Venus Protocol: Bringing DeFi to the masses
AchievÂing mass adopÂtion seems like it requires going down the road of cenÂtralÂizaÂtion. HowÂevÂer, projects like the Venus ProÂtoÂcol show that it’s quite posÂsiÂble to bring DeFi to the massÂes by strikÂing a balÂance between the secuÂriÂty of decenÂtralÂizaÂtion and the ease of use cenÂtralÂized serÂvices offer.
The first algoÂrithÂmic monÂey makÂer to launch on the BNB Chain, Venus ProÂtoÂcol put Binance’s blockchain netÂwork on the map. Brad HarÂriÂson, the CEO of Venus, said that it was the first dApp to launch on BNB Chain and has remained one of the most popÂuÂlar projects on the blockchain since.
SpeakÂing to CrypÂtonites’ Alex Fazel at the Paris Blockchain Week, HarÂriÂson said that the Venus ProÂtoÂcol was curÂrentÂly the most popÂuÂlar project on BNB Chain, with its transÂacÂtion volÂume exceedÂing that of Ethereum.
The goal of the project was to bring decenÂtralÂized finance to more peoÂple. To achieve that, HarÂriÂson believed that Venus needÂed to strike a balÂance between the freeÂdom of decenÂtralÂizaÂtion and the conÂveÂnience of cenÂtralÂizaÂtion. This is why Venus chose to launch on BNB Chain instead of on a largÂer blockchain with a bigÂger netÂwork effect like Ethereum.
AnothÂer major reaÂson Venus decidÂed to launch on the much smallÂer and lessÂer-known BNB Chain was to make it more accesÂsiÂble to a largÂer numÂber of users.
“I call Ethereum the BevÂerÂly Hills of blockchain.”
HarÂriÂson explained that while develÂopÂers in Europe and North AmerÂiÂca were mostÂly buildÂing on Ethereum, the rest of the develÂopÂing world was focusÂing on BNB Chain — which is where Venus decidÂed to be.
Binance’s blockchain now has one of the biggest rates of user adopÂtion out of any netÂwork, surÂpassÂing its largÂer and oldÂer comÂpetiÂtors both in terms of transÂacÂtion counts, transÂacÂtion volÂumes, and TVL.
HowÂevÂer, he realÂizes that there are sacÂriÂfices when using what is essenÂtialÂly a perÂmisÂsioned, cenÂtralÂized network.
“It comes with tradeoffs.”
And while some might raise conÂcerns over just how “decenÂtralÂized” a BNB Chain project realÂly is, HarÂriÂson said that both Venus and BNB Chain were workÂing on becomÂing more decenÂtralÂized. There are things hapÂpenÂing behind the scenes that will make BNB Chain more secure and less reliant on cenÂtralÂized serÂvices, he told CryptonitesTV.
That hasn’t stopped users from onboardÂing to Venus. HarÂriÂson said that the majorÂiÂty of its users want a serÂvice that’s effecÂtive, easy to use, and that saves them monÂey — and Venus checks all the boxes.
To attract more users to the platÂform, Venus is workÂing on introÂducÂing new serÂvices, includÂing staÂble yield and underÂcolÂlatÂerÂalÂized loans. The project is posiÂtionÂing itself to be able to cater both to instiÂtuÂtions and retail investors it believes will flock to the crypÂto marÂket in the comÂing months.
“It’s a matÂter of time when we’ll be talkÂing about liqÂuidÂiÂty in terms of trilÂlions, not bilÂlions. DeFi is here to stay.”