Host: @OdailyChina
Guest Speaker: Theseus, CEO & Co-founder of THENA
Time: December 3, UTC+8 7:00 PM / UTC+2 1:00 PM
Topic: Fireside Chat with THENA CEO: Building the DeFi SuperApp for Mass Adoption
As THENA becomes a partner project in the second phase of the Binance HODLer airdrop and launches the spot and perpetual contracts for $THE, THENA is steadily moving towards its goal of becoming the 'DeFi super application'. Odaily Planet Daily invited and interviewed THENA's CEO Theseus (Adriano), to gain insight into its vision of bridging the gap between DeFi and traditional finance. THENA hopes to make blockchain financial solutions more accessible to more people, paving the way for the mass adoption of DeFi. In this interview, we will explore how THENA expands the DeFi ecosystem, addresses key industry challenges, and takes initiatives to drive the future development of DeFi.
Odaily Planet Daily: Alright, the first question to kick off the discussion: The $THE token performed exceptionally well after its launch on Binance last week. Has there been any change in the team's daily operations? How are you feeling about it now?
Theseus: I am very happy to participate in this interview today; thank you to the Planet Daily for the invitation and support! Launching on Binance feels very exciting! After three years of building in a bear market, successfully landing on the world's largest exchange is not only significant but also deeply satisfying for us. This is an important milestone for THENA.
Speaking of change, it feels more like a new beginning for us. Since Binance's launch, THENA has received increasing attention. Now, we have received many collaboration requests, with many protocols eager to partner with THENA. At the same time, platform traffic has significantly increased, prompting us to upgrade our backend infrastructure to ensure scalability and stability.
Nonetheless, there hasn't been much change in the way the team works. We have always focused on optimizing the platform, launching new features, deepening partnerships, and exploring the best strategies to drive ecosystem development. So even though these past two weeks have been busier than usual and traffic has increased significantly, it still feels like part of our daily operations.
We are proud of the achievements we have made so far. For some investors and long-term supporters, the $THE listing on Binance is a long-awaited goal and can even be seen as an ultimate milestone. But for us, this is both a milestone achievement and a brand new starting point.
Going forward, our top priority is to maximize the exposure and resources brought by this opportunity, continuously developing THENA, and ultimately achieving our goal of making it the most successful decentralized exchange in the DeFi space.
Odaily Planet Daily: Can you give us a detailed introduction to THENA, as well as your background in the cryptocurrency field?
Theseus: Of course! First, let me give a brief introduction to the development history of THENA. I know many people have only recently recognized THENA, but in fact, we have been building for over two years. THENA officially launched in early January 2023. Since then, we have rapidly grown to become one of the largest DEXs on the BNB Chain and have started to stand out, even to the extent of becoming one of the more influential platforms in the entire cryptocurrency field.
Currently, THENA is a comprehensive trading platform that combines usability and functionality, supporting spot trading and perpetual contracts, covering over 250 cryptocurrencies. Additionally, THENA provides liquidity support for protocols that need to expand on-chain liquidity. To date, THENA has partnered with over 50 protocols on the BNB chain, facilitating these protocols' liquidity management through innovative incentive market mechanisms. I can share more details on this later.
From the very beginning, THENA has placed great emphasis on user experience. We designed the platform to be simple and intuitive to operate, particularly for new users, aiming to enable more people to easily enjoy the conveniences and opportunities brought by DeFi.
As for my background, my name is Adriano, and I have been working in the cryptocurrency field for almost five years. I first encountered cryptocurrency during the ICO boom in 2017, initially as an ordinary investor. After experiencing the first bear market, I began to delve deeply into blockchain technology and started providing consulting services for some projects in 2020. This experience made me realize that I wanted to create my own product.
Later, I developed a yield optimizer on the Fantom blockchain, which is still running today but is currently managed by another team. Starting from 2023, I devoted myself fully to building THENA. This journey has been filled with challenges and achievements, and I believe that THENA's journey has just begun.
Odaily Planet Daily: Can you tell us how THENA was born and how it differs from other DEXs?
Theseus: Of course! As I mentioned earlier, before creating THENA, I developed a yield optimizer protocol called Liquid Driver. At that time, we collaborated with many DEXs on various blockchains, which gave me a deep understanding of the importance of DEXs. In the DeFi ecosystem, exchanges can be said to be the cornerstone of the entire industry; whether in DeFi, GameFi, or any other crypto field, whenever tokens are involved, on-chain liquidity is crucial. The core task of a DEX is to allow users to easily access and trade these tokens while providing infrastructure support for ecological innovation.
At that time, I was inspired by the renowned DeFi builder Andre Cronje, who launched a model called 've(3,3)', which quickly grew to over $1 billion in TVL in a short period but ultimately failed due to flaws in its token economics and front-end design. However, I saw the tremendous potential of this model validated by the market, so I decided to improve it, learn from its lessons, and reimplement it on another chain with our own approach. Thus, THENA was born.
THENA differs from other DEXs mainly in the following aspects:
Innovative ve(3,3) model:
THENA is not only a DEX that serves liquidity providers and traders but also a B2B2C platform. THENA works closely with many protocols, helping them achieve liquidity strategies through innovative incentive markets and the ve(3,3) model. This model provides efficient liquidity solutions for protocols while offering users more attractive reward mechanisms.
Advanced AMM products:
THENA integrates the most outstanding and advanced automated market maker (AMM) models in the industry. THENA offers various liquidity models, including concentrated liquidity (similar to Uniswap v3), classic AMM (Uniswap v2), and upcoming weighted pool AMM and Meta stable pools. These AMM models can provide efficient and deep liquidity for various tokens.
User-friendly platform:
From the very beginning, THENA has made user experience a core focus. The THENA platform allows both novice and experienced users to easily trade and earn. Advanced liquidity management tools simplify the process of providing concentrated liquidity, lowering the entry barriers for new users.
Deep partnership building:
THENA is not just a trading platform; our team also places great emphasis on practical experience and building partnerships. We have established close relationships with multiple protocols on the BNB Chain, assisting them in their development journey. THENA is not just an exchange, but also a business development center on the BNB chain.
It is precisely these characteristics that allow THENA to stand out from other DEXs and become a leader in the DeFi space and an important driver of BNB Chain ecosystem development.
Odaily Planet Daily: Can you share how THENA handles revenue distribution and what makes it unique compared to other DEXs?
Theseus: Of course! Let's start with a quick comparison, which has been one of the long-discussed topics in DEXs—how should we allocate the revenue of the DEX? The revenue distribution of DEXs involves two major entities: token holders and liquidity providers, the latter of whom need to be compensated reasonably for providing liquidity. In terms of token economics, different platforms have different models. For example, Uniswap adopts the model of '0% revenue distribution to token holders', while PancakeSwap uses a mixed model where a portion of the fees goes to liquidity providers and a small portion is allocated to token holders.
At THENA, we have chosen a unique distribution model—100% of the revenue generated by the DEX is distributed to token holders, while liquidity providers receive returns through the platform's token incentive mechanism.
How is this specifically achieved? To unlock the full utility of the tokens, users need to lock the tokens. The locking period can range from two weeks to two years. The longer the locking period, the greater the governance weight held by the token holders. Users who lock their tokens can vote weekly to decide the distribution of liquidity mining rewards. For example, a user may allocate 50% of votes to one pool and the other 50% to another pool. At the end of the week, based on the voting results, the next week's mining rewards will be distributed proportionally to each pool according to the number of votes. If a pool receives 50% of the voting weight, it will earn 50% of the weekly rewards.
Why is this important? This model encourages token holders to vote for pools that can generate more fees and rewards, thereby maximizing returns. They can earn a portion of the transaction fees from the pool, as well as additional voting rewards. This incentive mechanism naturally aligns the behavior of token holders towards allocating mining rewards to the most profitable pools, leading to a significant improvement in the overall profitability of the DEX over time.
A win-win ecosystem
This design creates a win-win scenario between token holders and liquidity providers:
Token holders: By locking their tokens, they can not only access all the DEX's earnings but also participate in the platform's growth through governance.
Liquidity providers: Through the incentive mechanism, they continue to receive sustainable, predictable, and competitive returns, which are crucial for attracting and retaining liquidity.
The high consistency of this stakeholder incentive mechanism makes THENA a platform entirely different from other DEXs.
THENA has also achieved significant results: since its establishment, THENA has generated over $26 million in revenue, which is a very substantial figure. Given our recent rapid growth, this number is expected to grow exponentially in the future.
Odaily Planet Daily: THENA has always been a community-driven project. How is this principle reflected? How does THENA give back to users? What are the future plans to strengthen community participation?
Theseus: The community-oriented principle of THENA is deeply rooted in our release strategy and operational philosophy. From day one of the project, we have placed great importance on the power of the community and have given back and strengthened this sense of participation in various ways.
1. Community-driven release strategy
All of this stems from THENA's release strategy. As I mentioned earlier, THENA is a B2B2C platform that introduced 22 protocols from the start and allocated initial locked tokens to them, allowing these protocols to meet their liquidity needs through guided emissions. This collaboration not only helped the protocols achieve their liquidity goals but also brought their users into the THENA ecosystem.
In addition, THENA also conducted a large-scale airdrop through collaborative agreements at the startup stage, distributing tokens to users who were already active in DeFi, closely tying the interests of the community to the development of the platform.
2. Innovative NFT strategies
Additionally, we also launched an innovative fundraising event—a set of aesthetically pleasing NFTs. These NFTs are not only beautifully designed but also allow holders to share a portion of THENA's revenue. The percentage of revenue distribution will gradually decline over time, but this has still become an important return mechanism for early supporters.
It is worth mentioning that THENA launched this NFT series at the peak of the bear market when market liquidity and demand were very low. However, the value of these NFTs has now increased by over 10 times, providing substantial returns to early investors, who are mainly community members, early users of the platform, or DAO.
3. Continuous community interaction and rewards
From the very beginning, THENA has been community-centric, and this philosophy is deeply rooted in our operational approach. For example, THENA provides beta versions for upcoming features and invites core users to participate in testing and provide feedback to help us improve the product. THENA maintains continuous communication with the community because we firmly believe that this is the best way to iterate on products and provide the best experience for users.
To give back to the community, THENA continuously runs various reward programs, such as the bi-weekly Zealy (formerly Crew3) events that distribute over $6,000 in rewards each time. THENA considers the community to be our strongest ally in marketing. Interestingly, some community members have even proactively initiated their activities, using their rewards to attract new users and educate them. This spontaneous participation is very impressive and has begun to show significant results.
This success is inseparable from the efforts of THENA's marketing team led by 0xApollo and the community-oriented approach. Instead of taking the traditional venture capital route and artificially inflating data at launch, THENA chooses to focus on building a long-term, loyal user base. These users not only invest or provide liquidity, but also actively help us improve our product. Understanding user needs has played a crucial role in our achievements.
Future plans: To further strengthen community participation, we will also launch an ambassador program to formalize our collaboration with some of our most active users. In addition, we will be introducing more incentive activities in the coming weeks, so please keep an eye on our Twitter and Discord, where we will release all announcements.
Odaily Planet Daily: What are the important milestones for THENA in 2025 and beyond? How will these milestones shape THENA's success?
Theseus: The biggest milestone coming for THENA is the migration to version V3. The development of this version has been ongoing for six months, and the audit has been completed. We are finalizing the last details and plan to start the migration either at the end of this year or early next year. This upgrade will bring significant improvements to THENA and transform us from a DEX into a potential financial super application.
One of the biggest highlights of V3 is the introduction of 'Hooks'. Simply put, Hooks are smart contracts deployed on specific liquidity pools that allow any logic to be executed when users interact with the pool (whether trading, adding, or withdrawing liquidity). This opens up infinite possibilities for innovation.
For example, Hooks can achieve:
Advanced order types, such as limit orders.
Complex applications, such as directly building margin trading or leveraged yield farming on liquidity pools.
Customization needs, such as requiring specific pools to complete KYC, which is crucial for bringing real-world assets or securities onto the chain for trading.
These features will open a new door for THENA, allowing us to further develop and start bringing traditional finance (TradFi) into the on-chain trading world.
What excites me the most is that the significance of V3 is not just the migration itself. Once V3 is launched, we expect to attract a large number of developers and builders who will propose innovations based on the THENA platform that go even beyond our imagination. THENA has been designed from the beginning as a collaborative platform. In addition to the core team, many external developers are utilizing our technological infrastructure to develop other applications.
In DeFi, network effects are very important. The more you collaborate with others, the greater the value of the platform and user base. By migrating to V3 and enabling Hooks, we are inviting developers to innovate directly on THENA's infrastructure. This will make THENA a one-stop financial platform, offering users a wide range of functionality.
Our goal has always been consistent, which is:
For traders: Provide the best user experience and the most competitive prices.
For partner protocols: Provide the best tools for managing liquidity and realizing innovation.
DEXs are the backbone of DeFi, providing the necessary foundational layer for other on-chain applications. Through the Hooks open platform, THENA can iterate and innovate faster than ever, launching a range of features that offer tremendous value to users and protocols.
I am very excited about the next phase and am confident that it will shape THENA's success while propelling us to continuously grow and redefine the rules in this field.
Odaily Planet Daily: The DeFi market is clearly evolving rapidly. How do you see its current state, and what trends do you think will determine its future?
Theseus: Right now, I feel more excited about the future of DeFi than ever. I believe we are on the brink of DeFi Summer 2.0. Those who experienced DeFi Summer 1.0 may remember it as an exciting period full of innovation and economic experimentation. Although many attempts failed, some successful products became flagship offerings in the industry, such as DEXs like Uniswap, key currency markets, and stablecoins, etc. In the first wave, we did find some strong product-market fits, but the infrastructure at that time was not mature, and the entire industry was still in its early stages. However, DeFi is now almost ready to welcome the next billion users. Although there is still work to be done, significant progress in infrastructure is bridging the critical gap between TradFi and DeFi.
Key trends shaping the future:
Tokenization of RWA assets:
A recent trend that has garnered significant attention is the tokenization of real-world assets. At THENA, we have put a lot of effort into this area. For example, a key partner of THENA, Brickken, is developing solutions to make our DEX more friendly towards asset tokenization issuers. This not only ensures compliance but also provides strong market-making capabilities and trading markets for these assets. This area will accelerate with the migration to THENA V3, which I am very much looking forward to.
The combination of AI and DeFi:
Artificial intelligence also holds great potential in DeFi. Some liquidity managers are trying to use AI-driven tools to optimize liquidity management. In the future, we expect to see these innovative applications on the THENA platform.
Decentralized identity and credit scoring:
The introduction of a decentralized identity system will be a key development, especially critical for achieving uncollateralized lending. Currently, most currency markets still rely on over-collateralization due to the lack of on-chain identity and credit scoring systems. Solving this issue will enable us to introduce more TradFi-like products, accelerating the adoption of DeFi.
Improving user experience (UX):
If DeFi wants to welcome the next billion users, it must simplify the user experience. Currently, the typical process is too complex for newcomers, including creating an account on a centralized exchange (CEX), completing KYC, transferring funds, and learning how to use DeFi products.
THENA is committed to simplifying this process. Through innovations like account abstraction, gas abstraction, and intent-based systems, we are eliminating these complexities. For example, THENA allows users to get started directly through our DEX without having to go through a CEX first. These improvements will make DeFi friendlier and more user-friendly for the average user.
By 2025, I expect these innovations to be widely applied across various protocols, significantly improving UX and infrastructure levels. DeFi will better connect with TradFi, support on-chain trading of RWA, and provide a richer suite of financial products. This is an exciting time for the entire industry. With THENA focusing on leading these innovations, I believe we will play a key role in shaping DeFi Summer 2.0 and its future development.
Odaily Planet Daily: What is the biggest challenge you encountered in building the ecosystem? How did you overcome it?
Theseus: I wouldn’t say there’s only one specific challenge, but several main challenges:
1. Intense market competition
The competition in the DeFi market is exceptionally fierce. Over the past year, we have seen a surge of L2 chains and the continued development of many L1 chains, each with its own incentive and branding plans. This environment has led to the phenomenon of liquidity capital hiring—funds jumping from one chain to another in pursuit of short-term yields.
Similarly, developers also jump between different chains seeking funding and opportunities. In the open-source industry, competitors can easily fork protocols and launch similar products, making it difficult to maintain a competitive edge.
As a founder, it is very challenging to gain a loyal user base that is willing to use your platform long-term rather than leaving for short-term higher yields. The fragmentation of the ecosystem increases the cost of user acquisition and undermines sustainability.
Our solution is community-centered. THENA's long-term supporters understand our vision and have witnessed our continued execution capability over the past two years. They believe that THENA can provide products centered on user experience and value, rather than short-term profits. This approach has helped us build a loyal user base.
2. Team expansion
Assembling the right team is another major challenge. DeFi requires expertise. For example, in business development, I prefer to hire people with a financial background because we are a DEX. To effectively collaborate with other protocols, team members need to communicate in financial terms.
However, the best candidates often do not have DeFi experience, which requires a learning process. The marketing department faces similar challenges—it's hard to find talent that understands our industry and is familiar with the relevant tools.
Moreover, as a distributed team, our members come from Europe, Asia, and South America, which inherently brings challenges in coordination. From hiring individuals to building a cohesive team, this process is not easy. However, I am proud to say that we have found our work rhythm and are ready to scale further.
3. Managing community expectations
As a community-centered protocol, maintaining transparent communication is crucial, but it also brings corresponding challenges. There is often information asymmetry between the team and the community. When things are going well, everyone is happy. But when difficulties arise, the community may criticize issues that are actually being resolved internally or are already being addressed. This information gap can sometimes be frustrating, as we cannot share all the details with everyone due to operational or strategic constraints. Balancing short-term goals with long-term strategy while maintaining community trust is especially challenging during difficult times.
How to overcome these challenges? We address these difficulties by emphasizing consistency, as much transparency as possible, and a long-term vision. We prioritize building strong relationships with the community while continuously improving our products and team collaboration. These efforts have helped us overcome these challenges and allowed THENA to achieve sustainable growth and success.
Odaily Planet Daily: Lastly, do you have any words you would like to share with the THENA community, investors, and supporters?
Theseus: First of all, we are very grateful for the support everyone has given us. For most of the past two years, we have spent our time in a bear market, and having such an incredible community means a lot to THENA. Our community has not only shown strong support but has also proactively helped, such as promoting products, educating new users, and providing feedback. The contributions of the THENA community have been crucial to our growth. Without them, we would not be where we are today.
We are also very pleased to see all the new users joining us. THENA has an amazing community and an excellent admin team that is always ready to guide you and answer any questions you may have about the platform.
As I mentioned earlier, the listing on Binance is just one of our milestones. Now we have received more attention and recognition, and we will collectively seize this opportunity to build the best decentralized exchange on the BNB chain and across the entire ecosystem. Thank you all for your unwavering support!
