DeFi Meets NFTs: (Feat. MoonHoldings, Unloc & More)

Unloc, Moonholdings and more NFT-Fi projects are emerging from the ashes of FTX. Here's the scoop.

The FTX collapse was a disaster that set the idea of adoption back by eons. It was by far the most catastrophic event I’ve ever seen happen to the industry. It’s something we’ll have to pay for, for a long, long time.

But was it all bad?

Obviously Solana took a massive hit. It was a harsh lesson for everyone. But what was the lesson exactly?

“Not your keys, not your coins” or “Not your keys, not your crypto”.

The message is clear enough: Self-custody means having full control over digital assets, opposed to placing that control in the hands of centralized exchanges. This is something that would saved tens of thousands of investors that lost everything.

But this message was echoed and uplifted by people that have played the game much longer than the average newbie on Solana. They come from an older realm and they’ve seen Black Swan events before. They’re mostly from Ethereum and they know the ins and outs of Decentralized Finance. Many of them even predicted the collapse of FTX. In terms of DeFi, Solana is a bit late to the party.

However…

Since the scandal, I’ve noticed that the case for DeFi has scaled to astronomical heights while slowly bleeding itself into the NFT scene.

Now ‘NFT-Fi’ is a full on movement.

NFT-Fi… Huh?

Let’s keep this simple: DeFi is ‘decentralized finance’, which refers to emerging financial technologies that may inspire, challenge or even fully disrupt the traditional banking industry. You’re in control.

NFT-Fi is literally just DeFi incorporated or empowered through NFTs. Here are a few Solana NFT-Fi projects that I’ve talked about (and even worked for) in the past:

Underground Society: The first ‘automated-liquidity provider’ on Solana that empowers users to buy NFTs at 1/3 of the price and pay it off slowly over time.

Hadeswap: The largest NFT Automated Market Maker (AMM) on Solana.

Elixir: “The City of Elixir is home to some of the top apps for NFT trading, launching, and DeFi — all powered by the 10,000 Ovols”.

Upcoming NFT-Fi Projects

Don’t think you’ve missed out just because of the DeFi NFT projects that have already launched on Solana. In fact, there are two upcoming NFT-Fi projects that are not only practical, but necessary for pushing the NFT-Fi space forward. I talked to the founders of both projects and they had a lot to share. Here’s the alpha:

MoonHoldings

MoonHoldings is an up and coming crypto and NFT portfolio management tool. We’ve seen this before, but MoonHoldings interests me for two reasons:

1. It’s simple: Portfolio management takes place on a single dashboard. Other projects that have attempted NFT portfolio management have failed because of the extensiveness of their applications. DeFi is a new thing for a lot of people in the Solana NFT space. Simplicity is a must.

Side Note:

The NFT portfolio manager includes a SharkyFi integration, which will be crucial in terms of future borrowing/lending and overall expansion of the platform. Integrations like these amplify simplicity and make MoonHoldings a true force to be reckoned with in the world of Decentralized Applications (DApps).

2. Enforces Habits: If you’re an active trader, portfolio tracking is a non-negotiable practice you should be actively participating in. So why don’t people do it?

   The simple answer is… it’s boring.

I’d argue that the majority of Solana NFT traders are younger than 30, so portfolio tracking isn’t exactly on the top of their ‘to-do’ list (if they even have a list at all).

Not only does MoonHoldings understand this, they’ve capitalize on making it fun by introducing competitive gamification and utilization of atomic habits to make portfolio management more “attractive”.

Through ‘ranks’’, not only can you can track the most popular coins, NFT collections and best performing assets, you can compare your portfolio to other users on the platform in real time. That means you can see what they’re doing, what they’re buying and how it compares to your gains/losses.

While I don’t exactly like the concept of competing with other people, I do understand it. Something like this can actually be pretty fun while helping inspire and form a crucial habit every trader should already be taken into consideration.

Just remember to have fun, ok?

The NFT Collection

As always, I’ll keep it real: I do not like the art. But to me, the art doesn’t matter. It is simply an asset that will grant access to MoonHoldings services and other rewards. I’m sure the other perks are great, but again; I’m only interested in the main utility.

They mint on the 23rd of this month. More information here.

Unloc

Bias aside, Unloc is really fucking cool.

Like MoonHoldings, what they’re doing has been done before by other teams and protocols. However, they’re doing it in a fresh new way that I have yet to see on Sol.

This is DeFi, so it’s a bit complex. Hang tight.

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Problem: Despite Solana having the perfect technology, fundamentals and resources to become the most prominent DeFi chain in all of crypto, the majority of the space is dominated by NFTs.

Since Solana is an NFT dominant chain, DeFi suffers and it shows in the volume. This means NFT holders are missing out on ecosystems of opportunities and everything crypto has to offer. So, what’s the solution?

Unloc allows you to borrow liquid assets by using your NFT(s) as collateral. Again; we’ve seen this before. Just… not in the same way that Unloc does it.

Here’s what makes them so special (below):

The black box under 1/1 art is alpha I wish I could share… Trust me, it’s big.

Aside from capitalizing on the most obvious issue in the space right now, they’re doing it in a way that actually appeals to the entire community.

• It appeals to traders by remaining collector focused.

• It appeals to degens by gamifying experiences.

• It appeals to DeFi experts by expanding upon choosable options.

• It appeals to the 1/1 art community by enabling collectors of these art pieces to use them as collateral.

Cool Pointers:

1. Clean UI/UX: I’ve used it myself and can confirm. Simplicity is vital for people that are entirely new to this side of crypto. For some reason, DeFi protocols on Solana rarely get this right.

2. There’s No NFT: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Not everything needs an NFT. Unloc understands this perfectly well. Instead, they have…

3. IDO: I like IDOs. They feel right for protocols like Unloc. More information below. IDO date is still TBD.

   

   Conclusion

   I know. That was a lot.

   I recommend you keep this article handy and remember to take your time as you dive into the mysterious and wonderful world of NFT-Fi. It’s definitely not too late to get into projects that are building for the future of finance.

   Enjoy. — Lite.