Original author: ROUTE 2 FI
Original translation: TechFlow
Hello everyone!
Have a great Wednesday everyone!
If you’re looking for airdrops, yield, or points programs, here are some DeFi protocols that may have potential.
I intend to update this research report weekly as it helps me stay current in this field.
let's start.
A new week - 8 promising DeFi protocols
Here are some untapped opportunities like yields, airdrops, and more on the protocol you can explore today. These protocols come from different networks (EVM, non-EVM or Cosmos) and cover various DeFi areas such as derivatives, yields, DEX, etc. These projects have been highlighted for their significant support and earning opportunities, however these should not be construed as financial advice, please do your own research before interacting:
1/ Zircuit
Zircuit is a Layer 2 (L2) protocol that is fully EVM-compatible and enables AI security at the sequence level. Unlike thousands of other existing L2s, Zircuit introduces a new on-chain security approach that protects users from smart contract attacks and malicious actors while making it more consumer-friendly with low fees and fast transactions. They have received undisclosed investments from Binance Labs and Pantera. The network is currently in the testnet stage, and the mainnet will be launched soon:
In preparation for the mainnet launch, they launched a points program where users can stake supported assets to earn Zircuit points, which may be converted into tokens at the Token Generation Event (TGE). Due to the support of different LRT assets, users can earn other benefits such as staking annual yield (APR), re-staking APR and LRT points while earning Zircuit points. More than 2.9 billion assets have been staked:
The best staking asset right now is $mETH which is generating 5x yield per day in the Methamorphosis event and is expected to generate $COOk in the governance token $cMETH by the end of October.
2/ So
Currently, machine learning (AI) is dominated by industry giants, limiting transparency and accessibility. Allora is committed to building a self-improving decentralized AI network, achieving this goal through contributors in the ecosystem, with the following roles: Workers who provide AI reasoning, Judges who evaluate the quality of reasoning, and Consumers who request and pay for reasoning.
Allora is not another shell project with an AI narrative, but has real use cases, such as prediction markets. To prove this, they recently partnered with Robonet to build a political trading agent, Pauly, which uses the Allora network to analyze political markets on Polymarket, using AI-driven analysis and real-time market data to find trading opportunities, such as undervalued or overvalued markets:
They have also raised $33.75 million with participation from top investors such as Polychain and Delphi Ventures. Their token economics are community-centric and offer multiple ways for $Allo holders to participate in the network while keeping token issuance similar to Bitcoin, which decreases over time, which helps the token appreciate. The Allora network is currently in the testnet stage and there are multiple ways to participate in the network such as participating in Galxe events, Zealy, and running a node.
3/ Superposition
Superposition is a Layer 3 (L3) chain built on the Arbitrum stack that aims to facilitate decentralized applications (dApps) with native liquidity and utility mechanisms. Superposition not only provides speed and low fees, but also builds a reward system through a new yield mechanism called Super Assets. When assets are bridged to Superposition, they become Super Assets, an asset that pays you a yield when you hold or use it, which is consistent with their description "the first blockchain that pays you to use it". They have not announced any funding rounds or investments yet, but they are working closely with the Arbitrum team and expect to announce an investment soon:
Their incentivized testnet has achieved a significant milestone with over 140,000 addresses making over 1.1 million transactions. There are currently three ways to participate in the testnet - first by swapping on Longtails, a V3 automated market maker (AMM) that adopts the pooled liquidity model introduced by Uniswap, second by completing social tasks on Intract, and last but not least by getting your meow domain, similar to the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) but on Superposition. You can turn on notifications on their social media accounts for future events.
4/ Movement Labs
Unlike other Layer 1 (L1)s that pursue the goal of beating Ethereum, Movement has built an L1 that enhances the security of user assets by leveraging the Move programming language developed by Facebook. This simplifies the development of secure smart contracts for common blockchain tasks such as asset ownership transfer and minting. Move has two flagship products, M 1 and M 2. M 1 is the permissionless Move blockchain, while M 2 is the fastest and most secure (Mevm) Layer 2 (L2), settled on Ethereum, using Celestia as data availability, and users can seamlessly interact between Move and EVM - M 1 serves as the PoS sorter network for M 2. Movement received an undisclosed investment from Binance and raised $41.4 million, with participation from top investors such as Polychain.
The network is currently in testnet phase and there are various tasks to participate in, such as those highlighted in the documentation, and there are rumors that Tia Stakers may also be eligible for future airdrops, but before staking, please manage your position as they are about to unlock 88% and don't let VCs sell.
5/ Gunzilla Games
Gunzilla Games is a AAA game studio and developer of the Gunz blockchain. Unlike other shell game projects that constantly sell inflated tokens to users, Gunzilla focuses on building an interactive ecosystem that allows players to get paid through in-game assets that can be converted into NFTs and $Guns tokens. Their team consists of gamers with backgrounds in fintech, video, etc., and has demonstrated their ability to win the hearts of not only Web3 gamers, but also a wider Web2 audience. They have also raised $76 million from well-known investors such as Animoca Brands.
The gaming sector is one of the most underrated sectors in crypto, with only a small number of people participating, which makes their rewards very attractive, as we have seen with Ace. Gunzilla is currently in the testnet stage, with the mainnet rumored to be launched this year or early 2025, and they have two flagship games, Playoffgrid and Guns Blockchain.
Playoffgrid is not live yet, but you can apply to become a pioneer in the#OTGPioneersprogram, which gives you access to pre-release versions of games and exclusive rewards, which may be airdrops. Guns has an ongoing points program that rewards users based on their interactions, and currently only 20K points for the top 200:
Here is a great YouTube video that teaches you how to play the game and maximize your points.
6/ Usual Money
Stablecoins are one of the most profitable areas in crypto, with Tether’s Q1 net revenue even exceeding BlackRock’s earnings. However, this staggering figure is meaningful for Tether itself, but does not have much actual value for holders. Now, imagine you could own a small portion of Tether? This is where Usual Money comes in, a decentralized RWA (real world asset) stablecoin that redistributes ownership and governance through Usual tokens. The core goal of Usual Money is to break the model of traditional finance that only distributes wealth to a few shareholders and return power to the participants of the ecosystem:
They raised $7 million from notable investors including Mantle and GSR at a valuation of $75 million.
They recently launched their mainnet and launched a campaign where participants can accumulate “Pill” points by holding their stablecoin USDO or providing liquidity to the incentive pool:
7/ Plume
While almost all Layer 2 (L2) are forks of existing L2 with no unique selling point, making most of them "ghost chains", Plume found its uniqueness in the RWA (Real World Asset) concept proposed by Larry Fins (founder of BlackRock). Plume is the first modular L2 blockchain focused on RWA, integrating asset tokenization and compliance providers directly onto the chain. Their main goal is to simplify the deployment of RWA projects and attract high-quality buyers into their ecosystem to increase liquidity. Plume received a $10 million investment led by Haun Venture, with participation from top investors such as Galaxy.
The network is currently in the testnet stage and is incentivizing users by rewarding community participation. Active participants can earn Plume points throughout the campaign by completing tasks, inviting friends, etc.:
8/ Blum
Unlike other Telegram bots that are exclusive to a certain chain, making it difficult for users to complete all transactions with one click. Blum is a hybrid Telegram trading bot that will be available on more than 30 chains including EVM and non-EVM, such as Solana, TON, and Cosmos. Their team capabilities made them one of the winners of Binance MVB Season 7 among 700 participating projects:
Contents of the picture:
The MVB program has always been highly competitive, with more than 700 applications received for the seventh season. In the end, only 1.8% of applicants were admitted after a rigorous screening process, welcoming 13 teams for the seventh season of the MVB Accelerator, listed below in alphabetical order by department:
DeFi
BitU is a crypto-native collateralized stablecoin protocol that leverages off-chain liquidity and efficiency to provide higher returns.
Blum is a hybrid exchange that provides access to universal tokens through gamification features in a Telegram applet.
Although they haven’t announced funding, their user growth data is very impressive: 2.9 million Twitter followers, 4.7 million YouTube channel subscribers, over 10 million users. Currently, Blum’s Telegram robot is underway, and you can earn Blum points (BP) by participating in social tasks, the more points the better.
That’s all for today, friends!
Hope you enjoyed this article.
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