Symbiosis is a decentralized multi-chain liquidity protocol, or to put it simply, it's a decentralized exchange (DEX) that allows you to easily and quickly swap ANY token (nearly) for ANY other token on ANY CHAIN! I'll give you a minute to let that sink in.
This is huge! I, and many others, have been waiting for something like this since Decentralized Finance (DeFi) started spreading its wings and moving out onto the newer and cheaper blockchains (Yes Ethereum, I'm looking at you). Previously, if you wanted to move your tokens to another chain you would have to use a bridge. I have used the Connext (formerly Xpollinate) and Elk bridges, and while I was happy with the results, they were still clunky and had limitations. There are only a handful of coins available for cross-chain swaps on Connext and the ElkNet swap can only be used with ELK coins and is still in Beta.
As you can see in the below image, there is a maximum transfer of 10,000 ELK (would be nice to have that problem), and you must wait two minutes between transfers (which isn't really an issue, most transfers take around that long anyway). The incredibly convenient 'swap 1 ELK for gas' feature is also optional.
Having said that, I am still a fan of ElkNet swap because there is no minimum swap and they also have the incredibly useful option of swapping 1 ELK token for gas. This means that when you send your coins to another chain, you will receive 1 ELK's worth of whatever coin gas fees are paid with on that chain (e.g. BNB for Binance Chain, AVAX for Avalanche, FTM for Fantom). This is a lifesaver when you are sending your first transfer to another chain. However, if you are using the swap ELK for gas feature, you will need to be transferring more than 1 ELK's worth for the transaction to succeed.
Crypto is spreading its wings fast and nowhere is this more apparent than in the number of blockchains that are now out there. Ethereum's reign over DeFi is over. I have never had the ability to use Ethereum (ahem gas fees), so my crypto journey started on BNB chain (previously BSC). Since then, I have expanded to Polygon, Avalanche, and recently Fantom. Polygon (formerly MATIC network) is my favourite at the moment, simply because I can afford to do micro-transactions there. This multi-chain activity has led to the need to be able to quickly and easily transfer coins from one chain to another to take advantage of the latest DeFi offerings.
This is where Symbiosis comes in. This DEX is a real game-changer.
As soon as I heard about it, I had to check it out. Connecting is a breeze with MetaMask and the interface is clean and simple. It's not rocket science either, you choose the token you have and the chain it is on, and then you choose the token you want to buy and its chain. Simple. This is exactly what crypto needs to be for mainstream adoption to happen.
There is a fantastic choice of blockchains already available on Symbiosis and more are coming. Keep in mind that you will have to approve swapping networks in your wallet each time you choose a coin on a different chain. No biggie, but it can make you dizzy if you are browsing through the options like mad. The only issue I have with Symbiosis is the $50 minimum transfer. Hopefully, this will come down as liquidity increases, if not, I still have ElkNet swap to help this small fish out. My limited means aside, Symbiosis is everything I hoped it would be - simple, easy to use, and exactly what it says on the tin.
If you are looking to dive under the hood of how Symbiosis handles cross-chain trades, liquidity, and all the technical details then check out their site which details everything you could possibly want to know.
Speaking of Liquidity Pools, have you seen the APY's available with Symbiosis? There are some amazing incentives available right now; you know they won't last.
