Before we get started, this is not a recommendation or endorsment to buy any token(s) mentioned including ASX.
For weeks, we’ve been covering the rise of LST-fi (short for Liquid Staking Token DeFi)! With Gravita and Lybra, users are able to borrow against staked ETH tokens as collateral and mint new stablecoins, which is very compelling in terms of the value it brings to the current DeFi ecosystem, but it also carries lots of risk by introducing a new dollar-pegged stablecoin.
Instead, we’ll take a step back today and review a familiar DeFi protocol design, optimized for stETH holders to gamble with their staking yield for a chance at winning a no-loss lottery (or savings game) by Asymetrix.
Similar to PoolTogether, Asymetrix gamifies savings where users deposit stETH collectively into a pool and wait for a weekly drawing, whereby the pooled staking yield from everyone’s stETH is randomly awarded to 3 winners, as specified below. Asymetrix uses Chainlink VRF, which is widely considered the best practice solution in crypto for ensuring provably fair randomness.
- 1st Place = 50% of stETH yield
- 2nd Place = 30% of stETH yield
- 3rd Place = 20% of stETH yield
Your odds of winning change dynamically in real-time based on how much stETH is deposited in the pool. However at the moment, all Asymetrix users earn an additional ~20% APY in ASX rewards.
If a user wins, they automatically receive stETH rewards in their deposit balance of stETH, which also increases their odds for further draws. Therefore, there is no need to claim rewards.
For users who decide they no longer wish to play, they can withdraw their stETH at any time. The cost of playing this game is the earned staking yield on one’s stETH, which is claimed by the Asymetrix protocol every 24 hours to pool for the weekly prize drawing. Asymetrix will burn existing users’ deposit tokens (PST) for stETH tokens at a 1:1 ratio if and when they withdraw.
As of this writing, Asymetrix has attracted an impressive 10,142 stETH into the pool, across 315 users, meaning there’s an estimated rewards pool of 6.6 stETH this next drawing.
You can also see other interesting stats on users and the odds of winning right on the Asymetrix dApp, where for example a deposit of 0.79 stETH has a 1 in 404 odds of winning next drawing.
The ASX token has a total supply of 100M, distributed with the following vesting schedules for who they specify as: Investors, Team and Founders, and the Community. From the looks of it, it’s pretty standard with a 12-month cliff and 4-year vesting schedule, and 10M ASX immediately available to distribute to early users of Asymetrix. There are suggestions as to how the ASX token might accrue value in the future such as i) charge a fee from yields generated by the protocol, ii) implement a buy-and-burn model, or iii) distribute profit for token holders. However, at the moment, no fees are taken, and 100% of the generated yield is distributed among the protocol users. The expectation is that the DAO will submit and vote on future proposals regarding these matters.
Today, I’ll demonstrate how I can play the no-loss lottery game on Asymetrix with stETH, for a chance to win a share of the weekly pooled ETH staking yield!
How to Play the No-Loss Lottery with stETH on Asymetrix
Before we get started,…
DeFi Dad is one of the earliest power users of DeFi, having worked with early Ethereum startups going back to 2018, including Zapper.
