FEI, a new, decentralized stablecoin, appears to have caught the attention of the cryptosphere. Fei Labs pulled in $1.3 billion during the Fei Protocol Genesis Event, which concluded on Saturday. According to a report from CoinTelegraph, the funds, roughly 639,000 ETH, came from more than 17,000 contributors. Some analysts are calling the event “the biggest launch in DeFi history.”
Biggest launch in Defi history? @feiprotocol raised $1.2B from its Genesis event, and the $FEI – $TRIBE pool is #1 on Uniswap with $2.6 BILLION in liquidity.
Simultaneously, retail investors got predictably rekt.
Here's how the drama unfolded:
— Jon Wu (@jonwu_) April 4, 2021
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The money will be ‘locked’ inside of the Fei Protocol Controlled Value (PCV), which is the term that the protocol uses to describe its ‘total value locked’ (TVL). Fei’s PCV includes treasuries, insurance funds and other assets that are not redeemable by users.
In exchange for their contributions, the investors who participated in the Genesis Event will receive a pro-rata percentage of FEI coins. As Fei Labs explained, “users that participate at Fei Protocol Genesis can commit ETH as part of the Genesis Group to bootstrap the protocol. By doing so, this entitles participants to a pro-rata percentage of FEI generated from the bonding curve.”
639K $ETH committed and $1.3B $FEI Minted
Through Protocol Controlled Value, the $FEI – $ETH pair is now the largest pool on @Uniswap https://t.co/JvSWh6idBm
— Fei Labs (@feiprotocol) April 3, 2021
What is unique about the FEI stablecoin? According to the project’s whitepaper, “FEI uses a new kind of stablecoin mechanism called direct incentives.”
“It is more capital efficient, has a fair distribution and is fully decentralized. The protocol uses the value it controls to maintain liquid secondary markets.”
The project lists an impressive list of VC backers, including Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase, Nascent, Framework, Variant and Buckley Ventures.