Giga Time! - Newsletter Edition 95
In this week’s edition:
Editorial: Stable vibes, catch up on the launch of gigaDOT, and do you remember Yieldbay?
Top Story Giga Launch!: We uncover the eagerly anticipated launch of gigaDOT.
Featured Roundup: News from our Finders Program between April 10th and April 16th, plus a quick DOT derivative DeFi wrap-up.
Extras: Credits and anything else.
The full newsletter can be enjoyed via this link.
Editorial
What is up, my friends!
After some pause on tariffs, the falling markets seemed to have stabilized, though uncertainty is still in the air. Amidst the panic, you may have missed the varying news of ripple effects from an acquisition and IPO talks that are either stable, central, or galactic.
With conditions somewhat stable, you’d think you could zen out and relax DAO. Well, OMg and sorry to those who’ve been affected by the luna-esque dump. Although there are those who may hold onto the mantra of remaining hopeful, some of the optics don’t look good. Just to be clear, the protocol in question was never built on Polkadot.
While CT is full of furry moments, Giga time has finally arrived. As such, this week’s top story offers some insight into the eagerly anticipated launch of gigaDOT. With all the fanfare behind us, it might be a good time to talk some DeFi.
Those of you who’ve been around might remember the weekly dose of DeFi wrap-ups by Yieldbay. We’d like to follow the Sylvia Path and pay homage with a featured roundup of news and yield updates. Hopefully, Batman and Nightwing approve, or better yet, team up again as TVL is set to rise when DOT Hub arrives.
In the meantime, why not take the opportunity to join in and earn some DOT to make it giga? Follow in the footsteps of other awesome folks who like to wag!
Dodow, Chief Editor
Top Story of the Week - Giga Launch!
Written by yay.oi
What’s flexin’, chads? Forget furry logos, the real degenerate behavior is going down in the Hydration gymnasium. Chug that protein shake and get ready for some serious gains, because gigaDOT (GDOT) has arrived.
The story of GDOT begins in the not-so-distant past, around last Thanks-wagging. Touted as the beginning of the DeFi Renaissance, the Hydration money market launched in November 2024.
While the launch went off without a hitch, the money market didn’t really begin to heat up until the addition of Bifrost’s vDOT liquid staking token in January. This saw a surge of interest in vDOT lending, thanks to the Bifrost founder-approved loop strategy.
Known as interest rate arbitrage in professional circles, it involves providing the yield bearing (~11%) vDOT as collateral to borrow DOT at a much lower interest rate. The borrowed tokens can then be swapped or minted into vDOT again, and the process can be repeated.
Each loop results in a slight increase to the liquidation risk, yet this did not deter the masses. The loop strategy became wildly popular, with vDOT hitting the 2.2M supply cap in just 15 hours.
Some were left questioning why Ben made the cap so low, but time proved that raising the cap was a very short-term fix. Little did they know that the remedy was already brewing......................…….
Check out our full newsletter for the full story.
Featured Wag Roundup - Yieldbay
Written by Dodow
As mentioned in the editorial section of this week’s WagMedia newsletter, those of you who’ve been around might remember the weekly dose of DeFi wrap-ups by Yieldbay. With liquidity and TVL ramping up, we are set for Polkadot’s DeFi ecosystem to grow, especially with what is being targeted with Polkadot Hub.
Paying homage to what was arguably one of the most compelling reads for DOT DeFi degens, we’ll follow the Sylvia Path with some updates on yields across the Polkadot ecosystem. Given the giga launch of GDOT on Hydration, we’ll primarily focus on DOT derivatives, which include LSTs.
Before we begin, here are some wise words taken from The Bay Journal:
This content is for informational purposes only, and you should not make decisions based solely on it. This is not investment advice. Please exercise extreme caution if you intend to participate in any listed opportunity. The APR of yield farms changes rapidly. The numbers indicated may not be representative for long.
All eyes are on gigaDOT (GDOT) as it finally launches on Hydration.
You can simply buy GDOT and earn yield, and for more advanced users, there’s the option to manage risk for more yield through looping. Do watch out for the cap limits, which are widely expected to increase through Hydration governance. Also, check out Bifrost’s thread on related opportunities, including vDOT lending, arbitrage, and looping.
GDOT on Hydration ~11.9%
vDOT supply on Hydration ~11.74%
Bifrost’s vDOT is integral to being giga!
Here’s a reminder of other vDOT yielding opportunities.
Mint vDOT on Bifrost or Omni LS ~11.06%
Loopstake on Bifrost ~5.29%
vDOT/DOT LP on Bifrost ~5.76%
vDOT/USDT LP on Bifrost ~18.43%………………………………
Check out the full newsletter for a complete DeFi wrap-up.
If yields aren’t your thing, here’s this week’s news, found by the community. Curated by the community. Backed by OpenGov.
Officially signed off by Gavin Wood, PBA is partnering with HSLU to integrate both technical and non-technical Polkadot learning programs. This effort is part of a broader initiative to expand cutting-edge blockchain knowledge into higher education.
Upon feedback from the first release of rewards for Polkadot yappers, the Polkadot Marketing Bounty will adjust to a fairer spread of awards to entice the best mindshare.
SubWallet’s latest update adds a plethora of support for new tokens and networks. Tokens includes DOT on Polimec, EWT and KSM on Hydration, LOVA on Acala, Snowbridge MYTH on Asset Hub, and networks include Peaq EVM.
Xcavate is now producing blocks as it launches its mainnet live on Polkadot.
At long last, gigaDOT (GDOT) is live on Hydration. It’s simple, buy and hold for yield. Or if you’re a degen, you could try some looping.
With the imminent launch of the S2 campaign, Evrloot illustrates their current position on the roadmap.
Polkadot OpenGov Referendum 1523, sees Cyberpunk Labs, the team behind Robonomics, requesting 618K USDT for one year of funding.The plan is to develop a Humanoid Robot SDK, advance robotics research with AI testing, engage developers, contribute open-source documentation, create demos, support onboarding, and more.
On April 15th, Polkadot’s community Telegram account hosted the first session of a new AMA series on DV with Permanence DAO.
Get ready for Token2049 Dubai, where a Polkadot side event will take place on April 29th.
Check out the full newsletter for a roundup of all of the news from 10th April to 16th April.
Extras
Awesome cover art created by SKULLZ.
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