Popular cryptocurrency exchange Binance has released Launchpool, a way for users to make income by staking tokens for so-called yield farming.
- According to a Binance announcement on Sunday, users of Launchpool will be able to stake Binance's BNB token and BUSD stablecoin, as well as the ARPA token, for interest-bearing rewards.
- The first project to be hosted on Launchpool is Bella Protocol (BEL), which recently raised $4M in a seed funding round led by Arrington XRP Capital.
- The BEL project aims to fix the complex user experience issues related to DeFi assets, such as the need to hop among different protocols and platforms in search of higher yields.
- Users will be able to stake their tokens in three separate pools to farm – earn profits by providing staked liquidity – BEL tokens over a 30 day period starting Wednesday.
- A week later, on Sept. 16, Binance will list BEL for trading and open trading pairs on its exchange for BEL/BTC, BEL/BNB, BEL/BUSD and BEL/USDT.
- The news comes on the heels of Binance's recent mainnet launch of its smart contract-enabled blockchain and introduction of staking for its BNB token.
- It also launched a new DeFi-like platform last week, allowing trades via an automated market maker exchange.
- Staking involves committing funds as collateral onto an existing protocol in order to increase the liquidity of a project and brings voting rights to help decide on governance issues.
- Stakers in such decentralized finance projects earn rewards in the form of interest ranging generally up to 10%, though it can be much higher, according to DeFi Rate.
- For Launchpool, Binance is offering BEL rewards at 1% for users staking ARPA, 9% for staking BUSD and, it claims, 90% for staking BNB.
See also: What Is Yield Farming? The Rocket Fuel of DeFi, Explained
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