First Impressions: Kujira Blue and FIN

Kujira recently launched a sovereign blockchain in the Cosmos. They charged out of the gates with its first dApp: Blue. Following that, the Kujira Team launched FIN, a multi-chain order book exchange.

Here, I will give you my first impressions of these dApps and discuss why these are so important for the ecosystem. I have added links to everything you need to start your exploration and do your own research, in the Sources section.

Bridging Multi-Chain Assets

The Kujira Team built an efficient dApp to onboard assets from seventeen blockchains across the Cosmos. When you click on the IBC/Bridge from the main menu on Blue, you are presented with an easy-to-use method to bring your native IBC assets from other chains. Fully integrated with the Keplr wallet, a connection request approval window automatically pops up when you choose a chain that you have not previously interacted with. For example, when you choose to transfer SCRT from the Secret Network to Kujira, your liquid amount of tokens on that chain is displayed, you choose the amount, initiate the IBC Transfer, approve the payment of a small transaction fee in SCRT tokens in Keplr, and bring them over. You can then see the tokens both in your Keplr Kujira wallet or when you click on the Wallet menu option on the Blue menu.

Kujira is developing in the Cosmos and is capturing native IBC assets from all over the ecosystem for use with its dApps; however, the Team has already set its sights on interchain assets beyond just the Cosmos. The other onboarding option available is to bridge digital assets over from five other ecosystems, using the Axelar bridge, including -axl, wrapped, and native tokens from:

Ethereum
Avalanche
Polygon
Fantom
Moonbeam.

This also works extremely well and I have tested the bridge with USDC from Ethereum. Keep in mind that the relayer fees charged by Axelar are much higher than the IBC relayer fees (upwards of $20 equivalent) and the speeds are not as neck snapping fast.

A tip from this frugal author: IBC transfer your Cosmos assets and swap them on Kujira FIN for these other assets. Both USDC and WETH are available already and I am sure the others are not far behind. Finally, Kujira is also partnering with Kado Money to provide a fiat on-ramp, in the near future.

Focus on Earnings

The Kujira Team prides itself on its business model being different; in other words, staking on Blue is quite an eye-opening experience. Don’t expect to see +100% staking reward incentives on this chain. Who knows, we may get there in the future, but not now. The reason for this is that KUJI staking is not based on inflation; instead, it is based on revenues. As the blockchain dApps earn revenues, the KUJI stakers receive a share of these. And, not just in KUJI tokens! As a KUJI staker, you receive rewards in all the apex tokens that are generating revenues on the chain. Seven of these have already been activated and as more assets are added, this list will grow.

The network is secured by a fantastic group of 75 validators, including such community focused teams as:

Smart Stake
Danku_Zone with DAIC
Oni
PFC
Crypto Crew
Lavender Five Nodes
Imperator.

These validators and many others in the Kujira set provide a lot of value to the community by giving back with analytics, video content, tutorials, charts, relayer services, coding support, and dApps development.

Finally, Blue also includes functionality for governance voting, simple swaps, migrating KUJI from Terra, and a dashboard.

El Único Validador con Flo!

I want to give a shoutout to Barnacle Rodeo validators. When I joined the Kujira tesnet, I scrolled through the entire group of validators and at first I was going to delegate to one of the great validators I stake with on the other chains (see the list above). However, Barnacle Rodeo grabbed my attention with their graphical presence and awesome slogan. I decided to give them a try and I have not been disappointed.

They are off to a great validating start:

Uptime - 100%
Current commission - 5%
Maximum commission - 10%
Maximum change rate - 1%
KUJI bonded - 325,530

I had a few questions early on the testnet and reached out to the vaqueros at Barnacle Rodeo. They offered great support, helping me quickly, and did so professionally. Their communications on Twitter are timely, informative, and fun. They have great transparency with their voting, keeping the community not just informed about upcoming votes on the Kujira chain, but also letting us know how they are voting. I am a big fan of graphics: just look below at this collage of what the talented artists at Barnacle Rodeo are producing for their marketing!

Spot and Limit Order Trading

Following the successful launch of the bridging and staking dApps, Kujira quickly launched FIN, a decentralized order book style exchange. Apex assets are being added at a blistering pace and I have been actively testing the limit order and market trading functionality. The initial results are excellent. Orders are executed just as scheduled, the UI is easy-to-use, and tracking of orders is impressive.

Each new asset that is added goes through a liquidity bootstrapping stage, at which time only limit orders can be set. Following the conclusion of this initial phase, market orders are opened. The exchange provides trading charts and views of buy orders, sell orders, and recent trades. At the time of writing this article, the following apex tokens are in full trading mode: KUJI, USDC, wETH, ATOM, JUNO, OSMO, and EVMOS. One asset is at the liquidity bootstrapping stage: SCRT.

Trading fees (maker at 0.075% and taker at 0.15%) are paid to KUJI stakers. Network fees are charged as well and also cost very little (just a few cents). By default, fees are paid in KUJI; however, you can also change this and set fees to be paid in USDC.

Your limit orders are visible in the open orders tab. Once your limit orders execute, you can access them in the filled tab, where they are ready to be claimed. I really like this feature from a tracking and recording perspective. Finally, Kujira also has its own blockchain explorer (Finder), where you can see all your liquid and staked holdings, as well as all transactions just by putting in your wallet address.

Impact on the Ecosystem

The dApps on the Kujira blockchain seamlessly work together and the features are powerful. By choosing to integrate assets from across the Cosmos at the outset, Kujira is positioning itself as a multi-chain decentralized exchange for the entire ecosystem. They are bringing together protocols, dApps, and blockchains, adding value for Cosmonauts. As the weeks progress, I expect Kujira to bring many more apex assets into FIN. The Team is also demonstrating that generating yield can be done differently. As KUJI stakers, we earn a small portion of all these apex assets.

I am not affiliated with either Kujira or Barnacle Rodeo; on the contrary, I am a happy user and fan of their dApps and services! If you have read my articles, you know that I am enthusiastically writing about my journey into this wondrous crypto universe. I have provided links to everything I discussed here in the Sources section, so that you can do your own research.

Just Getting Started

Blue and FIN are setting the foundation for one of the most pivotal protocols still to be introduced on the Kujira blockchain: Orca. When the lending markets launch across the Cosmos, Kujira will already have attracted a fanatic community of users with its current dApp offerings. Transitioning all of us over to placing liquidation bids on Orca will be easy!

In the near future, assets from successfully executed liquidation bids will effortlessly flow across the ecosystem thanks to Blue’s easy to use IBC features. With spot and limit order features in FIN, newly acquired assets from bids on Orca can then be quickly swapped for stable tokens or our preferred Cosmos assets of choice. The blockchain will collect fees at every step, creating a profit making flywheel, because Kujira is built as a revenue generating business from the ground up. Most importantly, the revenues collected from the blockchain’s dApps directly benefit the KUJI stakers!

By using an order book exchange, there is no need to amass large amounts of liquidity and get bogged down with all the challenges associated with maintaining an AMM. Kujira has also introduced a new value model for the chain’s stakers that is based on generating revenues, not inflation. In addition, they have ensured that their community stranded on the Terra blockchain was brought along for this incredible and fascinating ride. I participated in the migration process and was able to receive and bring over 100% of my KUJI stake, which I began accumulating last year!

First impressions are lasting impressions! When I first discovered Kujira and wrote about the innovative tech being developed, I was immediately hooked. Now, eight months later, it is a true feat of engineering how the Kujira Team has evolved and relaunched an entire blockchain in the Cosmos. They are delivering on their original mission, bringing their original supporters with them, and forging a new, even stronger community. Watch my words, the Kujira Team is just getting started!

Tot ziens – Opa.