DeFi
Hedge fund MEV Capital is trying to make DeFi accessible to the masses
Only 1.4% of all crypto users are involved in DeFi, highlighting the difficulty of convincing retail investors to join this opaque asset class.
The protocol locked in around $25 million in total value locked (TVL) for its debut.
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Posted May 4, 2024 at 11:31 AM EST.
DeFi-focused hedge fund firm MEV Capital is expanding from its institutional roots to make a first play for retail investors.
Gytis Trilikauskis, chief operating officer and general partner of MEV, said the asset manager has incubated Amphor, a new decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol that integrates a number of on-chain vaults.
Amphor’s goal is to use algorithms and on-chain technology solutions to simplify the many complexities of DeFi for the general public, with the startup emphasizing to potential investors that only 1.4% of all crypto users are involved in DeFi.
It accepts investments in Bitcoin, Ether and USDC.
“Basically, if you’re not in DeFi 24/7, and you’re not doing it consistently, it’s very difficult to navigate, because there are so many points, so many underlying protocols, so so much risk involved,” Trilikauskis said.
There are around six million DeFi users, representing a total value locked (TVL) of $98 billion, according to Amphor research – dwarfed by cryptocurrencies. cumulative A market capitalization of $2.3 trillion and 420 million active users.
Amphor’s strategy, which has no minimum investment, is designed to provide exposure to market-neutral returns, including through Liquid Takeover Tokens (LRT) on platforms such as EigenLayer. Amphor is a separate entity from MEV, which requires a minimum investment of $500,000 for accredited investors.
Learn more: Eigen Foundation to allocate additional $1,000 in EIGEN tokens to over 280,000 users
“We think [Amphor] can solve a big headache for smaller players and those who want to allocate $5,000 or $10,000, but don’t have more,” Trilikauskis said, adding that “we have the experience…and the relationships with these underlying protocols ultimately. .”
Basic Amphor Strategies
One of Amphor’s two core products uses what the company calls an “LRT Omni-vault” that enables automated new exposure on EigenLayer. A number of counterparties are involved, including Pendle, Uniswap, Curve and Balancer.
The second product creates a token based on the vaults managed by Amphor. These tokens, called LP tokens, are used as collateral for ether (ETH) perpetuals on CME and centralized crypto exchanges. The objective is to hedge and generate returns.
And there are plans to get involved on EigenLayer not only as a restorer, but also to operate its AVS nodes, which are equivalent to validators on the network.
Integrations are also in place to capture points in various projects, automatically converting these points into crypto assets over time. Amphor aims to be chain agnostic.
More than 80 crypto angel investors participated in Amphor’s seed round, according to marketing materials. The startup closed a $4 million funding round, saying the new capital would be aimed at strengthening the project team, as well as growing its technology stack, as well as expanding its additional blockchain networks.
The emerging protocol has attracted approximately $25 million in TVL for its impending public debut.