Here’s why DinoSwap’s (DINO) TVL rose above $330M a week after launch

Decentralized finance (DeFi) remains one of the fastest-growing subsectors of the cryptocurrency ecosystem and newly launched platforms looking to grow their userbase and attract liquidity typically offer high-interest staking pools for the first few weeks after launching. 

One new project that has steadily gained traction in terms of user growth and total value locked (TVL) since farming went live is DinoSwap (DINO), a Polygon network-based cross-chain protocol that rivals the likes of PancakeSwap and other automated market makers.

Data from CoinGecko shows DINO that saw its price trade as high as $4.28 upon launch and a surprise flash crash pushed the price to $2.30 on July 25. The price has since recovered to trade above $3. 

Related: DeFi industry draws in commercial banks? Siam bets with $110M fund

VC backing gives users extra conficence

DeFi's success has been a boon for the crypto ecosystem, but its rapid rise has also brought numerous scam projects and rug pulls such as Polywhale Finance, which was a leading yield farm on the Polygon network before the developers of the project performed a "soft rug.”

Unlike projects with anonymous developers, DinoSwap has received more than $4.7 million in funding from venture capital funds and this could boost the confidence of investors who fear a rug pull.

The @DinoSwapHQ team is thrilled to announce that we have successfully secured investment backing from our anchor fund @hashed_official and @DeFianceCapital pic.twitter.com/kDbpjPOvi4

This helped provide momentum ahead of the official launch of the DinoSwap protocol on July 17, which quickly amassed a total value locked of more than $300 million by July 18 according to data from DeFi Llama.

Yield opportunities attract deposits

The rapid rise in TVL on the platform is due in large part to attractive yield opportunities offered by the protocol.

Did you know $XMARK is a non-rebasing representation of staked $MARK tokens, which rebase and have an elastic supply governed by a @chainlink integrated #VXX index? Well, you do now! So go farm some $DINO with the $XMARK - $USDC LP pair and enjoy 426.2% APR with $4.55M in TVL pic.twitter.com/ixD7IWliW1

Users can deposit liquidity provider tokens into the ‘Fossil Farms’ section of the protocol which offers rewards ranging from 14.39% for a USDT-USDC pair to 901% for the DINO-USDC pair.

The ‘Extinction Pools’ section of the protocol allows users to directly stake a growing list of individual tokens, including DINO and Aavegotchi (GHST) whose returns are in the 79% to 641% range.

DinoSwap also allows users to time-lock their DINO tokens in the ‘Tar Pits’, which offers a higher reward for longer duration lock-ups.

Regular DINO token burns are also a standard practice utilized as a way to help maintain the value of the native token and bring a greater level of stability to the ecosystem.

According to the most recent ask me anything session from the DinoSwap team, upcoming plans on the project’s roadmap include improvements to the DinoSwap AMM, multi-chain bridge and the addition of gamification products and governance features. 

With Bitcoin price vying to flip the $40,000 level back to support, and altcoins showing double-digit gains, DinoSwap could possibly become one of the largest AMM's on the Polygon network and if DeFi tokens have another run in the coming quarter, DINO price could rise, especially if new staking pairs are offered in the near future.  

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