NAVI Protocol Focuses on the Billion-Dollar Track of LST (Liquidity Staking) and Native Token Launch, Boosting the Project to New Heights.
(Previous Summary:
SUI, which has tripled in two months, lists seven potential ecological projects.)
(Supplementary Background:
Sui Ecology Rapid Inventory: DEX, Gamfi, NFT Marketplace, Lending Protocol)
Table of Contents
NAVI: The DeFi Gem of the Sui Ecology, TVL Surges 80% to Break 100 Million
Focus on the Billion-Dollar Track of LST, Native Token Launch Imminent: Boosting the Project to New Heights
Sui ⇄ NAVI: Mutual Achievement in a Loop, Ascending to the Summit
Conclusion
When it comes to the foundation of public chain ecology, DeFi is the best choice. The modern financial trading system can be said to constantly evolve and innovate around the concept of “improving market liquidity.” In this “the one with liquidity wins all” premise, DeFi serves as a container to activate liquidity. Within DeFi, lending, which connects token supply and demand through smart contracts, allows for the release of liquidity and stable, diversified returns. Both DeFi and LSTFi (Liquid Stake Token Finance) are not only the race tracks for countless individuals aiming for billion-dollar business volumes, but also the top priority for public chain ecological construction.
In fact, the rise of an excellent DeFi project can significantly contribute to the development of the public chain. As early as the DeFi Summer period in 2020, the innovative explosion of lending protocols such as MakerDAO, Aave, and Compound further solidified Ethereum’s position as the “king of public chains.” Since then, Lido has also made a remarkable impact, sparking a craze for Ethereum LST. These examples, among many others, seem to confirm the important significance of DeFi for the development of public chain ecosystems.
At the present time, along with the strong gains of new public chains such as SOL, AVAX, and SUI, a new round of “new public chain rise narrative” is brewing. Among them, Sui, as one of the “Twin Stars of Move,” is considered an excellent investment target in the competition among new public chains due to its outstanding technological advantages, impressive financing/team backgrounds, and immeasurable potential for ecosystem explosion.
Since the beginning of the year, NAVI Protocol, the native DeFi protocol of the Sui ecosystem, has shown strong development momentum. Not only has its TVL increased by 80% in half a month, making it the top DeFi project in the Sui ecosystem, but it has also announced the acquisition of Volo, a top-tier liquidity staking protocol in the Sui ecosystem, to seize the LSTFi market and further establish the foundation for the development of a “one-stop liquidity protocol” in the Sui ecosystem. Following market rules and past experiences, NAVI Protocol’s support for the Sui ecosystem has raised more expectations for Sui and its native lending protocol, NAVI Protocol.
This article aims to delve into NAVI Protocol, the top project in the Sui ecosystem, and analyze its project advantages, recent initiatives, and the mutual achievements between DeFi projects and new public chains. It also offers a brief analysis of the new competitive landscape of new public chains and the future trends of DeFi in the current bull market.
Many people have noticed NAVI Protocol due to its astonishing growth since the beginning of the year: just two weeks ago, NAVI’s TVL surpassed $60 million, and within a short span of two weeks, TVL has exceeded $100 million, marking an 80% increase in half a month. The lending volume has reached $40 million, accounting for 66% of the entire Sui network.
However, upon further investigation, it is found that NAVI has maintained this astonishing growth rate since its launch: within six months of its launch, NAVI attracted over 760,000 users and became one of the first projects to be listed on the OKX DeFi Wallet, establishing a deep partnership with OKX.
naviprotocol.io
Behind these impressive achievements, the NAVI project brings together the advantages of timing, location, and talent:
As the first native liquidity infrastructure in the Sui ecosystem, many people see NAVI as the AAVE 2.0 version of the Sui ecosystem. The project provides users with an entry point to participate in the Sui ecosystem as liquidity providers or borrowers through mechanisms such as over-collateralization, dynamic interest rates, and health factors. Liquidity providers supply assets to the protocol and earn income provided by NAVI, while borrowers can borrow different assets through NAVI to increase capital utilization.
In terms of timing, with the approaching Bitcoin halving and the launch of Bitcoin spot ETF in 2024, the cryptocurrency market has become a “bull market with clear signs” in the eyes of many institutions. Faced with the DeFi track, known as the bull market engine, users who have long been dormant are now eager to participate. For a DeFi project born at the end of the bear market and already accumulating funds and users, this is undoubtedly the best time to switch to the fast lane of development.
In terms of location, as a Sui ecosystem DeFi project officially invested and incubated by Mysten Labs, Sui’s high efficiency can bring a smooth experience to its ecological products. Moreover, Sui’s emphasis and investment in the DeFi sector also contribute to the rapid development of NAVI. According to on-chain data, in the Liquidity Xplorer liquidity incentive program jointly launched by NAVI and the Sui Foundation, Sui has allocated $15 million as early deposit income in the past 6 months, with user APY reaching over 20%. The income-driven approach has attracted more users to participate in NAVI lending.
The advantage in talent comes from the strong product innovation and market operation capabilities of the NAVI team itself.
In terms of product innovation, the development of DeFi projects revolves around three aspects:
Improving capital efficiency
Ensuring fund security
Optimizing user experience
The “Leverage Vault” is a centralized embodiment of NAVI’s innovative product design to improve capital efficiency. The automated leverage feature caters to users’ need for repeated borrowing of assets to further increase capital utilization, with simple and intuitive operations. The low-interest rate asset lending, high mining returns, and leveraged strategies of native APY assets (liquidity staking assets and LP tokens) also enhance capital efficiency and user returns.
In terms of ensuring fund security, NAVI, which adopts the over-collateralization model, implements multidimensional security strategies. The introduction of the health factor concept clearly and intuitively displays the lending risks to users. The innovative “isolation mode” requires new assets to be approved by NAVI governance before they can be used as collateral, further guaranteeing that users can participate in new trading opportunities with minimal risk. Additionally, NAVI has also made efforts in improving user product experience, collaborating with Notifi to launch a 24-hour notification feature that helps users stay informed about market fluctuations and make timely decisions.
In terms of optimizing user experience, NAVI always adheres to user needs as the development principle and has launched a series of practical features: the reward management page allows users to manage and claim rewards on one page; the Leaderboard feature allows users to earn points by interacting with the protocol, seemingly preparing for a short position; the transaction history feature allows users to easily check all interactions with the NAVI protocol with just a few clicks. Incentivized lending pools further promote capital circulation within the Sui ecosystem… More user-friendly features that respond to community needs are in the works.
In terms of market operation capabilities, NAVI employs a combination of ecological cooperation, profit incentives, and active presence on social media.
In December, NAVI launched an interest rate campaign on OKX DeFi, where users who pledge SUI or USDC to NAVI in the OKX DeFi Wallet can receive an additional 10% APY. Subsequently, NAVI and OKX Web3 Wallet collaborated to launch the EARN activity, providing 20% APY for the CETUS and wETH pools. In addition, NAVI has integrated with the OKX Web3 Wallet, allowing users to engage in activities such as borrowing and lending of encrypted assets on NAVI through the OKX Web3 Wallet plug-in. As a top-tier exchange, OKX has a massive user base, and the deep cooperation initiatives with OKX Web3 Matrix products have enabled a wider range of Web3 ecosystem users to learn about NAVI.
Image Source: Twitter @navi_protocol
Furthermore, NAVI is active on major social media platforms, communities, and AMAs, regularly organizing activities such as giveaways and X to Earn. Through engaging content, interesting gameplay, and enticing rewards, NAVI guides users to pay further attention to the project. In the Q4 report of NAVI, there were more than 10 community interaction events in that quarter alone, and their Twitter followers have exceeded 48,000.
It can be said that NAVI’s impressive market performance is a result of well-prepared strategies. The high-quality product design and solid market promotion have fueled its rapid growth in the past two months. In 2024, as the project prepares for the listing of its native token, the acquisition of Volo, a top-tier liquidity staking protocol in the Sui ecosystem, and the completion of more roadmap milestones, the momentum of rapid growth will only continue to increase.
On January 17, 2024, NAVI Protocol announced the acquisition of Volo, a top-tier liquidity staking protocol in the Sui ecosystem. With this acquisition, NAVI will upgrade from a lending protocol to a “one-stop liquidity protocol” of lending + LSTFi, and the transition is expected to be completed within a month. This announcement has sparked extensive discussions within the community.
On one hand, the strategic move of acquiring Volo undoubtedly gives NAVI a significant boost. NAVI already occupies 66% of the lending market in the Sui ecosystem, and according to Defillama data, Volo is one of the top ten DeFi protocols in the Sui ecosystem and a top 3 liquidity staking protocol, accounting for 30% of the LSTFi market in the Sui ecosystem. The strong combination of NAVI and Volo, the two top projects in the ecosystem, has a positive impact on the development of both projects and the entire Sui ecosystem.
On the other hand, the limitless potential of the LSTFi track also accumulates chips for NAVI and Sui in this bull market. Although the LSTFi track is still in its early stages, its potential is recognized widely. As NAVI prepares to list its token, acquire Volo for deep deployment in the LSTFi market, and complete more milestones on its roadmap, the momentum of rapid growth will only increase.
2024 is an exciting year for NAVI Protocol and the entire Sui ecosystem. With its strong performance, continuous innovation, and strategic moves, NAVI is well-positioned to achieve even greater heights and contribute to the development of DeFi and the new public chain landscape.There is great potential for the development of DeFi, with over 50 times growth potential. It depends on which public chain can seize the opportunity, and this is also reflected in the top DeFi protocol BENQI in the Avalanche ecosystem. Recently, BENQI’s Total Value Locked (TVL) surpassed $530 million, with a 30-day increase of over 50%.
Based on this background, as a leading contender in the new public chain competition, the rapidly developing Sui has also chosen LST as its focus for future development. The protagonist of this acquisition, Volo, was the winner of the Liquid Stake hackathon organized by the Sui Foundation. Undoubtedly, the acquisition of Volo is a strong signal released by NAVI’s deep deployment in LSTFi. In the future, with NAVI’s continued efforts in lending and LSTFi, along with the huge potential of the LSTFi track, and Sui’s emphasis and investment in the LSTFi track, it is believed that NAVI may achieve great success in the LSTFi track, just like BENQI, and further accelerate its own development while bringing more possibilities to Sui.
In addition to the acquisition, the most notable aspect of the NAVI project’s roadmap for the first quarter is the launch of its native token. In the current bullish environment, finding potential alpha projects in the market is a strong demand for users. As a highly anticipated project in the Sui ecosystem, there have been no other projects announcing their token issuance plans during the same period. This also means that NAVI, as the leader in TVL, will become the only top project in the Sui ecosystem to issue tokens, thereby firmly capturing the attention of the majority of the new public chain DeFi community.
The utility of NAVI’s native token is also an important reason why many people are looking forward to its launch. Token holders can stake NAVI tokens to earn rewards, receive fee discounts, and participate in protocol governance. In addition, NAVI has introduced veNAVI, based on Curve’s Veconomy, which encourages users to stake and hold tokens for long-term rewards while continuing to participate in governance. This has given many followers confidence in the project’s long-term stability and positive development.
It is worth noting that, following the conventional approach of projects, with the launch of the token, the project’s marketing team will introduce a series of incentives for users. Users who interact with the protocol may also receive early supporter airdrops. This expectation has become a reason to attract more people to participate in the project.
In addition to the launch of its native token, another highlight for NAVI in the first quarter of 2024 is the implementation of DAO and community governance features. This is crucial in incentivizing users to care about the project’s sustainable development and participate in it.
Furthermore, NAVI’s focus is mainly on feature iteration and user experience optimization. On one hand, the team will focus on integrating NAVI token staking into liquidity protocols and integrating with Sui Foundation’s Deepbook to provide users with the best trading experience through deep liquidity. Other features will be continuously adjusted and optimized based on market and community demand, in order to better serve users and provide a more efficient, secure, convenient, and seamless DeFi experience. On the other hand, the team will continue to expand service boundaries, support more chains, integrate with more projects, and launch more features that meet user needs, while conducting a series of interactive and education-related activities to encourage and guide users to deeply engage with the project.
As a top DeFi project in the Sui ecosystem, NAVI’s strong momentum and positive outlook have led many to bet on Sui as the vanguard in the new public chain competition in the upcoming bull market.
With NAVI’s TVL increasing by 84.99% within 7 days and Sui’s TVL surpassing $370 million (including lending) with a 7-day increase of over 55%, it is clear that the growth of NAVI and Sui in the ecosystem construction process has formed a positive feedback loop between the “public chain ⇄ project”.
On one hand, Sui’s strong capabilities are like standing on the shoulders of giants for NAVI. It is well known that since its inception, Sui has been a highly anticipated and star-studded public chain project. Dissatisfied with the restrictive working environment, some technical backbone members of Meta (formerly Facebook) left and established Mysten Labs, including former Meta Crypto Wallet Development Lead Evan Cheng and Move Language Creator Sam Blackshear, and soon after, Sui was born.
Technological innovation is one of Sui’s outstanding advantages. Sui adopts the native programming language Move, which originated from Diem, a stablecoin project incubated by Meta. Move’s powerful asset handling capabilities and access control mechanisms greatly simplify the process of digital asset and transaction management, while prioritizing security. Sui also allows validators to adjust computational resources as needed, greatly enhancing the network’s horizontal scalability. In addition, Sui’s use of “Byzantine Fault Tolerance” promotes high transaction throughput and low latency. This not only enables scalable transaction processing but also ensures almost instant transaction confirmation and robust security.
The more finance-oriented technological innovation and the stellar founding team make Sui a project that has attracted widespread attention and the favor of top investment institutions. On September 8, 2022, Mysten Labs completed a new round of financing, raising $300 million, with participants including Binance Labs, Coinbase Ventures, and industry giants like Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).
As a top DeFi project in the Sui ecosystem, NAVI can rely on Sui’s technical advantages to provide users with a seamless and secure experience. It has also received support in terms of funding, technology, and promotion throughout its development process. Mysten Labs, the founding team of Sui, not only invested in NAVI but also collaborated with NAVI on a series of user incentive activities.
In fact, the inherent advantages of Sui in terms of funding, technology, and user base have accumulated and flourished in the early bull market, not only in the DeFi sector. Looking at the Sui ecosystem landscape, a Web3 ecosystem network encompassing multiple tracks such as NFT, GameFi, AI, and social media is gradually becoming clear.
As a highly anticipated new public chain project, Sui’s strong growth momentum gives it an advantage in the upcoming new public chain battle. With the arrival of the new bull market and the influx of more users, developers, and funds, NAVI, as a top DeFi project, will undoubtedly continue to benefit from the continuous growth and expansion of the Sui ecosystem.
Undeniably, Sui’s incubation of NAVI has greatly contributed to its rapid development. However, this support has also allowed Sui to harvest positive returns in various dimensions such as funding, users, and reputation from NAVI. From on-chain data, it can be seen that the growth of NAVI and Sui is positively correlated in terms of on-chain addresses and TVL. The rise of NAVI has also helped Sui pass the market’s test of its ecosystem infrastructure construction. Because of NAVI’s impressive performance, more people further believe that Sui can exist as a top DeFi ecosystem with high liquidity in the long term.
Once this relationship of mutual achievement between public chains and projects is established, the funds and traffic absorbed will form a virtuous and efficient loop within the ecosystem. Both public chains and projects will experience a spiral upward development trend.
In the foreseeable future, relying on the aforementioned virtuous feedback loop between “public chain ⇄ project,” both NAVI and Sui will continue to benefit from it. On one hand, this will further propel NAVI towards becoming a top-tier DeFi project in the industry. On the other hand, it will also help Sui occupy an important position in the current new public chain competition.
Currently, according to data from Defillama, NAVI Protocol is already the top DeFi project in the Sui ecosystem. However, the community’s imagination for the project goes beyond this. It is important to note that NAVI’s TVL is around $100 million, which is only average in the entire DeFi space. Regardless of whether NAVI, with its upcoming token launch, can make a significant impact in the DeFi space or if Sui’s ecosystem construction can stand out in the new public chain competition, the performance of both in 2024 should not be underestimated. The market is also happy to witness this mode of mutual achievement between public chains and projects, establishing a healthy and positive development standard in the process of mutual growth.
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