“The Year of ElkNet”: Elk’s Outlook for 2022
Elk’s blueprint for becoming a major player for cross-chain infrastructure in 2022.
Baal, the Founder of Elk Finance, took to Twitter shortly after New Year’s to share a remarkable tweetstorm laying out Elk’s blueprint for becoming a major player in the prized cross-chain infrastructure sector in 2022. You can read the original thread here, but we’ve compiled the key takeaways below and added some additional links to help alpha seekers connect the dots on where we’re heading.
Progress to Date (2021 Recap)
Elk Finance officially launched on Avalanche March 19, 2021. It wasn’t until the beta release of ElkNet at the end of June, however, that Elk’s radical cross-chain vision really came into view, which means that Elk as a project with a working product is just six months old.
We’ve made incredible strides since then–expanding to 16 chains as of this writing, and introducing myriad product upgrades along the way–but for a basic primer on ElkNet and how it functions, the original release article, “A Closer Look at ElkNet,” still provides a great explanation of the simple but powerful design architecture behind the multi-layered Elk ecosystem, all of which is powered by the $ELK token. (It’s worth repeating for emphasis: $ELK is so much more than a mere farming or governance token; it forms the very lifeblood of the Elk ecosystem).
In that same six-month timeframe, we’ve deployed over 130 farms across the 16 networks we currently service, all of which benefit from our popular Impermanent Loss Protection (ILP) program, a benefit that rewards our long-term liquidity providers with coverage against price divergence in their underlying assets. We’ve also released sold-out collections of our utility-bearing Moose NFTs on six chains, which unlock multiple benefits within the Elk ecosystem now and into the future.
As we turn toward 2022, the road ahead is full of major upgrades and product releases, which collectively will propel Elk to a strategic position as a leading hub for cross-chain traffic throughout the entire cryptosphere. Let’s take a look…
Elk’s Roadmap for 2022
With all that’s in store, we anticipate that 2022 will be the year of ElkNet. Last year, we demonstrated the basic technology as a proof-of-concept; this year, we plan to unlock its full potential. For a solid overview of some of the forthcoming use cases for ElkNet beyond simple bridging functions, we recommend reading the feature article, “Beyond the Bridge: Exploring Use Cases for the Elk Network.”
In short, ElkNet will support multiple use cases on top of $ELK transfers: cross-chain swaps are coming, as well as cross-chain contract calls, and seamless integration with oracles. We have several applications already in the pipeline, including our new stablecoin $CHFT. In the near future, you can also expect faster cross-chain transfers, lower fees, gasless transfers, and a cool new SDK (more on that further down).
Starting in Q2, the ElkNet will also become a fully decentralized peer-to-peer cross-chain network. ElkNet nodes are coming, which will allow users to stake $ELK and contribute to the distributed security of the network. In terms of an investment outlook, we plan to reward our node operators handsomely. The details will be shared closer to the release date, but 100%+ APRs for running a node can be assumed. We are aiming for hundreds to thousands of ElkNet nodes to be in operation by the end of 2022, making ElkNet the first truly decentralized cross-chain protocol.
In terms of network development, we plan on adding many more chains in 2022. From the outset, we have embraced an everywhere strategy. We may not know yet what the multi-chain landscape will look like a year from now, but rest assured Elk will be there. In short, we plan to be on every chain. That means Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Optimism. It also means a ton of smaller chains, as well as non-EVM chains (Solana, Terra, Cardano, etc.), which are slated for later this year. Expect us anywhere we can run smart contracts!
ElkNet’s capabilities will be gradually exposed through our SDK, which will allow developers to build cross-chain dApps that make use of proxy tokens–virtualized assets that can move freely across any network within the Elk ecosystem. Some of the potential use cases for ElkNet include cross-chain loans, multi-chain index tokens, cross-chain LPs, cross-chain DAOs, wallet integrations, and more.
We don’t plan to build all of these applications ourselves; rather, we are engineering the robust and flexible cross-chain framework that will give community and enterprise-level developers an easy way to design and implement novel “multichain native” applications that leverage ElkNet. With proxy tokens and the SDK, Elk will evolve into a mature ecosystem.
More Features Coming in 2022
Again, we’re just scratching the surface of what’s in the pipeline for 2022. Here are just some of the other upcoming features to look forward to:
Bridging-as-a-Service: One exciting feature that we are baking in ElkNet is our bridge-as-a-service. This allows developers to bridge their tokens across chains on demand. Just deploy a contract, stake a Moose NFT, and you are good to go. No more begging or paying royalties to bridges to include your token.
Private Transfers: Another feature that’s far along in development is private token transfers. This feature already works today but due to regulatory requirements, this will likely go live in Q4 or in 2023 after we flesh out the details.
Deflationary Dynamics: The upgraded ElkNet will start taking a very low fee (which will eventually be controlled by governance), a fraction of which will be burned, making the $ELK token deflationary.
Governance: Speaking of governance, 2022 will also see the launch of our governance module. We have an exciting structure planned for Elk and the ElkDAO that has not really been seen anywhere else. (As we look forward to governance, be sure to also take a look at our friends at @stagDAO, who will be the first members of the Elk consortium.)
CEX Listings: We are currently in talks to get $ELK listed on several centralized exchanges. This will most likely happen throughout the year, with the first one going live toward the middle of Q1 at the latest. Although this is not super high priority, we feel it will provide deeper market penetration and liquidity for the $ELK token.
Improved Farming & Staking: The second half of 2021 saw many improvements to farming and staking. Our business development team is hard at work securing partnerships and providing you with more opportunities to earn in our farms and single staking pools. Expect more dual-reward boosters on farms and on single staking.
Marketing: Up to now, we’ve taken a mostly organic approach to marketing, relying on word-of-mouth and allowing the strength of the product to speak for itself. While we continue to believe that our best marketing comes through building an organic community, we’re making marketing a higher priority for 2022. We included our 2022 Marketing Roadmap in our weekly newsletter several weeks ago.
Impermanent Loss Protection: Don’t forget that farming with Elk protects you against impermanent loss (IL) through our innovative IL protection. This will of course continue throughout the year in 2022.
New dApp UI/UX: 2022 will also see the unveiling of our new dApp UI. Developers and designers have been hard at work building the most convenient and intuitive UI in all of DeFi for you. And it is also super mobile friendly. If you haven’t already, read our design manifesto, penned by Elk’s Head of Design. Expect the new UI to start rolling out in the beginning of February.
Token Halving: Finally, on March 19, 2022 (our anniversary), our $ELK emissions will halve based on the schedule in our litepaper. Make sure to build your $ELK herd while it is still affordable to do so!
That’s all for now! Stay tuned for more and give @baal314elk & @elk_finance a follow if you have not already. You can also stay up to date by following Elk Finance on Medium.
Have a chain you’d like supported? Join the conversation! Drop into our Telegram chat and let us know.
About Elk Finance
Elk Finance is a peer-to-peer network for cross-chain value transfers. ElkNet, its cutting-edge multi-chain protocol, makes it easy for anyone to move value and exchange cryptocurrencies across blockchains quickly and securely at a low cost. Start exploring the Elk ecosystem today at https://app.elk.finance/.
