The Step Ecosystem: A Deep Dive
As the Solana Network continues to expand and attain new heights, it has become increasingly difficult for its users to:
- Keep track of all their activities on the network
- Monitor the current state and performance of the network
- Stay up-to-date with all the happenings and trends across the network
- Establish meaningful connections with other users of the network
In this article, we will take a deep dive into the ecosystem that is helping Solana users tackle these challenges with the aid of its unique brands and products 👇
Introduction to Step
Step, which is also known as the “Front Page of Solana”, is an ecosystem that was created to greatly improve the user experience on the Solana network by providing users with:
- Valuable insights into all their activities on the network
- Real-time data on the state and performance of the network
- Useful information on the happenings and trends across the network
- Platforms that enable them to establish meaningful connections with other users of the network
It was founded in 2021 by George Harrap and Aaronov, both of whom have extensive experience as builders in the crypto space.
Step consists of various interrelated products and sub-brands that make up its ecosystem:
- Step Finance
- Step Analytics
- Step DAO
- Solana Floor
- Solana Crossroads
- Step Data Insights
- Solana Allstars
- The Next Billion
Let’s analyze each of these products/sub-brands below:
1.) STEP FINANCE:
Step Finance is a platform that provides its users with comprehensive data insights about their on-chain activity across the Solana ecosystem once they connect their wallet address to the platform.
Step Finance covers about 95% of the Solana Ecosystem and has over 2.4 Million Unique Users (including 51,000+ Monthly Active Users).
It also includes features that enable users to carry out on-chain actions such as staking, sending, and swapping tokens.
Let’s take a look at some of the features of Step Finance:
i.) Dashboard:
The dashboard is the main feature of Step Finance that allows its users to monitor all their open positions (on the connected wallet address) across the Solana ecosystem from one place.
The first section of the dashboard provides users with a complete overview of their assets with the aid of a colourful pie chart.
It also shows an overview of their last five transactions and the “Step Reward Options” that they might possibly qualify for.
The remaining sections of the dashboard also provide users with valuable insights about their on-chain activity such as:
- Token balances across Spot and Yield-Bearing Assets
- Open Orders and Unsettled Balances across Decentralized Exchanges
- Standard and Concentrated Liquidity Positions across various Liquidity Pools
- Staking Positions across Single Assets and NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens)
- Yield Farming Positions across different Platforms
- Vault Positions across different Platforms
- Margin Trading Positions across different Assets
- Total Amount Borrowed and Supplied across different Assets
With access to all the available insights on the dashboard, users of Step Finance can make more informed investment decisions and also manage their positions better.
ii.) Swap:
This is another feature of Step Finance that enables its users to perform swaps (a process of exchanging one token for another) directly on the platform.
The swaps on Step Finance are powered by the famous Jupiter Exchange and users are always provided with a detailed breakdown of each swap beforehand.
iii.) Transaction History:
The transaction history feature enables Step Finance users to view the details of all their transactions (on the connected wallet address) across the Solana ecosystem over the last few days.
Users also have the option of viewing a more detailed breakdown of their transactions across a wider timeframe by subscribing to a paid tier of Step Finance.
iv.) NFT Gallery:
The NFT Gallery feature enables Step Finance users to get an overview of all their NFTs (on the connected wallet address) across the Solana ecosystem.
Users can also get more information (Description, Attributes, etc.) on each NFT by clicking the “View Details” button.
v.) Stake:
This is a useful feature of Step Finance that enables its users to stake (a process of locking up tokens to earn yield) their STEP tokens and receive xSTEP tokens in return.
STEP is the native token of the Step Finance ecosystem, while xSTEP is a yield-bearing token that enables STEP stakers to earn additional STEP at a specified APR (Annual Percentage Rate).
STEP FINANCE URL: https://www.step.finance/
2.) STEP ANALYTICS:
Step Analytics is a platform that builds upon the extensive data integration of Step to provide specific data for the Solana ecosystem.
Step Analytics enables its users to easily visualize key metrics, analyze DeFi (Decentralized Finance) performance, and also aggregate transactions across Solana.
The “Home” page of Step Analytics gives an overview of the top 10 tokens across the Solana ecosystem (with respect to price increase) in the last 24 hours.
It also shows the total amount of liquidity present in the ecosystem and the amount of fees earned by the top Solana protocols in the last 24 hours.
The “DeFi on Solana” page provides users with a complete overview of the top “On-Chain Markets” (with respect to fees earned in the last 24 hours) and the top “Farms” (with respect to APY) across the Solana ecosystem.
The “Solana Performance” page shows how the Solana Network has performed across different key metrics mostly over the last 24 hours.
It also shows other metrics like the number of active wallets, new token accounts, new SPL tokens, and new NFTs created on the Solana Network in the last 24 hours.
With access to all of these metrics, users of Step Analytics will always have a complete idea about the current state of the Solana Network and use it to make more informed decisions.
STEP ANALYTICS URL: https://www.analytics.step.finance/
3.) STEP DAO:
The Step DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) is a vibrant community where members and other users of the larger Solana ecosystem can participate in technical & non-technical bounties created to benefit products and brands in the Step ecosystem.
Bounties listed on Step DAO have specific criteria and guidelines that interested participants are required to follow judiciously. The winners of the bounties are usually selected based on merit and rewards are paid in STEP tokens.
STEP DAO URL: https://www.stepdao.org/
4.) SOLANA FLOOR:
The Solana Floor platform is split into two major sections:
i.) The News Website
ii.) The NFT Data Analytics Platform
The Solana Floor News Website is the go-to place for Solana users to stay up-to-date with all the latest news and happenings across the Solana ecosystem.
Aside from the news section, it also contains other sections such as:
- Events: Provides details about all the upcoming physical events in the Solana ecosystem
- Prices: Shows the top-performing Solana DeFi tokens and NFT collections in the last 24 hours
- Newsletters: Provides details and Sign-up links of the top newsletters in the Solana ecosystem
The Solana Floor NFT Data Analytics Platform is the largest of its kind across the Solana ecosystem. It provides users with a complete overview of the entire Solana NFT market in one place.
This platform is particularly useful for Solana NFT enthusiasts who can make use of all the available information to make better investment decisions.
NEWS WEBSITE URL: https://www.solanafloor.com/
NFT DATA ANALYTICS URL: https://www.analytics.solanafloor.com/
5.) SOLANA CROSSROADS:
Solana Crossroads is the largest Solana community conference with over 3000 attendees that is held every year in Istanbul, Turkey.
The conference provides the perfect opportunity for Solana users to build meaningful connections and also collaborate with the brightest minds in the Solana ecosystem.
The details for this year’s conference which comes up on May 10–11 2024 can be found on the “Home” page of the Solana Crossroads website.
The program agenda and speakers for this year’s conference can also be found on the “Program” and “Speakers” pages of the website respectively.
If you are interested in attending this year’s conference, you can refer to the ticket booking URL in the section below 👇
SOLANA CROSSROADS WEBSITE URL: https://www.solanacrossroads.com/
TICKET BOOKING URL: https://get-in.com/en/crossroads
6.) STEP DATA INSIGHTS:
Step Data Insights is the only on-chain data insights newsletter that caters specifically to the Solana ecosystem.
It currently has over 1000 subscribers and it is primarily focused on providing interesting data points from across DeFi, Markets, NFTs, etc. that help to keep its subscribers informed about “what the data says”.
STEP DATA INSIGHTS NEWSLETTER: https://stepdata.substack.com/
7.) SOLANA ALLSTARS:
Solana Allstars is a physical meetup that holds twice a month in various cities across the world. It is focused on educating and introducing new users to the Solana ecosystem (and the Allstars partner products).
Solana Allstars recently clocked a remarkable milestone of 6000+ attendees across all the meetups that have been conducted so far. This number is only set to rise as more meetups have already been planned for this year.
This achievement is a testament to the strength of the larger Solana community and the impact that Solana Allstars is having with respect to onboarding new users into the Solana ecosystem globally.
SOLANA ALLSTARS TWITTER PAGE: https://twitter.com/SolanaAllstars
8.) THE NEXT BILLION:
The Next Billion is a podcast hosted by George Harrap (Step’s Co-Founder) that focuses on telling the stories of the builders and entrepreneurs who are onboarding the next billion people into crypto.
The importance of such stories can’t be overstated as they can potentially inspire the next generation of builders and entrepreneurs in the crypto space.
THE NEXT BILLION YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/@The_NextBillion
How It All Comes Together
The different products and sub-brands in the Step ecosystem (that we have analyzed so far) all work together to help Solana users tackle all the challenges highlighted earlier:
- Step Finance provides users with valuable insights that help them keep track of all their activities on the network
- Step Analytics provides users with real-time data that can help them monitor the current state of the network
- Solana Floor and Step Data Insights both provide users with useful information that helps them stay up-to-date with happenings and trends on the network
- Solana Crossroads, Solana Allstars, and Step DAO all provide users with platforms that can help them establish meaningful connections with other users of the network
The Next Billion also provides an additional benefit by documenting important stories that can inspire users of the network who are also builders and entrepreneurs.
With all of these, the user experience on the Solana Network is greatly improved across the board thanks to the interrelation between all the products and sub-brands in the Step ecosystem.
My Thoughts
With the Solana Network at the forefront of the upcoming crypto bull market, the Step ecosystem is set to play a crucial role in ensuring that Solana maintains its position at the top.
I am particularly excited about all the platforms in the Step ecosystem that enable Solana users to connect with one another, as community building will be vital in ensuring that the Step ecosystem can live up to this role.
The Step ecosystem is set to expand and gain more ground moving forward and I can’t wait to see all the new products that will join its ecosystem in the future.
Roundup
So that’s a wrap for this article that has covered the various products and sub-brands that make up the Step ecosystem in-depth 🔥
If you would like to start exploring the Step ecosystem for yourself, you can visit the link below to get started right away:
If you also found this article helpful, you can share it with others to help spread the word about the Step ecosystem.
Thank You.
