July 2, 2025

The following post contains a recap of news, projects, and important updates from the Spartan Council and Core Contributors from last week.

TLDR

• Synthetix is coming home: launching a perp DEX on Ethereum Mainnet.
• No bridges, no extensions, no wallet switching, just seamless UX with Infinex Connect.
• SNX staking is back, better, and live for Infinex patrons.
• Phase 0 of “The Relaunch” is underway: sUSD/sUSDe vaults.
• Orderbook > AMM: high-performance off-chain matching, L1 custody & settlement.
• sUSD and SNX reclaim their roles at the heart of Synthetix.
• Mainnet Perp Summer is here

Spartan Council and SIP updates

Since part of the team has been traveling to Cannes or Brooklyn, let’s take this opportunity to look back on the past few weeks and discuss what’s to come. As you’ve probably been hearing, Synthetix is returning to Ethereum Mainnet to launch a high-performance perps DEX. And it’s been a long time coming!

Back in 2019, Synthetix made the early leap to L2s (like Optimism) to solve scaling. That move unlocked speed and efficiency, but it came at the cost of fragmentation: liquidity, capital, and attention — all scattered across dozens of L2s. In the meantime, Ethereum Mainnet remained the center of gravity for real value, institutional flows, and long-term trust.

And now, Ethereum is scaling, block space is opening up, and even Vitalik is championing a return to Mainnet. The infrastructure is here and Synthetix is ready to deliver the first serious perps exchange built for it.

But the protocol had to learn some hard lessons to win on Mainnet. For too long, DeFi products chased ideological purity at the expense of usability. Synthetix built for the principled few, but left behind the many who simply wanted to trade quickly, securely, and with a UI that wasn’t too complicated.

That stops now. With Infinex, Synthetix has proven that it’s possible to offer non-custodial, on-chain products that feel as smooth as the centralized alternatives. No gas pain, no chain switching, no pop-up jungle. Just click, trade, done. And this is already live for Infinex patrons!

And this next chapter? It’s built around one key insight: orderbooks beat AMMs for perps. After years of experimenting with AMM-based perps, it became clear that the best liquidity and trader experiences still come from orderbooks. So Synthetix has rebuilt its architecture from the ground up: trades are matched off-chain with institutional-grade performance, while custody and settlement remain on Ethereum L1 — no bridges, no trust assumptions.

Funds stay on Mainnet, orders fly off-chain, and withdrawals are always on-chain and permissionless. As Ethereum scales, Synthetix will migrate even more back on-chain. It’s the best of both worlds and a major step forward for DeFi UX.

Of course, none of this would be possible without SNX and sUSD, and the protocol has made major changes to both. SNX staking has been completely overhauled, so there aren’t any more confusing debt mechanics or hedging strategies. Just stake and earn, and protocol fees flow directly to stakers. It’s simple, clean, and live right now for Infinex patrons via the Connect alpha release (seriously, staking SNX with Infinex Connect takes just a few clicks).

Meanwhile, sUSD (DeFi’s third-longest-living stablecoin) is regaining center stage. While V3 temporarily sidelined its utility, Synthetix is bringing it back with a vengeance. The new Treasury Market dynamically mints, burns, and deploys sUSD to keep the peg tight and to keep liquidity flowing. It’s the deposit asset of choice for market makers, and it earns yield through fees and liquidations on the perp exchange.

All of this leads into the biggest Synthetix launch ever, and what’s being officially deemed “The Relaunch.”

The protocol is kicking things off with early deposit vaults for sUSD and sUSDe, 500 exclusive early access codes, and a new incentive structure based around points. Points will be earned by depositing early, trading well, referring friends, and they’ll unlock rewards like SNX, stablecoins, and more. Here is a reminder of the Base deprecation timeline:

This is the moment that Synthetix has been building toward. It’s time to reclaim the user experience, the liquidity layer, and the protocol’s role in DeFi’s evolution. Mainnet Perp Summer is officially on!

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February 12, 2025

The following post contains a recap of news, projects, and important updates from the Spartan Council and Core Contributors from last week.

TLDR

• Spartan Council CC Technical Seat has been filled: Brent Maxwell. See below to learn about the new Councilor.
• $BERA is now live on Synthetix Exchange.
• PnL Share Cards now live on V3.
• $BERABULL now live: 3X Long $BERA Synthetix Leveraged Token.
• Synthetix Leveraged Token Rally rewards program: Week 3 rewards now claimable. Week 4 has more opportunities with 3x Short Tokens now live on Base.
• Rewards for sUSD depositors on Infinex still ongoing: Reminder that rewards were DOUBLED to 10,000 SNX and 10,000 OP weekly. See results from last week’s Patron NFT drawing below.
• Overtime Markets free $OP bet campaign: This has ended, and hundreds of additional Synthetix Leverage traders and V3 LPs on Base also got free Overtime bets. See below to check if you qualified.
• Delta neutral trading guide: Burt wrote a thread on X to help traders learn about this popular strategy. See below for summary.

Spartan Council and SIP updates

First up, in exciting news, Synthetix has filled the Core Contributor (CC) Technical Seat on the Spartan Council! The team has been working to fill this seat since SR-2 passed, and has finally found someone to lead the development team during this pivotal reboot as Synthetix builds and ships its most advanced derivatives products yet. So, everyone please welcome Brent Maxwell to the Synthetix family!

Brent’s specializations are in improving engineering functions, data, and DevOps. Since 2017 when he first got into crypto, Brent has participated in setting up and running an NFT-investing DAO, co-building a web3 company after raising $5 million and generating $3 million revenue in the first year, launching a token on a CEX & DEX, and running numerous large scale NFT mints. Beyond crypto, he brings a wealth of experience from Web2 startups, small, medium, and enterprise businesses including AWS, Accenture, and The Iconic. Welcome, Brent!

Next, ICYMI, $BERA is now live on Synthetix Exchange. This is the native gas and staking token of Berachain, an EVM-identical L1 powered by Proof-of-Liquidity that plays a key role in securing the network and fueling transactions. And PnL Share Cards are now live on V3. Once you’ve made it (or not) on BERA, post your PnL graphic on X and tag Synthetix!

But why stop at just $BERA? Bears? Bulls? Why not both? Meet $BERABULL: a 3X Long $BERA Synthetix Leveraged Token, part of the upgraded BULL series — where all leveraged tokens are now 3X. Try it now on http://leverage.synthetix.io.

Next up, Week 3 of the Synthetix Leveraged Token Rally rewards are now claimable! And week 4 has more opportunities than the last with 3x Short Tokens now live on Base. Now you can go long or short on any available market, including $BTC, $ETH, $SOL, $BERA, and more. Leverage your exposure with no liquidations — whether you’re bullish or bearish. The top trader on the Synthetix Leverage Leaderboard has surpassed $64,000 in profits and rewards after incentives, so be sure to get in on that action.

Also don’t forget — Infinex sUSD depositor rewards are still happening! And like we mentioned last week, the weekly rewards were doubled to 10,000 SNX and 10,000 OP. Last week there were 415 users who deposited $1,000 or more sUSD and qualified for the week 3 random Patron NFT drawing — and the third winner was bauer24! You still have 2 weeks to earn sUSD deposit incentives on Infinex, check it out!

And speaking of reward programs, the free $OP bet campaign has ended, and hundreds of additional Synthetix Leverage traders and V3 LPs on Base also got free Overtime bets. Traders who interacted with TLX/Synthetix Leverage tokens between Dec 30, 2024, 21:00 UTC — Feb 4, 2025, 00:00 UTC, as well as V3 LPs on Base are all eligible. To see if you met either of these criteria, you can check out the list of addresses in the claim check google doc.

To use your free bet, just connect your eligible wallet to Overtime Markets and browse sports markets to make your predictions. Select “Free Bet”, choose OP as collateral, and you’re all set!

Burt also wrote a guide to delta neutral trading and posted it as a thread on X — he emphasized that is it NOT financial advice, but that you can learn about an essential mechanism that drives SIP-420, perps markets, and the upcoming Synthetix Vaults. In case you don’t have time to read the whole thing, let’s briefly recap this thread:

First, delta neutral trading is a popular strategy where a trader’s position is balanced to prevent any price exposure from market movements, typically through a combination of long and short positions.

“Delta”: Refers to how much a position’s value changes for every $1 move in the asset.

• For example: Buying 1 $ETH perp means a $1 change in ETH will result in a $1 gain (Delta = 1).
• A delta neutral position means price movements (up or down) don’t affect the position’s overall value, as long and short positions offset each other.

Profit through funding: Delta neutral traders often profit from the funding fees paid by perpetual contract traders:

• When funding is positive, longs pay shorts.
• When funding is negative, shorts pay longs.

The 2 main strategies that traders can take to profit from funding fees are called Funding Rate Arbitrage and Basis Trading.

1. Funding Rate Arbitrage: Exploits funding rate differences across platforms.

• Traders take long positions on one platform (like Synthetix Exchange) and short positions on another (like Binance).

2. Basis Trading: Long spot and short perps, profiting from funding and price discrepancies.

• Traders go long on spot and short on perpetual contracts for the same asset.
• Ideal conditions: Perp funding is positive, and perps trade at a higher price than spot.

Lastly, basis trading vaults are quickly gaining popularity, as these products allow traders to automate and tokenize basis trading strategies, simplifying execution with deposits on platforms like Toros Finance. Synthetix is expanding these opportunities by building basis trading vaults on popular Synthetix V3 markets on Base. Coming soon!

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February 5, 2025

The following post contains a recap of news, projects, and important updates from the Spartan Council and Core Contributors from last week.

TLDR

• SIP-420: Protocol Owned SNAX — This is in its final audit stage. See below for a refresher on the contents of this proposal.
• Synthetix Leveraged Token Rally rewards program: Week 3 of 5 has just begun, with another 15,000 $OP and 30,000 $USDC up for grabs. See last week’s leaderboard below.
• Discord alpha about free $OP bets from Overtime: Synthetix struck a deal (thanks Burt!) last week with Overtime Markets so that the first 250 addresses to trade on Synthetix Leverage for the rest of the week (ended February 3), would earn a free 10 $OP bet on Overtime.
• Stop Loss and Take Profit order types have been added to Synthetix Exchange
• 1-click trading and account abstraction is in final testing stages
• Arbitrum deprecation is near completion
• Fenway updates: Synthetix is transitioning from being solely a liquidity service to taking charge of the product development (frontend UX developments are off the charts, Synthetix vaults as a new product is bringing many positive changes).
• V4 is coming: Synthetix V4 will deliver a trading experience that is competitive with other on-chain DEX’s without making some of the centralization tradeoffs that competitors have had to make. Trading and LP activity on V3 on Base will continue. See more details below.
• Synthetix Exchange new tools and docs: Now there is an easier way to modify your positions with limit orders on Optimism. The new pencil icons on Synthetix Exchange allow modification through market, limit, and stop orders.
• New Perps markets are live: $VELO, by Velodrome, and $VVV, by Venice.
• Rewards for sUSD depositors on Infinex still ongoing: Rewards were just DOUBLED to 10,000 OP and 10,000 SNX being distributed weekly. See results from last week’s Patron NFT drawing below.
• Synthetix performance comparison thread on X: SOLBULL 3X Leveraged Tokens vs. SOL Perps vs. SOL Spot. See full results of performance comparison below.

Spartan Council and SIP updates

During last week’s sync the Council discussed some product updates, including SIP-420 which is in its final audit stage. Big things are cooking with this implementation and we’ll be keeping up with its progression, so stay tuned for updates. But just as a refresher:

• This SIP was proposed by Kain to introduce a delegated staking system where SNX holders can contribute their existing debt positions to a protocol-owned pool, allowing the protocol to manage debt and generate yield, while offering stakers better incentives.
• This is supposed to make staking much easier and more accessible by offering lower risks, higher returns, and long-term rewards, like liquidity incentives and treasury collateral redistribution (it was proposed that 10 million SNX from the treasury be used as staking incentives).
• Burt Rock also posted a great thread about this SIP on X, so be sure to check that out as well!

Next up, as we mentioned last week, the Synthetix Leveraged Token Rally rewards program is ongoing and is currently in its final swing. We have just entered week 3 of 5, so if you missed out on the last couple of weeks it’s not too late to join! This week another 15,000 $OP and 30,000 $USDC are up for grabs — just mint Leveraged Tokens at http://leverage.synthetix.io and climb the leaderboard. Here’s a look at last week’s top traders and the rewards they took home:

Weekly rewards accumulate throughout the event, and participants can claim them in their dashboard after Week 5. Don’t miss out!

Speaking of missing out, did you catch the Discord alpha about free $OP bets from Overtime?? Synthetix struck a deal last week with Overtime Markets so that the first 250 addresses to trade on Synthetix Leverage for the rest of the week (up until this past Monday morning), would earn a free 10 $OP bet on Overtime. Shout out to our friends at Overtime! Just in time for the Super Bowl in the states.

But getting back to last week’s Spartan Council sync, the team also discussed how Stop Loss and Take Profit order types have been added to Synthetix Exchange, and 1-click trading and account abstraction is in final testing stages. The Arbitrum deprecation is also near completion (all LPs and traders are being advised to withdraw and exit the system ahead of anticipated liquidation ratio increases to accelerate the wind down).

Fenway also brought up how Synthetix is at an interesting point in the protocol’s development, as the core mission is changing from being solely a liquidity service to taking charge of the product development. The frontend (Synthetix Exchange) has seen a lot of UX improvements, and there are more to come over the next couple of months. He added that Synthetix vaults as a new product will enable users to execute funding rate arbitrage and basis trade capture strategies, and the plan is to build user friendly UIs for this product to make it more accessible for typical traders.

Also, Fenway announced that incentives for users holding sUSD on Infinex would be doubling last week — the APY increasing from 25% to 50%.

AND…V4 is coming! Synthetix V4 will deliver a trading experience that is competitive with other on-chain DEX’s without making some of the centralization tradeoffs that some competitors have had to make. V4 will be deployed on SNAX Chain, and SIP-420 will free up some liquidity to help get this going (via a reduced c-ratio) and support more OI right from the launch. Trading and LP activity on V3 on Base will continue, but expect more details about all of this in the coming weeks.

Next, the Synthetix Exchange team has been hard at work on some hot new tools and docs. They’ve listened to your feedback and have implemented an easier way to modify your positions with limit orders on Optimism. The new pencil icons on Synthetix Exchange allow modification through market, limit, and stop orders. You can scale in or out of trades easily, using market or conditional orders — all without depositing any additional margin.

Speaking of Synthetix Exchange, a couple of new Perps markets are now live: $VELO, by Velodrome, and $VVV, by Venice.

And don’t forget — Infinex sUSD depositor rewards are still happening! Rewards were actually just DOUBLED to 10,000 OP and 10,000 SNX being distributed weekly. Last week there were 334 users who deposited $1,000 or more sUSD and qualified for the week 2 random Patron NFT drawing — and the winner was Cyberdruid! But everyone is winning with these rewards.

Lastly, Synthetix recently posted a thread on X that goes through a performance comparison of SOLBULL 3X Leveraged Tokens, SOL Perps, and SOL Spot. These 3 different ways to long SOL were backtested over a 7-day span (January 13 — January 20) to see which performed best and help users better compare trading options.

• Third place: SOL Spot, with a $1,000 spot buy of SOL being worth approximately $1,324 for a value increase of +32.4%.
• Second place: the 3x SOL Perp long with $1,000, finishing at $1,972 with a +97.2% value increase.
• First place: the SOLBULL 3x Leveraged Token, finishing at $2,276 with a +127.6% value increase.

Keep in mind, however, that this comparison does not account for Perps funding or account for fees (which can vary from platform to platform). But, with all fees being equal in this test, the Leveraged Token was the strongest performer over this time period as it automatically rebalances, taking unrealized PnL to increase the position while maintaining the leverage factor of 3x.

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