When Dani and Andre walk together, they are assembling the DeFi Lego Death Star

knower
2022-01-20 16:27:02
Collection
Dani has reshaped the image of a rock star, transcending the meanings popular in the crypto Twitter sphere. He has assembled an army and has now recruited a highly respected builder to help him create the ultimate Ponzi token.

Author: Knower

Original Title: 《Dani's vision

Translation: Linqi, Chain Catcher

Analysis

With the highly anticipated launch of SOLID (Dani and Andre's latest project), the Dani token ecosystem is likely to see significant growth in the short term. Before we dive into the market to buy and sell the sought-after rebase Ponzi tokens, let's take a step back and try to understand the current Dani/Andre ecosystem.

Dani has been involved in crypto for a while, and due to his active personality and participation in numerous DeFi protocols, he has recently become increasingly popular. Dani's followers call themselves "Frog Nation," and they are some of the most loyal token holders I have ever seen.

Andre is primarily known for creating Yearn Finance, one of the most famous yield aggregators in DeFi. He is also involved in the development of the Keep3r network, which seems to still be in development.

Abracadabra

Abracadabra is one of the more successful DeFi projects of 2021, with a cumulative TVL of $6 billion and the launch of the SPELL governance token. It has been a remarkable year for SPELL as well, rising from well below 1 cent to nearly 5 cents, providing investors with substantial returns (up about 3400% from its low).

Abracadabra offers a one-stop service for lending, farming, and staking for DeFi users. It initially started on Ethereum and has recently developed cross-chain projects used in the Avalanche and Terra ecosystems.

Dani has been involved with the Abracadabra project from the beginning, and it is one of the projects he has been most active about on Twitter, whether it's about token burn announcements or promoting Abracadabra's native stablecoin MIM (magic internet money). It seems that Dani prefers Abracadabra over Popsicle Finance.

The reputation of Abracadabra has been boosted in part by the entry of Tetranode, an internet whale who recently shared some alpha in the form of notes.

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Have you seen the content about Curve Wars? Dani never messes around, which is why Abracadabra has been hot lately. Even in the ever-changing environment of Crypto Twitter, where stories come and go weekly, Dani and Frog Nation have kept Abracadabra in the conversation. That’s commendable.

With the veSPELL and reduced release plans, it's hard not to be optimistic about Abracadabra's long-term prospects. We have already seen cross-chain compatibility on Abracadabra through the Degenbox strategy. Adding some incentives to attract users to switch to Fantom wouldn't hurt, and it could create some profit opportunities in the Fantom DeFi ecosystem.

Wonderland

Wonderland and its rebase token TIME were among the most influential DeFi projects of 2021. As the first OHM fork on Avalanche, Wonderland once disrupted OHM's market cap.

The success of TIME can be attributed to TikTok, as many young investors discovered this project and its outrageous APY through the platform. Despite a bumpy development path and TIME currently being far from its price peak, Wonderland has managed to maintain its PoL and popularity. Let's call it the "Dani effect."

While the vast majority of OHM forks have provided little value and some have quickly vanished, Wonderland has actually been able to attract users into the crypto space due to Avalanche's low costs and Dani's marketing of the project.

Despite some recent struggles, no one would bet against a check, and Wonderland could ultimately become Dani's personal checkbook at some point. Do I support this claim? Not necessarily.

I just believe that if there are no other options, Dani could take a large sum of money and invest it where he wants. If that happens to view the Wonderland treasury as a DAO-operated venture fund, so be it. This would certainly be an interesting way to invest in the future of finance, and for Dani, having a stake in protocols that can prove successful in the future is in his best interest.

All of this is just speculation.

Olympus and Wonderland have experienced some price hits, and many have begun to question whether this new protocol model is suitable for operation and whether it can return value to shareholders. Perhaps we will have to raise APY again to make people feel secure. I think there is too much overreaction, and people are forgetting the possibilities that nine-figure funds can generate. In any case, be prepared for greater volatility.

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Popsicle

Once upon a time, Popsicle Finance was the center of attention, but Abracadabra has stolen that spotlight. Essentially, Popsicle is a yield aggregator aimed at becoming a market maker in DeFi. Dani has stated that by Q4 2022, he hopes Popsicle can deliver a fully decentralized order book-based options trading platform. This is quite an ambitious goal for a platform competing with pioneers like Dopex.

Popsicle's TVL is above $50 million and aims to improve capital efficiency while providing users with the highest possible yields. As a blockchain-agnostic yield aggregator, Popsicle offers many opportunities for those looking to earn higher APY while exploring possibilities beyond the Ethereum blockchain.

Popsicle aligns with Dani's primary theme of achieving efficient financial infrastructure, connecting previously unlinked islands in the cross-chain ecosystem with the help of Popsicle. Dani's goal is to create an open DeFi where users can interact with any chain they need, even without knowing which chain they are using. One of the main products that Popsicle uses to achieve this goal is Sorbetto. Although Popsicle hasn't received much attention recently, Dani's recent tweets indicate that he is still very interested in the project.

Sushi

One of the most unexpected announcements at the end of 2021 was Dani's proposal to Sushiswap, followed by the subsequent SUSHI turmoil. After some disputes within Sushiswap's core team (I won't elaborate here as there has been too much drama and nonsense), Dani made a proposal at a perfect time to turn the tide. His plan included a full focus on Sushi's ability to become a multi-chain DEX and providing value to users through voting escrow token economics.

Will this succeed? Probably not.

To be honest, I haven't kept up with any developments regarding Sushiswap; my timeline has been a mess due to Curve Wars. However, I think this is more of a pet project for Dani, and his recent relationship with Andre may take up more of his time.

Maybe he will succeed, and it would be interesting to see Sushiswap gain some attention on Fantom. I think this would greatly benefit blockchains that need DeFi protocols to significantly improve their UI. But that's just my personal opinion.

However, if SUSHI were to implement voting escrow token economics, things could get messy. The world would turn upside down. Dani would shrink cz's net worth. That's why it's important to have a little bit of SUSHI in case Dani can realize his dreams. Let fate decide.

Yearn

In terms of Andre's project history, he is best known for creating Yearn Finance. Even though trading it feels like trading a stablecoin, Yearn is a beast with over $5 billion in TVL and is one of the most open and efficient DAOs in all of cryptocurrency, Yearn has not disappointed. Starting with a fair launch, Yearn released their native token YFI, which is one of the most respected token launches in the crypto space.

Recently, Yearn announced modifications to its tokenomics and token buyback mechanism. Essentially, they want to become a black hole for YFI, as using earned income to buy back their tokens will only benefit them in the long run, which is PoL.

Yearn will always have a place in DeFi. Its position as one of the top three in history is indisputable. This is thanks to Andre and his dedicated team. I believe that any project or information produced by Andre is based on this reason.

Keep3r Network

Honestly, there isn't much information about Keep3r. In their own words, Keep3r describes itself as "a decentralized network for projects that need external DevOps and for external teams looking for keeper jobs."

There are also rumors about veKP3R, and Andre has created a new DeFi primitive that allows LPs to sell theta to earn additional yield on their positions. For more information on this, you can follow @JackNiewold on Twitter, who knows more about DeFi than I do.

Regardless of the outcome of Keep3r, it may have some functionality in Curve Wars or even with Andre's new token. I have no thoughts on that. However, the concept is quite interesting as it is already planning to expand to more chains, including Fantom.

A Very Complex Puzzle

I refer to Dani and Andre's new token as SOLID, as it seems to be named based on information from Andre's Medium post. I know it could also be called ve(3,3), but I will take a chance here and refer to it by its more likely name. After all, naming a token ve(3,3) is quite awkward and may not be accepted by the public.

In my view, SOLID attempts to expand the problem-solving solutions we see in DeFi. Back in the summer of DeFi in 2020, we saw liquidity mining quickly phased out. New protocols would emerge, LPs would receive huge incentives, and once the rewards ended, the protocols would disappear as LPs left. It was a cycle.

OlympusDAO was able to address this issue through their new approach to liquidity owned by the protocol (PoL). Olympus doesn't have to worry about profit-driven speculators; it can encourage investors to stake, ultimately investing over $700 million in bonds. Bonds allow Olympus to control their liquidity over a specific time frame, with bonds being set for a specific period, meaning depositors' funds are essentially locked and handed over to Olympus.

Despite this innovation, OHM's price quickly fell from its peak. The same can be said for TIME and other OHM forks, but TIME is particularly important for Dani.

Our current situation is that both Olympus and Wonderland have huge assets but are almost unrelated to them. I say they are powerless over the treasury because realistically, what can they do? Clearly, their tokens have some form of intrinsic value. If OHM/TIME is valued below the treasury asset value, then the tokens are undervalued. But that's boring.

None of us come to the crypto space looking for undervalued assets. We are here for high APR. Do I see a path for Olympus or Wonderland to solve this issue? Not at the moment. The rebase Ponzi economy is a bit ahead of its time, and I think both protocols are in a tricky situation. They have hit a dead end.

Moving on, let's recall Curve Wars. Curve and Convex have stolen the spotlight, showcasing the power of ve-style token economics and the influence of whales like Tetranode. Many quickly seized this new opportunity, with tokens like YFI and RBN announcing the adoption of Curve-like token economics. Although Crypto Twitter has shifted to other trends like FOAN and SOLID, Curve Wars remain very important, and more protocols are likely to adopt ve-style token economics in the coming months. Tokens are locked, supply decreases, and prices rise. It's that simple.

Two DeFi Giants

Dani and Andre both have many commitments and projects, and both have some connection to Curve Wars. In this case, due to Dani's relationship with Abracadabra, his level of involvement is slightly higher. After witnessing innovation and speculation in DeFi, I can assume these two have come together and are seeking a way to combine the two biggest metas in DeFi.

ve(3,3) Token Economics

Yes, this is a real thing. Yes, it may spark significant controversy or say it will rise sharply. People love Ponzi schemes, so this is almost inevitable. To be honest, I'm not sure how this will play out in the long term, but if the goal is short-term price appreciation, riding the coattails of the recent two metas is better than coming up with a new meta. Let's see how this works.

All the information I am about to release comes from Andre's Medium post. If the token has launched or there are updates while you are reading this, I apologize; this article is already outdated. Things move quickly in Crypto Twitter.

SOLID plans to combine the benefits of deflationary supply, a secondary market for locked tokens (previously unsellable), and incentives for stakers (rebase rewards) through ve economics.

Fundamentally, SOLID seems designed to provide a market for governance tokens. If you can sell locked tokens on the secondary market, it can be seen as selling votes. Due to the locking mechanism of voting escrow economics, it becomes more meaningful the longer the lock-up time, as rewards will increase. If a group chooses to lock their tokens for the longest time, they can earn rewards and sell their tokens. But there doesn't seem to have been such a positive incentive event before.

As I mentioned earlier, I believe SOLID attempts to address many issues in DeFi, one of the bigger problems being the lack of ability to purchase tokens as voting proxies in Curve Wars. This is similar to [Redacted]'s approach, but with some nuances. [Redacted] purchases CVX, CRV, and OHM through bonds, while SOLID has not mentioned related information yet. Curve Wars have not migrated to Fantom yet, but who knows what will happen in the future.

SOLID aims to be a fair launch token as it will be distributed through airdrops to the top 20 protocols by TVL on Fantom, which is a bold move but could work. Andre's name is all over this, just like Yearn Finance did with their native YFI. The strategy of airdropping to the community is also related to Dani's anti-VC philosophy and helps incentivize them to transition to Fantom. It's a win-win situation.

SOLID has some interesting token economics because the more supply is locked, the less emissions there will be, and the higher the locked APR, which embodies the (3,3) characteristic.

By providing liquidity for the protocol, this can serve as an AMM that is not controlled by liquidity mining but rather by the community. This is a more interesting take on PoL, essentially subverting the idea. It will be interesting to see how these protocols play out and how they leverage their positions.

Overall, this is a very novel approach. I think if everything goes well, it could easily enter the upper echelon of DeFi and potentially change the meta. I'm not sure when all of this will be released, but I will keep an eye on it. Let fate decide.

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The Ultimate Overlord of DeFi

My Take on the Situation

From an outsider's perspective, it feels like Dani is doing too much this time. Regardless of whether he can see his dreams come true, it seems pointless for someone with his talents to stretch himself so thin. Of course, there are many opportunities in the Fantom ecosystem now, and rebase escrow voting tokens sound appealing. But it seems meaningless for someone to realize such a grand vision.

If Dani sees Frog Nation improve Sushi and brings billions of TVL to Fantom while securing a cross-chain future through Abracadabra, I would be shocked. This is not to say I don't respect Dani's work ethic, as it is clear he is a grinder. This is a very different strategy compared to what we have seen. Dani is preparing to complete the most successful horizontal acquisition ever. He is getting involved in almost everything.

Before writing this article, I wondered if Popsicle Finance had already faded from Dani's life. I have been struggling to come up with a roadmap for Wonderland and how Dani will think of more ways to provide value to TIME holders. I have been trying to envision a cross-chain world where Sushiswap is a DEX that everyone can use. While I remain skeptical, these ideas are starting to form in my mind.

If you haven't read it yet, check out @j0hnwang's thread on Twitter. He does a great job of describing some of the overlords of DeFi. Dani is trying to assemble the Lego Death Star (the ultimate planet-destroying weapon of the Lego Empire) by grabbing as many blocks as he can. Will this yield a good outcome for him? I'm curious.

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The Four Horsemen of DeFi Apocalypse

Many of Dani's tokens have far outperformed most of the market, especially when you consider how poorly many of the older DeFi tokens have performed. Just look at the charts for SPELL and ICE; buying either from their lows would yield returns that any TradFi fund manager would envy. Are they slightly overvalued now? Maybe a bit. But if we have learned anything from Crypto Twitter, even what is overvalued always tends to go higher. In fact, we even see tokens with no value rising.

This has been a very interesting rabbit hole to dive into. I have had to do a lot of reading, but more importantly, a lot of thinking. The pace of cryptocurrency development is so fast that it is almost impossible to predict what will happen next week, let alone next year.

Regardless of where you stand, you have to respect the hard work of Dani and Andre. Few possess such a work ethic in DeFi, and even fewer can endure the scrutiny and strong opposition they face. Whatever happens with SOLID, Crypto Twitter will have something to gain.

People can also praise Dani and Andre for doing their best to encourage a cross-chain future. Not everyone in Crypto Twitter can afford to trade on Ethereum daily, let alone the average investor looking to experience DeFi. Hopefully, Fantom can achieve some success here and realize its goal of bringing the masses into an affordable, fast blockchain.

Regardless of whether this project succeeds, Frog Nation and his Twitter followers have built a trench for Dani. I find it hard to believe he won't continue to maintain a high success rate. Dani has reshaped the image of a rock star, transcending what is popular in Crypto Twitter. He has assembled an army and has now recruited one of the most respected builders to help him create the ultimate Ponzi token.

May we all succeed.

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