Garden Finance in September 2024: A Retrospective for Those Who Missed
September 2024 was objectively a busy month for Garden Finance. I think $BTC was greener on the Garden side.
Garden, the trustless bridge for Bitcoin hodlers looking to migrate their $BTC to different ecosystems for various DeFi purposes at a cheaper and faster rate (under 10 minutes), made a series of impressive updates that spurred excitement among Bitcoin enthusiasts.
The updates included an enhancement to its offerings and new partnerships, all aiming to make $BTC easier to gain access to, improve cross-chain transactions, and provide lots more opportunities for users to generate yield on their $BTC holdings.
Let me walk you through the green milestones.
- Staking Rewards were Switched to $BTC.
Yes, you read that right. When you stake on Garden, you will earn $BTC as a reward.
In response to community feedback, the protocol announced a new governance proposal (GIP-002) aimed at switching staking rewards from the native token, $SEED, to Bitcoin (BTC).
The proposal was put to a community vote and was passed in favour of BTC. Unsurprisingly, it has since improved the happiness index of the community members. Who doesn’t want free $BTC?
2. TestnetBTC was Launched
For those working on Bitcoin layer-2 solutions (L2s) or wrapped Bitcoin assets, Garden Finance launched TestnetBTC to facilitate easier access to testnet Bitcoin.
The new platform allows developers to source canonical testnet assets, as interoperability becomes streamlined between the applications on testnets.
Unreliable peer-to-peer sellers or other inefficient acquisition methods can now be discarded, given that TestnetBTC provides free, easily obtainable synthetic Bitcoin for testing purposes.
As a developer who is building on top of Bitcoin, you should be able to reach out to Garden if you want to add up your testnet assets.
3. Partnership with dlcBTC
One of the most exciting developments in activity-packed September was Garden Finance’s partnership with dlcBTC. This collaboration allows users to execute lightning-fast swaps from native Bitcoin to dlcBTC in under 10 minutes.
It’s almost as if Garden is synonymous with speedy transactions related to Bitcoin, at this point.
dlcBTC combines the security of Bitcoin Layer 1 with the benefits of decentralized finance. And, for BTC hodlers, this partnership unlocks new possibilities, including quick transitions between holding Bitcoin and generating yield, as well as lending/providing liquidity, among other DeFi strategies.
4. Garden Season 3 Rewards
September also marked the unlocking of Garden Finance’s Season 3 rewards, available for users to claim here.
This was followed by the community’s milestone of reaching $800 million in total transaction volume, achieved as of the 18th of September, 2024.
5. Garden was at Token2049
Garden Finance has also been actively engaging with the broader blockchain community. As part of their full-on presence at Token 2049 in Singapore, Garden Finance teamed up with Monad for a run club event.
The latter, to celebrate the event and appreciate participants, also released exclusive merchandise, including T-shirts.
The ease that comes with switching back and forth between Bitcoin and DeFi yield strategies appeals particularly to anyone who is looking to maximize their BTC potential without compromising security or losing custody of the currency.
You can easily access these functionalities via the Garden Finance swap platform, available here.
Now, looking forward, Garden Finance remains committed to improving its user experience (UX) and expanding its capabilities. The team is already preparing to release a new version of its platform, featuring a faster Bitcoin bridge, additional assets, and a software development kit aimed at attracting more builders involved in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Funtober is already feeling funky with a sequence of organic cooking by both the Garden team and all Gardeners. Even during the publicly supposed off-season, BTC is still being traded in the Garden protocol in under half a minute, with 30 BTC traded in a single day. One user recently hit the 20 BTC daily limit. Funtober is just getting started.
To keep the heat churning, Garden Finance has been hosting townhall meetings on Twitter/X with esteemed guests. Tune in to them, such as those from dlcBTC here.
For more details, join the Garden community on social media and learn more about the protocol via its blog and website.
