In this episode of Revelo Intel’s Twitter Spaces, which took place on June 13, 2024, Kirk hosted Tex from Bond Protocol, Manu from Lumin Finance, and Rob from Revest to discuss various aspects of DeFi and their strategies for leveraging the Arbitrum ecosystem. Read our notes below to learn more.
Background
Kirk (Host) – Head of Business Development at Revelo Intel
Tex (Guest) – Contributor at Bond Protocol
Manu (Guest) – Contributor at Lumin Finance
Rob (Guest) – Founder at Revest
Navigating the DeFi Landscape: Bond Protocol, Lumin Finance, Revest and Choice of Arbitrum
- Tex says that he began his full-time involvement in DeFi around late 2020 and worked with Olympus, leading the Olympus Pro product. He describes the bonding mechanism used in Olympus as a tool for protocols to acquire assets or liquidity through unissued tokens. He expresses enthusiasm for bringing this tool to the vibrant Arbitrum ecosystem.
- Manu talks about Lumin Finance as a peer-to-peer fixed-rate lending protocol that was formed after a team he admired faced challenges. He shares that he has been involved in crypto since early 2017, starting as an investor before diving deeper into DeFi. Manu mentions his appreciation for the fixed-rate lending model and his journey in the crypto space.
- Rob recounts his journey from teaching himself Java in 2011 to working in crypto and engineering. He describes founding Revest, an escrow system where NFTs represent locked capital.
- Rob explains that Revest has evolved to focus on fixed-income products in the real-world asset sector through its application, Resonate, which allows investing the future returns from fixed-income assets into cryptocurrencies while protecting the principal.
- Kirk asks Tex about their choice to deploy on Arbitrum, highlighting the competitive nature of L2s and the importance of understanding the ecosystem.
- Tex explains that the open and permissionless ethos of Arbitrum, which contrasts with more restricted launches, resonates with the crypto community, influencing their decision to build there due to its strong leadership in TVL and support for open platforms.
- Manu shares that after a DAO vote, their community chose Arbitrum for deployment, emphasizing the supportive and familial atmosphere within the Arbitrum ecosystem, which has greatly influenced their positive experience.
- Kirk questions Rob from Revest about their involvement with Arbitrum.
- Rob explains that Revest was attracted to Arbitrum’s active DeFi scene and ongoing innovation within the community, which was crucial during a challenging market period, leading them to launch their project there.
Exploring Strategies on Arbitrum: Bond Protocol, Lumin Finance, and Revest’s Innovative Approaches
- Kirk highlights the need to understand how blockchain platforms differentiate themselves, especially in terms of their evolving ecosystems and the fading nature of initial incentives.
- Tex discusses how Bond Protocol plans to use Arbitrum incentives to support their bond markets, aiming to smooth out token distribution over time and align closely with community members who are committed to the long-term success of the platform.
- Tex explains that the $GMX tokens are currently at a premium rather than a discount, detailing the dynamic exchange rate mechanism without relying on Oracles, which ticks down over time.
- Kirk asks about other markets or protocols that might be on a bond protocol on Arbitrum, aside from GMX.
- Tex mentions that they have collaborated with several large projects on Arbitrum and are evaluating new bond markets with potential partners, though specific names are not disclosed.
- Manu explains that their lending protocol offers incentives across four categories: borrowing, lending, bridging, and depositing with a focus on Arbitrum native tokens as collateral. He explains their epoch-based incentive system and emphasizes their goal to attract capital to Arbitrum.
- Rob discusses the partnership with OpenEden for tokenizing T-bills on Arbitrum, highlighting their strategy to offer higher than usual returns by paying a premium to participants, effectively subsidizing $ARB emissions to encourage participation and increase TVL within the Arbitrum ecosystem.
Exploring Future Directions and Milestones in DeFi on Arbitrum
- Kirk asks about the sticky mechanism related to the underlying protocol when funds are deposited, noting the benefits of locked TVL for Arbitrum.
- Rob explains the significance of locked capital on Arbitrum, highlighting the longer duration locks for getting upfront yield, which ensures a guaranteed level of TVL that remains within the platform.
- Kirk asks about the future directions and milestones for protocols, emphasizing the rapidly evolving nature of the crypto industry.
- Tex describes Bond Protocol’s focus on building treasury management tools for protocols post-launch and their current efforts to develop a broad auction suite to assist projects in funding their treasury and launching tokens.
- Manu explains Lumin Finance’s upcoming milestones, including a new UI/UX in version two, potential multi-chain deployment, and the introduction of an NFT marketplace for loans to enhance flexibility and liquidity for lenders.
- Rob highlights upcoming innovations for Revest, focusing on making fNFTs more liquid and accessible, and shares Resonate’s plans for expanding services with insurance providers despite legal delays.
- Tex shares his excitement about upcoming LTIPP incentives in the Arbitrum ecosystem, inviting projects interested in treasury management to consult with Bond Protocol.
- Manu highlights the potential of the LTIPP program to increase TVL and mentions Lumin’s excitement about tokens like $GMX tokens from GMX and $PT tokens from Pendle, which allow for the utilization of otherwise inflexible capital.
- Rob praises Arbitrum’s data process as the most thorough he has ever seen and looks forward to continuing to build and innovate with the Arbitrum team, hinting at significant innovations they have planned.
Check Out These Important Links
- Listen to the original audio
- Follow Kirk on Twitter
- Follow Tex on Twitter
- Follow Bond Protocol on Twitter
- Follow Lumin Finance on Twitter
- Follow Revest on Twitter
- Follow Revelo Intel on Twitter
Show Information
- Medium: Twitter (Audio)
- Show: Revelo Intel Twitter Space
- Show Title: Revelo Roundtable LTIPP Edition #3
- Show Date: June 18, 2024