Ref Finance H1 Report 2023
Discover the first half of the year product launches of Ref
What a start of the year wouldn’t you say?! The NEAR ecosystem is doing what we all do in a crypto winter, we put our heads down and we build. The average DEX volume has been quite high for the first half of the year, which demonstrates the broader audience interest in DeFi (psst that’s a good thing). Let’s not forget NEAR’s new baby: BOS — being widely developed by the whole ecosystem to permit an easier and faster onboarding process.
In the fast-paced world of blockchain technology, the Near blockchain ecosystem has emerged as a prominent player. Within this thriving landscape, Ref Finance (REF) stands out as a transformative decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, providing innovative solutions for users seeking efficient and secure financial interactions.
With this in mind, let’s hop onto more serious matters. First and foremost, we are to reiterate our core pillars at Ref Finance:
Six pillars
The six pillars, identified in our 2022 roadmap, can be seen as our beacon while we navigate a typical crypto winter, or a social media battle tempest (Twitter vs Thread). Here is a fresh reminder:
- The Future is Decentralised: Promote further decentralisation
- The Double B: Deliver Better prices and Better liquidity utilisation
- Money, Money, Money: Provide LPs with the tooling to maximise profits while mitigating risks (i.e. auto-compounding)
- Better Experience: Improve user experience
- Knowledge is power: Encourage transparency and data-driven decisions
- Bridge Them All: Reduce the gap with other chain communities
In addition to Security, which is transversal to the above pillars.
In this report, we will delve into what has happened at Ref Finance for the first half of the year, focusing on its noteworthy product updates and enhancements, as well as exciting upcoming developments that promise to propel the protocol to new heights.
Product Updates and Enhancements
- Concentrated Liquidity — We’ve introduced concentrated liquidity, a groundbreaking feature that enables liquidity providers (LPs) to strategically concentrate their funds within specified price ranges. By doing so, LPs can maximize their capital efficiency and trading volumes, while minimizing slippage. This enhancement empowers LPs to customize their risk exposure and optimize their yield generation, by bringing in key DeFi players of the NEAR ecosystem such as LiNEAR (pNEAR).
- Orderly Integration — Recognizing the importance of seamless integration with other protocols, we’ve prioritized the Orderly Integration initiative. This integration framework aims to establish interoperability between Ref Finance and various DeFi protocols, enabling users to tap into broader liquidity pools and give access to a more native trader experience. This development enhances Ref Finance’s composability, fostering collaboration and expanding its overall utility.
- Ref Portfolio: The Ref Portfolio feature is an all-in-one investment solution that empowers users to manage their digital assets efficiently. It offers a comprehensive dashboard, enabling users to monitor their positions, track performance, and access analytics for informed decision-making. With Ref Portfolio, users can seamlessly interact with multiple DeFi protocols through one UI instead of jumping between different projects. Concentrating our users within one location.
- New Wallet Integration — Here Wallet, Meteor Wallet: we’ve expanded its ecosystem by integrating with Here Wallet and Meteor Wallet. Here Wallet is a user-friendly and secure mobile wallet that simplifies the management of digital assets, while Meteor Wallet offers a robust and feature-rich web wallet solution. These integrations enhance user accessibility and streamline the onboarding process, making it easier for users to engage with the Ref Finance protocol.
- Burrow Integration — Building on its commitment to interoperability, we’ve integrated Burrow Protocol within the Ref app. This integration enables users to access lending and borrowing options through Ref natively and track their portfolio.
Upcoming Developments
- Zap Function — In Q3, we will introduce the Zap Function, a user-friendly tool that simplifies liquidity provision and enables users to swiftly allocate their funds across different pools. This feature streamlines the user experience, eliminating complexities and lowering barriers to entry. With the Zap Function, users can seamlessly optimize their capital allocation, maximizing their yield generation potential.
- Lending & Borrowing — In Q3, we are recognizing the growing demand for lending and borrowing capabilities within the DeFi ecosystem, therefore, have announced plans to launch our lending and borrowing functionalities. This new feature will enable users to leverage their digital assets as collateral, access loans, and earn interest on deposited funds.
- veTokenomic — We are actively developing our veTokenomic model, which incentivizes long-term staking and participation within the protocol. This innovative mechanism rewards users with veTokens, providing them with governance rights and a share of protocol fees. The veTokenomic model promotes community engagement and ensures the sustainability and decentralization of the Ref Finance ecosystem.
- Orderly Perps: we are actively developing the Orderly Perps through the Ref app. Orderly Perps simplifies the investment process for users, offering pre-vetted projects and diversified exposure across various protocols. Enhancing the future market on NEAR.
- DCL pool optimization — This feature is about experience and data-driven decisions. With a new UI, users can add, remove or adjust liquidity in DCL pools in a more intuitive way. Also, more data is provided to LPs as reference to get a higher APY.
Conclusion
The H1 report showcases our commitment to continuous innovation and user-centric solutions within the DeFi landscape, without ever compromising security. With the introduction of concentrated liquidity, Orderly integration, Ref Portfolio, the product and team has solidified its position as a pioneering force in Near and the broader ecosystems.
Furthermore, upcoming developments such as the Zap Function, lending and borrowing capabilities, veTokenomic, and Orderly Perps demonstrate the protocol’s dedication to expanding its offerings and driving the adoption of decentralized finance.
As Ref Finance continues to empower users with its advanced features and visionary roadmap, it is poised to play a significant role in shaping the future of DeFi.
