DeFi Tech Development
Decentralized finance has been one of the major Web3 trends of the past few years and it continues to grow steadily at the present. And this is hardly surprising because it is one of the most interesting and useful Web3 applications. It’s also a perfect example of how Web3 technologies could have a significant impact on traditional industries like the financial services sector.
DeFi products and services today give us new options when it comes to accessing financial services. Automated market makers and other DEXes allow us to trade crypto assets more efficiently, while lending and borrowing protocols make those types of services more accessible to a large pool of potential users. Furthermore, DeFi has given rise to alternative forms of investing such as liquidity mining, making the sector even more appealing to users.
At LimeChain, we have a firm understanding of the way DeFi functions, having worked on some impactful projects for a number of Web3 ecosystems. We know what it takes to build a great DeFi product and we also know that the work doesn’t stop with v1, as DeFi products continue to grow and evolve well after launch. And with a large team of more than 100 extremely skilled and experienced Web3 professionals, we have enough development talent to handle even the most challenging of DeFi projects. Here is our approach to DeFi tech development.
The DeFi product development process
The DeFi product development process goes through several stages to ensure that client requirements and needs have been understood and met. These stages include:
1
Initial assessment
As usual, the first step is to assess the project and lay out a rough development plan. We seek to form a detailed understanding of the project and how the client envisions it to grow in the future. Important questions we need to answer at this stage include what type of DeFi product we are making, will it be integrated into a larger ecosystem, what is the target blockchain protocol and how does it connect to other blockchains.
2
Discovery/architecture phase
Having gathered as much information about the project as possible during our initial assessment, we can proceed to the discovery and architecture phase. Here we prepare comprehensive ‘project understanding’ documentation and work with the client to devise a detailed development roadmap and define a set of clear milestones and deadlines. Also at this stage, we design the app’s architecture, which helps us to determine how the different layers - backend, frontend and user interface - interact with each other. A Proof-of-Concept can be developed if deemed necessary.
3
Smart contract development
Smart contracts are what makes decentralized finance possible, as they power the features and functionalities of DeFi products. Everything from liquidity pools, through LP token minting and distribution, to staking and DAO governance, relies on smart contracts. With over 160 smart contracts live on blockchain, our team excels at smart contract development.
4
Backend, frontend, UX and UI
This is the stage where the actual product begins to take shape. Our teams can handle all aspects of product development, including backend development, frontend development and UX & UI design. As part of our approach, we usually build a prototype whose goal is to pin down the different elements of the product and how they fit together. A well-constructed prototype can easily be expanded to a full-fledged product. In some cases, we can build a minimum viable product that can be launched to market. This approach has certain advantages, as it allows for a fast entry to the market and allows us to gather feedback from real users.
5
Testing and audit
Before we can think of any launch, be it an MVP or a v1 launch, we have to make sure that the products works as intended, the smart contracts are well optimized and do not contain any bugs or exploits. This is why we conduct rigorous internal testing and smart contract audits. Speaking of smart contract auditing, we cannot stress enough the importance of external audits. That’s why we also work with external smart contract auditors, who provide an extra layer of security. Finally, we conclude the testing process by deploying the app to a testnet, which allows us to simulate actual operations in a safe environment.
6
Launch to mainnet and post-launch support
With the testing and auditing phase complete, we’re finally ready to proceed with the launch. We deploy the product to mainnet, but work on the project is still not over. As mentioned above, a DeFi product continues to grow and evolve well after v1 has been finalized. So, together with the client, we devise a plan of how the project is to be expanded post-launch and we get to work. Post-launch expansion is not necessarily limited to developing new features and functionalities for the product. Integration with other protocols and networks is also important for expanding the platform’s reach and user base.
Why choose LimeChain?
We deliver and we have the portfolio to prove it! One of our biggest DeFi projects is HeliSwap, an AMM crypto exchange for the Hedera Hashgraph ecosystem. We also helped build a ‘liquidity-mining-as-a-service’ product which was part of a AllianceBlock’s DeFi Terminal project.
With a team of more than 100 world-class Web3 professionals, we are capable of handling big and ambitious projects and have the flexibility to quickly scale up or down depending on what the project needs. So if you have an idea for a new and exciting DeFi product, don’t hesitate to get in touch!