fate, having recently been heavily affected by the collapse of Multichain, but they continue to survive and make money. And their reports are of institutional grade quality and transparency of finances and what's happening in the project, I suggest you read their report for Q3 2024.
Yes, there's not a lot of income there now, and their business model is quite simple and straightforward, here you won't see any crazy multipliers. But their experience and quality of management are an example for the entire DeFi industry. Beefy is a stable, confident business, it's like investing in Coca-Cola or PepsiCo in traditional finance.
I also bought a bit more of GRAIL.
DeFi Survivor's Bookshelf
The Redacted Thesis - Metamorphosis
Great article by Degen Sensei about the Redacted project. What lies ahead for the project and whether it's worth investing in it. By the way, this is how their Treasury looks like.
Chainlink Staking Platform: v0.2 Upgrade and Launch Details
A serious article about how Chainlink Economics 2.0 will function, and how you will be able to stake LINK tokens.
Lessons To My Future Bull Market Self
An amazing article from blockmates on navigating bull markets in crypto, focusing on learning from past mistakes and strategies for future success.
Mastering Tokenomics - Hercules Defi compiled a pack of threads about tokenomics.
DeFi Projects Radar
Monthly reports
Alpha Whispers
Camelot Wars coming
Last week, I accidentally found out that there was a call for Redacted Cartel and got curious about what was discussed.
I stumbled upon some information that was quite unexpected, as I thought we were waiting for Campie for the launch of Camelot wars.
Turns out, Campie now has a competitor in the form of Hidden Hand. Thinking about it, the last (and first) serious competitor was Wombex, and after that, Magpie didn't really have much competition. But now things will be different.
This is only better for us; more competition means richer GRAIL owners.
Silo Finance Loop
Silo Finance is currently experiencing rapid growth in TVL. I've researched the project, and here's how you can earn money there (they've recently added ARB to the rewards).
Deposit USDC.e to wstETH → borrow wstETH → swap wstETH to ETH → deposit ETH → borrow wstETH and so on.
The project itself is interesting, but their SILO token is currently quite useless. For now, there's only a minor buyback from the project's earnings from fees and token-based voting.
In Discord, I asked whether they plan to add any utility for their token, and I was told that everything will be included in V2, which is apparently on the way. I couldn't find any information about V2, only a brief mention in the Arbitrum STIP application.
It might make sense to accumulate SILO now, as it could soar high considering the project's current growth and if the token gets a solid tokenomics model.
Dyson Finance
Currently, I am actively involved in the Dyson Finance project. The project is very similar to Timeswap in terms of technology and the fact that they explicitly promise tokens for activity points. The activities are simple, you just need to use the project's functionality. You can read more about it here
Recently, I prefer to participate in young projects that distribute tokens through activity on their platforms, rather than through sales.
Algebra Finance
Algebra Finance is a direct beneficiary of the market growth and increased trading on DEXs. They are a liquidity provider for Camelot & Quikswap and many other DEXs. However, the project is so small and unnoticeable that it hasn't grown as much compared to the same DEXs.
I suggest you read my research on the project and consider the fact that the token is currently significantly undervalued, plus the project will soon release a cool upgrade called Integral.
In short, if you are positive about Camelot, then Algebra is the project behind it, benefiting from a portion of the fees, and it would be foolish to miss such an opportunity.
That's all for now.
The week wasn't particularly interesting in terms of events and engaging content.
I've noticed that when the markets are rising, the number of promotional posts on social networks increases, while quality information somehow disappears.
Next week, of course, the main event for me will be the LBA from Vertex.
By the way, now is a very good time for the launch of various projects that have been marinating us for a long time because you can dump the tokens at a higher price, so I'm waiting for airdrops and interesting activities from projects.
I'd be glad to hear any advice on what to add or change in the comments here or on my X (Twitter).
And remember, don't trust anyone in the crypto industry, including me.