This week has been a real ride on the crypto coaster with many projects reverting back to prices not seen since June. Bitcoin is no different as it continues to inch closer to $40k. While we can only assume this is due to some good old-fashioned China FUD and newly injected regulatory uncertainties in the USA. We can only speculate as to why the market has acted this way and when it will turn around again. Getting into this week’s review, we’re looking at a new project that wants to utilize the Cardano ecosystem to propose lending and borrowing services to users.
Introduction
Paribus is a new protocol that offers DeFi holders and investors a platform to extend the reach of their digital assets and positions. A Cardano-based lending/borrowing system that aims to support conventional and unconventional crypto assets to allow for its users to unlock liquidity and interact with the markets without having to liquidate assets. Paribus believes that if there is intrinsic value, this value can be leveraged. While forward-looking, Paribus is focused on existing applications in both non-fungible and fungible tokens and provides a consolidated destination in which users can easily and freely take part in this financial revolution. To date, DEXs and lending platforms have led the charge while exotics are slowly gaining traction. For Paribus, they’re building upon what already exists and continuing to iterate forward in the face of existing opportunities and in anticipation of demand. Non-fungible tokens, liquidity positions, and synthetic assets deserve DeFi applications wherein holders have the opportunity to truly capitalize on their value. Research has led the team to a place where a cross-chain, interoperable, Cardano-powered marketplace that enables NFT lending, staking, synthetic assets, and the opportunity to leverage liquidity positions is comprehensive and potent. Paribus operates using “pools of assets” with algorithmically derived interest rates, based on the supply and demand for a given asset. Paribus wants to offer a wide range of features that will ultimately add strength to its value proposition as one of the earliest DeFi protocols on Cardano. Due to Cardano’s nature and ability to plug into existing blockchains, Paribus by default will use and extend this capability to unlock liquidity across a spectrum of assets.
As per the nature of decentralized and DAO projects and in the spirit of open-source development, all of Paribus source code will be made public and free to use after audits and rigorous testing. Paribus will of course inherit all de facto standards of dApps such as being non-custodial, trustless, permissionless, and course censorship resistance. Cardano will allow the Paribus protocol to remain chain agnostic and simultaneously connect innumerable assets across multiple blockchains. Cardano’s interoperability removes restrictions and allows value to flow freely. Traditionally, valuations are derived from historical purchases and comparables that exist in a fluid marketplace. This value is denominated in an agreed-upon currency. NFTs do not have this history and could be valued against USD, Ethereum, or any number of assets. Essentially, NFTs need price discovery and while this is happening as the number of enthusiasts and subject matter experts grows with the rising number of speculators….
