The CEO of AVNU,
@MentorNotPseudo, recently appeared as a guest on the amazing
@CryptoMage_YT podcast for an alpha-filled discussion about AVNU and Starknet 😏
The discussion covered AVNU's vision, the role of the Starknet foundation, why the first STRK airdrop is probably not the most important, and many other juicy topics.
For those who don't speak French, here is a summary (not in order) 👇
1️⃣ Mentor background and why
@Starknet
Mentor is the CEO and co-founder of
@avnu_fi, with a background in software engineering. He has been involved in crypto since late 2015 and has diverse experience in this ecosystem, including roles as a software engineer and product manager for various projects in the Solana ecosystem.
Being very bullish about our dear crypto world, Mentor and
@0xlenny_eth, another co-founder of AVNU, searched for an ecosystem where they could build a long-term project that would truly improve the life of users. Initially attracted to Solana as the best solution for them, they later discovered Starknet and its vision in the early stages of the network and decided to fully commit.
But why did they, along with other brilliant minds in the crypto ecosystem, choose to launch and all-in on such an immature network?
The answer lies in the advantages that Starknet offers, despite its current imperfections. In short, it provides AVNU with the optimal infrastructure to develop the best possible DEX while also facilitating user onboarding.
Here are some key points:
➯ Starknet is the only chain with a veritable native Account Abstraction.
➯ The features enabled by this native AA are mind-blowing. For instance, multicall allows multiple TX to be grouped into one, greatly improving UX and security.
➯ The Cairo language allows for the creation of dApps and features that are not possible in the EVM environment.
➯ The Starknet wallets (
@myBraavos and
@argentHQ) introduce game-changing features for users, such as 2FA and 3FA, making these wallets more secure than a ledger.
Mentor sees Starknet as the future
#Solana of the Ethereum ecosystem.
2️⃣ The fundamental advantage of Starknet over other L2 solutions
The Starknet community is unique as it is the only L2 with the majority of its dApps being native. And not just a majority, we're talking about over 90% of the dApps 🤯
The problem with EVM-based L2 chains is that all L2s are competing for the same pool of dApps and developers. As a result, there are very few native builders on each L2, which means there are fewer people working to improve and grow the L2 they are on. These teams deploy on all networks in a single day, launch marketing campaigns, and see which network becomes the most successful.
While native dApps likely account for less than 10% on other L2s, Starknet encompasses over 90%. This indicates that more than 90% of projects are fully committed to Starknet and collaborate to foster its growth. They share a common objective, fostering healthy competition within Starknet 🤝
3️⃣ AVNU
What is AVNU? It is the best platform for trading your crypto on Starknet, with the ambition of being the best in the entire market.
AVNU's main focus is to make trading as simple as sending a message on your phone. It prioritizes improving the UX and has significantly contributed to enhancing the overall UX on Starknet.
Simplicity is the key.
In this field, Mentor mentions two references:
➯ @RevolutApp in the web2, as it is user-friendly and easily understandable for people of all ages, from teenagers to mothers.
➯
@JupiterExchange in the web3, which Mentor believes is currently the top crypto dApp for exchanging assets (Jupiter is to Solana what AVNU is to Starknet).
In addition to providing cutting-edge UX, AVNU also ensures that traders achieve the best possible execution. This means maximizing the return on the assets that a user wishes to exchange.
For this, here are some features:
➯ AVNU scans all DEX in real-time to find the DEX that offers the best rates for a given order.
➯ AVNU solvers perform this scanning and calculation in milliseconds (a solver = an optimization algorithm).
➯ The solvers then execute the trade directly on a single DEX or indirectly by splitting the order across multiple DEX if it allows for the best rate.
➯ Personal addition: AVNU solvers also allow trading tokens for which there are no direct pools available.
➯ Optimization of gas fees.
➯ Positive slippage for users (which means you can get paid to trade on AVNU, literally).
➯ Absolute transparency.
➯ Lowest fees in the market: 0.02% compared to traditional finance where some charge 0.8% or even 1%, making AVNU 50 times lower in fees.
Additionally, Mentor emphasizes that the AVNU team has been one of the earliest builders in the Starknet ecosystem, being active since September 2021. During this time, they launched one of the first AMM of Starknet (Alpha Road Finance) to test the network.
4⃣ What's next for AVNU?
The long-term goal of AVNU is to achieve decentralization of routing.
Currently, AVNU has its own internal solvers that calculate the best routes between different locations. However, the goal is to build an infrastructure that enables any company to easily and quickly create their own solvers on AVNU. This way, users will not be solely reliant on AVNU's solvers.
To achieve this, AVNU has already been approached and is working with different Solver based companies that are top providers in the L1 space in very famous protocol such as
@CoWSwap and
@1inch.
In summary, the objective is to integrate as many liquidity sources as possible, both on-chain and off-chain, with numerous different actors.
Decentralization of routing but also total decentralization in the near future 👀
The first step is that AVNU is working on a private working group, which will be launched soon. The purpose of this group is to bring together a small group of 20-30 individuals who are highly involved in the project. This includes:
➯ The most active and regular users & community members
➯ Those who provide valuable feedback
Members of this group will have direct contact with the AVNU team and will receive early access to news and updates. The goal is to involve these individuals in the decision-making process of AVNU.
Speaking of decentralization, Mentor points out that the leaderboard was not created for nothing 😉
5⃣
@StarkWareLtd and the Foundation
Mentor is part of the Starknet Foundation and serves on the DeFi committee, which includes:
➯
@itamarl, co-founder of the Argent wallet
➯
@jane0mac, co-founder of the
@zkLend money market
➯
@bitpactum, co-founder of the
@zkxprotocol Perp DEX
➯
@RTPthefirst, head of product of the
@nostrafinance money market
The committee's role is to foster the growth of the ecosystem, with a budget of 50m STRK tokens allocated for this purpose. One of their ideas is to incentivize on-chain liquidity (trading and LP) with this budget:
nitter.app/StarknetFndn/sta…
Mentor cannot provide information about the Starknet
#airdrop, but he is totally surprise about what he sees on Twitter, as the foundation has a colossal budget (50% of the
$STRK token supply) dedicated solely to the ecosystem growth.
➡️ Personally, I interpret this as a possibility of multiple airdrops/campaigns, perhaps similar to what Optimism is currently doing 😉
On their side, StarkWare is currently focused on addressing network issues and enhancing UX by prioritizing three aspects:
➯ Network stability
➯ Fees reduction
➯ Fees market (when launched MEV will be possible on Starknet)
6⃣ Key alphas of this live
➯ The AVNU leaderboard was not created merely for aesthetic purposes 👀
➯ AVNU's referral program, currently in a soft launch, will soon allow referrals for more than just leaderboard points.
➯ VC are expressing more and more interest in AVNU
➯ While it is easy for the AVNU team to deploy AVNU on EVM and Solana chains, this is not their current objective (however, it's worth noting to keep in mind this possibility 👀)
➯ The foundation has a colossal budget (50% of STRK tokens) dedicated solely to growing Starknet.
Therefore, I personally think that we can expect the leaked airdrop of Starknet to be just the first of many, and probably not the largest one 😉
➯
@Ledger closely monitors Starknet, particularly due to Starknet's unique AA. They are in discussions with StarkWare and other wallets.
➯ There’s a probability that all those Starknet native companies will launch their token on Starknet in a relative short amount of time 😏
Last and personal alpha: Follow
@CryptoMage_YT if you are a French speaker 🫡
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