TL;DR
- Ion Protocol secures $7 million to develop its Nucleus platform, aimed at improving monetization for rollups and appchains.
- Nucleus will enable networks to offer native yields for assets backed by ETH, BTC, and USD, incentivizing deposits and maximizing the value of bridged assets.
- The platform addresses a common limitation of Ethereum rollups by providing default yields and optimizing liquidity through infrastructure products and loans.
Ion Protocol has successfully secured a $7 million investment to support the development of its innovative native yield platform, Nucleus. The funds come from various investors, including Gumi Capital Cryptos, Robot Ventures, BanklessVC, NGC Ventures, Finality Capital, and SevenX Ventures. The raised capital will be used to enhance the platform, which aims to address monetization challenges for rollups and appchains while promoting new decentralized use cases.
Nucleus is a key solution designed to improve the yield of assets transferred to rollup and appchain networks. Through this platform, any network will be able to offer its users native yields for assets backed by ETH, BTC, and USD. The system provides financial incentives for making deposits into the networks, allowing users to generate returns on a wide range of assets simply by integrating into the network environment.
The Ion team is proud to announce Nucleus, the 1st step in transforming how users interact with networks.
The Nucleus vision is one where networks can bring safe yield to their users at scale.
Join us in our journey with Nucleus as we expand the scope of what Ion will enable! https://t.co/xOz2SNZlHS
— Ion Protocol (@ionprotocol) August 12, 2024
Nucleus co-founder Chunda McCain stated that participating in the staking and restaking ecosystem to generate yield is becoming a powerful economic incentive for everyone involved in the crypto economy. He noted that networks failing to offer their users the option to maximize the value of their bridged assets are missing out on revenue opportunities.
Nucleus Breaks the Limitations of Rollups
Nucleus’s plug-and-play platform allows rollups to innovate on their existing business models and ecosystem designs, making deposits genuinely attractive to users. Additionally, it addresses a common limitation in Ethereum rollup solutions, which often provide cheaper and faster transactions but require users to forgo staking yields on the mainnet, where returns are around 3-4%.
Bridged assets typically do not earn interest, representing a significant opportunity cost. Nucleus aims to provide default yields for users across more than 20 rollups and appchains in the coming months.
The platform sources its yield from infrastructure products like bridges and oracle networks, transferring the revenue to networks, apps, and users. Additionally, Nucleus uses capital lent on its lending platform and reallocates unused borrower liquidity to facilitate smooth liquidity movement between chains. This strategy aims to minimize risks and optimize performance for users and networks.
