If you plant flowers with all your heart but they don’t bloom, how to solve the anxiety about zkSync derivatives?

How to Alleviate Anxiety about zkSync Derivatives if Your Wholeheartedly Planted Flowers Fail to Bloom

Author: Haotian

When it comes to the ecosystem of zkSync, many people probably want to use “mind-boggling” to describe it. The TVL data indicator has been surpassed by the Base chain under OP Stack’s subsidiary, and it is even on the verge of being surpassed by the newly established individual application dYdX chain.

Why? In fact, just take a look at the TVL Rank data of zkSync to know the answer. The screen is full of DEX, which is very eye-catching, but there is not yet a derivatives platform that truly represents the future TVL.

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However, by first showcasing the ZK Stack application chain GRVT loudly and then subtly promoting Holdstation, it can be seen that zkSync is anxious about derivatives.

Next, let’s take stock of several zkSync derivatives platforms, briefly analyze their growth potentials, and explore what is the key to the explosion of derivatives. Finally, let’s judge whether the zkSync ecosystem can produce a “Savior” similar to GMX.

We selected several derivatives platforms with a TVL value exceeding 1 million USD, including: Holdstation, Satori, Rollup.Finance, and Fulcrom Finance. How are these platforms currently developing? Let’s analyze their performance based on DeFiLiama data (images for reference only, not representing real-time data).

Holdstation

Looking at the overall data, HoldStation has performed commendably in recent months. Although its TVL is not the highest, it has already generated over $200,000 in fees, and the revenue rate is around 60%. If we evaluate the capital operation efficiency of a derivatives platform based on Fees/TVL, and if Holdstation can continue to maintain data growth, there is a chance to further expand its scale.

Specifically, Holdstation has two major platform features:

1. Built on the underlying AA account abstract model, besides the hard barriers such as social login and keyless recovery, its key pain point is that it can subsidize gas fees to onboard users based on LianGuaiymaster to improve user activity. The greater the user’s trading activity, the higher the accumulated fees, which stimulates and attracts more users, forming a virtuous cycle of growth.

2. It adopts a dual-token internal circulation incentive model where holding swaps are equivalent to mining. Users’ behaviors such as holding, trading, etc., will generate incentive assets based on algorithms, which are then exchanged for assets that can be swapped for future platform tokens. By using a dual-token operation model similar to Axie Infinity, it drives the growth of platform data. As shown in the following figure, there is a noticeable growth in data after operation:

It remains to be seen whether a sustainable growth flywheel can be formed, especially after observing its TVL and Derivative Volume performance at a larger scale.

Satori

In the past month, Satori’s data has shown significant growth, with TVL rising from 740,000 to 1.89 million, and Derivative Volume reaching 28 million US dollars. However, its data growth is not consistently balanced, with a significant increase in data in July, and even net outflows in August and September.

Strangely, its fees are only a few hundred dollars, which raises doubts about the authenticity of its data.

However, SatoriFinance has strong investment teams like Coinbase and Jump Crypto behind it. The last Github commit was 5 months ago, so one can’t help but wonder what the project is planning.

Rollup.Finance

Data shows that there has been significant growth in TVL and Derivative Volume in July and August. Currently, TVL has stabilized at around 1.5 million. However, strangely, since September, its Derivative Volume has been almost stagnant.

Has it come to a halt? How can the remaining 1.5 million TVL be explained?

Fulcrom Finance

It has only been deployed on zkSync for less than a month, and compared to its native chain Cronos (developed by Crypto.com), it can only be described as mediocre. Further observation is still needed.

Comparatively, it is clear that the development of zkSync derivative platforms is still in the early stage. HoldStation can be further observed, while Satori and Rollup still feel like they haven’t fully shifted their focus here.

As for the popular Onchain Trade, its TVL data dropped below one million due to the trend of “撸毛” (luring participation). As for the recently incubated Derivio by Binance and GRVT, everything is still unknown.

Why is the Derivative platform on zkSync developing slowly?

zkSync itself has a high technical barrier as Layer 2, and mainstream heavyweights like MakerDAO, AAVE, Uniswap, etc., have not yet entered, lacking protocols with overall strength to lock funds, resulting in poor overall TVL data, naturally unable to drive the growth of the Derivatives platform.

In contrast, Arbitrum’s ecosystem accumulation period is in the late stage of the bull market, with a large amount of liquidity in the overall market, and a large influx of assets under the airdrop expectation, which has also contributed to the emergence of GMX.

However, the overall environment of zkSync mainnet launch is quite the opposite, as it is in a deep bear market where most mainstream funds are contracting and flowing out, and there is also weak willingness from protocols with multi-chain coverage, resulting in weak overall market liquidity for zkSync.

For the Derivatives platform, attracting mainstream assets injection is key, and APY (Annual Percentage Yield) is crucial. In the early stages, GMX adopted a dual-token model for mining, with continuous economic incentives such as dual-token liquidity rewards and platform income dividends, leading to an APY of over 30% at one point.

Whether zkSync’s ecosystem can give birth to a surprise is contingent on taking the TVL indicator to the next level, only by looking at the growth of trading volume and APY for Derivatives can we determine this.

Overall, I believe it is only a matter of time before the next GMX emerges on zkSync. zkSync will also have to go all out to support the emergence of a king-sized Derivative platform.

In fact, mainstream institutional funds and heavyweights are also waiting for a platform with steady data growth. Once they sense the commercial potential, it’s not a big deal for zkSync’s TVL to increase by 10 orders of magnitude in a short time.

Give it some time, and wait patiently for the flowers to bloom.

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