Filfox-FILLiquid AMA
On October 26th, Filfox held a Twitter Space with FILLiquid. Here is the recap.
1. Let’s welcome Bryer to introduce himself and FILLiquid.
Thank you. I’m excited to share some background on the Filecoin network before diving into our project, FILLiquid, and our team. The Filecoin network is an innovative decentralized storage marketplace, built on IPFS technology. It uses blockchain to secure the network and validate transactions. Bitcoin pioneered the application of blockchain, starting with its use as digital money. We see Filecoin as a continuation of this vision, aiming to decentralize storage on the internet. Storage providers (SPs) on the network pledge Filecoin tokens as collateral to guarantee their storage commitments, fostering network reliability. However, SPs faced a challenge: the capital needed for this pledge was often higher than the cost of hardware, impeding network growth. FILLiquid addresses this by easing the financial load on SPs. We’re an open-source, decentralized lending platform that operates on the Filecoin virtual machine as a liquidity pool. It allows FIL token holders to stake their tokens and earn interest, while also enabling SPs to borrow FIL for their storage needs. FILLiquid triumphed at the DeFi Rockets in the ETH Global FVM Space Warp hackathon. With a stellar team and groundbreaking offerings, we aim to lead the DeFi space on Filecoin’s virtual machine. Our chief economist and co-founder, Robert Lee, is a CFA with deep expertise in Web3 economics and has optimized mining cost-benefits on the Filecoin network. His economic insights are backed by over a decade of experience and significant contributions to tokenomics assessments for numerous projects, along with a history at the IMF and the World Bank. I’m R.L Bryer, a 14-year veteran in the space, having discovered Bitcoin in 2009. My involvement spans 20 startups, with a focus on economic models, smart contracts, and interoperability. Our team also includes Justin Sun, a full-stack developer with a robust background in public blockchain infrastructure, and Billy Kim, our Asia Community lead and a vocal advocate for the Filecoin ecosystem. In 2021, our founders recognized a pressing need for Filecoin lending services, which led to the birth of FILLiquid. Since then, we’ve been meticulously developing a platform that’s algorithmically driven, even through the bear market, reflecting our commitment to the project’s long-term success. We believe in the Filecoin network’s potential to rival centralized solutions like AWS and aim to bolster the entire ecosystem. What we’re building isn’t just for us — it’s to enable prosperity across the Filecoin community, enhancing the system for all participants.
2. At the beginning of a project, there may be some difficulties and obstacles. So we are wondering how you have overcome all these obstacles to launch and get it going smoothly.
That’s a good question. There are speed bumps in any technology development, and coding and launching is complex. Our core developers and team are some of the best, which sets us apart. We are currently smoothing out the code and finalizing our internal audit. Soon, we’ll be ready to send it for third-party review. Like any project, we face challenges, but we tackle them directly. While I can’t pinpoint a specific hurdle, the challenges we encounter are typical for any tech endeavor, and we’re diligently working to ensure FILLiquid becomes the premier lending protocol for SPs.
3. Could you explain the core technology of FILLiquid?
Our technology facilitates a decentralized lending and borrowing solution for FIL token holders and storage providers, eliminating the need for FIL holders to trust centralized platforms for returns on their holdings. Storage providers don’t have to pay exorbitant interest rates to acquire FIL for expanding storage capacity. What makes us unique is that borrowers don’t need to pledge crypto collateral upfront. They can leverage their existing account balances and future income as collateral by pledging their beneficiary address to the smart contract. This innovation distinguishes us in the space, with no one else offering this. The FIL beneficiary address and potential income from storage mining serve as collateral, allowing providers to borrow up to 100% of their balance, thus facilitating storage power expansion without additional financial burdens, at fair market-based rates. Our chief economist, Robert, with his expertise in financial modeling, helped conceive this model where FIL depositors earn most of the interest accrued. We’re on schedule with our development and, by the third week in November, plan to launch the first phase of our public testnet. We’re considering two phases to benefit the Original Gangsters (OGs) and the wider Filecoin ecosystem, with a second phase potentially open to a broader audience. Our internal testing continues, and we expect to complete our security audits by the end of November. Following the first testnet with the OGs, we’ll launch a Zealy Campaign to reward contributors during our public testnet phase. This ensures everything is seamless for our mainnet launch, slated for late Q1 of 2024. That gives you an insight into the structure of our project and the fundamentals.
5. Would you like to share any specific cases where you have cooperated with other projects?
That’s a good question. This is our first AMA as we’re now ready to engage with the community in preparation for our testnets. Our marketing campaign is gaining momentum. Last month, we were at Fil Vegas 2023 where I represented our team. I had the opportunity to meet many from Protocol Labs and engage with numerous storage providers and Filecoin advocates. We’re actively working on more partnerships and are open to discussions with anyone interested in advancing the Filecoin ecosystem and our objectives. We’re stepping up our marketing efforts because we aim to be the premier lending platform for storage providers and Filecoin token holders. We believe our work will benefit the entire community and that these partnerships mark just the start for us.
6. Can you share more about the latest development of FILLiquid, in terms of project brand building, ecology or maybe community building and business cooperation?
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Yeah, absolutely. I’ll tell you a bit more about where we are in our roadmap. We’re finishing up in the next few weeks, checking our code and logic with a group of skilled engineers. Unlike some who may use one or two engineers, we have a strong team ensuring everything is fixed before we hit our testnet. We’re on track and the process is going smoothly. In two weeks, we plan to send our code for a professional third-party audit. We’ll keep the community updated on this lengthy and costly process because it’s important for ensuring our code is optimal. Our UI design is set to be completed by the end of this week, and next week we’ll be testing our UI as well. The first testnet is aimed for around the 20th of November, give or take, depending on if we need to refine anything. We won’t rush; if a delay is necessary, we’ll take the time needed. And later, we’ll host a testnet similar to what Filecoin did in September of 2020, rewarding participants with FIL. We’re planning to incentivize our testnet with our token and believe this will encourage people to help us prepare for the mainnet launch in early Q1 of 2024. Regarding Zealy, I’m a strong supporter of their work, and we’ll decide the ratio of zealy points to FIL later. We’re currently setting up Zealy for our community and believe they’ll enjoy the benefits of participating.
7. Are you willing to share more interesting cases in your community, like is there any specific community member that has impressed you?
I will tell you a little bit more, five percent of our tokenomics is dedicated to our community. We want to ensure that our community feels appreciated and has a stake in what we’re doing. Without a community, a cryptocurrency project has no foundation and won’t stand the test of time. We aim to build a base of people excited about what we’re doing and the future of the Filecoin ecosystem. By doing this, we believe these individuals will stay with us for the long term. We’re building to remain in this space for a significant duration, and it’s crucial that people have a stake in what we’re doing and believe in our mission. I think they will find what we’ve built to be quite phenomenal and innovative, potentially changing the space and the ecosystem considerably. My visit to Fil Vegas was enlightening; despite my experience, I learned remarkable things. The enthusiasm for the ecosystem is palpable, and I consider it one of the most promising in all of crypto, worthy of being ranked in the top echelons of what I’ve encountered. The Filecoin Network’s significance is immense. We’re working on the foundational ethos of the industry and true Cyberpunk ideals to decentralize the world. The goal is to ensure that not just a handful of central entities control the world’s data. We’re focused on contributing to the expansion of the Filecoin Network and ensuring data remains decentralized as we advance in the blockchain economy. This, I believe, is going to be crucial.
8. The last topic I want to discuss with Bryer is what are your thoughts on how FILLiquid and Filfox can have more in-depth and long-term cooperation in the future to jointly contribute to the thriving Filecoin ecosystem.
We believe our collaboration and cooperation can help the ecosystem become more robust and efficient, fostering further community growth and business development. We admire what FilFox is accomplishing; I’ve been using FilFox extensively to analyze data. Filecoin holders that will eventually lend with us to obtain yield, and SPs that want to borrow, can leverage both the data provided by FilFox and the services we offer to enhance their experience on the Filecoin Network. We’re excited to work with FilFox and are staunch advocates of your work. Our goal is to provide the best partnership experience possible.
About Filfox
Filfox is a Filecoin blockchain explorer and data service platform, providing one-stop data services based on Filecoin, including various mining rankings, blockchain data queries, and visualization charts.
About FILLiquid
FILLiquid is an open-sourced, decentralized and algorithm-based lending platform on FVM enabling FIL holders to earn passive income, while providing SPs with the ability to borrow FIL for storage provisioning.
Contact Filfox
Official Website: Filfox.info
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Filfox_info
Telegram: t.me/Filfoxofficial
