The traditional finance market (TradFi) is dominated by fixed-rate loans. However, a reliable solution in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space has yet to come about. To bring TradFi portfolio managers into the DeFi industry, the issue of fixed rates needs to be solved.
Many DeFi platforms claim to offer stable interest rates, but in reality, assets are so volatile that they might fluctuate from single to double digits and vice versa. This volatility makes it nearly impossible to guarantee reliable long-term earnings or control leverage regardless of whether one is a lender or a borrower. One DeFi protocol, iGain IRS (Interest Rate Synth), is aiming to solve this.
The current DeFi space offers a few interest rate solutions, such as zero-coupon bonds and yield redistribution, but they’re not as efficient as one might think. iGain IRS is instead building a derivatives platform focused on interest rates.
With iGain IRS, users can borrow or lend any asset with the corresponding amount of long or short tokens to respectively secure their fixed income or limit their costs. The platform also provides an ability to simply long or short interest without borrowing or lending, giving traders a method of profit off economic uncertainty or bear markets.
iGain IRS’ lenders can buy short tokens to, well, short the market’s interest rates. Conversely, borrowers can purchase long tokens to limit their long-term costs. From there, iGain IRS offers a fleshed-out lending and borrowing platform for its users. Anyone can lend or borrow stablecoins from within the platform or provide liquidity in various pools to earn transaction fees.
The platform currently supports USDC, USDT, and DAI stablecoins. The protocol is tied to the DeFi platform Aave
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