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Moonbeam Network Continues to Dominate the Polkadot DeFi Ecosystem as It Prepares for Upcoming Parachain Auctions

source-logo  coincodex.com 25 October 2021 16:06, UTC

Moonbeam, the Polkadot-based smart contract-enabled parachain offering unparalleled compatibility and interoperability with Ethereum, has grown rapidly to become one of the most established parachains in the Polkadot ecosystem.

As a multi-chain network that brings the best of both Polkadot and Ethereum while ensuring faster throughput, low gas costs, interoperability, and scalability, Moonbeam (and its testnet Moonriver) provides a full EVM implementation. Moreover, a Web3-compatible API and bridges that connect Moonbean to Ethereum and other individual blockchain networks empower dApp developers to deploy their existing Solidity smart contracts and dApps at minimal costs.

Moonbeam’s “community-led sister parachain” Moonriver was deployed on Polkadot’s testnet Kusama in June 2021, while Moonbeam aims to deploy on Polkadot later this year. Moonriver is currently working through its fourth phase of the five-phase rollout process, with several promising projects now building and experimenting atop the platform with dApps and DeFi protocols.

With Polkadot’s parachain slot auctions set to begin from November 11, Moonbeam has emerged as one of the most successful parachains. Aside from the features and functionalities, both Moonbeam and Moonriver are extremely developer-oriented blockchain networks. Accordingly, they fit the needs of existing projects seeking a solution for Ethereum’s cost and scalability issues, Polkadot-based initiatives that require smart contract functionality, and dApp developers who want to build atop Polkadot.

What Are Parachain Auctions? >

Moonbeam Continues To Achieve Significant Milestones

Since its launch in January 2020, Moonbeam has garnered the attention of dApp developers, investors, and consumers alike. A couple of months after its launch, Moonbeam received a Web3 Foundation grant as part of Wave 6 of the Web3 Foundation grants program to develop the Web3-compatible RPC library that allows developers to run Ethereum-native tools on Moonbeam’s Substrate-based network.

In September 2020, following the launch of the Moonbase Alpha public testnet, the Moonbeam team closed a successful $1.4 million seed round, which allowed it to accelerate the development of its infrastructure to align with Polkadot and Kusama’s parachain launch.

After months of feature implementation on Moonriver, the Moonbeam team surpassed another milestone after claiming victory during the second round of the Kusama parachain slot auctions, raising more than 205,935 KSM from 5,977 contributors. Since then, the Moonriver ecosystem has grown significantly. Owing to the influx of new projects on the network, Moonriver has established itself as the most significant contributor to the Polkadot ecosystem, achieving a total value locked (TVL) of more than $90 million.

Derek Yoo, the Founder of Moonbeam, notes, “In the six weeks since we launched Moonriver, there have been 2.5M transactions, 128K wallets addresses created, and $256M of TVL deposited. In short, a large amount of interest in and traction on the network in a very short time across DeFi, NFT, and gaming use cases.”

A Promising Future For Moonbeam And Polkadot By Extension

Several promising projects are currently testing their solutions on Moonriver, while many more are building their dApps to start leveraging the network. As of now, partner projects on the Moonriver network include decentralized exchanges (DEXs) like SushiSwap, IDEX, and Injective, oracles like Chainlink and Band Protocol, liquidity protocols like Polimec and PolkaStarter, stablecoins, synthetic providers like Ocean Protocol, and distributed marketplaces like HUMAN Protocol. Beyond DeFi-centric applications, other initiatives lining up include crypto-gambling/betting platforms like BetProtocol and iBetYou, stablecoins, NFT platforms like Zoombies and myNFT, and interoperability bridges like AnySwap and Meter Passport.

Other than the projects mentioned above, C.R.E.A.M. Finance, a decentralized lending protocol for individuals and institutions, has announced integration with Moonbeam. Starting with Moonriver, C.R.E.A.M. Finance will be extending its lending and borrowing suite to the Moonbeam and Polkadot ecosystems. Lido, the most significant liquid staking derivatives protocol currently deployed on Ethereum and Terra, has also announced a collaboration with Moonbeam to bring liquidity staking to Polkadot, helping users stake DOT on Moonbeam and KSM (Kusama’s native token) on Moonriver.

Yoo concludes, “Much of this adoption is the result of the Ethereum compatibility Moonriver offers, which makes it very easy for teams to deploy to the network. But we are also working on unique features that are only possible because Moonriver is built using Substrate and is a parachain on Kusama. This will allow us to extend the base EVM with native cross-chain integrations for assets and remote chain functionality, opening new use cases to developers.”

coincodex.com