2024’s Top Picks: Five Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Base Projects
In Brief
Decentralized solutions and blockchain improvements are transforming crypto mainstream, with DeFi projects gaining prominence in 2024, particularly on Base’s Layer 2 chain.
The last couple of years have been quite similar to the 90s and the web. The growing adoption of decentralized solutions and continuous improvements in blockchain are playing a big role in turning crypto mainstream.
Many DeFi projects have captured the headlines in 2024, and some of the best are on Base’s Layer 2 chain. Here are the top five that are trending right now:
Aerodrome Finance (AERO)
AERO has been around since 2023. It is a token swap platform that generates fees from traders while also providing liquidity providers with proportionate incentives via AERO.
Impressively, the platform is almost on par with Uniswap regarding fees, a token operating on sixteen chains. It takes the best parts of well-known DeFi protocols like Curve and puts them together to create a new way to trade and provide liquidity.
Aerodrome also allows users to easily interface with the wider crypto ecosystem by integrating ERC-20 and ERC-721 coins.
What Sets AERO Apart?
The most valuable Base project
With a TVL of more than $600M as of May 2024, AERO is the most valuable DeFi project on Base.
Token Emissions
Uses AERO to reward liquidity providers (LPs) with tokens that are issued based on the number of votes gathered by pools.
Low Fees
Designed to give users minimal slippage and offer fair fee structures to improve the trading process.
Friend.tech (FRIEND)
FRIEND launched almost at the same time as AERO. It quickly grew to have over 100,000 users and made around $25 million soon after it launched, making it an established name in the social crypto space.
FRIEND uses social tokens to let people create virtual communities and make money using the blockchain.
The platform’s Web3 app has gained the attention of many crypto leaders and NBA stars since it first came out in 2023. The social dApp did better near the end of 2023, but it began to get better in the second quarter of 2024.
Recently, Friend.tech launched Version 2 (V2) and held an airdrop event, releasing over 13 million FRIEND to early adopters. However, the V2 has encountered major glitches since then, leaving many users disappointed.
What Sets FRIEND Apart?
The Social Token
Social tokens combine the benefits of conventional cryptocurrencies with patronage systems. This lets brands, artists, and content generators make money from their fan base by giving them special deals and content.
X Content Keys
FRIEND makes it possible to turn Twitter accounts into “keys,” which give users access to private group discussions and content that isn’t available to anyone else. This increases user participation and content exclusivity.
Moonwell (WELL)
The goal of developing Moonwell was to make the complicated world of DeFi lending and borrowing easier to navigate. Through its easy-to-use interface and support for multiple languages, WELL makes DeFi accessible to people from all walks of life.
WELL is the platform’s xERC-20 token with multichain compatibility, serving both as a governance and a staking token, allowing holders to share their opinions about the platform’s future and help boost its security.
From January until now, WELL’s user base has grown four times, and its TVL matches up to AAVE and Compound on Base put together. The platform can access USDC held on Coinbase and any other Circle-supported chain using the USDC Anywhere service.
Moonwell’s robust security measures and open on-chain government make sure that loans and borrowing are safe and clear, which builds a sense of confidence among its clients.
What Sets WELL Apart?
Streamlined Lending and Borrowing
By providing a simple platform, Moonwell eliminates the usual obstacles connected with decentralized financial solutions.
Security and Transparency
To keep the system and its users safe, Moonwell has strong security steps in place. The protocol’s activities are also completely open and viewable on-chain.
Avantis
Avantis markets itself as a CeFi platform on the front end and a DeFi on the back end and a leading market maker covering a wide range of assets.
Avantis allows its traders to use complex financial derivatives, including perpetuals, while offering leverage up to 1:100.
Avantis also offers an innovative service called Loss Protection. It is a unique way to protect users who go against the market’s sentiment by promising them a specific refund on losses.
Alliance has teamed up with Chaos Labs, a world leader in risk models, to protect liquidity sources, keep the economy safe, and offer buyers affordable fees.
What Sets Avantis Apart?
High Leverage
By improving capital utility, Avantis makes it possible to trade a wide variety of assets and use large leverage (up to 100x). The use of time and risk controls enables LPs to manage risk at a finer level, making it possible for anybody to play the role of a competent market maker.
Next-level DeFi Market Maker
Even though on-chain perpetual DEXs haven’t had success like Uniswap V3, Avantis adds new features for LPs, such as time locks. Each LP can use these tools to make its own risk-reward choices, which makes the funding ecosystem stronger.
Loss Protection
As long as traders’ transactions contribute to balancing the platform OI, Avantis guarantees reimbursements on losses. It’s not like funding rates, the conventional method of regulating long-short skew—rates that are notoriously unstable and favor basis traders. It’s the first of its kind in this industry.
Seamless (SEAM)
Within Base, Seamless (SEAM) stands out as a modern decentralized finance (DeFi) technology.
Through Integrated Liquidity Markets (ILMs) users have access to diverse borrowing approaches and can benefit from undercollateralized loans, something rare to see in the DeFi sector.
SEAM serves as the governance token of the Seamless Protocol, marking it as the first decentralized, native lending and borrowing protocol on Base.
The amount of SEAM a user receives is directly related to how often and how much they use Seamless, as well as any other contributions.
What Sets SEAM Apart?
Under-collateralized loans
With under-collateralized loans, the platform offers something that isn’t really available anywhere else in the DeFi space. This function can certainly bring in more users.
High-value Base Project
With more than $500M in TVL, Seamless has cemented its place as one of the top five DeFi projects on Base.
Automated Growth Strategy
Besides controlling liquidity provision and providing undercollateralized loans, ILMs help automate and optimize growth strategies.
Disclaimer
In line with the Trust Project guidelines, please note that the information provided on this page is not intended to be and should not be interpreted as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other form of advice. It is important to only invest what you can afford to lose and to seek independent financial advice if you have any doubts. For further information, we suggest referring to the terms and conditions as well as the help and support pages provided by the issuer or advertiser. MetaversePost is committed to accurate, unbiased reporting, but market conditions are subject to change without notice.
About The Author
Victoria is a writer on a variety of technology topics including Web3.0, AI and cryptocurrencies. Her extensive experience allows her to write insightful articles for the wider audience.
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Victoria is a writer on a variety of technology topics including Web3.0, AI and cryptocurrencies. Her extensive experience allows her to write insightful articles for the wider audience.
