Rough Draft Proposal: Comdex Lazarus Upgrade - The Revival of Comdex

Proposal: Comdex Lazarus Upgrade - The Revival of Comdex

Introduction:

At present, Comdex is facing challenges in onboarding users and generating consumer excitement for its products. With the introduction of Syndicate to the Comdex ecosystem, we aimed to develop a mutually beneficial product for all parties involved. However, trust between the community and the development team has been strained. As an application within Comdex, it is our responsibility to engage with the community and establish open communication to bridge this gap.

Part 1: Identified Issues:

Geoblocking of Products: Geoblocking has been criticized for discriminating against users to protect the team from legal issues. To address this concern, Syndicate is working with Akash to create decentralized front-ends, allowing all users access to the ecosystem.

Mismanagement of Incentives: Some projects have inflated APY/APR to attract users, resulting in disappointment and the misuse of CMDX as a farm token. This issue must be addressed, particularly as CMDX will no longer be used for minting synthetics in the short term, and a solution to increase capital efficiency of CMDX.

Tokenomics and Value Accrual: The obscure and difficult-to-find information on Comdex tokenomics poses a significant challenge. We must improve transparency to attract investors who can contribute ideas and products to the ecosystem.

Losing Identity: The whole idea of the Comdex ecosystem was commodities, we have forgotten about what differentiates us from other chains. We need to focus on doing 1 thing and one thing only really well, the focus should be shifted back to commodities. Currently, we are no different than any other L1 Blockchain.

Part 2: Proposed Revelation Upgrade Changes and Updates:

A. Refocus the Development of Synthetics:

Further develop the Synthetix model for sUSD (CMST) in the commodities sector.

Implement supply caps and risk management modules to prevent exploits and predatory arbitrage loops (White Whale can assist), also incentivize low liquidity.

Explanation of why development was stopped:

“In the devnet we realized there were a bunch of problems with the pool model we were pursuing, as in the major issue was the closing of the arbitrage loop for a commodity let’s assume CMST as a commodity and equivalent on chain asset USDC can be used to close the arb loop, when a natively issued asset which does not have a proper on-chain market is issued the peg and stability does not work properly due to no other direct arbitrage mechanism

Low liquidity environment was another problem and we did not want this assets to be tied up with the amount of liquidity, and we also needed to incentivize the liquidity

The next problem is there is no proper oracle available to be trusted and chainlink does not support Cosmos

One model was issuing the assets the way SNX does it and the SNX stakers would be the counterparty and all the commodity asset minters would be in a singular debt pool pvp. This we thought would not be the correct PMF and due to these and also the obvious regulatory problem we stopped the development in devnet.

We would resume work on it once we have sufficient CMST liquidity and clarity about the mechanism.”

  • Comdex Team

In order to introduce commodities, the model must be sustainable which can be done through rolling releases of commodity products, and not all at once to prevent illiquid price execution and negative feedback loops.This should be priority #1 of the Comdex team, since the protocols are live.

B. Value Accrual Adjustment:

Explore options for value accrual and network security, such as allowing users to earn tokens from other projects. Similar to ICS, possibility for applications on Comdex to create value back to the stakers and validators.

Example: CMDX stakers receive yield from Harbor, cSwap, Commodo, and Syndicate.

Note: Liquidity mining incentives should be exclusive to app users, not stakers.

C. Tokenomics Updates via Inflation and Fees:

Address the current subpar tokenomics of Comdex and adjust them to better serve the community. Add a transparent link to the current tokenomics, and adjusted tokenomics. Also, the arrival of CMDX LSDs can increase capital efficiency.

Examples: Proposed Tax, fee burn and Semi-distribution to stakers, non-binary staking reduction (set to 25% right now)

*Note that this is a rough idea of proposed ideas.

D. Maximize the use of Harbor Emission/Token:

Abandon the Locker Module, fee share should be recursive and be directed to stakers and protocol users. CMST should have products that are built on top of it such as strategy vaults, LP managers, and Arbitrage. The Risk-Free yield for locking CMST disincentivizes CMST leaving the eco and growing the use case. Also, Harbor will have natural buy pressure from distribution of fees to stakers and Comdex Stakers.

E.Treasury Management Council/Advisory Board:

Format a group of individuals or outside 3rd party (not syndicate team members) to manage the treasury funds to be able to have runway to onboard developers, maximize incentive programs, fund new ventures and support current projects. The Council will also be responsible for consulting Abhishek and Siddarth regarding VC and institutional investor deals which should be made clear to the community and investors.This is an idea that was brought to light when Andre Cronje did it for fantom, as well as Atom Accelerator DAO for the hub.

This will provide clarity to investors and community members, and will also take the workload off of the team. This should be a governor elected council that works like the Synthetix Council mechanism.

Outlook if the Above is Accomplished:

  • Increased Trust in the Team: Users are more likely to align with the mission of the Comdex team and applications built upon the Comdex ecosystem. This is very important and if not the most important factor, without a growing community/consumer, the business is destined to fail.

  • Realignment of the Value Proposition: Commodities was the main focus on why a lot of users got excited (Syndicate included) and we believe it makes Comdex unique and a competitive advantage over other chains, realignment back to the original goal will give Comdex a better opportunity to win back market share and have steady growth in the future.

  • Sustainable Runway: Thus, with the proposal of restructuring the tokenomics and a treasury manager to earn yield like a business, it is easier to pivot and invest in new ventures such as infra and partnerships to grow the chain and support Dapps. As of right now, the token is on a death spiral with zero organic buy pressure or use case. If a solution is presented to solve this issue, it will be easier in the future to grow the ecosystem and support the team and products built on Comdex.

What is the Syndicate’s role in all of this?

Syndicate and suggested team collaborators want to be on the same page as the Comdex team and avoid what happened on Arbitrum via proposal AIP-1, we hope to reach agreement and alignment with the Comdex team and other applications that are built on Comdex to further the success of the chain. Syndicate’s role in the ecosystem is as a solutions provider and advisor via products and governance assistance, this proposal follows these guidelines.

*IMPORTANT: This proposal serves as a rough draft, subject to further refinement as fees and the direction for the Revelation Upgrade are finalized. We encourage all Comdex users to provide feedback on how we can improve the Comdex user experience.

Note from Syndicate Team: We appreciate how welcoming the Comdex team has been to Syndicate, and it is in our benefit that Comdex succeeds, we don’t want this to come off as malicious! But, we need to earn back the trust of the community and investors and redirect our alignment back to the true identity if we want to succeed in the future and in this competitive space. This is just some ideas that will be fleshed out in multiple parts with an actual proposal.

Please share your feedback below:

6 Likes

I like the ideas in this proposal

Definitely some interesting ideas. Will need more details for some things but generally the direction is right.
Also would suggest to split each idea into its own proposal

2 Likes

Decentralized, synthetic commodity trading is a killer usecase when done right. In the early Terra days, it’s synthetic commodity DEX, Mirror Protocol, was attracting thousands of users and millions in USD of volume day by day.

We think this is a unique and needed product in the Cosmos, but it definitely has it’s design challenges. For a synthetics protocol it is very important to offer immaculate UX and deep liquidity. Oracles are definitely an issue, but there are are other ways to be explored than band. Umee are building an IBC oracle chain (ojo) and there are several other architectural choices possible, like kujira’s x/oracle module and price feeder (which originated from terra too).

If done right, Syndicate has the power to attract new users and increase chain liquidity. We appreciate the effort to coordinate the rollout in alignment with the Comdex product suite. Comdex has strong pillars to present, they just need more users and public exposure - we’d like to suggest to maybe consult DeFi marketing professionals about a possible campaign.

At CryptoCrew we’re happy to support Syndicate and the Comdex ecosystem going forward with the proposed changes!

3 Likes

Props to the syndicate team for taking this up. I think Comdex has been bleeding for some time. Lot of hard work going to waste. This is surely the right direction for Comdex going forward. I’ll be following this closely. I expect everyone who has ever criticized this team publicly in the name of “concern” to use this discussion to voice what they think is right for the chain. If they don’t then its quite clear that the motive was never “concern” but a coordinated attack on the project.

Like where are the likes of @CMDX_GOD who have been complaining on the forum for months instead of offering productive suggestions? You’ve got complaints? this is the right way to tackle them. Either be a part of this improvement and do something or stop crying.

Participate in this discussion. Voice what you think is right and help move Comdex in that direction.

2 Likes

I am at a loss for words for this band, I pivoted to earn money on other projects. Comdex will be hard to get back on its feet with the current CEO. My advice to SyndicateMike is to change the team because this one here is dishonest

It’s funny that you called me because I just wanted to enter the forum to write that I couldn’t get an answer in my thread for 10 days

Thanks for the effort @SyndicateMike.
I think you are right to get focus back in the game. You are spot on when the USP of Comdex was commodities that a loooot of people got excited and hyped. And I believe we can take that momentum back.

What I would like to include in the whole solution is a critical look at the things we have (Commodo, Harbor, cSwap) and check if we need them to reach the goal. What is the exact interaction between the elements to get things done in the end? And elements we don’t need to get there, please leave them behind. Having elements which do not contribute to the bigger picture are just dead weight.

For me the whole set of tools on different websites is confusing, because it is not entirely clear to find your way around and what needs to be done where. Maybe we just need to get back to one coin, with a more lean set of tools focussed on getting the job done.

I am also curious if we need LPs for the commodities, or whether the first step would be to mint cAssets to track prices and expose yourself to commodities. How do ETFs do it? Do they have liquidity pools? If not, then please skip that element, since it will remove a huge part of the complex puzzle. Start with a simple (overcollateralized?) tracker and start building from there. The team has shown they can deliver good quality products, so I think it is just about finding the right angle before the ride up can start.

2 Likes

Mike, great suggestions and I’m definitely supporting this proposal (and Comdex).

In my opinion, there is one thing very important in the short term for a small-cap (<$5.5mil marketcap) project like Comdex and that’s to get an LSD of the CMDX token asap. Incentivizing inefficient pairs on cSwap with CMDX gets a lot of sell pressure for it. Something which comes at a cost, especially when the marketcap is small and the inflation (staking apr is around 40%) is high.
I think based on Comdex its inflation and cSwap, the best way forward would be to focus on making LSD pairs on cSwap whenever these are available. Pairing an LSD version of CMDX with the #1 liquid LSD of the other token (mostly Stride but sometimes it’s another option) like; stOSMO, stEVMOS, stSTART, ampLUNA, ampKUJI, etc.
The only pair which would have a significant meaning without being an LSD is ATOM (and USDC obviously), as ATOM is the most liquid token and functions as a token to bridge between DEX’es.
I’m open to funding an LSD provider with a good track record (Stride, Amplifier) to launch an LSD version of CMDX very fast.
After this is done, we could lower CMDX emissions because liquidity providers don’t need as many incentives to make up for their lost staking rewards, making all the pools much more capital efficient.

And secondly, I believe Comdex should still focus on making a synthetics platform on Cosmos. I think there is a lot of demand from retail investors to trade products that aren’t available in TradFi. Like commodities, obviously. Covid and the Ukraine war are perfect examples of times when retail investors want to trade commodities like gold, oil, lumber, and grain.
Besides that there is definitely a market for more complex investment products like the VIX (although already built in DeFi), but also like Carbon futures, which is increasingly becoming popular but which isn’t easily accessible for retail. The possibilities are endless like even IPO futures. Mirror (on Terra) didn’t even try to address this market as they only had the biggest stocks listed on their platform like Microsoft and Apple. The biggest challenge is not the demand side but getting retail to the Comdex platform to use it (marketing, UI, making an app that doesn’t feel you’re using crypto/blockchain, etc.).

Anyway, let’s go forward! I still think Comdex is a very interesting project, especially at its current marketcap.

2 Likes

The model will either have to be Synthetix or Mirror. Synthetix would incorporate CMST, Mirror wouldnt have to but purchases should be based in CMST to better use it.

Thx Leonoors, most likely IMO sunset Commodo and stop development other applications until cAsset is built out. cSwap for the time being can be used to subsize staking derivatives only and CMDX liquidity should noy be prioritized. Master/Child pools was a cool concept, but isnt easy to understand which stagnates the growth. Simple, and useable is the goal. I think we take the success of mirror and synthetix and build upon what they are doing, no need to reinvent the wheel when its been proven to work.

1 Like

Thats the goal, I think deciding which model is more sufficient for the time being. The UX has to be usuable, and the UI must be easy to understand for new users. I think scrapping and sunsetting Commodo, pausing CMDX incentives, and upgrading the tokenomics, we can really move CMDX in the right direction and trap liquidity. It also helps us work with other ecosystems, which we arent competing with.

1 Like

Thats the goal he probably going to roll out 4 props with the first one focusing on the redevelopment of Commodity platform and sunsetting Commodo, and pausing the CMDX incentives for the time being. Harbor will work because its a CDP and its okay to have protocol owned liquidity.

1 Like

I think the main problem with cmdx is that the UI is too simple and unattractive. Difficult for new users to use

1 Like

Did you also already get input from the team itself on this? That is not entirely clear for me yet

Leon, yes I have. We are working a solution, it should be public soon. Also doing an AMA on Wednesday regarding the Lazarus proposal. Spread the word.

1 Like

Yep, I agree whole heartedly. Syndicate is also here to enhance the UX/Ui experience without making it too difficult to use

1 Like

Timing?

Did you share on your Twitter? Then I can find it there ^^

1 Like

AMA tomorrow for more in depth discussion. Currently, we meet with the team biweekly.

1 Like

I couldn’t join sadly…
Can you give a summary?

Also; do you want to put this intended direction on-chain in a short while? Maybe good to work from the rough draft towards the “definitive” draft proposal?