Venus Protocol Expands to Optimism, Bringing Advanced DeFi Capabilities to Layer 2

Venus Protocol, a leading decentralized finance (DeFi) lending platform, today announces its expansion to the Optimism Network, marking a significant milestone in its multi-chain strategy. This deployment brings Venus’ robust lending and borrowing capabilities to one of the fastest-growing Layer 2 solutions in the Ethereum ecosystem.

The initial launch on Optimism will feature five key markets: WBTC, WETH, USDT, USDC (native), and OP, allowing users to engage with some of the most liquid and in-demand assets in the crypto space. This strategic selection aims to provide immediate value and utility to the Optimism community while leveraging the network’s high-speed, low-cost transaction capabilities.

“Expanding to Optimism is a natural progression for Venus Protocol,” said Brad Harrison, Head of Venus Labs. “We’re excited to bring our battle-tested DeFi services to a network known for its efficiency and growing ecosystem. This move not only broadens our reach but also aligns with our mission to make DeFi more accessible and cost-effective for users worldwide.”

This expansion also makes Venus eligible for Optimism’s Retro Funding, which has dedicated 850M OP to application developers and core contributors to Optimism Collective.

Key benefits of Venus Protocol’s deployment on Optimism include:

1. Enhanced User Experience: Leveraging Optimism’s fast and inexpensive transactions for seamless DeFi interactions.
2. Expanded Market Access: Tapping into Optimism’s robust ecosystem with over $650 million in Total Value Locked (TVL).
3. Interoperability: Benefiting from Optimism’s vision of a composable, unified network of blockchains.
4. EVM Equivalence: Ensuring smooth integration and compatibility with existing Ethereum infrastructure.

Following the successful deployment of lending markets, Venus Protocol has also announced plans to introduce its Venus Prime program to the Optimism network. This premium feature will offer enhanced benefits to dedicated users, further incentivizing engagement within the Venus ecosystem on Optimism.

“The launch on Optimism is just the beginning,” added Brad Harrison. “We’re committed to not only bringing our core services to this vibrant community but also introducing innovative features like Venus Prime, which we believe will significantly enhance the DeFi experience for Optimism users.”

This expansion is part of Venus Protocol’s broader strategy to establish a presence on key blockchain networks, ensuring that its services are available to a wide range of users across different ecosystems. Venus Protocol is now available on 6 different chains, namely: Arbitrum, Optimism, ZKsync, Ethereum Mainnet, opBNB and BNB Chain.

For more information about Venus Protocol and its markets on Optimism, please visit www.venus.io

About Venus Protocol

Venus is a top lending protocol in the multichain DeFi space, currently deployed on Ethereum, BNB chain, ZKsync, opBNB and Arbitrum. Venus is the most audited DeFi protocol in the industry which makes users confident in the safety of their assets once they deposit on Venus. All decisions regarding Venus Protocol are made by Venus DAO, a fully-decentralized community governed by the $XVS native token. With the $XVS token, users also have access to Real Yield using Venus Prime, which ensures sustainable liquidity.

About Optimism

Optimism is a Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum, designed to increase transaction speed and reduce costs while maintaining the security of the Ethereum mainnet. It is part of the Optimism Collective, which aims to scale Ethereum’s technology and values.