Drift Ecosystem Newsletter #1

Gm Driftors,

Welcome to the first edition of our ecosystem newsletter!

This newsletter is your guide to what’s happening across the Drift Layer as we work together to make Drift the most liquid perpetual DEX on Solana.

Our focus? Thicker order books, build enhanced vaults (now with an impressive $127M TVL) and continuous under-the-hood improvements to give traders the best prices and seamless experience on Drift.

Over the past month, 30+ teams built on top of the Drift Layer. These projects include new vaults and yield strategies that harness Drift’s powerful perpetual exchange, empowering you to stay ahead in the market.

Introducing: Drift Vaults

Vaults are structured products built by innovative teams on Drift, allowing users to access diverse strategies without active trading.

There are two new partner vaults by Gauntlet and Neutral Trade. Now, live on Drift.

Gauntlet: Bringing Risk Management Expertise & Curated Vaults to Drift

@gauntlet_xyz elevates the Drift ecosystem with their experience in crypto risk management and innovative vault design. The team built a delta-hedged JLP vault, utilising Jupiter’s innovative Liquidity Provider token (JLP) to optimise returns while managing risk.

Why hedge JLP?

While JLP offers attractive yields, token holders face risk from market movements and trader PnL, which can impact returns. Gauntlet’s hJLP strategy mitigates these risks by hedging both components.

How It Works

When users deposit USDC, it’s automatically swapped to JLP, which is then used as collateral on Drift. Short positions in SOL, ETH, and BTC are opened to offset the delta in the JLP pool, with hedges rebalanced as needed based on tolerance thresholds or new deposits/withdrawals.

Gauntlet’s strategy is backed by rigorous testing across multiple timeframes, designed for scalability and high trade efficiency. With a current APY of 30% and likely a steadier rate of return than JLP itself,Gauntlet’s vault has already reached 96% capacity.

Depositors enjoy limited volatility and improved yield consistency, all while maintaining full control of their funds, thanks to the vault’s self-custodial nature.

Neutral Trade: Amplifying SOL Yield and Liquidity

@TradeNeutral have deployed an innovative strategy on Drift to bolster liquidity on both Drift and Jupiter, offering depositors an impressive 30% APY on their SOL.

How It Works

The strategy acquires JLP and hedges BTC and ETH exposure, allowing it to capture yield from  JLP’s fees, dSOL’s staking rewards, and funding rewards from the BTC/ETH hedge.

This ensures depositors maintain complete SOL exposure while maximizing their returns.

For SOL holders, Neutral Trade’s vault provides a powerful way to increase SOL yield, all while supporting the wider Solana DeFi ecosystem.

Ecosystem Updates

Ranger Finance

Earlier this week, @ranger_finance’s data dashboards moved out of their beta phase, and are now live!

Featuring data on OI, funding rates and an adjustable liquidation heatmap for the top perps DEXs on Solana, the dashboard is an attractive tool for traders.

Check out: https://www.app.ranger.finance/liquidation

Bulk Trade

Learn more: https://x.com/_bulktrade/status/1850133843589939289

If you're interested in creating your own trading vault, contact @airtightfish on X.