In this ongoing series, Matt and Nick share the early-stage protocols and apps they are monitoring particularly closely. They explain the value proposition of these projects and outline ways to get involved in these projects’ communities. (Here is a link to our last update on February 16.)
When using new networks, we strongly encourage you to understand the risks and take appropriate safety measures. (More details on airdrop risks.)
Key Takeaways
- Infinex is currently executing its launch campaign. The protocol aims to unite the user experience of a centralised exchange with the self-custodial properties of a decentralised exchange.
- Sanctum is approaching its ‘fair launch’ token distribution and the second season of its ‘Wonderland’ campaign. The platform is designed to aggregate liquid-staking tokens (LSTs) and provide superior yields.
- Karak is a restaking protocol that also offers a data-availability solution. Unlike EigenLayer, it is chain-agnostic.
- Symbiotic is another new addition to the fast-growing restaking market. So far, deposit caps have been hit very quickly.
Contents
Infinex
Brief overview of Infinex
Infinex is a decentralised perpetual exchange that aims to blend the best of DeFi (i.e. self-custody, transparency) and centralised exchanges (i.e. user experience (UX)). The protocol is deployed on Base and powered by Synthetix. In the long term, Infinex plans to expand its novel architecture into verticals beyond decentralised trading. (For more, go to Infinex’s blog and docs.)
Why it matters
Today’s crypto apps and protocols remain incredibly hard to use relative to centralised exchanges and mainstream apps (e.g. Instagram, Netflix). If crypto fails to achieve mass adoption, poor UX could quite possibly be the most important reason.
The space has also seen its fair share of exchange meltdowns (e.g. FTX), which left users in the dark and unable to access their cryptocurrency. A new exchange focusing on UX and self-custody addresses the security trade-offs of using centralised exchanges, providing a safer alternative.
Infinex is leveraging recent advancements in crypto UX, cross-chain querying and L2 infrastructure to build a far more seamless gateway into DeFi than anything currently available.
State of development
Infinex is currently running ‘Launch Season’, the first step of which was enabling USDC deposits. The more USDC a user deposited, the quicker they can ‘speed run’ the waitlist to use Infinex.
Launch Season is currently in the final stage, with an ongoing ‘Createrun’ program, which requires users to stake cryptocurrency on Infinex to get access to crates that contain prizes. (More on Craterun.)
How to get involved
If you participated in ‘Speedrun the Waitlist’, stake your existing balance to earn crates. If you’re new to Infinex, deposit and stake any supported asset to earn crates. For updates, follow @infinex_app and join Infinex’s Discord server.
Caution: Before depositing, understand that it will take multiple days to regain access to your cryptocurrencies in the event you un-stake. (More details.)
Sanctum
Brief overview of Sanctum
Sanctum is a unified liquid staking platform. Simply put, it’s a layer that combines all the different ways to stake on Solana. Using Sanctum, a user can stake SOL natively or choose from a range of liquid staking tokens (LSTs) that tap into Sanctum’s unified layer of liquidity. (For more, go to Sanctum’s blog and docs.)
The platform features three main products:
- Infinity: The primary offering and staking token. Users deposit LSTs or SOL and receive yield-bearing Infinity (INF) tokens
- Stake accounts: Allows regular staked SOL accounts to be transferred into LSTs.
- Trading LSTs: A DEX for quickly swapping in and out of SOL, INF or other LSTs.
Why it matters
Sanctum provides users with access to higher yields on their staked SOL. Users can opt for an INF stake, which combines the highest level of validator rewards with its basket of LSTs to give users a more competitive rate. Staking directly to validators often means paying up to 10% in commission or fees; using Sanctum can mean users keep more of their SOL rewards.
Additionally, for projects, Sanctum serves as a platform for creating and issuing custom LSTs. These LSTs can be used for additional yield (e.g. laineSOL), for community-building (e.g. bonkSOL), for NFT whitelist spots (e.g. pathSOL) or for subscription services (e.g. alphaSOL).
Lastly, more broadly, Sanctum can improve Solana’s decentralisation by distributing SOL staking rewards to a wide variety of validators and platforms.
State of development
Sanctum has been live for over a year and has attracted ~$866M in TVL, most of which came recently as part of season one of its ‘Wonderland‘ campaign, where users could collect pets representing LSTs and complete quests.
Sanctum’s CLOUD token was recently announced and should launch soon. Uniquely, it will be a “truly public” token launch via Jupiter’s LFG launchpad. It’s possible the token doesn’t launch until after the second season of Wonderland.
The founding team aims to avoid the low flat high FDV issue where a token launches to a massive valuation with a low number of coins in circulation and insiders selling at massive profits. It will do this in two ways:
- Avoid external funding beyond a seed round, not pay for exchange listings, and start price discovery at an FDV of $50M (i.e. the same valuation as the seed round).
- Launch with 18% of the total supply in circulation.
How to get involved
While the first season of Wonderland has ended, there will be a second one. In the meantime, use the Sactum platform to collect LSTs or deposit to receive INF tokens. Finally, use new features (e.g. set up a profile once they are unlocked), follow @sanctumso on X and join Sanctum’s Discord server.
Symbiotic
Brief overview of Symbiotic
Symbiotic is a DeFi platform that focuses on providing shared security to allow new networks to launch easily. This is also commonly known as restaking, where one chain’s economic security (i.e. staked tokens) can be used to secure another.
To date, restaking has been synonymous with EigenLayer, a protocol that conducted one of the largest airdrops to date.
Why it matters
Symbiotic addresses an ongoing issue: how do newer networks bootstrap and create sovereign ecosystems? Creating a new network can be difficult, with many choosing to launch native tokens, which can take years to fully develop and become big enough to provide strong security guarantees.
Symbiotic could help unlock significant value by using chains’ under-utilised economic security to put that idle cryptocurrency to work in other ecosystems.
State of development
In June, Symbiotic launched in a guarded capacity and also announced a $5.8M seed round co-led by Paradigm and Cyber Fund. Two days later, Symbiotic reached its capacity for all available assets. Fifteen minutes after it launched support for the Ethena stablecoin, its 50M sUSDe cap hit.
How to get involved
Deposit supported cryptocurrencies into Symbiotic next time the caps are lifted. For updates, follow @symbioticfi on X and check their blog to find out when deposit caps lift.
Karak
Brief overview of Karak
Like Symbiotic, Karak is another well-funded restaking protocol. It is a universal restaking layer developed by Andalusia Labs to enhance the security and efficiency of blockchain networks by allowing users to restake their assets across multiple chains. Distinguishing it from EigenLayer, Karak is chain-agnostic and brings together all cryptocurrencies.
Why it matters
It addresses the growing need for interoperable restaking solutions across chains. By enabling users to restake their assets on different networks, Karak enhances the resilience and reliability of newer blockchain ecosystems and helps increase utility by capturing an idle cryptocurrency yield. This benefits individual users by providing additional earning opportunities and strengthens the entire network’s security infrastructure.
State of development
Karak emerged from stealth in April by announcing a $48M Series A round and a closed launch where users could join with invite codes to restake and earn Karak XP. Since this announcement, the team has continued adding support for various blockchains (e.g. Arbitrum).
Like EigenLayer, Karak has also introduced a data-availability solution, Karak Universal Data Availability. While a testnet has been confirmed, a release date has not yet been set.
How to get involved
Deposit supported cryptocurrencies into Karak. It currently has an early access XP program for users with invite codes. (For more, see CoinGecko’s Karak airdrop tutorial.) For updates, follow @Karak_Network on X and join Karak’s Discord server.
What tokenless projects are you following? Comment below!