Balancer releases V2

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A big step forward for De-Fi pioneer. Balancer, the multi-token automated market maker (AMM) has released version 2 of its token pooling and swapping platform.

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Version 2 introduces flash loans, more granular asset management and more customisation facilities.

The new features represent solid progress for the Balancer ecosystem, in which liquidity providers, fund liquidity 'pools' (private/shared/smart), needed by traders and in return earn passive income (paid in BAL) on their funds.

Balancer is a key component of the De-Fi market , with almost $2billion (USD) of Total Value Locked (TVL).

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Ampleforth - Free Tokens

The pioneering algorithmic stablecoin, launched its governance token FORTH and deployed a retrospective airdrop to all wallets that have previously held AMPL tokens.

To achieve 'stability' ($1 US), Ampleforth utilises a novel elastic-supply mechanism, in which the token supply expands and contracts in response to its price deviating from $1 USD.

The supply variation results in an unusual phenomenon in which the number of AMPL tokens in a user's wallet increases and decreases, on a daily basis.

Ampleforth exhibits counter-cyclical trading characteristics and has a value to traders in that it is uncorrelated with bitcoin.

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De-Fi Interest Rates

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Lending and borrowing are important catalysts of the De-Fi sector. Lenders lend funds to specific platforms, with the expectation that the original sum will be repaid, along with additional interest. Demand for borrowing mainly comes from traders who expect to repay the borrowed amount, plus additional interest.

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A key metric of lending and borrowing are the interest rates on each major platform. This is a summary of the interest rate situation, during April 2021:

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DAI Market

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Lending Rates (APY):

• Nexo Lend ... 10%
• Bitfinex... 7.13%
• Aave... 6.27%
• dYdX... 6.15%
• Compound... 5.22%
• Fulcrum... 5.19%
• Coinbase Lend... 2%

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Borrowing Rates (APY)

• Aave... 7.24%
• dYdX... 11.38%.
• Compound... 7.56%
• Fulcrum... 19%

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The lending and borrowing of assets is a fundamental aspect of the De-Fi market and often features in De-Fi trading instruments, such as a multi-step Yield Farming recipe (aka money lego).