Elys

Elys Network is a Layer-1 proof-of-stake blockchain built with the Cosmos SDK, positioned as an all-in-one DeFi application chain within the Cosmos ecosystem. Founded in 2022 by Mitchell Nishimura, Casey Arrington, and Hesham Aly, the Singapore-based company aims to bridge the gap between Web2 and Web3 by simplifying the user experience. The founding team, which also includes Co-CEOs Mitchell Nishimura and Prashant Srivastava, identified complexities and security issues in first-generation DeFi as major hurdles to mass adoption and designed Elys to be a comprehensive, easy-to-use platform. Aly has a background as a U.S. Air Force pilot, bringing a unique perspective to the team. In June 2024, Elys Network announced a $2.5 million seed funding round with participation from investors like Cogitent Ventures, Comma3 Ventures, Persistence, and Kahuna.

The platform provides a suite of decentralized financial applications, allowing users to perform staking, swapping, liquidity provision, and perpetual trading within a single interface. Key products include a non-custodial, Automated Market Maker (AMM) style Decentralized Exchange (DEX), perpetual trading with up to 25x leverage, leveraged liquidity provisioning, and liquid staking. A standout feature is its Smart Shielded Pools, which are oracle-based, dynamically weighted liquidity pools designed to minimize impermanent loss and ensure fair pricing. The network also features a universal cross-collateral vault and native bridging to EVM and other IBC-enabled blockchains.

Elys Network's business model is built on revenue sharing from transaction fees generated across its various features, including spot trading, perpetuals, and margin interest. The protocol distributes a significant portion of this revenue to network participants. Liquidity providers earn 60% of system revenue, while stakers of the native ELYS token receive 25%, with the remaining 15% going to the protocol treasury to pay for validators and infrastructure. The ELYS token serves as the platform's governance and staking token, granting holders a say in the network's evolution and a share in its revenue, paid out in USDC. The model is designed to be self-sustaining, providing real, non-inflationary yield to its users.

Keywords: decentralized finance, DeFi, Layer-1 blockchain, Cosmos SDK, perpetual trading, leveraged liquidity, liquid staking, AMM, oracle-based pools, crypto trading, blockchain interoperability, Web3, tokenomics, cross-chain, decentralized exchange, DEX, ELYS, proof-of-stake, financial services, liquidity mining, USDC rewards, impermanent loss