Ethereum L2 network Corn completes $6.7 million funding

Recently, an emerging Ethereum L2 network completed a funding round of 6.7 million dollars. This round was led by a well-known investment institution, with several renowned venture capital firms participating.

The reason this project has attracted the attention of numerous investors is mainly due to its innovative use of a tokenized Bitcoin (BTCN) as the network's fuel fee and economic incentive mechanism.

Mining the Potential of BTC in DeFi

With the approval of the Bitcoin ETF and the development of the related ecosystem, the Bitcoin ecosystem is ushering in new development opportunities. However, the application of Bitcoin in the DeFi sector is still relatively limited. Although various wrapped versions of BTC have emerged in the market, related solutions such as cross-chain bridges and custody are still not mature enough. To expand the application scenarios of BTC in DeFi, the project founder proposed the concept of Corn.

The co-founder of Corn believes that to build a prosperous crypto ecosystem, the participation of BTC is essential. Currently, the venues capable of supporting large-scale liquidity are mainly concentrated in the Ethereum L2 network. This also explains why Corn chose to become a BTC-supporting ETH L2 network. As seasoned DeFi practitioners, the founding team understands that the best way to attract and retain applications is to draw on Curve's veCRV framework. Compared to BTC L2, the combination of ETH L2 and the veCRV framework is theoretically more beneficial for unleashing the application potential of BTC in DeFi.

Corn uses BTCN (a wrapped version of BTC) as its fuel token. The potential of BTCN is mainly reflected in the following aspects:

1. Large trading platforms have launched a wrapped version of BTC and plan to build a large-scale BTC economy on L2, which will bring more application scenarios for the wrapped version of BTC.
2. The continuous emergence of permissionless cross-chain bridge protocols.
3. The custody agreement provides customers with more services, such as assets like wBTC.

BTC Supported Circular Yield System

The Corn protocol claims to be a "super yield network," with its returns primarily consisting of two tokens:

1. BTCN: As a payment method for network fuel, it is a hybrid tokenized version of BTC. It is 1:1 pegged to native BTC and can be minted through various methods such as custodians, smart contracts, and cross-chain bridge protocols. Users can choose their own way to store native BTC.

2. CORN: The native governance token of the network. Users can stake it as veToken to increase annual yield and participate in governance decisions.

Users can lock specified assets for staking through the application to obtain popCORN, CORN, and BTCN. Each popCORN represents one vote, and holders can decide the allocation direction of the CORN and BTCN tokens or improve yields through incentivizing the market. Additionally, users can choose to delegate CORN to others for extra earnings.

Overall, assets like BTC support the circulation and yield applications of tokens such as veCORN and BTCN, bringing benefits to users, while better liquidity also promotes the use of its fuel token BTCN.

Team Background and Partners

The founding team of Corn consists of professionals with years of experience in DeFi, including a former co-founder of a well-known DeFi project and the author of EIP-6968. They have participated in the development of several well-known DeFi projects.

In addition, the birth of Corn has also received support from some industry veterans, including the founder of a well-known NFT project, a co-founder of a large public blockchain, and other founders of blockchain projects.

Airdrop Plan

The Corn official recently updated the website interface, and eligible users can receive Kernels (points). Kernel represents a proportional share in the CORN airdrop. It is important to note that Kernel is just a form of points and not a token. The official has also clearly stated that KERNEL tokens will not be issued, and users should be wary of related scams.

Airdrops are divided into three parts: early DeFi user airdrops, social platform point airdrops, and deposit earning airdrops.

Early DeFi User Airdrop

The eligibility for empty investments in this category is based on users' past interactions with DeFi protocols on Bitcoin and Ethereum. The snapshot time is July 13, 2024, involving over 1 million addresses. Eligible interaction protocols and asset categories include several well-known DeFi projects, such as decentralized lending platforms, stablecoin protocols, staking services, and more.

social platform points airdrop

Corn has launched a points task on a certain social platform, where users can earn points by completing specific tasks, with 1 point equal to 1 Kernel.

Deposit to earn airdrops

Users can deposit specified tokens on the Corn official website to earn Kernel. Currently, multiple tokens are supported for deposits, including WBTC, weETH, rsETH, DAI, sDAI, USDC, and USDe. Some token deposits can earn point multipliers, such as a 2x point increase for WBTC deposits.

The Kernel积分规则 is: Users can earn 1 Kernel for every 1 dollar deposited (after 210 minutes). All deposited assets can be withdrawn at any time without any penalties or fees.

The rapid growth of Corn's social media follower count indicates that more and more people are beginning to pay attention to the application scenarios of BTC in DeFi. Although the current situation of Corn deviates somewhat from its planning documents, as the founder stated, with the maturation of technology, the design of BTCN will allow users to mint across any protocol, cross-chain bridge, smart contract, or custodial service. The "veToken+BTC" model of Corn is expected to unlock the maximum application potential of BTC in DeFi in the future.