A Year in Recap
For this end-of-the-year recap, we decided to focus on sharing more about our story, from our beginnings to the process of building our product during one of the toughest periods in the market.
2023 will end up in the history books as the end of the longest bear market of crypto and the year when Struct Finance was born.
We take advantage of the end of the year to reflect on our story so far, sharing interesting insights on the conception of Struct, our major milestones for the year, and how we’ve overcome several challenges along this path.
Without further ado.
Here’s what a year of Struct looks like.
Humble Beginnings
Struct Finance emerges as a tale of serendipity and shared dreams.
It began in a VC accelerator from three visionaries who shared the vision of creating their own DeFi protocol. What started as an online conversation eventually blossomed into a deep partnership fostered by a shared belief in the transformative power of blockchain technology and the mutual ambition to innovate in the DeFi space.
Our journey took a significant leap when we participated in two virtual hackathons, from Wintermute and Chainlink. During these challenges we met what eventually became other core team members, each coming from different corners of the globe, in a truly decentralized spirit.
The dedication and synergy brought fruits, in the form of a 3rd and 4th place in these hackathons. These were not only self-standing achievements but gave us the necessary conviction of the potential for what we were building.
The momentum from the hackathons propelled the team into a successful fundraising round. This milestone culminated in the AVAX conference in Barcelona, where for the first time, our team members met in person and we were able to celebrate our successful fundraising round.
Building through a Bear Market
The subsequent market crashes — Luna, 3AC, and FTX — brought the crypto world to its knees.
Yet, 2023 was a year of significant development for Struct.
An obvious highlight was our mainnet launch in June, amidst the bear market’s trough.
Building through a bear market is not an easy feat.
The uncertain market conditions posed unprecedented challenges for the development of our product, including investors’ confidence at an all-time low.
Despite unfavorable market conditions, our team has displayed remarkable resilience concentrating on our product development as the best way to unlock new use cases for DeFi users.
Finally, in Q2 2023, Struct Finance launched its first GLP-based USDC-USDC vaults.
The vaults were filled within record time, and the response from our users was clear: there is a strong need for DeFi products that cater to the individual risk and reward preferences of users.
The one-size-fits-all approach is no longer valid, given the increasing complexity of the landscape and sophistication of DeFi investors.
Only 6 weeks later we launched our BTC.B vaults, offering an avenue to unlock yields on more than $150m of BTC.B sitting on Avalanche.
This proved to be a timely addition, as Bitcoin price reclaimed $30k, boosting returns of our Variable Tranche up to 200%.
Within the rapidly shifting landscape, Struct Finance has continued to develop a series of vaults that perform differently across different market conditions.
Here’s some aggregate data on our vaults:
Across the year, we launched over 58 vaults, across 9 markets divided as follows:
BTCB_BTCB: 19
USDC_USDC: 22
BTCB_USDC: 13
BTCB_WETH: 4
Struct managed achieved an impressive Total Value Locked (TVL) of $2.6m in TVL, with an all-time high of over $3.32m in USD, reaching the top 15 DeFi protocols in Avax and showcasing the robustness of the protocol.
This period was marked by learning, innovation, and the relentless pursuit of building a platform that could withstand the dynamics and flows of the crypto markets.
As our primary objective was the introduction of fixed yields within DeFi, we are also proud to share that all of our Vaults in 2023 have guaranteed users between 8–9% APR on the fixed side of our vaults, which might explain why the slight majority of users prefer them to the more risky variable side.
This also confirmed our initial hypothesis of leveraging these tools to offer returns that would at least partially offset the inflation plaguing most countries nowadays.
During this time, Struct Finance has continued to refine the products that would complement our GLP vaults. As part of our roadmap, 2023 will finalize the testing phase for our next product: the Trader Joe’s (TJ) auto-pool vaults.
Auto-pool vaults perform differently than our GLP vaults, as they perform better in range trading environments, where there is not too much volatility.
Furthermore, Auto-pool vaults greatly simplify the active management of active positions
Overcoming Challenges
As if building during a bear market wasn’t enough, our team also came across some operational challenges concerning our vaults.
One of the major challenges faced by Struct was the unforeseen issues with GMX GLP Vaults.
In fact, due to GMX transitioning their liquidity from V1 to V2, two of our vaults were impacted.
- Term 4th October — 29th of November
2. Term 7th October — 2nd of December
Combined with the recent market outlook, pushing the majority of traders to be bullish and opening long positions, the liquidity migration had maxed out the GLP reserves, halting withdrawals on our vaults.
For some time, instead of maturing and getting withdrawn, the funds remained in GLP and were exposed to market volatility.
The issue was eventually resolved over the next couple of days, allowing the withdrawals of the funds affected.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused. Struct Finance will use treasury funds to compensate for any discrepancy between current APRs and the APRs at maturity.
This situation required a delicate balancing act of transparency, regular updates, and a commitment to finding fair solutions.
Thanks to the unwavering support from the GMX team and a focus on equitable treatment of users, Struct successfully navigated these challenges, further solidifying the trust of its community.
Final Thoughts
This year flew by — time flies when you build.
Aside from our product development and TVL, the Struct team had an incredible year of constant learning. This solidified our experience and commitment to surviving a bear market and even going beyond it by establishing a new DeFi primitive and a fervent global community of enthusiasts.
This is not only a tale of tech success, it encompasses the path that we have walked until now, as well as serving as a testament to our unwavering commitment to keep building in DeFi.
This approach will be reflected by our product releases in 2024, focusing on building a strong suite of products that can perform well in any market conditions, allowing our users to leverage any of them depending on the market volatility.
GLP vaults for bullish momentum, TJ vaults for range trading.
Reflecting on this remarkable journey, Struct extends its deepest gratitude to every individual and entity that has been a part of their story.
From investors and ecosystem partners to community and team members, every contribution has been invaluable.
As Struct steps into 2024, the team is fueled by a sense of maturity, wisdom, and a deep hunger for innovation. The experience gained over the past years has prepared us for an exciting future filled with novel opportunities.
The upcoming TJ integration is just the beginning.
With a clearer understanding of market trends and ecosystem needs, we have much more to come for the next year, including a few gifts planned for our loyal supporters.
Our journey thus far is a testament to the power of passion, resilience, and collaboration.
Here’s to a future where Struct continues to innovate, inspire, and lead in the dynamic world of DeFi.
