Genius Yield

Genius Yield operates as a decentralized finance (DeFi) asset management solution built on the Cardano blockchain, with its headquarters in Zug, Switzerland. The company was founded in 2021 by a team that includes CEO Laurent Bellandi, a serial entrepreneur; CTO Dr. Lars Brünjes, who holds a PhD in Pure Mathematics and previously worked at IOHK, the engineering company behind Cardano; and CSO Marvin Bertin, whose background is in machine learning and AI engineering. The team's expertise in mathematics, software architecture, and artificial intelligence is foundational to the company's technical approach.

The firm's core business revolves around providing a suite of DeFi tools designed to be accessible to both new and experienced cryptocurrency users. Its flagship product is an all-in-one platform that combines a decentralized exchange (DEX) with an AI-powered yield optimizer. The Genius DEX, which went live in December 2023, utilizes an order-book model similar to traditional financial exchanges, a deliberate choice to leverage the unique EUTxO architecture of the Cardano blockchain. This model allows for more advanced and programmable order types, such as limit and algorithmic orders, and is designed to mitigate the impermanent loss often associated with Automated Market Maker (AMM) DEXs. Revenue is generated from fees on executed trades, and the business model includes a fee-sharing program where 20% of all platform fees are distributed to stakers of its native utility token, $GENS.

The platform's key offering is the Smart Liquidity Vault, an AI-powered protocol that automates complex trading and yield optimization strategies. This service algorithmically manages users' digital assets to maximize annual percentage yields (APYs) while managing risk. It leverages features like Smart Swaps and concentrated liquidity, where users can allocate capital within specific price ranges to improve efficiency. For liquidity providers, the platform offers open-sourced Market Maker Bots (MMBs) that can be customized to run specific trading strategies, providing greater control over funds compared to pooled liquidity models. The company secured $4.2 million in a Series A funding round in November 2021, with investors including Blue Node Capital and Genblock Capital.

Keywords: Decentralized Finance, DeFi, Cardano, Yield Optimizer, Decentralized Exchange, DEX, AI-powered trading, cryptocurrency, liquidity management, Smart Liquidity Vault, GENS token, EUTxO, order book DEX, asset management, blockchain, crypto swapping, liquidity staking, passive income, algorithmic trading, Lars Brünjes