Trader Joe is a decentralized exchange, featuring its native JOE token. Currently, the project stands as one of the largest DeFi apps on the Avalanche blockchain.
In the Avalanche network's DeFi scene, Trader Joe stands 4th, trailing behind AAVE, Benqi, and GMX. As of this writing, the platform boasts a TVL of $53 million.
Trader Joe’s TVL. Source: defillama.com
Origin
Trader Joe embarked on its journey in 2021, a period witnessing the efflorescence of the DeFi landscape. A prevailing trend in the DeFi ecosystem is the penchant for anonymity, and Trader Joe's team and developers are no exception.
Limited public data on Crunchbase indicates that the Trader Joe company is headquartered and registered in Mexico.
Trader Joe's page on Crunchbase. Source: Cunchbase.com
Funding Rounds
Cryptorank data shows that Trader Joe conducted one major funding round, raising $5 million. Leading the investment were prominent cryptocurrency funds such as Three Arrows Capital (now defunct), Delphi Digital, Mechanism Capital, Avalaunch, and DeFiance Capital, among others.
During this seed round, 50 million JOE tokens (10% of the total cap) were sold at an average price of $0.1 each. Notably, since August 2021, the token's price has never dipped below the investors' purchase price. Considering the token's positive trend in 2021 and 2022 and the gradual release of coins over three years, this investment seems to have been quite fruitful.
Trader Joe funding rounds. Source: cryptorank.io
Trader Joe Platform Overview
The Trader Joe platform established itself as one of the DEX frontrunners on the Avalanche blockchain. By December 2021, its Total Value Locked (TVL) had soared to a whopping $2.5 billion!
As time progressed, the breadth of services offered by the exchange has considerably expanded, making it much more than your average decentralized platform. Today, Trader Joe stands tall as a pivotal DeFi hub, armed with a diverse array of features, such as:
- Token swaps across multiple networks including Avalanche, Arbitrum, BNB Chain, and Ethereum.
- Liquidity pools tailored for cryptocurrency farming, including tokens, synthetic assets, and stablecoins, all promising attractive annual returns.
- Opportunities to stake JOE and earn rewards.
- A built-in NFT marketplace, dubbed 'Joepegs', designed for creating, purchasing, and trading NFTs.
- A dedicated cross-chain bridge.
- A comprehensive cryptocurrency lending service.
Trader Joe key functional areas. Source: traderjoexyz.com
One of the standout features of the Trader Joe platform is its lucrative approach to stablecoin farming. Some pairings with USDC and USDT boast annual returns exceeding 100%. Such exceptional returns stem from Trader Joe's dominance in the liquidity pool space and the introduction of user-generated synthetic stablecoins, enhancing the liquidity pool.
Trader Joe liquidity pool stats and average yield insights. Source: traderjoexyz.com
The Platform’s Native Token JOE
The JOE token is multifaceted. It's integral to project governance as part of its DAO, acts as a staking medium, and is a promotional asset.
JOE stakers receive monthly dividends in the form of platform fees. At present, the monthly staking return rate is approximately 2%. Notably, there are 117 million JOE tokens (23% of its max supply) involved in the staking program.
JOE staking metrics. Source: traderjoexyz.com
JOE statistics (press time):
- Current price: $0.24
- Circulating supply: 341,400,000
- Total supply cap: 500,000,000
- Daily trading volume: $6 million
- ATH: $5.09
- ATL: $0.026.
JOE tokens can be purchased and traded on various exchanges like OKX, Mexc, Huobi, Gate, and Binance, among others. Additional exchanges can be found under the 'Markets' tab on CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap.
JOE's price dynamics over its trading history. Source: coingecko.com.
Final Words
Trader Joe stands as a compelling project, boasting an expansive infrastructure that can be tapped into within the Avalanche network across diverse DeFi sectors. The platform is autonomous, addressing the needs of both newcomers to the crypto realm and seasoned crypto aficionados.
Although Trader Joe offers lucrative farming opportunities, users should be cautious due to the limited liquidity of some trading pairs and the existence of synthetic DeFi tokens that tie to the values of other digital assets.
