The end of April marked this year’s Polka DeFiance event. The event annually brings together the crypto community to sync up on DeFi developments on Polkadot. As an active DeFi parachain of Polkadot, Equilibrium hosted the event.
Since last year’s conference the DeFi space has exploded — so there was a lot to touch on. Polka DeFiance invited leaders in the space, along with key players in the industry to participate in pertinent discussions on such developments.
The panels covered topics such as “Bootstrapping an Interoperable Ecosystem in Polkadot”, “How Polkadot Helps Bring DeFi to 1.3 Billion People”, and there was a remarkable panel “DeFi Emergence on EVM-Compatible Parachains” that brought together known thought leaders of the ecosystem. https://twitter.com/EquilibriumDeFi/status/1519342697265483776
This is exactly the panel we wanted to highlight.
Who?
This panel was moderated by Bill Laboon Head of Education and Grants at the Web3 Foundation based out of Zurich, Switzerland.
Panelists included:
- Maarten Henskens of the Astar Network — a Polkadot parachain network
- Nate Hamilton of Moonbeam — a Polkadot parachain network
- Niko Grzesiak of Firefly — a Polkadot supported DEX
- Erik Ashdown of Covalent — Moonbeam integrated, a unified API for blockchain visibility.
The 30-minute panel was dedicated to a series of questions on EVM- compatible parachain DeFi development.
DeFi + EVM-Compatible Parachains
As DeFi expands, more applications are built and ecosystems developed. Therefore as developers begin to seek out the right ecosystem for their protocols, it’s important to highlight and understand options on EVM-compatible parachains.
This knowledge will help developers build solutions and protocols faster, with quicker blockchain deployments.
Benefits of Development
The first question touched on the benefits of developing on an EVM-compatible parachain, as opposed to otherwise. Naturally, the answers related to familiarity and subsequently efficiency.
This includes the ability to reuse code preexisting code, a familiarity with the developing environment, and compatibility with other tools and ecosystems. Moreover, all of these features serve as a gateway for new users to an ecosystem.
Parachain Differences
Now, the core mission of parachains may be similar — interoperability and the expansion of development capabilities. However, each one is unique in its own special way, even if they both support EVM. The panel touched on some of the main differences.
For example:
- Astar is equipped with additional Wasm smart contracts.
- Moonbeam focuses on total Ethereum compatibility.
Polkadot vs Other Chains
Another important question dug into the differences of building on Polkadot versus other open source blockchain platforms. This question is so relevant as Polkadot becomes more recognized throughout the DeFi space as a scalable, reliable network for development.
While many comparisons can surely be drawn, the thing to highlight with Polkadot is the ever-expanding network capabilities. There is this inherent possibility for developers to go deeper or do more than just EVM-compatible chains. Polkadot encourages creation and innovation, while providing an entry point to more traditional ecosystems.
DeFi on Polkadot
Lastly, after all the development and capability talk, the panel touched on the current state of DeFi in the Polkadot ecosystem.
The main takeaway being that DeFi on Polkadot is still in its early days. Full tech stack is just now coming live. Moreover, XCM becoming active has the potential to reveal what can be achieved with cross-chain communications. Ultimately this will help differentiate Polkadot even more from other ecosystems in the industry.
The entire panel is available to rewatch at any time. If you missed any more of the action check out our YouTube channel for the recaps!
About Equilibrium
Equilibrium is a one-stop DeFi platform on Polkadot that allows for high leverage in trading and borrowing digital assets. It combines a full-fledged money market with an orderbook-based DEX. EQ is the native utility token that is used for communal governance of Equilibrium. xDOT is a liquid and tradeable wrapped DOT that unlocks liquidity of DOT locked in parachain auctions and delivers multiple crowdloan bonuses on Polkadot.
Join Equilibrium on Telegram, News Channel, Twitter, Medium, Website, GitHub
Polka DeFiance: Developing DeFi on EVM- Compatible Parachains was originally published in Equilibrium on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
