Invisible Infrastructure 04 | Dialogue with the OKX Web3 Team: How to Make Participating in DeFi as Easy as Shopping?

DeFi originated with the birth of Bitcoin and rose with the development of Ethereum.

In 2017, with the launch of lending protocols like Uniswap and Compound on Ethereum, DeFi quickly attracted widespread attention. Entering 2020, innovations such as liquidity mining and AMM mechanisms emerged one after another, leading to a rapid growth in DeFi protocol TVL and ushering in an epic DeFi Summer season. At the same time, the DeFi ecosystem expanded from Ethereum to many public chains like Solana and Avalanche, resulting in a full-blown explosion of the DeFi concept. Subsequently, DeFi continuously integrated with NFT and GameFi, promoting asset diversification, bringing new types of financial products and value storage methods, and moving towards larger scales with the development of Layer2 and cross-chain technologies.

Today, DeFi has become the most fundamental and widespread application in the crypto industry. However, with the influx of new users, many issues such as high technical barriers, complex operating interfaces, and security risks have been exposed, hindering ordinary users' willingness to participate. As a leading one-stop Web3 gateway in the industry, the OKX Web3 wallet provides a one-stop on-chain trading tool, allowing users to easily participate in various top protocol activities with just one click, regardless of their on-chain trading experience, and making it easier to earn rewards. Additionally, OKX Web3 DeFi collaborates with industry-recognized top protocols for integration, choosing protocols with high security whenever possible. OKX Web3 DeFi does not hold users' funds but strives to ensure security protection. It is worth noting that, apart from the on-chain network fees required for each transaction, OKX Web3 DeFi does not charge any additional fees.

In summary, while addressing user pain points, OKX Web3 DeFi simplifies complexity through product innovation, greatly enhancing the user experience in participating in DeFi. This article is the 4th installment of the "Invisible Infrastructure" series of the OKX Web3 wallet, which will delve into the OKX Web3 DeFi team's thoughts and designs on user experience through a dialogue format.

Starting Point of the Product

OKX Web3 Team: The original intention of our product design is to start from solving the core pain points of users, including high usage thresholds, significant protocol risks, and the difficulty for users to find better yields. Next, we can briefly break down these pain points.

1) High usage threshold: Currently, there are numerous DeFi protocols with complex and non-unified operations, requiring users to spend a lot of time familiarizing themselves with the different processes of each DApp, increasing learning and usage costs. OKX DeFi simplifies the search and exploration paths by aggregating multiple protocols on one platform through a unified interaction design, allowing users to avoid switching between different protocols and thus reducing learning costs. Additionally, the platform presents the yield structure through an intuitive interface, helping users easily understand and use the products.

2) Significant protocol risks: DeFi protocols involve large amounts of funds and are easy targets for hacker attacks. Many protocols' official websites, Twitter, and other social media entrances also face the risk of being attacked, putting users' funds at risk. OKX DeFi mitigates external risks by conducting strict protocol screenings and directly integrating contracts. This protective measure reduces the likelihood of hacker attacks and aims to ensure the safety of users' funds. For instance, during the recent incident where the Pendle official website was hijacked, OKX DeFi avoided similar security risks through such mechanisms.

3) Users find it difficult to locate better yields: The yield mechanisms of DeFi protocols are diverse, making it challenging for users to quickly filter out suitable trading opportunities. OKX DeFi ranks protocols based on multi-dimensional data such as annualized yield APY and total locked value TVL, and combines users' trading combinations and positions to provide comprehensive filtering tools to help them find suitable DeFi paths. Meanwhile, OKX DeFi collaborates with popular protocols like Babylon, Pendle, and Compound to secure additional exclusive yield incentives, helping users earn more rewards on top of the basic yields.

Overall, the main goal of OKX Web3 DeFi is to lower the participation threshold for DeFi, making decentralized financial tools easy to use. We are committed to becoming a leading one-stop DeFi service platform, simplifying complex DeFi operation processes, providing a high-quality user experience, and enabling DeFi to benefit more users, helping them earn corresponding rewards from decentralized finance.

To put it simply, users can participate in DeFi trading as easily as shopping.

Latest Updates

OKX Web3 Team: The OKX Web3 DeFi platform analyzes various DeFi protocols to present the risks and rewards of each protocol to users. At the same time, the platform allows users to easily deposit and withdraw digital assets, lowering the participation threshold. OKX DeFi also provides users with additional exclusive rewards and bridges the gap between CeFi and DeFi, allowing exchange users to enjoy higher on-chain yields.

We recently launched a "Gameplay Zone," starting with Babylon, which breaks down DeFi operations by type and step, guiding users through complex trading processes. Additionally, OKX DeFi will introduce a new reward fund feature to provide users with more on-chain yields. Future plans include launching a "Simple Coin Earning" product based on a gun pool strategy to further enhance the user yield experience. By continuously optimizing user experience, we are presenting the complex participation in DeFi in a step-by-step manner, not only helping users better understand decentralized finance but also providing them with more efficient participation paths.

Thoughts on User Experience

OKX Web3 Team: Balancing the richness of product features with the convenience of user operations is an important direction for enhancing user experience. First, we distinguish protocols based on trading operations and try to adopt a common interaction method for different protocols, allowing users to have a consistent experience across different protocols. For example, we categorize protocols into single-token interactions and multi-token interactions, using two standard templates for integration, applying a common interaction method for different types of DeFi such as lending and staking.

Secondly, we integrate as many chains, protocols, and reward funds as possible, but through simplified common template designs, we avoid requiring users to repeatedly learn and familiarize themselves with the products.

After achieving relatively comprehensive integration of DeFi protocols in the industry, we will also launch new product forms aimed at educating DeFi users, such as the Gameplay Zone, which gradually breaks down complex nested DeFi protocols, helping users understand operation paths, risks, and rewards, thus lowering the participation threshold for novice users.

Finally, DeFi involves not only trading products, chains, protocols, and orders across four dimensions, but the same token can have different APYs and TVLs across different dimensions. For example, USDT can have different risks and rewards across different chains, protocols, and even trading periods, so users often face relatively complex information content that is difficult to understand. We systematically organize data and present it visually to help users easily choose trading options between different APYs and TVLs. Additionally, through repeated interactions and intuitive designs, we convey DeFi ideas and concepts through the product in various scenarios, gradually passing on the complex DeFi logic to users, making their operations simpler and more understandable each time.

Market Trends and User Feedback

OKX Web3 Team: The technical innovation of the OKX Web3 DeFi team lies not in revolutionary underlying technologies but in quickly capturing market trends and integrating them in a timely manner. For instance, when staking in the TON ecosystem, interest rate activities in the SEI ecosystem, and nested gameplay in the Pendle ecosystem are hot, our team presents these trends to users at the first opportunity. Meanwhile, we simplify operations to lower the participation threshold of protocols like Uniswap V3, allowing novice users to easily click and observe yields. Despite the complexity of on-chain protocols, which poses challenges for our team in integrating numerous protocols and new chains simultaneously, such as lending and quantitative arbitrage innovations, the OKX Web3 DeFi team is committed to simplifying these complex operations, allowing users to experience DeFi innovations in the most intuitive way.

We collect user feedback from multiple dimensions to ensure that the product aligns with user needs. For example, we gather real product usage feedback through external user surveys; on the other hand, we utilize an internal feedback mechanism, taking the usage experiences of team members as important references. Our team members include various DeFi OG users, some of whom have been involved since DeFi Summer and have honed their skills as farmers, while others have deep expertise in the BTC ecosystem, having built the OKX inscription product from 0 to 1, and some are builders from leading DeFi projects. They are all seasoned users of various DeFi products and can better help improve the product continuously. Moreover, we organize and review product data daily, including user activity and new protocol situations, to ensure timely identification and optimization of issues.

In summary, our team can quickly capture market trends from external communities and internal feedback, evaluate applicable DeFi trading products, and rapidly integrate them into the platform, keeping users at the forefront of DeFi trends.

Product Design Principles

OKX Web3 Team: Undoubtedly, the first principle is to do no harm. The OKX DeFi team incorporates this clause into every product design, ensuring that we do not directly interact with users' assets when designing products. Instead, we connect users' funds through third-party protocols in a decentralized manner, eliminating the feasibility of additional risks from the platform side. We also conduct risk assessments of project parties, including reviewing the audit reports of integrated contracts, and present this information directly to users on the front end, aiming to minimize users' financial risks. In the event of high-risk protocols, we proactively shield them and take actions such as delisting at the first sign of risk. If serious incidents occur, we will continue to track and research remedial measures, helping users pursue yields while safeguarding their financial security.

The second principle is openness and transparency. In product design, OKX DeFi aims to present comprehensive information objectively to users while filtering and ranking based on objective standards, including APY and TVL, so that users are not influenced by subjective judgments from OKX DeFi when trading. Instead, they can make decisions based on objective data standards, and we strive to transparently display both risks and rewards to users.

The third principle is to strive for more benefits for users. Based on the principles of doing no harm and openness and transparency, once users have a certain level of financial security, OKX Web3 DeFi will assist users in assessing risks and rewards, presenting as many yields as possible, and actively engaging with leading public chains and top protocols to negotiate more exclusive rewards and points for users.

Security Mechanisms & Partners for Integrated Protocols

OKX Web3 Team: When integrating new protocols, we establish multiple security defense mechanisms.

1) Audit Reports and Rating Display: The platform directly displays audit reports and ratings to users, enhancing transparency.

2) Risk Warning Mechanism: If potential risks are identified during protocol integration, we will immediately halt the integration to protect user assets.

3) Project Party Screening: We strictly screen leading projects to minimize the risk of subjective malfeasance from project parties.

4) Risk Response: In the event of risks, OKX Web3 DeFi will promptly delist the relevant protocols and continuously monitor the situation to safeguard user interests.

Currently, we have established collaborations with leading DeFi protocols and public chains, including Ston.fi in the TON ecosystem, Jito in the Sol ecosystem, Lido, Uniswap, Compound, and other established Ethereum protocols, as well as emerging protocols like Pendle, Eigenlayer, Babylon, ether.fi, Zircuit, and public chain ecosystems like SUI and SEI. Essentially, the leading public chains and protocols are partners of the OKX Web3 DeFi team.

How to Maintain Competitiveness in a Rapidly Changing Market

OKX Web3 Team: First is the market sensitivity. Currently, the OKX Web3 DeFi team has mature, sensitive, and comprehensive scouts both internally and externally, capable of identifying trends at the first opportunity and evaluating them reasonably.

Second is team execution. With the collaboration of the OKX Web3 DeFi team and partner teams, we can generally start analyzing chains and integrating protocols as soon as we decide to proceed, quickly utilizing front-end templates or rapidly designing new product forms for implementation, presenting them to users at the first opportunity.

Finally, valuing talent and continuous technological innovation is crucial. The core competitiveness of OKX Web3 DeFi fundamentally comes from the dimensions of talent and technological innovation. We gather outstanding individuals from the industry, believing that we can maintain continuous competitiveness in the face of an ever-changing market environment.

Product Planning and Future Innovation Directions

OKX Web3 Team: There are many planned features worth looking forward to in the future, such as 1) a more comprehensive DeFi gameplay center, with the first phase already launched based on Babylon, and more protocols and convenient product iterations to come. 2) A complete overhaul of the reward fund module to bring users more rewards and better display methods for rewards. 3) Exploration of new chains like TON and more new protocols. 4) Continuous iteration of the points module to make the display and trading of points more visual, allowing points to become one of the assets that DeFi users can manage.

The future innovation direction of our products mainly focuses on two aspects:

1) Simplifying Complex Protocols: With a sufficient aggregation of protocols and chains, we will gradually provide users with richer gameplay guidance, giving them a more three-dimensional DeFi experience. Users may even be able to optimize DeFi trading strategies to balance risks and rewards without having to entrust their funds, enhancing the overall DeFi experience.

2) Open Collaboration and Permissionless Nature: In the future, we will open more permissions for partners, including reward fund modules and DeFi APIs. OKX Web3 DeFi is not just a product on the OKX side; it will allow more products to integrate with OKX Web3 DeFi and open rewards and more services to project parties and other B-end clients, gradually transforming into a permissionless DeFi on-chain tool to provide more services for B-end clients.

The Future of DeFi

OKX Web3 Team: Since DeFi Summer, DeFi has been an important theme in the Web3 space. Although the heat of DeFi is not as high as it once was, it remains a core gathering place for funds and OG users on major public chains, maintaining a high total locked value TVL. Currently, through emerging protocols like re-staking, DeFi has gained new vitality, with many protocols still maintaining annualized yields APY above 10%. We believe that more interesting new protocols will emerge in the future, leading DeFi to reach new heights.

OKX DeFi will always keep pace with market trends, quickly integrate emerging protocols, and continuously safeguard users' asset security, striving to provide users with a better DeFi participation experience.

Learn More About OKX Web3 Invisible Infrastructure

To learn more about the invisible infrastructure content of the OKX Web3 wallet, you can click to read:

1. “Invisible Infrastructure Phase 01 | Co-creating with Global Developers, Comprehensive Analysis of OKX Web3 Wallet API”
2. “Invisible Infrastructure Phase 02 | Dialogue with the OKX Web3 Team: Why Build APIs?”
3. “Invisible Infrastructure Phase 03 | Dialogue with the OKX Web3 Team: Compatible with Hundreds of Chains, Allowing Users to 'Get Started Immediately'”

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