Perps have been one of the standout sectors within crypto, finding use from both individuals and institutions. Over the years perps have evolved, with the introduction of the orderbook model, perps appchains, and more. With improvements upon the original AMM model and increased competition in the space, UX and chain network effects have become more important than ever when it comes to differentiating a specific platform’s offerings from the rest of the pack.
In today’s edition, we’ll be focusing on one protocol in particular building on Blast; Core Markets. Core Markets takes a unique approach to providing a great product for users, as it combines the benefits of Blast, such as native yield and a strong ecosystem, with the trading infrastructure and order matching of SYMMIO and IntentX, respectively. Blast has been a beacon for hot capital, with plenty of incentives to go around and a lot of interaction and support between protocols.
Stay informed, stay alert ⬇
Overview
Core Markets is an intents-based derivatives platform building on the Blast L2. Blast’s native USDB yield provides a unique tailwind for perps platforms like Core Markets, as this auto-rebasing yield can help to subsidize funding rates for both traders and solvers/ market makers. The native yield of USDB is now 15%, up from 5%, as this rate was adjusted following MarkerDAO’s $DAI rate increase. The yield can help to reduce the amount of fees that traders pay. This is somewhat similar to solutions like $aeUSD on Aevo which earns fees over time instead of just letting stablecoin collateral sit idle and degrade a bit over time due to deflation.
The other key benefit of Blast comes from the generous amount of incentives from the team. Core Markets received 5,000 Blast Gold as a Big Blast honorable mention, which we covered in our Blast Perps Launch Alpha. This was completely distributed to traders and CORE token stakers 50/50 in proportion to trading volume and capital staked, respectively. Future allocations of any Blast incentives have also been pledged toward the community.
Background on Core Markets
Beyond native yield for collateral, Core Markets offers over 260 markets for trading at up to 60x leverage. Core Markets operates an intents-based exchange, Core Markets is powered by SYMMIO, and holds a strategic partnership with IntentX, setting the strong foundation upon which the exchange is built.
As mentioned above, perps have evolved quite a bit over the years. The product, which has really only found widespread use in crypto, has seen innovations upon the AMM with the vAMM (Virtual AMM), as well as the introduction of CLOBs (Centralized Limit Order Books) and even DLOBs (Decentralized Limit Order Books).
SYMMIO is a derivatives infrastructure protocol that brings a new approach to the table in AMFQ (Automated Market for Quotes) which innovates upon the RFQ (Request for Quote) system used in traditional markets, mainly by adding the power of intents into the mix. SYMMIO’s intents solution solves such problems as capital efficiency, over-collateralization of trades, fragmented liquidity across chains, increased trader fees, and much more.
This paves the way for intents-based perps, which IntentX provides for its traders. IntentX is a serviced frontend built on top of the SYMMIO AMFQ derivatives infrastructure. By using IntentX, Core Markets is better able to provide an optimized UX and accessibility, creating a CEX-like experience right on Blast. IntentX basically receives price quotes from offchain market makers, called solvers. If prices are agreed upon by both parties, then traders on the IntentX platform and the solvers would enter into a trustless bilateral contract, ensuring that both parties meet their obligation or otherwise face collateral liquidation.
Note that this explanation is abridged; you can read more about how IntentX and Symmio operate here. This AMFQ system which IntentX uses is the reason that Core Markets can operate without the prospect of LPs, enabling the exchange to direct rewards to traders and token stakers instead.
Trade2Earn
Another key component of Core is its Trade2Earn program, allowing users to earn CORE token rewards. Seeing as the platform doesn’t have LPs in the traditional sense, rewards are directed to traders and stakers, as are 100% of Blast rewards. The goal here is to reward token stakers and traders, not LPs, which is made possible by the underlying AMFQ infrastructure the exchange ues. The aim of this is to create a positive sum flywheel for liquidity, a common theme on Blast. As seen below, users have been able to earn some large sums of CORE. The CORE token is already live and can be bought on Thruster.
Core Markets: The Reactor
If the rewards system we explained above, (which includes Blast points, Blast gold, and liquid CORE rewards), isn’t enough, Core has recently announced a new initiative; the Reactor.
The aim of the Reactor is to provide more incentives as well as gamify trading, an approach that has clearly worked with other DeFi protocols, as well as traditional markets trading venues, or even the likes of sports betting applications, though this is not necessarily an apt comparison. The Reactor basically seeks to make trading more fun, which is a fitting aspiration of a project built on the Blast L2, which houses all sorts of novel and interesting projects that have a sense of humor about them. Some game-like projects have been teased, like trading contests, complete with prizes.
Additionally, the Trading Lab will introduce a social component to the mix, beyond the leaderboard. This will entail trading games, including 1v1 trading competitions which users could even bet on, all with pseudonymous participation so users can build an audience for themselves and participate in a digital social gathering of sorts. Social trading is most popular simply on twitter as users share PNL screenshots for others to see, but projects like STFX, OX, and now Core Markets, bring this concept to the protocol level.
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