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1inch Network Whitepaper Explanation

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Mooniswap is a novel AMM developed by 1inch.exchange that enhances profitability for liquidity providers by employing virtual balances to reduce front-running and minimize arbitrage opportunities.

Mooniswap Introduction

Mooniswap, developed by 1inch.exchange, is a decentralized exchange protocol that innovates on the Automated Market Maker (AMM) models by incorporating virtual balances. This approach seeks to significantly reduce the negative effects of short-term trading volume slippage, which typically benefits arbitrageurs. Instead, Mooniswap's design aims to direct these potential profits back to liquidity providers, thereby enhancing their earnings.

By using virtual balances, Mooniswap blunts the price impact of large trades, gradually adjusting prices rather than doing so immediately. This gradual adjustment allows the protocol to capture a portion of the potential arbitrage profits, traditionally lost to arbitrageurs, and redirect them to liquidity providers. This makes Mooniswap a more profitable and attractive option for liquidity providers compared to other AMM designs.

Part 1: Mooniswap Whitepaper Review

Disclosure: This part is strictly limited to an overview of the whitepaper and maintains an objective tone. Neither external knowledge nor comparisons with other cryptocurrencies are expected (unless introduced in the whitepaper). "Part 2" of this explanation will provide a more relatable explanation considering the external knowledge.

  • Author: Anton Bukov, Mikhail Melnik
  • Type: Technical
  • Tone: Objective
  • Publication date: August 10, 2020

Description: What Does Mooniswap Do?

Mooniswap is an Automated Market Maker (AMM) that utilizes virtual balances to mitigate the impact of short-term trading volume slippage. Its main objective is to redirect the profits from arbitrageurs to liquidity providers, making it significantly more profitable for them.

The methodology involves the use of virtual balances to gradually adjust prices rather than immediate adjustments. This gradual change allows the protocol to capture some of the arbitrage profits for liquidity providers, minimizing the disadvantages of large trade slippages.

Problem: Why Mooniswap Is Being Developed?

Mooniswap is being developed to address the inefficiencies in current AMM designs where arbitrageurs capture significant profits from short-term trading volume slippage, leaving liquidity providers with minimal gains.

Current solutions like Uniswap, Balancer, and Curve have limitations, such as immediate price adjustments that create arbitrage opportunities right after large trades. These models allow arbitrageurs to gain profits at the expense of liquidity providers, which Mooniswap aims to rectify by introducing virtual balances.

Use Cases

  • Decentralized Exchanges (DEX): Mooniswap can be used in DEXs to enhance liquidity provider profitability.
  • Liquidity Pools: It optimizes liquidity pools by capturing slippage profits for liquidity providers.
  • Price Oracles: Mooniswap's on-chain volume-weighted average price oracles provide more accurate and harder-to-manipulate price data.

How Does Mooniswap Work?

Mooniswap's architecture consists of virtual balances that simulate different prices for different trade directions, gradually adjusting over time instead of immediately.

  1. Components:

    • Virtual Balances: Simulate different trade prices.
    • Native ETH Support: Direct usage of ETH without wrapping as WETH.
    • Price Oracles: On-chain volume-weighted average price oracles.
  2. Operation Steps:

    1. A trade occurs.
    2. Virtual balances are updated to reflect the trade but do not immediately adjust the price.
    3. Over time, the prices gradually adjust, blunting the immediate impact of the trade.
    4. Arbitrage opportunities are smaller and spread over time, capturing profits for liquidity providers.
    5. Deposits and withdrawals proportionally adjust virtual and real balances.

Technical Details

Mooniswap operates on the Ethereum blockchain, utilizing virtual balances to mitigate slippage and enhance liquidity provider profitability. It also introduces native ETH support and on-chain price oracles.

Key technologies include:

  • Virtual Balances: Emulate different prices to capture slippage profits.
  • On-Chain Price Oracles: Provide volume-weighted average price data.
  • Native ETH Support: Allows direct ETH usage, reducing gas costs.

Mooniswap Tokenomics: Token Utility & Distribution

The whitepaper does not specify the tokenomics in detail but focuses on protocol functionalities and fee structures.

Key Mooniswap Characteristics

Mooniswap aligns with several core blockchain characteristics:

  • Decentralization: Operates on a decentralized protocol.
  • Anonymity and Privacy: Not specified.
  • Security: Utilizes Ethereum's established security protocols.
  • Transparency: Transaction and balance updates are on-chain and transparent.
  • Immutability: Transactions are immutable on the Ethereum blockchain.
  • Scalability: Not specified.
  • Supply Control: Not specified.
  • Interoperability: Integrates with existing Ethereum-based assets and protocols.

Glossary

  • Key Terms: Automated Market Maker, Virtual Balances, Arbitrage, Liquidity Providers, Slippage, Swap Fee, Price Oracle, Native ETH Support.
  • Other Terms: Constant Product Invariant, Decentralized Exchange, Weighted Pools, Gas Auctions, Time Decay, Front-Running, VWAP.

Part 2: Mooniswap Analysis, Explanation and Examples

Disclosure: This part may involve biased conclusions, external facts, and vague statements because it assumes not only the whitepaper but also the external knowledge. It maintains a conversational tone. Its purpose is to broaden understanding outside of the whitepaper and connect more dots by using examples, comparisons, and conclusions. We encourage you to confirm this information using the whitepaper or the project's official sources.

Mooniswap Whitepaper Analysis

The Mooniswap whitepaper provides a detailed technical explanation of its unique approach to improving liquidity provider profitability through virtual balances. It thoroughly explains the current limitations of existing AMM models and how Mooniswap seeks to address them.

The document appears to be free from significant errors or distortions. It clearly outlines the methodology, use cases, and technical details, providing a comprehensive understanding of Mooniswap's innovative approach.

What Mooniswap Is Like?

Non-crypto examples:

  • Stock Exchanges: Like traditional stock exchanges that charge fees for trades, Mooniswap charges swap fees but aims to optimize these fees for liquidity providers.
  • Investment Funds: Similar to how investment funds aim to maximize returns for investors, Mooniswap seeks to maximize returns for liquidity providers by capturing slippage profits.

Crypto examples:

  • Uniswap: Both are AMMs, but Mooniswap uses virtual balances to reduce slippage impact.
  • Balancer: Similar in providing liquidity pools, but Mooniswap's virtual balances aim at better profitability for liquidity providers.
  • Curve: Specializes in stablecoins, but Mooniswap's unique selling point is the virtual balances.

Mooniswap Unique Features & Key Concepts

  • Virtual Balances: Gradually adjust prices to capture arbitrage profits.
  • Native ETH Support: Directly use ETH, reducing gas fees.
  • On-Chain Price Oracles: Provide accurate and manipulation-resistant price data.
  • Increased Liquidity Provider Profits: By capturing slippage profits, Mooniswap offers higher earnings to liquidity providers.

Critical Analysis & Red Flags

Mooniswap addresses some significant challenges in existing AMMs by capturing slippage profits for liquidity providers. However, it may face potential challenges in adoption due to its complexity and the need for liquidity providers to understand its unique mechanism.

Red flags include the lack of detailed tokenomics and economic model in the whitepaper, which are crucial for understanding the full financial implications of the protocol.

Mooniswap Updates and Progress Since Whitepaper Release

  • Integration with 1inch.exchange: Mooniswap has been integrated into the 1inch DEX aggregator to enhance liquidity provision.

FAQs

  • What are virtual balances? Virtual balances simulate different prices for different trade directions to capture slippage profits.
  • How does Mooniswap reduce gas fees? By directly using native ETH instead of wrapped ETH, reducing gas usage.
  • What is the significance of on-chain price oracles? They provide accurate, volume-weighted average price data, resistant to manipulation.
  • How does Mooniswap benefit liquidity providers? By capturing slippage profits and reducing arbitrage opportunities, increasing their earnings.
  • What are the swap fees in Mooniswap? Initially set at 0.3%, with potential reductions to provide competitive pricing.

Takeaways

  • Innovative Virtual Balances: Mooniswap introduces virtual balances to capture slippage profits, enhancing liquidity provider earnings.
  • Native ETH Support: Direct ETH usage reduces gas fees, making transactions more efficient.
  • On-Chain Price Oracles: Provides accurate and manipulation-resistant pricing data.
  • Higher Liquidity Provider Profits: By redistributing slippage profits from arbitrageurs to liquidity providers, Mooniswap offers better profitability.

What's next?

For readers interested in learning more about Mooniswap or similar projects, exploring more technical documentation and community discussions is recommended.

We encourage readers to share their opinions and insights about Mooniswap in the discussion section to foster a collaborative understanding of its potential and challenges.

Metadata

  • Description: Mooniswap is a decentralized exchange protocol that uses virtual balances to enhance liquidity provider profitability by capturing slippage profits.
  • Categories: DEX, DeFi, Smart Contract.
  • Industries: Finance, Cybersecurity.

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