From oracles to launchpads: Learn about Alex Labs' layout in the BTC DeFi ecosystem

As a pioneer of cryptocurrency, BTC was not originally designed to support complex token operations, and its application ecology is relatively backward compared to more advanced blockchains such as ETH. However, with the recent popularity of the BTC ecosystem, the exploration of the BTC application layer has become more active.

Alex Labs, a Defi platform built on the BTC L2 Stacks platform, has made significant progress in recent months, launching the first BTC oracle that supports the indexing and trading of BRC20 tokens, which has led to significant growth in its TVL and trading volume data, and accounts for more than 90% of TVL on Stacks.

The following is an introduction to Alex Labs’ ecological layout in the crypto world.

A brief look at Alex Labs’ team and products: The creator used to hold key positions at Morgan and launched a series of BTC DeFi applications

In the process of exploring the BTC DeFi space, Alex Labs’ team and products constitute its core competencies. The team is led by a number of experienced professionals, including Dr. Chiente Hsu and Rachel Yu.

Dr. Chiente Hsu, co-founder and CEO of Alex Labs, holds a Ph.D. from the University of Vienna with a concentration in Econometrics and Quantitative Economics. She has a strong background in the fintech sector, having served as Managing Director at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse. She is also an active female author, scholar, and advocate in the field of finance.

Her co-founder, Rachel Yu, holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Peking University. She started her investment banking career at Goldman Sachs Asia and later served as an Executive Director at J.P. Morgan Asia, where she has solid experience in the financial industry.

In terms of products, Alex Labs has launched a series of DeFi applications designed to enrich the BTC ecosystem. These applications include cross-chain bridges, automated market makers (AMMs), decentralized exchanges (DEXs), token swaps, liquid staking, mining, and oracles. These products are designed to provide BTC users with more diversified financial services and expand their application range in the DeFi field.

Alex Labs’ goal is to enhance the overall user experience by seamlessly combining BTC with Layer 2 technology through its technology. This integration effort demonstrates Alex Labs’ focus on industry trends and efforts to facilitate the integration of blockchain technology and financial services.

In summary, Alex Labs, with its dedicated team and innovative products, is steadily advancing the development of the BTC DeFi ecosystem, contributing to the diversity and maturity of the cryptocurrency market.

From staking products to DEX applications, take a look at the BTC DeFi products launched by Alex Labs

In June 2022, Alex Labs launched his first core product, a fixed-rate and fixed-term lending marketplace. The launch of this service marks the introduction of the concept of zero-coupon bonds in traditional financial markets in the BTC ecosystem. This type of borrowing and lending provides participants in the digital currency market with a new financial tool designed to increase the predictability and stability of lending activity.

On the Alex Labs platform, users can lend and borrow digital currencies through a pool of funds. This system allows borrowers to submit collateral in order to obtain a loan with the highest loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. This process involves smart contracts, in which the borrower is required to pay interest on the token upfront when borrowing. This mechanism ensures the fixity of interest rates and reduces the impact of market volatility on both borrowers and borrowers.

The lender receives so-called yTokens (yield tokens) in the process, which represent the lender’s principal and accrued interest. The core feature of yToken is that it provides a fixed yield interest rate, so that lenders can clearly understand their investment returns. At the end of the loan term, the lender can redeem its yToken through a smart contract, ensuring that the agreed accrued interest is received on the maturity date.

In terms of token trading, Alex Labs uses an automated market maker (AMM) approach, which currently supports nearly 20 different BTC trading pairs, and will support the trading of the Stacks inscription STX20.

What’s more, on its decentralized exchange (DEX), Alex Labs has implemented leveraged trading in a testnet environment. This allows users to use leverage when placing trades, increasing trading flexibility and possible profit margins. Leveraged trading is an advanced trading strategy that magnifies the user’s trading capital, but at the same time, it also increases the risk.

Alex Labs’ “Alex Orderbook” is an innovative order book system with a hybrid on-chain/off-chain design. In this system, a user’s commitment to buy and sell is communicated through cryptographically signed messages that are processed and matched by an off-chain matching engine before being settled on-chain. A significant advantage of this design is that it allows users to quickly create or cancel orders without paying a fee, and the ability to confirm those orders immediately without having to wait for confirmation from the underlying blockchain.

Currently, Alex Orderbook supports the trading of BRC20 and SIP10 tokens, with a cumulative trading volume of $56 million. One of the highlights of this system is its efficient processing power, capable of matching and settling up to 200,000 orders per BTC block. This efficient matching and settlement mechanism not only provides an instant confirmation experience, but also ensures the security of transactions.

With this advanced technology, Alex Labs’ OrderBook/Perpetual DEX is one of the fastest and most secure products on the market. It not only improves transaction efficiency, but also provides users with a more convenient and secure trading environment, further cementing Alex Labs’ position in the BTC DeFi space.

A closer look at ALEX Labs’ blockbuster product stack: BTC oracles and Alex Launchpad

On December 11, 2021, ALEX Labs, in collaboration with Domo, BIS, Hiro, UniSat, Xverse, and Xlink, developed and released an alpha version of BTC oracle. This oracle plays a key role in guaranteeing the integrity of the BTC-based BRC20 token, as well as other BTC assets in the future. This move is an important addition to the functionality of the original BTC blockchain, as BTC blockchain was not originally designed to handle complex token operations.

The main purpose of this oracle launched by Alex is to accurately track and verify BTC-based asset transactions. By integrating the functionality of smart contracts, this oracle effectively overcomes the limitations of BTC blockchains in handling complex transactions.

Key features of the alpha release include:

BRC20 Transfers and Balance Verification: The oracle leverages a smart contract-based consensus mechanism to verify transactions and balances of BRC20 tokens through major players such as BIS, Hiro, and UniSat. This method improves the accuracy and reliability of transactions.

Indexer Performance Dashboard: This is an innovative feature that allows users to access real-time data and analytics on the performance of various indexers. The dashboard serves as an important tool for monitoring the health and efficiency of BTC oracle networks, providing transparency and accountability for oracle operations.

Through these features, the alpha version of BTC oracle not only enhances the security and reliability of BTC-based asset transactions, but also opens up new possibilities for the application of BTC blockchain in the DeFi ecosystem.

The “Alex Launchpad” provided by Alex Labs is a platform for the initial decentralized exchange offering (IDO) of new project tokens. The platform allows users who hold $ALEX and $atALEX tokens to vote on new projects to be launched. Once the project is approved, Launchpad determines its launch date and fundraising goals.

Participating in an IDO on Launchpad requires what is known as APower, which is a stake earned by participating in liquidity mining or staking Alex Labs’ original token ALEX. APower is actually a symbol of power that determines the user’s ability to participate in a new project IDO on Launchpad.

Currently, Alex Labs has five different pools in which users can earn not only ALEX tokens, but also APower by participating in these pools. The more APowers a user holds, the greater the percentage of allocations they receive on Launchpad. This means that more APowers can increase users’ share of the new project’s token allocation.

Alex Launchpad is designed to incentivize users to participate in the platform’s ecosystem, while also providing a reliable distribution platform for new projects.

Analysis of the tokenomics model of $ALEX: 64% of the tokens are already circulating in the market, and the remaining 36% have become unstable

Alex Labs’ native token, $ALEX, plays an important role in its platform. As a necessary condition for participating in the activities of the Alex Labs platform, $ALEX is also a reward medium for users to provide liquidity and staking to the platform.

Regarding the economic model of the $ALEX token, its total issuance is set at 1 billion. These tokens have been issued since September 2022 and are scheduled to be released within 5 years, with the distribution mechanism of $ALEX as follows:

1. 20% is allocated to foundations: This part is used to support the ALEX ecosystem, reward early adopters, and fund future development.

2. 50% reserved for the community: Community members can earn $ALEX by staking $ALEX or participating in liquidity provision.

3. 30% is allocated to employees, consultants, early investors, and the founding team: as recognition and reward for their contributions.

Currently, the circulating market capitalization of Alex tokens is $220 million, of which 64% of tokens are already circulating in the market.

Such a tokenomics model not only provides financial support for Alex Labs’ long-term growth, but also encourages active community participation, helping to build a healthy and active ecosystem.

BTC on-chain financial ecosystem has great prospects, and we look forward to more innovations to develop its potential

The advent of ALEX Labs marks a breakthrough moment for BTC DeFi. It opens the door to a variety of DeFi applications, including decentralized exchanges, lending platforms, and liquidity mining, among others. BTC DeFi, which was originally a small player in the space, now has the potential to achieve exponential growth and even compete with ETH. This shift democratizes access to financial services for users around the world, bringing them innovative wealth creation and asset management opportunities.

For developers and creators, this shift heralds a golden age of opportunity. The ALEX-based ecosystem offers them great possibilities. Developers now have the tools and resources they need to create groundbreaking DeFi applications on BTC. They can leverage ALEX infrastructure and technology to turn ideas into reality and shape the future of BTC finance.

For investors, the introduction of ALEX enhances its utility as the financial backbone of BTC. ALEX plays a key role in facilitating DeFi operations and investments, becoming an integral part of the ecosystem. As new DeFi projects emerge on the platform, investors can look forward to more diversified investment opportunities.

Overall, the rise of ALEX Labs and its role as part of the BTC financial layer represents a transformation in the DeFi world, which hopefully will bring more convenience to investors.