Dan from Rysk here, with the purpose of clarifying why we did not post an addendum to apply for the STIP Bridge.
STIP was a great success for Rysk, helping us reach our target in terms of TVL and volume within the first week of the incentives (read on for some in-depth analysis on the KPIs and lesson learned).
For an early protocol like Rysk the STIP impact was massive, even though the size we received was on average smaller that most of the protocols (500k ARB). We are incredibly thankful to the Arbitrum community for the opportunity.
With that being said, we decided not to apply for the STIP Bridge since we are currently working on Rysk v2. For this reason we don’t believe that asking for the STIP bridge incentives for Rysk will be the best ROI for the Arbitrum DAO. In the current state these incentives would not prove to be as beneficial as the ones during STIP.
We are thankful to the Arbitrum DAO and we remain aligned with their long term vision; for this reason we would feel more comfortable returning and applying for future grants when appropriate, where they can have higher ROI for both Rysk and the DAO.
KPIs
Depositors
New depositors showed an increase with the STIP start with another larger spike at the beginning of the year after delivering a track record of consistent high return with base yield + ARB rewards (see analysis below).
Returns
Cumulated weekly returns (base + STIP incentive) for Depositors were ~18% since the start of STIP (~48% annualized). A consistently high returns after the first 2 months lead to a spike in new users at the turn of the year.
TVL
TVL also reached ATH first weeks of January when a spike in new users was recorded. TVL started to drop mid January as a consequence of an extension of the STIP duration and consequent reduction of the weekly amount of STIP distributed. The new expected APR was lower than other venues in the Arbitrum ecosystem and the liquidity moved out. This was confirmed by talking to some of our existing users.
In reality, the reduction on TVL kept the APR to a similar level for the depositors.
Options traders
Rysk showed a spike in new options traders in the first week of the STIP, on-boarding new users to trade options on Arbitrum.
Trading Volumes
Volume reached ATH first week of January as a result of a positive flywheel effect of the STIP. Good returns, attracted liquidity and traders were able to trade in size boosting volumes. Volume also registered a drop after the new mechanism was proposed since lower LPs liquidity reduced the potential trading size without reaching the max utilization. However, volume was sticky enough to consistently be multiples higher than pre-incentives.
Overall Goal
The goal was to position Arbitrum as the leader for options and Rysk strongly contributed to this by leading as one of the main options protocol by volume.
More details on the STIP metrics are available here: Rysk STIP Program Updates .
Lesson Learnt
Incentives are a successful on-boarding tool
Products like options require a steep learning curve for first time traders and incentives program are a great way for users to start trading and have the incentive to learn and get deeper. Overall during the STIP we were able to on-board many options traders and record ATH volumes and position as a top protocol by volume.
Some of those traders are still trading after the STIP and even more importantly provided feedbacks, ideas and data on how to improve the product and build the future of Rysk
LPs liquidity is critical but very mercenary
For pool based products like Rysk DHV having enough liquidity in the pool to sustain volumes is critical. Despite Rysk being one of the most capital efficient protocol in terms of Volume / TVL, a lack of TVL leads to a drop in volume due to the size traders can enter on. Once the STIP weekly distribution extended, reducing the amount distributed per week, many users withdrew and deposited into other Arbitrum protocols with STIP. Compared to traders, depositors were harder to keep around, reducing the effect of the flywheel.
Multi-protocol short term incentive programs are great marketing but also increase mercenary flows
The impact of STIP was net positive for Rysk. One of the main advantage was the reputation and marketing directly provided by the STIP and other protocols in the ecosystem.
Overall a multi protocol program like the STIP is definitely net positive. But from a protocol perspective there is also a downside effect due to the mercenary liquidity that they can attract. With Rysk we realized on the LP side that depositors where very quick to move liquidity to the best opportunity in the ecosystem and during a program like STIP there are many running in parallel making it very hard to retain users, unless offering higher incentives than other protocols. From an ecosystem perspective it creates a competition among protocols on the incentives distribution to attract LPs.
Rysk v2
The STIP provided Rysk with a great opportunity for growth along with the collection of user data and feedback. We learned that traders enjoyed the trading experience at Rysk, and STIP was an effective tool for onboarding new traders. Based on these insights, we are developing Rysk V2, with the core mission of generating a stable flow of volume and returns. For this reason, we believe that embarking on a STIP Bridge at this stage might not be very effective for Rysk’s growth within the Arbitrum ecosystem and we would rather apply for a future program with Rysk v2 where the ROI can be much more effective.
Rysk v2 is focused on implementing solutions to the liquidity stickiness issues seen in the STIP. We expect to return with a more rounded, robust, and targeted product.
Stay tuned.