TrustSwap: Smart Contract Services For DeFi

Blockchain smart contracts in the decentralized finance (DeFi) industry help automate many of the financial processes and transactions that typically require complex, multi-step execution, as well as the involvement of middlemen, which can raise costs. Examples of the processes eloquently automated via smart contracts include will executions, regular crypto payments, insurance claims, contract-based settlements, token launches and distributions, and more.

TrustSwap aims to remove the middlemen and arduous financial processes, lowering costs while simultaneously making those processes more streamlined and trustless.

What Is TrustSwap?

TrustSwap (SWAP) is a multi-chain platform that offers a set of products to automate the processes of creating, launching, distributing, managing and securely exchanging crypto assets. The platform operates on four blockchains: Ethereum (ETH), BNB Chain (BNB), Avalanche (AVAX) and Polygon (MATIC).

One of the first services offered by TrustSwap was a launchpad for new crypto projects. The platform then added more services, such as staking, an escrow-based secure exchange of funds between transacting parties, an NFT marketplace, and a management solution to mint and distribute crypto tokens.

TrustSwap is a relatively small DeFi services platform, with a total value locked (TVL) standing at a modest $4 million for its main staking pool. However, despite its smaller scale, TrustSwap has managed to become an active player in the fast-growing niche of crypto start-up launchpads. TrustSwap Launchpad regularly features new projects and offers early access to their token distributions.

TrustSwap was launched in July 2020 by Canadian serial entrepreneur Jeff Kirdeikis, who is also the company’s current CEO. Over the last two years, TrustSwap has gradually grown, adding more services and acquiring existing DeFi solutions.

TrustSwap Key Features

TrustSwap’s unique value is in its wide choice of products and features in the areas of crypto asset management and DeFi services. The platform’s key services include staking, launchpads, and a secure asset exchange solution, SmartSwap.

Staking

TrustSwap offers staking opportunities via its Long-Term Staking Pool (LTSP). It encourages users to stake SWAP, the platform’s native crypto token, for longer periods, as the staking APY grows in proportion to the staking period. Currently, the average staking period is nearly four years, and around two-thirds of the total funds have been staked for five years or more.

Source: dashboard.trustswap.org

LTSP depositors earn a share of revenue from transaction fees on the protocol. The rewards are added to your staking account every 10 seconds, and you’re free to withdraw the accrued reward amounts at any time. However, you can only unstake at the end of a staking period. For now, the pool is available via Ethereum, with plans to introduce it on Polygon, Avalanche and BNB Chain.

Besides using TrustSwap’s Long-Term Staking Pool, stakers can deposit their funds into the platform’s Launchpad farming pools.

LaunchPad

TrustSwap Launchpad is probably the most prominent product of the platform. It gives you early access to promising crypto tokens before they’re fully launched on the market. The new crypto projects listed on TrustSwap launchpads reserve a portion of their token allocations for TrustSwap’s users.

Besides investing in the tokens of these start-ups, you also have the option of staking your SWAP tokens in Launchpad pools for yield. Just as with staking in the LTSP, staking SWAP in a Launchpad pool for a longer time will increase your Launchpad allocations.

In slightly more than two years of operation, the Launchpad has helped crypto start-ups raise over $30 million in funding.

SmartSwap

SmartSwap is a secure trustless service designed to help two transacting parties exchange crypto funds in a safe and mutually compliant fashion. It uses an escrow system to reserve crypto funds that are subject to a contractual relationship. Both transacting parties agree on the terms and conditions for the release of funds. When the contractual terms have been fully satisfied by both parties, the funds are automatically released.

By using the TrustSwap network’s secured payments, transacting parties can avoid scams and non-payment issues that are, sadly, common in the world of cryptocurrency.

Other TrustSwap Services

Staking, Launchpad and SmartSwap are TrustSwap’s flagship products. Additionally, the platform offers several other services. These include:

• Swappable: An NFT management tool and marketplace, Swappable lets you handle the entire life cycle of NFT use — minting, marketing and trading — all from within one product. The platform also features exclusive NFT drops from leading artists.
• The Crypto App: A cryptocurrency market tracking app that serves as a wallet and provides alerts, news, widgets and other tools for crypto traders. For instance, you may use The Crypto App’s Portfolio feature to connect your accounts, held at multiple crypto exchanges and blockchain platforms, to view and manage your overall crypto portfolio.
• Token management tools for minting, vesting and distributing new cryptocurrencies: This set of tools lets you securely mint tokens, vest them and set up time-release schedules for their distribution. Even without programming skills, you can use the mint tool to easily issue tokens on multiple blockchain platforms, such as BNB Chain, Ethereum and Polygon. Thanks to TrustSwap’s multi-platform nature, cross-chain token swaps are also easily accessible.

How TrustSwap Launchpad Works

TrustSwap Launchpad is a valuable platform for both crypto start-ups seeking funding, and investors willing to purchase new tokens. New projects have to go through a rigorous selection process to earn a spot on the Launchpad. TrustSwap uses a vetting panel, made up of blockchain and crypto industry experts, to evaluate each candidate project.

Part of the evaluation involves an assessment of the project’s tokenomics, such as vesting schedule, token allocation scheme and supply specifics. This rigorous selection process helps protect investors from scams and nonviable crypto projects.

As an investor, you also receive exclusive access to early token allocations. The projects listed on the Launchpad come from a number of different blockchains — mostly Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon and Avalanche.

You may access the TrustSwap Launchpad from its dashboard page to view the available projects and invest in them. However, you’ll need to have some ETH and SWAP crypto to pay for transaction and gas fees.

After you’ve selected a project you’re interested in, you’ll need to fill out an application form. There’s a 24-hour window during which you can supply all the details required in the application and submit it. The TrustSwap team will contact you within 72 hours of submitting your application to provide further details. Normally, you’ll need to pass know your customer (KYC) requirements to join as an investor.

Note that most projects listed on the Launchpad don’t accept U.S. citizens as investors. The key reason is the reluctance of many projects to deal with the often onerous reporting and compliance requirements imposed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

What Is SWAP Token?

SWAP is TrustSwap’s main crypto token. It exists in native formats on four blockchains — Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon and Avalanche. The BNB Chain version of SWAP is based on the BEP-20, the default standard for fungible tokens on its blockchain. On the other three chains, SWAP is based on the ERC-20 standard, the default standard for fungible tokens on Ethereum that has also been adopted by Polygon and Avalanche.

SWAP is a supply-capped token, with a maximum of 100 million tokens and a total supply of nearly 100 million. As SWAP is a deflationary token, 80% of the TrustSwap protocol’s revenue is allocated to stakers, while the remaining 20% is burned.

SWAP’s current circulating supply is about 78.57 million (as of October 28, 2022). At the token’s current price of approximately $0.23, its market cap stands at $18.14 million.

SWAP Token Uses

SWAP holders stand to gain from its varied uses on the platform. As covered earlier, SWAP tokens are used for staking. TrustSwap’s main staking pool, the LTSP, accepts only SWAP tokens and pays out rewards in SWAP.

SWAP is also used in the Launchpad’s farming pools. Each farming pool belongs to a specific start-up project listed on the Launchpad. Some of these pools accept SWAP and pay out rewards in each project’s token. However, other pools might take deposits in the project’s token rather than in SWAP. Each pool has its own specific rules on the acceptance of SWAP tokens. For instance, out of the five most recent Launchpad pools, two were based on the SWAP token as a deposit asset.

Source: dashboard.trustswap.org

SWAP is also used for transaction fee payments on the TrustSwap network. Most of the services on TrustSwap allow payment of transaction fees in Ether (ETH) or in SWAP. Using SWAP for payments gives you discounted rates, typically a 50% fee reduction compared to Ether payments. For example, sellers on the Swappable NFT marketplace are charged a “marketing fee” of 2% of the sale value when paying in Ether, but only 1% if paying in SWAP.

TrustSwap Price Prediction

The SWAP token started trading in early July 2020 at a price of around $0.04. The token’s best performance on the market was in the first half of 2021. On April 16, 2021, SWAP recorded its highest-ever price of $5.00. The token’s all-time low of $0.03 was registered on July 9, 2020, its first day of trading. In the last few months, SWAP has been relatively stable, trading between $0.19 and $0.25.

Source: Coingecko.com

• Our view is that SWAP is likely to grow both in the medium- and long-term, as the token’s business fundamentals are favorable. SWAP might not be among the biggest market movers and shakers, but sustained solid growth is on the radar for the token. The key factors for our optimism toward SWAP include:

• The expected continuation of the DeFi services growth pattern. As both individuals and businesses enter the DeFi industry in greater numbers, the services offered by TrustSwap will help support SWAP’s price.
• The growth in the utilization of contract-based crypto payments. As crypto is more actively used to settle payments based on contractual relationships, TrustSwap’s SmartSwap feature is likely to attract more users to the platform. By providing a secure payment mechanism that protects both payers and payees, SmartSwap will also help attract individuals who are currently “crypto naive” and are wary of using crypto payments, due to the scams that abound in the industry.
• As more crypto start-ups hit the market, TrustSwap’s core competence — its pre-vetted Launchpad offering — will also serve as an additional growth catalyst for SWAP.
• TrustSwap’s multi-chain reach is another positive factor for both the platform’s and the token’s future.

The SWAP token is also expected to perform well from the perspectives of key cryptocurrency forecasting portals. DigitalCoinPrice’s average forecasts for SWAP are $0.64 by 2025 and $1.36 by 2030. Priceprediction.net is even more bullish on the token, predicting an average of $0.82 by 2025 and a spike up to $5.04 by 2030.

Closing Thoughts

While TrustSwap is a relatively small platform by the standards of the overall crypto industry, it has many innovative services. Its escrow service for secure asset exchanges, early access to pre-vetted crypto tokens, and utilities for comprehensive token and NFT management provide immensely practical and useful tools for DeFi operators and investors. The need for TrustSwap’s varied feature set will be there for as long as the DeFi industry itself exists.