Flare Network has partnered with Kinetic, a leading lending and borrowing platform, to bring crucial DeFi functionalities to the Flare ecosystem. This collaboration aims to unlock deeper liquidity and create a thriving decentralized finance environment on Flare.
Genfinity recently connected with JD Gagnon, Co-Founder of Rome Blockchain Labs, and Jake Hunsbusher, Core Contributor at Kinetic, on our podcast. We dove into Flare Network’s capabilities and how this collaboration may affect your future in interacting with the blockchain. Keep reading for more details!
Flare Network: Bridging Blockchains and Empowering Developers
The Flare Network aims to bridge the gap between blockchains, allowing developers to build secure and scalable applications. This EVM-based, Layer-1 network boasts compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, granting you access to smart contracts and dApps.
Flare empowers developers with two key tools: the State Connector and the Flare Time Series Oracle (FTSO). These protocols act as bridges, enabling the creation of powerful and decentralized applications that seamlessly interact across different blockchains. Fundamentally, this fosters an ecosystem where data and functionality can flow freely, fostering innovation and collaboration within your network.
The network’s native token, FLR, plays a crucial role in its functionality. FLR serves as payment for transactions, preventing spam attacks, and fuels network operations. Additionally, you can stake FLR to participate in governance and secure the network, notably earning rewards in return.
Kinetic Market and Flare Network collaboration
Kinetic Market
Kinetic Market, built on the Flare Network, harnesses the power of decentralized oracles to offer an innovative, non-custodial lending platform. You can unlock exciting financial opportunities by transforming your dormant assets into active strategies. Notably, Kinetic utilizes an algorithmic approach, allowing you to set your investment strategies in motion. This streamlined approach empowers you to accelerate in your financial journey.
The collaboration
Flare Network has joined forces with Kinetic, a lending and borrowing platform backed by Rome Blockchain Labs. This partnership aims to introduce crucial lending and borrowing capabilities to the Flare ecosystem, fostering deeper liquidity and a robust DeFi environment.
Jake Hunsbusher, Core Contributor at Kinetic, gave an overview of the Kinetic Market and Flare synergy. He elaborated:
“Kinetic is a learning protocol coming to the Flare network; we’re going to be the first on the Flare network. What’s really interesting is we’re going to be able to leverage a lot of upcoming technology that is developing on the network. So, if you know about Flare, you know about its FAssets. So, traditionally, non-smart-contract assets — they’re going to be able to be integrated into Flare and also will be integrated into our platform. So we’re really excited to kickstart the DeFi on Flare and put the ecosystem into its next evolution.”
Through the Kinetic Market and Flare collaboration, you can participate in DeFi through Kinetic’s platform, potentially earning block rewards on their supplied assets. Lenders benefit from an incentivized yield through liquidity provisioning, while borrowers access over-collateralized loans with membership perks like interest rebates.
Furthermore, Kinetic leverages Flare’s decentralized oracle system for accurate and reliable price feeds, ensuring secure and responsive DeFi experiences. Additionally, the integration of FAssets allows tokens like Bitcoin and XRP to participate in DeFi activities on Flare, significantly expanding the available asset pool for you while bridging the gap between traditional and decentralized finance.
Why did Rome Blockchain Labs choose the Flare Network?
JD Gagnon, Co-Founder of Rome Blockchain, commented on why they chose the Flare Network. He stated,
“They really have a focus on ease of use and connectivity with other blockchains while maintaining decentralization.”
Furthermore, he emphasized that Flare is unique because it removes dependencies on third parties, which other ecosystems rely on. This also makes Flare more decentralized and efficient. Flare has built upon the Avalanche technology to create a unique and innovative ecosystem.
Rome Blockchain Labs – Aiding in the Kinetic Market and Flare Network collaboration
JD emphasized his company’s collaborative approach with ecosystems. They identify crucial gaps in go-to-market strategies and step in to fill them. This is evident in their work with Flare, where they became the first DeFi protocol to launch after the initial deck presentation. Their expertise lies in building excitement and establishing the necessary infrastructure for successful projects.
In the case of Kinetic, Rome Blockchain Labs recognized the need for a lending protocol within the Flare ecosystem. However, they aimed to create a unique solution, not just a replica of existing protocols, or “copypasta”. They invested significant time in crafting novel economic structures and innovative methods to enhance value for assets and tokens within Kinetic. Additionally, they addressed long-term inflation challenges prevalent in DeFi.
Rome Blockchain Labs plays a crucial role in building, deploying, and maintaining the technology for Kinetic. This allows the Kinetic team to focus on other critical areas like community engagement, business development, and research. This division of responsibilities ensures efficient operations and fosters the growth of Kinetic within the broader DeFi landscape.
Canary networks
Canary networks offer a unique testing environment for blockchain features. These operational blockchains, equipped with a capped token supply, mimic real-world conditions, allowing developers to rigorously test new functionalities before implementing them on the main network. This approach contrasts with traditional testnets, which often have an unlimited token supply, limiting their ability to accurately reflect real-world scenarios.
Songbird
Flare’s canary network, aptly named Songbird, plays a dual role. It serves as a testing ground for new features and also forms the foundation of Flare’s innovative governance system. Songbird functions as the lower house in a planned bicameral structure, empowering community members like you to propose and vote on changes. These proposals, upon approval, are then considered by the Flare Foundation for potential integration into the main Flare network. This democratic approach allows you to help shape the future of the Flare ecosystem.
Jake Hunsbusher sheds light on Songbird’s evolution and the rationale behind Kinetic’s direct launch on Flare. Initially conceived as a testnet without intrinsic value, Songbird then gained value, creating a unique environment. This unforeseen development raises the possibility of Songbird transitioning into a standalone network in the future, potentially fostering its own ecosystem of products and protocols.
Hunsbusher emphasizes the advantages of utilizing testnets. This allows for greater flexibility in testing and asset creation without economic implications. He also highlights the drawbacks of launching on testnets with value, citing their past experience with Moon River. Duplicating efforts and incurring costs for both a testnet and mainnet launch proved inefficient. Additionally, the challenge of deprecating on-chain protocols once deployed on a testnet necessitates long-term maintenance, potentially hindering future flexibility. These factors combined influenced Kinetic’s decision to bypass Songbird and launch directly on the Flare mainnet.
Kinetic’s new Jewel — The Jewel Token
Our conversation unlocked a new gem — the Jewel token. The Jewel token serves as the core currency within the Kinetic protocol. Imagine it as the primary “buying and selling” token used for various functionalities. You can stake your Jewel tokens to earn Key tokens, which unlock governance voting power within the protocol. Every 45 days, these Key token holders participate in crucial governance votes that shape the future of Kinetic.
This unique two-token system sets Kinetic apart from other DeFi protocols. Staking Jewel for Key tokens grants you access to rewards, but your active participation in voting is mandatory to claim them. This incentivizes active community engagement and fosters a sense of ownership among users. Moreover, the tokenomics are designed to resist downward price pressure often faced by reward tokens, encouraging your long-term investment through the voting requirement.
Jake disclosed that, while details regarding Jewel’s role in fees, access levels, and additional yield opportunities remain undisclosed, the current information highlights its significance as the central token powering the Kinetic ecosystem. The token is additionally part of an innovative approach to governance through community participation.
Project Updates
Our conversation revealed that the Flare ecosystem is seeing exciting development in DeFi products. Notably, lending protocols are being established as a foundation for further financial products like options and perps. Recent solutions allow users to participate in DeFi while still receiving Flare rewards. Furthermore, Gnosis is the current DEX platform offering innovative features like banded liquidity. Overall, significant development is expected once critical liquidity is established in the ecosystem.
JD gave an update on the project roadmap, reminding everyone that a roadmap is always a moving target. He expressed that the protocol launch is targeted for Q2 with Genesis pools starting a few weeks prior. Q3/Q4 is the estimated timeframe for LayerCake, Flare’s native bridge. FAssets are also expected to gain momentum in the second half of the year, and the token release will likely happen around launch. Overall, there’s significant activity planned in the near future, with the litepaper arriving within a month.
Are you excited about this upcoming launch on Flare Network? Let us know what you think in the comments!
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