• WOO Network is a liquidity ecosystem that connects traders, exchanges, institutions and DeFi platforms with access to liquidity, trading execution and yield-generating strategies
  • NEAR is a development platform built on a proof-of-stake, layer-1 blockchain

WOO Network and NEAR Foundation have completed a $5 million token swap to create a partnership between the two projects, both organizations said in an announcement on Friday. 

As part of the partnership, WOO Network will become a builder in the NEAR Protocol ecosystem.

The tokens have a five-year vesting period, and the platforms can collaborate to create shared value for their respective token economies, according to the announcement.

WOO Network’s decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) will stake the NEAR tokens to generate yield, use it in governance and retain commitment as a NEAR ecosystem stakeholder, Ran Yi, head of ecosystem at WOO Network, said in a statement. The WOO DAO will manage 300 million WOO tokens which will be used to accelerate its growth for the liquidity network.

NEAR is a development platform built on a proof-of-stake, layer-1 blockchain. In October, NEAR launched an $800 million grants fund with a focus on decentralized finance (DeFi).

WOO Network is a liquidity ecosystem that connects traders, exchanges, institutions and DeFi platforms with access to liquidity, trading execution and yield-generating strategies. In November, it closed a $30 million round that was oversubscribed by 200%, Blockworks previously reported. 

The two projects have been “familiar for years” and have a lot of synergies, Ben Yorke, vice president of marketing for WOO Network, told Blockworks. 

“NEAR’s blockchain is well-known for its technical strengths and developer-friendly design. WOO Network can provide liquidity and trading infrastructure, two of the most in-demand components for blockchain smart contract layers,” said York. “Therefore, this type of relationship can strengthen the relationship between the two projects, as a way of aligning incentives and solidifying the commitment to co-development.”

WOO Network provides liquidity used in ParaSwap’s private pools, which supports dYdX’s market maker Kronos Research. “The strategic relationship with NEAR will put us in a strong position to build the next generation of products powered by decentralized technology,” Yi said. 

“Integrations like these will continue to grow as multi-chain applications are able to seamlessly bridge users and assets from one network to another,” said Yorke. “Users are becoming less restricted and as a result, will flow where technology layers and application layers can combine to provide the most value with the best experience.”

Overall, DeFi protocols have gained traction during 2021 with the total value locked hitting new all-time highs in November, data from DeFiLlama shows.

The DeFi market capitalization is around $150 billion, but could become a $15 trillion industry over the next five to 15 years if it attains the same success rate of about 50% to 70% as other disruptive technologies, according to a recent report released by Bitwise.

  • Jacquelyn Melinek is a New York-based reporter covering funding, decentralized finance (DeFi), DeFi market structure such as DEXs, borrowing, lending and yield products, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and DAO governance and structure. She previously reported on energy markets for S&P Global Platts and Bloomberg News and is published in over 65 news outlets. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Media and Journalism.