Euler Finance
EUL
What
Euler is a non-custodial permissionless protocol on Ethereum that allows users to lend and borrow almost any crypto asset. Euler helps users to earn interest on their crypto assets or hedge against volatile markets without the need for a trusted third-party.
Why?
Euler introduces a number of new features in DeFi, including permissionless lending markets, protected collateral, reactive interest rates, per-second compounding interests and feeless flash loans.
Permisionless listing
Euler lets its users determine which assets are listed. Any asset that has a WETH pair on Uniswap v3 can be added as a lending market on Euler.
Protected Collateral
On Compound and Aave, collateral deposited to the protocol is always made available for lending. On the other hand, Euler allows collateral to be deposited, but not made available for lending. This collateral is 'protected'. It doesn't earn interest, but is free from the risks of borrowers defaulting, can always be withdrawn instantly, and helps protect against borrowers using tokens to influence governance decisions.
Reactive interest rates
Euler uses control theory to autonomously change the interest rates towards a level that maximises utilisation of assets in the protocol. These reactive interest rates adapt to market conditions for the asset in real-time without the need for ongoing governance intervention.
Compound Interest
Compound interest is accrued on Euler each second. This is different from other lending protocols, where interest is typically accrued every block. Earning interest per-second is generally expected to perform more predictably in the long-run, even if upgrades to Ethereum lead to changes in the average time between blocks.
Feeless Flash Loans
Euler only charges fees according to the time value of money, and from the blockchain's perspective flash loans are held for a duration of 0 seconds. Thus, they are entirely free on Euler (ignoring gas costs).
Funded by
Coinbase
Coinbase is the most trusted cryptocurrency platform, and an ideal starting point if you're new to crypto. They started in 2012 with the idea that anyone, anywhere, should be able to easily and securely send and receive Bitcoin. Today, they offer a trusted and easy-to-use platform for accessing the broader cryptoeconomy. [When you deposit on a centralised exchange you receive an IOU for your tokens, which shows up as your wallet balance. When your tokens are held on a centralised exchange, you don't physically own them – the exchange does, and you may lose them]
Paradigm
Paradigm is an investment firm focused on supporting the crypto/Web3 companies and protocols of tomorrow. Our approach is flexible, long term, multi-stage, and global. We often get involved at the earliest stages of formation and continue supporting our portfolio companies over time.
Uniswap
Uniswap is a decentralized exchange protocol (DEX). It allows people to set up or contribute to liquidity pools consisting of various ERC-20 token pairs, or to use the available liquidity to swap their tokens against another using its Automated Market Maker (AMM) mechanism. ### Why AMMS are one of the building blocks in the crypto space as they always provide users with a price between two assets. Uniswap uses a simple X * Y = K, formula to price assets where x is the amount of one token in the liquidity pool, and y is the amount of the other. k is a fixed constant, meaning the pool’s total liquidity is always the same. ### Risk There are various risks involved with using AMMS. These include but are not limited to: Protocol Risk - risk due to mechanics in the design of a protocol. Even when the protocol functions as intended there might be risks e.g. high slippage incurred in trades due to the liquidity curve set-up Smart contract risk - This is risk from an error in the code causing the contract to operate in ways unexpected by the developers. It might leave the code vulnerable to exploits or other attacks Cybersecurity risk - Hackers, Exploiters or other malicious actors trying to attack Uniswap ### Reward Uniswap is arguably one of the largest AMMs in crypto and is usually the protocol where tokens find the most liquidity. Its UI/UX is extremely simple and users can trade most tokens with little problems.
Variant
Variant is an early-stage fund investing in web3. They believe the next generation of the internet will transform users into owners. Variant backs mission-aligned founders at the earliest possible stage.
