8 Promising DeFi Protocols You Should Know With Potential Airdrops, Yield, and Points Programs

KEYTAKEAWAYS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• KEY TAKEAWAYS
• INTRODUCTION
• 1. ELIXIR
• 2. MITOSIS
• 3. dAppOS
• 4. INFINEX
• 5. SYMBIOTIC
• 6. INFINITY POOL
• 7. HYPERLANE
• 8. SHOGUN
• CONCLUSION
• DISCLAIMER
• WRITER’S INTRO

CONTENT

Explore 8 promising DeFi protocols offering potential airdrops, yield farming, and points programs. Learn about innovative platforms across various networks and sectors, with insights on key features and opportunities.

INTRODUCTION

As the crypto industry continuously evolves, new protocols are constantly emerging in decentralized finance (DeFi), offering a plethora of opportunities for crypto enthusiasts and investors. These opportunities range from potential airdrops and yield farming to innovative points programs. This article highlights eight promising DeFi protocols that span various networks, including Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible chains, non-EVM chains, and Cosmos-based networks. These projects cover a wide spectrum of DeFi sectors, including derivatives, yield generation, decentralized exchanges (DEXs), and more.

The protocols discussed here have been selected based on their notable backing from prominent investors, innovative approaches to solving existing DeFi challenges, and the potential for significant returns. However, it’s crucial to emphasize that the DeFi space is highly volatile and risky. While these projects show promise, this article does not constitute financial advice. We strongly encourage readers to conduct their own thorough research before engaging with any protocol or investing their funds.

Now, let’s delve into these exciting projects and explore the opportunities they present:

1. ELIXIR

Elixir addresses one of the key challenges faced by decentralized Orderbook exchanges: liquidity. Even the largest derivatives exchange by trading volume, Hyperliquid, ranks 29th with $440 million in Open Interest (OI), compared to Binance’s $15 billion OI at the time of writing.

Elixir positions itself as a modular DPoS network that supports liquidity for Orderbook exchanges. It serves as a crucial infrastructure, enabling exchanges and protocols to easily launch liquidity for their orderbooks.

Key features:

• Provides 40% of total liquidity for DeFi rderbook exchanges as of May
• Benefits both Liquidity Providers (LPs) and traders
• Partnerships with industry leaders like Hyperliquid and Dydx
• Raised a total of $17.6 million at an $800 million valuation from investors including Hack VC and Arthur Hayes

Elixir’s approach benefits both liquidity providers (LPs) and traders. LPs earn rewards through incentive programs on Orderbook exchanges, while traders benefit from tighter bid-ask spreads that exchanges can offer due to increased liquidity.

Potential opportunities:

• Mainnet launch expected in August
• Ongoing “Apothecary” event for earning rewards
• Three strategies to earn rewards: locking ETH on mainnet until August launch (50% bonus), depositing through the Orderly Quantum program to earn Elixir-backed “contracts,” and staying active on Discord

2. MITOSIS

As the number of chains and protocols proliferate, ordinary liquidity providers (LPs) face significant bottlenecks. Mitosis addresses these challenges by introducing a novel liquidity model called Ecosystem Owned Liquidity (EOL).

Key features:

• Enables LPs and protocols to adapt to multi-chain environments without manual fund allocation
• Provides clear reward systems, allowing LPs to choose the best available options
• Secured a $7 million funding round led by Amber Group and Foresight Venture

Mitosis solves common LP problems such as the need to constantly monitor news for the best yields, suffering losses when moving assets between chains, and being trapped in opaque points systems with unclear reward calculations.

Potential opportunities:

• Ongoing “Expedition” activity supporting Etherfi’s liquid restaking protocol (LRT) weETH
• Earn staking APR + restaking APR + Eigenlayer points + Etherfi points + Mitosis points
• Deposits on various L2 networks (Scroll, Linea, Blast) for potential future airdrops
• The activity has attracted over 45,000 stakers, with most deposits ranging from 0-1 weETH. Depositing over 1 weETH puts you in the top 3,000 participants.

3. dAppOS

dAppOS is an innovative intent execution platform that aims to transform blockchain and dApp interactions by creating a two-sided market centered around user intent. The platform’s unique selling point is its ability to make dApp interactions seamless, user-friendly, and highly efficient across multiple chains.

To illustrate dAppOS’s functionality, consider a scenario where you need to trade 100 USDC on GMX via Arbitrum, but your funds are spread across different chains: 50 USDC on Arbitrum, 30 USDC on BNB Chain, and 20 USDC on Ethereum. Traditionally, you’d need to bridge these funds, spending time and gas fees to move everything to Arbitrum for the trade. dAppOS simplifies this process dramatically: with just one click, all your funds become available on Arbitrum within minutes. You don’t need to worry about allocations or specific tokens for gas fees – everything is handled through the dAppOS interface, potentially shielding users from smart contract risks.

Key features:

• Simplifies cross-chain fund management
• Integrates with major perpetual contract exchanges like GMX and KiloEX
• Backed by prominent investors including Polychain, Binance Lab, and Hashkey Capital
• Secured a $15.3 million funding round at a $300 million valuation

dAppOS has already integrated its V2 into perpetual contract exchanges (perp DEXs) such as GMX and KiloEX. Users can explore more dApps within their ecosystem to understand the full range of capabilities.

Potential opportunities:

• The upcoming V3 launch is rumored to coincide with a token generation event (TGE)
• While discussions about dAppOS are currently limited, this could present an opportunity for early adopters
• Engage with newly integrated dApps in the ecosystem for potential rewards
• Keep an eye on new dApp integrations, as they often launch prize campaigns for early users

4. INFINEX

Some of the barriers to cryptocurrency mainstream adoption include poor user experience (UX) and the steep learning curve for newcomers. Infinex aims to accelerate mainstream adoption by unifying the decentralized ecosystem under a CEX-like user experience while remaining fully decentralized.

Key features:

• Built by the team behind Synthetix, a top 10 derivatives protocol
• Designed for Web2 audiences while maintaining full decentralization
• $25 million personal investment from Synthetix founder Kain
• Aims to allow newcomers to trade on-chain without understanding crypto terminologies like gas fees

Infinex envisions a scenario where newcomers can trade on-chain as easily as on a CEX, but in a 100% decentralized manner. This approach could significantly lower the entry barrier for mainstream users into the DeFi space.

Potential opportunities:

• Ongoing “Craterun” project with substantial rewards
• 5 million crates up for grabs, each with a 50/50 chance of winning 1,000 Patron NFTs, 5,000 Patron Passes, and a share of a $5 million prize pool
• Users can deposit assets like USDe, stETH, wstETH, and ezETH to earn dual rewards
• The first 10-day event has already raised over $100 million

5. SYMBIOTIC

In the wake of Eigenlayer’s success in the restaking space, with over $18 billion in Total Value Locked (TVL), competitors like Karak have quickly risen, reaching over $1 billion TVL in a short time. Symbiotic emerges as a unique player in this field, adopting a different approach and technology to stand out.

Key features:

• Permissionless and modular, allowing any protocol to launch native staking for their tokens to increase network security
• Non-upgradeable core contracts (similar to Uniswap), reducing governance power and ensuring the protocol can continue running even if the team departs
• Supports multi-asset from any chain, offering more diversity compared to Eigenlayer, which only supports ETH and its derivatives
• Secured a $5.8 million funding round led by Paradigm and Cyberfund (founded by Lido co-founder Konstantin Lomashuk)

According to an interview with Symbiotic CEO Misha Putiatin by Blockwork, the mainnet is expected to launch “around the end of summer with some networks.” This suggests that Symbiotic tokens might be tradeable before $Eigen, potentially capturing the restaking narrative from Eigenlayer.

Potential opportunities:

• Mainnet launch expected in late summer, possibly with a TGE
• Ongoing points program (currently at capacity)
• Earn points through Mellow, a liquid restaking protocol built on Symbiotic
• Opportunity to maximize yields by depositing on Pendle or participating in the Methamorphosis event for the upcoming Mantle liquid restaking token ($cMETH) governance token $Cook

6. INFINITY POOL

According to a report by Binance Lab last year, traders lost up to $892 million on exchanges due to manipulatable oracle vulnerabilities. Infinity Pool aims to create a decentralized exchange that addresses these issues while offering innovative features.

Key features:

• Offers unlimited leverage on any asset without liquidations or counterparty risk
• Does not rely on oracles, reducing vulnerability to price manipulation attacks
• Built on Uniswap V3 with concentrated liquidity
• Utilizes LP positions as sources of credit, with asset repayment possible in any LP asset
• Backed by Dragonfly, Coinbase Venture, and Wintermute
• Winner of the Blast Bang Bang contest

Infinity Pool’s approach could potentially eliminate the risks associated with oracle manipulation while providing traders with unprecedented flexibility.

Potential opportunities:

• Stay tuned for mainnet launch and future updates
• Follow their Twitter and Discord for announcements

7. HYPERLANE

Hyperlane stands out as the first universal interoperability layer built for the modular blockchain stack. Unlike other interoperability protocols like Wormhole and Layerzero, which only support EVM and non-EVM chains (like Solana), Hyperlane extends its support to Cosmos blockchains (such as Tia and Inj) as well.

Key features:

• Permissionless deployment in any blockchain environment
• Enables seamless communication between chains where Hyperlane is deployed
• Backed by Circle and Kraken Venture
• Over $18 million in funding (valuation undisclosed)

Hyperlane’s approach allows anyone to deploy without permission in any blockchain environment, enabling these chains to communicate seamlessly with other chains where Hyperlane is deployed.

Potential opportunities:

• Interact with non-EVM chains like Tia for potential higher rewards
• Use their official bridge Nexus to transfer non-EVM assets between chains
• Engage with partner projects (e.g., Renzo, nautilus, forma) that integrate with Hyperlane
• Complete ongoing Layer3 tasks

8. SHOGUN

Berachain is one of the most anticipated projects of 2024, perceived as a memecoin-centric project similar to Solana. Shogun is positioning itself as a crucial tool in this ecosystem by building an intent-centric platform capable of broadcasting orders to any blockchain for processing, starting with Berachain.

Key features:

• Cross-chain aggregation layer eliminating the need for multiple swap UIs
• Intuitive Telegram bot interface for quick exchanges and launch operations
• Undisclosed funding from Binance and a $6.9 million round led by Polychain

Shogun’s platform serves as an inter-chain aggregation layer, eliminating the need for multiple swap user interfaces through its intuitive Telegram bot.

Potential opportunities:

• Await Berachain mainnet launch for operations to begin
• Join Discord for potential future roles
• Participate in Telegram beta testing

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, these eight DeFi protocols represent a diverse range of innovative solutions addressing various challenges in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. From improving cross-chain interactions and liquidity provision to enhancing user experience and trading capabilities, these projects have the potential to significantly impact the DeFi landscape.

However, it’s crucial to remember that the DeFi space is highly volatile and risky. While these protocols show promise, always conduct thorough research before engaging with any project or investing your funds. Stay informed, monitor project developments, and consider diversifying your interactions to maximize potential benefits while managing risks.