Algem, or How to Eat Your ASTR Cake and Have it Too

Algem is the leading Liquid staking DeFi dApp on top of Astar Network. It’s currently the 3rd ranking dApp in Astar network in terms of unique active wallets and the 8th Astar’s dApps in terms of total value locked. 

Algem’s Community:

Algem’s keeping a good, steady pace in terms of its community involvement with $1 million in monthly transactions in November alone, and a stable number of UAW as well. Here are some helpful links where you can join Algem’s vibrant community:

• Github
• Twitter 
• Telegram 
• Discord 
• Blog 
• Medium 

Algem is developed on two main features offering different solutions for users to stay liquid with their assets (ASTR and other tokens):

• Liquid staking
• Liquid lending 

Liquid Staking 

Here’s our helpful guide on what liquid staking is and why it is so popular in DeFi.

For starters, liquid staking, just as staking in general, is exclusive to Proof-of-Stake blockchains. But unlike the usual staking, where the lockup funds are basically frozen, liquid staking provides an opportunity for users to continue using their staked funds in the form of liquid stake tokens. 

In other words, Liquid staking solves the illiquidity problem in PoS. It’s also widely considered as the easiest and the most profitable way to earn profit in PoS networks – it’s liquid money with illiquid benefits! 

Algem is the most prominent liquid staking solution for Astar. By using Algem you can stake your ASTR tokens and get a proportionate amount of nASTR tokens in exchange on a 1:1 basis, which can then be traded and utilized in the same use-cases as ASTR. 

Algem also provides multiple staking, varying in duration and reward weight: the longer the duration, the more rewards the vault and its users will get. Staking with Algem also gives users access to Algem Governance Tokens, ALGM, based on their shares in the vault.

According to the vision of the project team, eventually, instead of the direct lending/farming on dApps users will be able to supply ASTR through Aglem and additionally get nASTR and ALGM as an incentive reward.

ALGM Token

Following Astar Network’s values, Algem doesn’t have its governance tokens readily available for sale to the community. ALGMs are only distributed to users and supporters of the project via token locks and through airdrops.

Liquid lending (or advanced Yield farming)

Another breakthrough service by Algrem is Liquid lending. It uses a similar mechanism as liquid staking but instead of staking cryptocurrency to secure the network, users lend it to DeFi dApps in exchange for interest and other rewards.

This type of farming liquidity usually implies significant returns but proportionally involves more risks than staking. The risk there is obviously a failure of a protocol which you chose to lend to.

Similarly to liquid staking, you pick your vault based on their lockup duration, return percent and reward incentives. Next, you select the dApp that you want to supply your ASTR tokens to. Once you’ve made your choice, your ASTR tokens go to the dApp you’ve selected and you start earning farming rewards.

And the best part is that while your staked ASTR tokens are busy making you money, you can keep using your equivalent liquid amount of tokens in nASTR to do all sorts of things, as well as getting other bonuses on Polkadot and beyond. 

Liquid lending also obviously grants you ALGM, Algem governance tokens as incentive.

That’s too many benefits to overlook!