Analyzing the Near ecosystem with data: How does $REF benefit from it?
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Analyzing the Near ecosystem with data: How does $REF benefit from it?
The NEAR ecosystem is thriving.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsWritten by: @resdegen
TechFlow authorized translation and publication
A brief explanation of the protocols mentioned in the article:
Ref Finance ($REF): A DEX built on the NEAR blockchain. When users stake on Ref, REF can be converted into xREF.
Aurora ($AURORA): An Ethereum-compatible scaling solution built on NEAR.
Rainbow Bridge: A bridge created and maintained by Aurora that allows token transfers between NEAR, Ethereum, and Aurora.
Aurigami: A decentralized lending protocol on Aurora.
Bastion ($BSTN): A decentralized lending protocol that algorithmically sets interest rates based on supply and demand. Built on Compound and deployed on Aurora, NEAR’s EVM-compatible layer.
$USN: A stablecoin即将 launched in the Near ecosystem.
The $NEAR ecosystem is booming, recently receiving substantial capital inflows via the Rainbow Bridge.
On the surface, little money has left the ecosystem, indicating strong user retention.
NEAR's TVL continues to grow, with Ref Finance accounting for 47%. Currently, there are only five protocols in the Near ecosystem, with more soon to launch.
The TVL of the Aurora ($AURORA) ecosystem is also experiencing explosive growth, reaching a TVL of $1.19 billion. BastionProtocol accounts for 48% of the TVL within the Aurora ecosystem and recently launched its native token $BSTN along with a liquidity mining program. Additionally, Aurigami on the Aurora ecosystem is offering more incentives.
Combined, [$NEAR + $AURORA] have reached a TVL of $1.63 billion, surpassing Polkadot ($DOT). Notably, the stablecoin $USN on NEAR has not even been launched yet.
Compared to other chains, $NEAR has shown the highest gain over the past 7 days ($NEAR +21.5%, $RUNE +10.4%, $LUNA+5.2%) and ranked second over the past 30 days ($DOT +1054%, $NEAR+172%, $RUNE +46%).
Ref Finance ($REF) is growing rapidly, with clear trends. Since February 15, its TVL has increased by 300%, and average daily trading volume has grown by 257%. This means the Ref ecosystem is earning high transaction fees, providing solid staking rewards for xREF holders.
The number of unique addresses holding $REF continues to increase.
To date, the ecosystem has distributed $485,000 to xREF holders. In less than a month, the amount of staked $REF has increased from 2.1 million to 3.7 million (+76%).
The circulating supply of Ref is also increasing. As a new DEX, Ref aims to bring liquidity and users to the protocol. To better understand this phenomenon, it's important to analyze how the ratio of staked $REF changes relative to circulating supply and time:
Divided into two phases:
Phase One: Stable —> The staked REF ratio remains constant. This implies that xREF grows proportionally with supply.
Phase Two: Explosive Growth —> The current growth rate of xREF exceeds that of the circulating supply of REF.
Within three weeks, the staking ratio of $REF rose from 20% to over 30%. The high staking rate for xREF can be easily explained:
① Users buy REF, the native token of the leading DEX on the NEAR ecosystem
② They also want to earn approximately 10% APY
Thus, users stake REF to convert it into xREF, using it as yield-generating collateral.
The introduction of ve-tokenomics will significantly increase demand for $REF, as other protocols (similar to $CVX) appear eager to accumulate as much xREF as possible. It's important to note that Ref is an AMM protocol with stableswap pools, and xREF holders will have voting rights over liquidity gauges.
Given the upcoming launch of $USN, these stableswap pools will become a key product for $REF:
- TVL will increase, as $USN will create trading pairs (e.g., USN-NEAR) and attract incentives
- Ref Finance (and xREF users) will earn trading fees from $USN transaction volume
Additionally, the NEAR team recently announced big news: Cross-chain contract calls through the Ref aggregator will pool DEX liquidity between NEAR and Aurora, enabling $REF to access this liquidity starting in May.
This aggregator is a built-in feature of Ref Finance that consolidates hundreds of trading pairs across DEXs on both Aurora and NEAR, offering cheaper prices due to automatic routing and deeper liquidity. All of this is deployed on both Ref Finance and the NEAR mainnet.
The NEAR team also plans to introduce locked LPs, operating similarly to certificates of deposit (CDs). Farmers will be able to lock their LP tokens for specific periods to receive higher rewards, reducing "mercenary" liquidity and enhancing protocol sustainability.
Other features under development include: automated compounding; Zap functionality; integration of a central limit order book; periodic buybacks
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