NAVI Protocol Focuses on the Billion-dollar Track of LST (Liquidity Staking), with the Native Token Soon to Launch, Boosting the Project to New Heights.
(Previous Summary:
SUI Tripled in Two Months, Seven Potential Ecological Projects to be Airdropped
)
(Background Supplement:
Sui Ecology Rapid Inventory: DEX, Gamfi, NFT Market, Lending Protocol after the Mainnet Launch
)
Table of Contents
NAVI: Sui Ecology DeFi Gem, TVL Soars 80% to Break 100 Million
Focus on the Billion-dollar Track of LST, Native Token to be Launched Soon: Boosting the Project to New Heights
Sui ⇄ NAVI: Mutual Achievement, Reaching the Summit Together
Conclusion
When it comes to the cornerstone of public chain ecology, DeFi is the first choice. The modern financial trading system can be said to constantly evolve and innovate around “improving market liquidity.” In such a premise of “he who has liquidity rules the world,” DeFi is the container that activates liquidity. Among them, lending connects the supply and demand of tokens through smart contracts. LSTFi (Liquid Stake Token Finance) can release liquidity and achieve stability and diversified returns. Both are not only the race tracks for countless people’s billion-dollar business volume, but also the top priority for public chain ecosystem construction.
In fact, the rise of an excellent DeFi project can greatly 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 by igniting the Ethereum LST frenzy. These examples seem to confirm the important significance of DeFi for the development of public chain ecosystems.
At the current moment, with the strong surge 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, thanks to its outstanding technological advantages, impressive financing/team background, and incalculable potential for ecological explosion.
Since the beginning of the year, the native DeFi protocol of the Sui ecosystem, NAVI Protocol, has shown strong development momentum. Within half a month, TVL has increased by 80%, making it the top DeFi project in the Sui ecosystem. Furthermore, it announced the acquisition of Volo, the top liquidity staking protocol in the Sui ecosystem, to seize the LSTFi market, further laying 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 higher expectations for Sui and its native lending protocol, NAVI Protocol.
This article aims to explore the top project in the Sui ecosystem, NAVI Protocol, by explaining its project advantages, recent initiatives, and the mutual achievements between DeFi projects and new public chains. It analyzes the new competitive landscape of 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. Two weeks ago, NAVI’s TVL surpassed $60 million, and within just two weeks, it has exceeded $100 million, with an 80% increase in half a month. The lending volume reached $40 million, accounting for 66% of the entire Sui network.
However, research shows that NAVI has maintained this astonishing growth since its launch. Just six months after its launch, NAVI attracted over 760,000 users and became one of the first projects to be integrated into the OKX DeFi wallet, establishing a deep partnership with OKX.
naviprotocol.io
Behind the impressive performance, 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 offer 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 upcoming Bitcoin halving and the launch of Bitcoin spot ETF in 2024, the crypto market has become the “bull market with clear signs” in the eyes of many institutions. Facing the DeFi track, known as the bull market engine, users who have been dormant for a long time are already eager to participate. For a DeFi project born at the end of the bear market and already having completed the first round of fund and user accumulation, this is undoubtedly the best timing to switch to the fast track 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 smooth experiences to its ecological products, and 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 incentive program Liquidity Xplorer jointly launched by NAVI and Sui Foundation, Sui has allocated $15 million in the past six months as early deposit rewards, with user APY reaching over 20%. Driven by these rewards, more users are attracted to participate in NAVI lending.
The talent advantage comes from the strong product innovation capability and market operation capability of the NAVI team. In terms of product innovation, three aspects are vital to the development of DeFi projects:
Improving capital efficiency
Ensuring fund safety
Optimizing user experience
The “Leverage Vault” is a concentrated embodiment of NAVI’s innovative product design to improve capital efficiency. The automated leverage function caters to the users’ demand for repeatedly borrowing assets to further increase capital utilization, with simple and intuitive operations. The leverage strategies of low-interest rate asset borrowing, high mining returns, and native APY assets (liquid staking assets and LP tokens) also enhance capital efficiency and increase user returns.
In terms of fund safety, NAVI, which adopts the over-collateralization model, implements multi-dimensional security strategies. The introduction of the health factor (Hf) concept clearly and intuitively shows the borrowing risks to users. The innovative “isolation mode” requires new assets to be approved by NAVI governance before being used as collateral, ensuring that users can participate in new trading opportunities with minimal risk. Additionally, NAVI has made great efforts in user product experience and has partnered with Notifi to launch a 24-hour notification function, helping users grasp market fluctuations and make timely decisions.
In terms of optimizing user experience, NAVI always adheres to the development principle of user needs 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 bear market. The transaction history feature allows users to easily check all interactions with the NAVI protocol with just a few clicks. The incentivized lending pool further promotes capital circulation within the Sui ecosystem… More user-friendly features in response to community demands are under development.
In terms of market operation capability, NAVI has employed a combination of ecological cooperation, profit incentives, and active social media presence. In December, OKX DeFi launched a NAVI interest rate promotion activity, allowing users to earn an additional 10% APY by staking SUI or USDC to NAVI. Subsequently, NAVI collaborated with OKX Web3 Wallet to launch the EARN activity, providing 20% APY for CETUS and wETH pools. In addition, NAVI has integrated with the OKX Web3 Wallet, allowing users to borrow and lend cryptocurrencies on NAVI through the OKX Web3 Wallet plugin. As a top-tier exchange, OKX has a vast user base, and its deep cooperation with the OKX Web3 Matrix products has enabled a wider range of Web3 ecosystem users to learn about NAVI.
Image Source: Twitter @navi_protocol
Furthermore, NAVI is active in various social media, communities, and AMAs, regularly organizing giveaways, X to Earn, and other activities. Through engaging content, interesting gameplay, and attractive rewards, NAVI guides users to further pay attention to the project. In the NAVI Q4 report, there were over 10 community interaction activities in that quarter alone, and the number of Twitter followers exceeded 48,000+.
It can be said that NAVI’s impressive market performance is a result of well-prepared products and solid market promotion. As it enters 2024, the project is about to launch its native token, acquire Volo, the top liquidity staking protocol in the Sui ecosystem, and complete more roadmap milestones. The momentum of rapid growth will only increase.
On January 17, 2024, NAVI Protocol announced the acquisition of Volo, the top liquidity staking protocol in the Sui ecosystem. With this acquisition, NAVI will upgrade from a lending protocol to a “one-stop liquidity protocol” combining lending and LSTFi. The transition and integration work is expected to be completed within a month. This announcement has sparked extensive discussions within the community.
On the one hand, the strategic move of acquiring Volo undoubtedly provides NAVI with more strength. NAVI already occupies 66% of the lending market in the Sui ecosystem, while according to Defillama data, Volo is one of the top ten DeFi protocols in the Sui ecosystem and the top three liquidity staking protocol, occupying 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 their respective projects and the entire Sui ecosystem.
On the other hand, the unlimited potential of the LSTFi track accumulates chips for NAVI and Sui in this bull market. Although the LSTFi track is still in its early stage, despite its billion-dollar market potential, the consensus beyond prosperity is that in the upcoming bull market, LSTFi will play a significant role. With the upcoming launch of the native token, the acquisition of Volo, and the completion of more milestones on the roadmap, NAVI’s rapid growth will continue without decline.DeFi has the potential to achieve 50+ times growth, depending on which public chain can seize the opportunity. This is also reflected in BENQI, a top DeFi protocol in the Avalanche ecosystem. Recently, BENQI’s Total Value Locked (TVL), which focuses on liquidity staking solutions, surpassed $530 million, with a 30-day increase of over 50%.
Against this background, Sui, a rapidly developing new public chain, has chosen to focus on LST (Liquid Stake) and sees it as a future development focus. The protagonist of this acquisition, Volo, is the first place winner in the Liquid Stake Hackathon organized by the Sui Foundation. Undoubtedly, the acquisition of Volo is a strong signal released by NAVI’s deep layout in LSTFi (Liquid Stake and DeFi). In the future, with NAVI’s continued efforts in lending and LSTFi, combined with the huge potential of the LSTFi track and Sui’s emphasis and investment in the LSTFi track, it is believed that NAVI may, like BENQI, make a name for itself in the LSTFi track and accelerate its own development while bringing more possibilities to Sui.
In addition to the acquisition, NAVI’s roadmap for the first quarter of the project is also noteworthy, especially 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 top project in the Sui ecosystem, there is currently no other project that has announced plans to launch its own token. This means that NAVI, as the leader in TVL, will be the only top project in the Sui ecosystem that will launch a token, thus capturing the attention of the majority of the New Public Chain DeFi community.
The utility of NAVI’s native token is also a significant 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, inspired by Curve’s veCRV, to encourage 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, according to the project’s regular approach, with the launch of the token, the project’s marketing team is likely to introduce a series of incentives for users. Users who interact with the protocol are also likely to 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 activation of DAO and community governance functions. This is a key factor 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 the one hand, the team will focus on implementing the staking of NAVI tokens in liquidity protocols and integrating with Sui Foundation’s Deepbook to provide users with the best trading experience using deep liquidity. Other features will be continuously adjusted and optimized based on market and community demands, aiming to provide users with a more efficient, secure, convenient, and seamless DeFi experience. On the other hand, the team will continue to expand the service boundaries, support more chains, integrate with more projects, and launch more features that meet user needs, while conducting a series of interactive and educational activities to encourage and guide users to participate deeply in the project.
As a top DeFi project in the Sui ecosystem, NAVI’s strong momentum and positive outlook have prompted many to bet on Sui as the vanguard of 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 of the public chain is mutually beneficial and forms a virtuous cycle. On the one hand, Sui’s strong strength is like standing on the shoulders of giants for NAVI:
As we all know, Sui has been an absolute star public chain project since its inception. Dissatisfied with the restrictive working environment, some technical backbones of Meta (formerly Facebook) left and established Mysten Labs, including Evan Cheng, the former head of Meta’s cryptocurrency wallet development, and Sam Blackshear, the creator of the Move language. Soon after, Sui was born.
Technological innovation is one of Sui’s outstanding advantages. Sui uses the native programming language Move, which originated from the stablecoin project Diem incubated by Meta. Its 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 on demand, greatly enhancing the network’s horizontal scalability. In addition, Sui’s use of the “Byzantine fault tolerance consensus” promotes high transaction throughput and low latency. This not only enables scalable transaction processing but also ensures almost real-time transaction confirmation and strong security.
The more finance-oriented technological innovation and the stellar founding team make Sui a highly anticipated top-tier new public chain project. Its launch has triggered widespread attention and attracted the favor of top investment institutions, including Binance Labs, Coinbase Ventures, and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).
As a top DeFi project in the Sui ecosystem, NAVI can rely on Sui’s technological advantages to provide users with a seamless and secure experience. Moreover, it enjoys support in terms of funding, technology, and promotion throughout its development process. The Mysten Labs founding team not only invested in NAVI, but the Sui Foundation also collaborated with NAVI on a series of user incentive activities.
In fact, the innate advantages of Sui in terms of funding, technology, and user traffic have accumulated and flourished in the early bullish environment, not limited to the DeFi sector. Looking at the Sui ecosystem landscape, a Web3 ecosystem network encompassing multiple tracks such as NFT, GameFi, AI, and social networking is gradually becoming clear.
It is evident that Sui, as an already highly anticipated new public chain project, has shown strong growth momentum, giving it a certain first-mover advantage in the upcoming new round of public chain competition. With the arrival of a new bull market and the influx of more users, developers, and funds, NAVI, as a top DeFi project, can undoubtedly continue to benefit from the sustained growth and development of the Sui ecosystem.
Undoubtedly, Sui’s incubation of NAVI has greatly contributed to NAVI’s rapid development. However, this support has also allowed Sui to reap positive feedback in terms of funding, users, reputation, and other dimensions from NAVI. According to on-chain data, both the growth of NAVI and Sui, in terms of on-chain addresses and TVL, are positively correlated. NAVI’s rise has also helped Sui pass the market’s scrutiny of its ecosystem infrastructure construction. Thanks to NAVI’s impressive performance, more people believe that Sui can exist as a high liquidity top DeFi ecosystem in the long term.
Once this kind of relationship between public chains and projects is established, the funds and traffic attracted will form a virtuous and efficient cycle within the ecosystem. This will promote the upward development of both the public chain and the project, leading to a healthy and positive development standardization.
In the foreseeable future, relying on the virtuous cycle mechanism between “public chains ⇄ projects” mentioned above, both NAVI and Sui will continue to benefit from it. On the 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 new public chain competition while continuing to grow its ecosystem.
Currently, according to Defillama data, NAVI Protocol is the top DeFi project in the Sui ecosystem. However, the community’s imagination of the project goes beyond that. It is important to note that NAVI’s TVL is around $100 million, which is only average in the entire DeFi sector. Regardless of whether NAVI, with its upcoming native token launch, can make a remarkable impact in the DeFi track, or Sui, with its developing ecosystem, can stand out in the new public chain competition, both of their performances in 2024 should not be underestimated. The market is also eager to witness this model of public chains and projects achieving mutual success and building a healthy and positive development new standardization through their joint growth.
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