Addressing the Gaps in Defi Development
The problems that go unmet in Ethereum Defi, and the solution for developers.
The Problem: Data Availability
The Ethereum Defi ecosystem is in the midst of zenith that began towards the end of 2018 and has stayed strong through the new year. The emergence of new dapps and the success of longer-standing ones like Compound signal the growing appetite among customers for the benefits of defi, including lower barriers to entry, permissionless entry, and entirely new forms of wealth creation.
The issue for both the developers behind these dapps and users attempting to maximize their return is the lack of substantial, trustworthy, and easily-accessible data on historical protocol performance — including risk, illiquidity, adoption, and community growth.
The result is a strange contradiction: the transparency of defi protocols on Ethereum — one of the more attractive value propositions of a public database — is actually not available due to the difficulty of data availability.
The Solution: A Defi-Specific API
Alethio has been addressing the problem of data availability through a series of analytical case studies and visualizations created by our data scientists, and through the release of our general API, which provides developers with access to raw Ethereum data.
Specific to the defi ecosystem, however, Alethio has released its Defi API, which aims specifically to make defi data more immediately accessible to developers. The problem for developers seeking defi data currently is the challenge of decoding different contracts from a variety of different protocols. Moreover, when protocols are updated, those smart contracts need to be individually maintained. The work is too cumbersome to be sufficiently scaled with the current pace of the defi ecosystem.
Enter the Alethio Defi API. Our API currently supports 7 protocols and 19 assets — with more to come as we continue building out functionality. The protocols include: MakerDAO, Compound Finance, dYdX, bZx, DDEX, Aave, & Lendf.Me. Supported assets include: ETH, DAI, SAI, USDC, BAT, ZRX, REP, WBTC, KNC, LINK, USDT, SUSD, SNX, MKR, LEND, MANA, IMBTC, USDX, TUSD.
The Defi API allows developers to obtain direct access to historical & snapshot interest rate data, collateral ratio, assets locked and asset price feeds, significantly reducing the data availability issue currently plaguing the ecosystem.
What Can You Build?
So, what can you build with the defi API? Above is a network graph showing the relationship of user addresses between defi protocols. We see significant communities in Uniswap, Compound, and Augur. A considerable overlap in users occurs between Uniswap and Compound, and the number of people interacting with more than 2 protocols (represented by red dots) is a significant portion of the graph.
This data can be compiled, verified, and visualized with the Alethio Defi API, providing performance insight and user behavior analysis to developers and users alike.
Check out the Defi API docs here or get started immediately by generating your key:
developers.aleth.io
To learn more about our solutions, visit aleth.io, and check out our newsletter for weekly forays into Ethereum analytics.
Transparency to the blockchain!
