Enzyme

Enzyme, formerly Melon Protocol, is a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol built on Ethereum for on-chain asset management. It provides an infrastructure for individuals, institutions, and DAOs to build, manage, and scale custom investment vehicles, or "vaults," in a non-custodial environment.

The company was founded in 2016 as Melonport AG in Switzerland by Mona El Isa, a former Vice President at Goldman Sachs, and mathematician Rito Trinkler. El Isa's motivation stemmed from her experience attempting to launch her own hedge fund, where she was struck by the prohibitive costs and operational inefficiencies of traditional asset management. Recognizing the potential of blockchain to automate and streamline these processes, she co-founded the company to build a new, more accessible infrastructure for finance. In 2017, the project raised approximately $2.9 million in an Initial Coin Offering (ICO). After launching the protocol on the mainnet in February 2019, Melonport AG was dissolved, and governance was transferred to the Enzyme Council, a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), completing the transition to a decentralized model.

Enzyme's protocol allows asset managers to create highly customizable vaults, defining parameters like fee structures, asset universes, and risk management rules, which are then enforced by smart contracts. This automation of back- and middle-office functions aims to significantly lower the barriers to entry for fund management. The platform serves a diverse clientele, including asset managers, hedge funds, family offices, DAOs, and crypto-native investors. Users retain full custody of their assets, and the protocol integrates with numerous other DeFi protocols to offer a wide range of investment options. The business model involves network fees based on assets under management, which can be paid with the native MLN token for a discount. The MLN token is also used for governance, allowing holders to vote on protocol upgrades and development funding.

Keywords: on-chain asset management, DeFi protocol, decentralized finance, tokenized finance, crypto asset management, investment vaults, non-custodial, smart contracts, Ethereum, DAO, digital asset management, blockchain infrastructure, MLN token, Mona El Isa, financial software