Partnership Deep Dive - Occam Finance

MELD has seen explosive engagement over the last year with its ISPO launch through to its vision of banking the 2 billion individuals currently unbanked and the plethora of services it aims to offer them. Navigating such a technically complex and political landscape however brings about its challenges. To help with this, MELD has been cultivating strategic partners in order to facilitate their vision and unify the ecosystem.

Here I break down some of these incredibly exciting partnerships.

There are many new to the crypto space since the last Bitcoin halving which occurred in May 2020. According to Statista.com, there has been an increase of blockchain wallets worldwide from approximately 50 million in May 2020, to around 81 million in Feb 2022 - that’s around a 62% increase in 21 months since the halving. This halving event occurs every 4 years and halves the amount of Bitcoin miners can earn, creating a supply shock and triggers, which many believe, the start of price appreciation known as the bull run. 

Although the crypto space in general is young and continuing to evolve with new and innovative solutions emerging for all sorts of problems, many who have been in the space from the beginning will have an excellent grasp of the terminology, DeFi and generally how projects operate. Many new to the space however may be bewildered and overwhelmed by the cacophony of information available and, through no fault of their own, many content creators, including myself, may take it for granted that their audience understand certain aspects associated with the crypto space.  

Airdrop, Oracle, Nodes, DIDs and “Launchpad” are but a few of the crypto terms you may come across when researching crypto. If you are relatively new to the space it can be a bit daunting and possibly off-putting when you only understand a certain percentage of what is being discussed. My advice, persevere and take in a little at a time. There is so much going on in this space that is constantly evolving, and no one video or article can dissect every detail of the abundance of what is going on in the crypto sphere. So take it slow and  enjoy learning at a steady pace and always DYOR (Do Your Own Research)!       

So what is a Launchpad? One may offer a reasonable guess, alluding to the name, that it's a platform where things take off. But what exactly does it offer and why? Here I break down what a launchpad is and delve into the ecosystem of Occam Finance, a strategic MELD partner. A launchpad in the crypto-sphere offers numerous blockchain-based projects a platform to raise capital from early investors. It is a decentralized environment where projects benefit from a large group of interested investors, and investors who benefit from being able to invest early into a potentially promising startup. The environment in which this is made possible offers security to both parties. Investors are vetted through Know Your Customer (KYC) and founders of projects are also heavily vetted by the launchpad team. The result is a community of crypto investors and enthusiasts mutually benefiting each other - all in a decentralized way. In addition to being a meetup to join investors with projects, launchpads may offer a suite of decentralized financial solutions, such as tools for decentralized exchanges and liquidity pools.

Occam Finance

Occam Finance is made up of three components each delivering a unique layer to its ever-expanding ecosystem.

• OccamRazer 
• OccamX  
• OccamDAO 

OccamRazer

OccamRazer is the name given to Occam Finance’s launchpad, linking investors with projects. It offers projects a dynamic set of customisable fundraising tools that mitigate traditional fundraising shortcomings such as volatility, whale accumulation, and front-running.   

OccamRazer platform was launched in April 2021 which made available its OCC token, a multi-faceted digital asset, meaning it will play an important role in the ecosystem such as with OccamX and OccamDAO. 

When first launched, Occam Finance launched its OCC tokens on the Ethereum blockchain as ERC20 tokens but very shortly afterward released the Ethereum-Cardano bridge, acting as a liquidity corridor, and bringing users all the benefits that Cardano has to offer, one being incredibly cheap transaction costs. Furthermore, Ethereum users are exposed to the Cardano ecosystem.

The OccamRazer launchpad offers a unique structure in how participants can earn tokens from promising startups also referred to as Initial Dex Offerings (IDO). An IDO is the sale of newly launched tokens via a decentralized mechanism ensuring transparency and equal access opportunities. The IDO mechanism carries many benefits, such as programmability of fundraising parameters, maximum allocation, and investment time-frames - all while being transparent and fair. 

In a scheme called Continuous Ecosystem Diversification (CED), an investor gains access to this scheme providing they stake at least 150 OCC tokens. Depending on certain parameters such as the amount staked and whether project participation is private or public, investors earn a project’s token simply by staking their OCC without the need to purchase them directly. Not all projects launched on OccamRazer are affiliated with the CED scheme, however, any project on their platform that carries the green CED tab on the project’s registration page is eligible. A tiered system is in place where the more OCC you stake the higher the rewards and chances you’ll get to participate in a given project. 

OccamX

Since the launch of the Cardano mainnet, Occam Finance has been working on creating a competitive AMM-based DEX with Cardano’s technology advantages. Built on Milkomeda, a layer-2 protocol bringing Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) capabilities to non-EVM blockchains, OccamX will also be a hub for providing cross-chain liquidity. In simple terms, it will bring the capability to trade Ethereum-based assets with Cardano-based assets such as an ADA/ETH pair and their native tokens, something that hasn’t been possible before. The DEX token is OCX with holders entitled to numerous benefits including, lower transaction fees for swaps and higher interest payout for providing liquidity.   

OccamDAO

OccamDAO is a decentralized autonomous organization, powered by the community, with the capability to govern the ecosystem in a decentralized way. As the community grows and development continues, the ecosystem will evolve and continue to shape the future of Occam Finance. 

MELD x Occam Finance Partnership 

In September 2021 MELD announced a partnership with Occam.Fi where it was announced that OccamX will be gaining access to the MELD vaults allowing users to swap their tokens for MELD. Another promising developmental integration allows MELD wallets to integrate with Occam Finance products and services. MELD will also be providing liquidity which will reduce slippage and increase MELD exposure not just to people within the Cardano ecosystem but also those from Ethereum. 

The liquidity that OccamX’s cross-chain bridge may bring into the Cardano ecosystem may accelerate monumental growth and with the ecosystem still in early development, these promising early-day collaborations are not one to miss.