Cryptocurrencies have proven to be an incredibly liberating technology — giving holders the opportunity to spend, save, and use their assets in innumerable clever and rewarding ways.
Until only recently, Ethereum stood out as the de-facto number 1 chain for anything decentralized finance (DeFi). if you wanted to earn a yield on your idle assets or stake to earn rewards, Ethereum was essentially the only way to go.
But with congestion and transaction fees on Ethereum now massively higher than they once were, alternative blockchains like Qtum, Velas, and Terra have begun to come into focus as more fertile ground for potentially lucrative yield farm and staking initiatives.
Now, there are numerous generous opportunities available across more than a dozen alt-chains — and we’ve scouted out three of the very best.
Qtum
Qtum is widely known as a platform that merges the best parts of Bitcoin with the smart contract capabilities of Ethereum, while being one of the first platforms to introduce forkless upgrades.
But more than this, it’s a rapidly burgeoning ecosystem of products, which includes the decentralized exchange QiSwap and Binary Options trading platform Value Network.
Announced earlier this year, Qtum is also running a unique DeFi incentive program — a million-dollar support initiative designed to help fuel the growth of its DeFi ecosystem by funding promising new projects building on the Qtum platform.
But while Qtum is best known as an ultra-powerful platform for running mass usage DApps, it’s also powering one of the most generous staking programs around. As it stands, anybody staking their QTUM tokens is able to earn a whopping 16% APY with essentially no risk.
Would you like to duplicate a #Qtum offline staking pool, just like the ones we use for our staking competitions? Non-custodial staking pools offer immense value for users who want reliable offline staking rewardshttps://t.co/THRk6eCquU
— Qtum (@qtum) August 27, 2021
The process is incredibly simple too. All users need to do is download the Qtum wallet, deposit QTUM, and wait for it to mature (around 2,000 blocks or ~17 hours). That’s it! Unlike other staking solutions, the wallet doesn’t need to be online to generate staking rewards — just set it and forget it.
The Qtum block reward is also scheduled to halve in early December 2021, increasing the scarcity of QTUM tokens and potentially driving up their value.
VelasPad
VelasPad is a new blockchain launchpad platform designed to provide early access to projects building in the Velas ecosystem.
In case you’re not yet aware, Velas is the ultra-advanced AI-powered blockchain that was forked from the Solana code base. It can support more than 50,000 transactions per second and features near-instant transactions with minimal fees. It’s also incredibly energy efficient thanks to delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS) consensus engine.
Velas recently announced a $5 million grant program for projects building in its ecosystem and endorsed VelasPad as a launchpad for promising new Velas-based projects.
🥳 The ALL NEW VelasPad website is now LIVE go check it out https://t.co/vKvtfxhUdH
✅ From top to bottom a visually stunning design, bringing you more information about VelasPad and what you need to know to be ready for the NEXT BIG THING!
Full Ann:https://t.co/QTeyTs7oqA pic.twitter.com/qq9T0TFnPh
— VelasPad (@VelasPad) September 13, 2021
VelasPad operates on a tier-based staking system. Users stake their VLXPAD tokens to obtain a tier on the platform and unlock access to the initial DEX offerings (IDOs) it hosts — many of these projects could grow to become the next unicorn DApps in the Velas ecosystem.
But more than this, users staking their VLXPAD tokens also receive an airdrop in the form of Velas (VLX) tokens. The APY for some of the earliest stakers could be around the thousands of percent range but will decrease as the total value of VLXPAD locked in the staking contract increases.
The platform is scheduled to go live in the coming weeks and looks set to unlock a variety of opportunities for participants.
Orion Money
If you’re not yet familiar with the Terra ecosystem, now might be a good time to start paying attention.
Arguably one of the fastest, most-capable blockchain platforms, Terra powers some of today’s most innovative DApps — including the hugely praised Mirror Protocol and the massively successful Anchor Protocol.
But one new platform is quickly stealing the limelight, thanks to the sheer utility it provides to users. We’re talking about Orion Money — a Terra-based platform building a cross-chain stablecoin bank.
@orion_money is building exactly that… 🛠🚀 Few… https://t.co/wuWifgXBK4
— Orion (@orionstaking) September 12, 2021
Orion Money leverages the unique properties of Anchor Protocol to enable users to easily earn up to 20% APY on their cross-chain stablecoin deposits. The platform is looking to position itself as the “best place in DeFi for stablecoin saving, lending, and spending.”
Having recently won first prize in the DeFi Connected Hackathon, Orion Money is set to make it easy to earn an impressive yield on stablecoins — regardless of which blockchain these are held on.
The platform is also poised to simultaneously help connect all the supported chains together into one cohesive ecosystem where assets and value can be easily transferred without artificial borders — tackling a major problem in today’s blockchain landscape.