FIP Crypto
99% of people on my timeline are shilling @defidotapp.
So I tested it myself to see what all the hype was about.
Here’s what they’re not telling you about the actual user experience:
_______________________________________
Gasless swaps, but at a cost
The gasless experience on DeFi App's smart wallet is convenient.
There's no need to sign anything, and my swap is made instantly with minimal slippage.
But this comes at a cost:
I'm paying higher-than-normal gas fees per swap.
With 12.88 stEUR that I deposited in my swap wallet, I paid ~ $0.43 in fees after 2 swaps.
I checked my smart wallet on DeBank (0x9686d5d2b30363464575a6eb5deec499a269e12d) and realised that some funds are converted to gas.
So when I'm swapping in the smart wallet, it's similar to a Paymaster function (like on ZKsync):
Some of my tokens will be swapped to ETH for gas.
But this is not the only fee I'm paying when using this platform:
_______________________________________
Additional fees per swap/bridge
There are 3 main fees to pay when swapping:
❍ Provider (e.g. Relay or SushiSwap)
❍ DeFi App (when using your main wallet)
❍ Gas fees
DeFi App's fees are minimal, unless I use my main EVM wallet to make the swap.
Just for fun, I tried a USDT swap on BSC.
I was quoted a $0.73 fee for it.
So it's just something to be aware of when you're making swaps:
Even though slippage is minimal, the fees charged are higher than normal.
_______________________________________
Withdrawal fees are high too
This also applies to withdrawing your funds from the wallet:
I tried a cross-chain withdrawal of stEUR from Arbitrum to the mainnet, and I had to pay $5.36 for the cross-chain swap (thanks to deBridge).
I still had to pay $0.11 in fees when withdrawing stEUR back to my main EVM wallet on Arbitrum.
Compared to the $0.01 fee if I were to do the same on-chain transfer on my main EVM wallet.
@0xphatbear experienced a similar issue, where it cost him $5+ to bridge a few thousand USDT from Arbitrum to Base.
While the slippage looks decent, the fees add up if we’re making consistent swaps.
So if the fees are higher than normal, how does it have such impressive metrics?
It's likely due to the upcoming airdrop:
_______________________________________
The points system may mean nothing in the end
DeFi App is running the Degen Arena season, where we earn XP through these actions:
❍ Swap volume (after joining a Guild)
❍ Holding assets in the smart wallet
The more volume you swap, the more XP you earn.
And likely the more HOME tokens you receive.
I've previously shared my thoughts on points programs where the criteria are publicly known:
They usually don’t do well because it becomes a PvP battle:
Those who burn the most fees will win.
To get a decent rank, I would have to generate massive swap volume.
So I’m not going hard on this:
_______________________________________
Verdict
Does this mean it's not worth interacting with DeFi App?
Not at all, but it likely will burn through fees if you plan to swap consistently here.
I'm a bad trader, so it's not worth it for me to make consistent swaps.
Since it's likely that I'll make a loss and incur high fees along the way.
But if you can make good profits from trading, then it's worth making all of your swaps here.
Especially with the one-click experience on the smart wallet.
You can earn profits while qualifying for an airdrop, which is a bonus win.
Perps traders can use Hyperliquid soon, which opens another way to earn XP.
But for me, I plan to hold some assets here and hope for the best.
Given the likely points dilution, I'll just manage my expectations and take whatever that comes.
But if you found value in this guide and still want to participate in their campaign, feel free to use my referral link below:
Over 100 subscribers
