This section focuses on the protocols supported on the ShapeShift ecosystem

THORSwap is a decentralized exchange (DEX) that supports multiple blockchains by utilizing the THORChain network. THORSwap acts as a front-end user interface to perform cross-chain swaps done in a permissionless, trustless, and non-custodial manner.

The Overview section shows your overall net worth, wallet balance, earn balance, and a more detailed view of your staked assets/earnings. You can deposit, withdraw, and claim rewards from your positions from this page as well.

Net Worth - The total $ value of your wallet's assets + any balance you have from staking/earning.

Wallet Balance - The total $ value of your wallet's assets (without any staking/earning balances included).

Earn Balance - The total $ value earned so far through staking. Keep in mind that the earned balance has yet to be claimed so it is not part of your wallet balance.

Earn - Any staked assets along with the current $ value and current APY % will be displayed here.

DAOing DeFi with ShapeShift

A Yieldy is an ERC20 rebasing token that is redeemable 1:1 with the underlying ERC20 asset. The system allows a user to stake the underlying asset in order to mint a yieldy version of the asset. The underlying asset is then deployed into the DeFi ecosystem to generate yields that are redistributed to stakers in the form of rebases to a user's balance of the Yieldy asset. Users get access to simplified yield that can easily be transferred to another user without having ever to worry about un-staking and can watch rewards accrue to their wallet each week without having to perform any actions.

CoW Swap is the first trading interface built on top of CoW Protocol.

CoW Swap is a Meta DEX aggregator that allows you to buy and sell tokens using gasless orders that are settled peer-to-peer among its users, or into any on-chain liquidity source while providing MEV protection.

0x is an open-source, decentralized exchange infrastructure that enables the exchange of tokenized assets on multiple blockchains. The 0x protocol is, at its core, a set of secure smart contracts that facilitate the peer-to-peer exchange of Ethereum-based assets. The protocol serves as an open standard and common building block for any developer needing exchange functionality. In addition to the externally-audited smart contracts, 0x also offers developer tools tailored to the ecosystem and open-access to a pool of shared liquidity.

Developers can integrate with 0x at the smart contract or application layer. The diagram below shows an overview of the 0x ecosystem, which includes applications who provide liquidity (supply), applications who consume liquidity (demand), and the multiple supported blockchains.

The idle protocol and DAO compose a decentralized organization that builds financial infrastructure for Web3. Businesses of every size, from brand new DeFi protocols to FinTech companies, use our protocol to maximize capital efficiency and manage their treasuries within DeFi.

The Cosmos SDK (opens new window) is an open-source framework for building multi-asset public Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchains, like the Cosmos Hub, as well as permissioned Proof-of-Authority (PoA) blockchains. Blockchains built with the Cosmos SDK are generally referred to as application-specific blockchains.

Osmosis is an advanced automated market maker (AMM) protocol that allows developers to build customized AMMs with sovereign liquidity pools. Built using the Cosmos SDK, Osmosis utilizes Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) to enable cross-chain transactions.

Osmosis allows users to launch liquidity pools with unique parameters, like bonding curves and multi-weighted asset pools. The incentive structure of Osmosis is also adaptable. Governance implements liquidity reward (LP) rewards for specific pools, allowing for strategically targeted incentives.

Yearn Finance is a suite of products in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) that provides yield generation, lending aggregation, and more on the blockchain. The protocol is maintained by various independent developers and is governed by YFI holders.

You can find brief descriptions of Yearn's core products, the governance process, and links to active communication channels below.

Tokemak is a novel protocol designed to generate deep, sustainable liquidity for DeFi and future tokenized applications that will arise throughout the growth and evolution of web3.

It can be thought of as a decentralized market making platform and a liquidity router that disaggregates traditional liquidity provision and market making for DeFi. Sitting a "layer above" decentralized exchanges, Tokemak allows for control over where the liquidity flows, and also offers an easier, cheaper way for providing and sourcing liquidity.

A validatoris a crucial part of the Proof of Stake (POS) consensus mechanism whose responsibility is to verify blocks to earn rewards. The decentralized nature of blockchain technology makes it impressive and so promising that more and more people are adopting it. Every blockchain has building blocks that are called nodes. They are responsible for holding data but this data needs to be first validated or verified on the blockchain network. That’s where a validator comes into play. There are two common validation protocols of a blockchain network, which are Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake.

Much like a banker who is responsible for verifying a transaction before its processing, a validator verifies each incoming transaction.

A transaction can only be completed and its record can be added to the blockchain once its accuracy and legal authenticity are checked—that’s done by a validator.

In the Proof-of-Stake mechanism, a validator determines whether or not a transaction conforms to the rules that deem it as valid. The entire process makes a blockchain network secure and transparent.

Liquidity Pools Explained

If you've heard of decentralize exchanges (DEXes), chances are you may have heard of liquidity pools as well. Liquidity pools are what make DEXes functional. They are the foundation on which DEXes are built.

A liquidity pool in the DeFi world is a collection of cryptoassets locked in a smart contract. Liquidity providers are users who put an equal value of two cryptoassest into the liquidity pool, therefore creating a market. Essentially, the more people who put their cryptoassets into these pools, the more people are able to make trades. If the liquidity pool is small, meaning only a little bit of funds are in the pool, it won't be very practical for doing trades. If the liquidity pool is large, meaning a lot of cryptoassets are in the pool, this means many people will be able to use the DEX for swaps/trades.

For example, if you are swapping BTC to RUNE, there will need to be enough BTC and RUNE in the liquidity pool to be transferred to the user performing the swap. The more funds in the pool, the higher the trade limit as well as more people being able to do the same swap in a short period of time. Larger liquidity pools also means less slippage and better trade rates. You may be wondering why anyone would want to put cryptoassets into these pools. Liquidity providers who deposit their assets in liquidity pools generate yield in return.

Slippage

Since market prices are constantly changing, your trade rate is likely to fluctuate. For example, by the time blocks confirm and your trade executes, the price in ETH may have gone up in price. This happens in the stock market as well as the crypto market. ShapeShift allows you to set the maximum amount of slippage for any trade you initiate. Simply select the highest percentage you will allow to account for market slippage.

Price Impact

Price Impact is the effect a Buy or Sell Order has on the automated market maker (AMM). The bigger the trade, the bigger the effect on the AMM.

Example: A large order to buy BTC will drive the price of BTC up and conversely a large order to sell would result in the price going down (within the specific DEX you are trading with).

Fees with Liquidity Pools and Staking

There are a few steps that incur fees along the process of providing liquidity and staking your FOX. Please read the list below:

1. A fee is required to the network to "Approve" smart contract interaction with your wallet and a DEX (see this article to [learn more:](https://shapeshift.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360018501700-Why-Do-I-Need-To-Approve-Tokens-)

2. A fee is required to send your FOX/ETH to the liquidity pool.

3. A fee is required to stake your FOX.

4. A fee is required to unstake your FOX and remove liquidity from the pool.

5. A fee is required to claim your FOX.

All fees are paid to the ETH network and NOT TO SHAPESHIFT. We can not reimburse for fees. We ask that all users pay attention to current gas fees before taking action so you are fully aware of the cost of each action. You can check out up to date fee estimations here: https://etherscan.io/gastracker.

Keep in mind that you will need to make confirmations on your wallet throughout this process. This will require you to pay attention to any pop-up messages from the wallet you are using. This includes approving tokens and paying the gas fee (in ETH). Make sure you have a sufficient amount of ETH in your wallet before removing any liquidity and/or unstaking.

FOXy

FOXy is a staking rewards system that allows FOX token holders the ability to stake FOX into a smart contract in order to receive rewards denominated in FOXy. FOXy is an ERC20, rebasing token that is redeemable 1:1 with FOX tokens.

Staking Cosmos (ATOM)

ShapeShift offers full native wallet support for all Cosmos functionality. You can send, receive, and stake you ATOM on app.shapeshift.com