beincrypto.com
The latest decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol to look beyond Ethereum is 1inch, which is launching its native token on the Binance Smart Chain.
The angst with Ethereum is not abating as gas prices remain high and DeFi remains beyond the reach of all but the whales with deep pockets. To keep their users and liquidity, exchanges must adapt. Part of that adaptation is enabling Layer 2 or moving to a faster network.
In an announcement on Feb. 25, the 1inch Foundation stated that it deployed the 1INCH token on Binance Smart Chain (BSC), making the Aggregation Protocol and Liquidity Protocol available to BSC users.
Much to the amusement of Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, the announcement was coupled with the usual anti-Ethereum quip that the crypto community is now accustomed to;
“Crossing the hell of burned Ethereum lands our hero stumbles upon the mysterious yellow portal.”
Bridging Binance and Ethereum
The exchange explained that having its token on BSC would enable it to be used as a bridge between the Binance and Ethereum networks. Sending 1INCH tokens to BSC will lock them in Binance Bridge, the exchange’s cross-chain swap platform. A corresponding value in the tokens on Binance will be consequently unlocked.
It added that this would give 1inch users access to the growing number of DeFi farms on BSC including PancakeSwap, BurgerSwap, StreetSwap, Venus, StableSwap, JulSwap, and BakerySwap.
Ten million 1INCH tokens were initially issued on BSC. These will be used as liquidity on Binance Bridge for transactions between the two blockchains and the total supply will not increase.
Sergey Kunz, 1inch co-founder and CEO, stated;
“We see a significant opportunity for 1inch Liquidity Protocol to become the biggest liquidity protocol on Binance Smart Chain, as it’s already the most efficient AMM protocol in the market,”
A liquidity mining incentive will be launched on Feb. 26, featuring a BNB/1INCH pool distributing 0.01% of the total supply over four weeks.
1INCH Token Price Update
The exchange’s native token has increased by 10% on the day as a result, defying the market-wide crypto correction. At the time of press, 1INCH was trading at $4.30.
Its all-time high came on Feb. 6 when the token topped $5.80 and even after the pullback it has gained more than 200% since the beginning of this year.
In terms of total value locked, DappRadar reports $1.36 billion, a decline from the peak of $2.3 billion on Feb. 14. DeFi Pulse refuses to list 1inch following a spat between the two founders.