Is the Root NFT mint worth your time and money?

Introduction

Root DAO strives to bring simplicity and user-friendliness to the otherwise complex world of DeFi. The protocol's uniqueness lies not only in its approach to consolidating various decentralized applications (dApps) into one platform, but also in its forward-thinking financial model which benefits both holders and its internal DeFi lab, BloomWorks.

At the heart of the Root Protocol is its LayerZero technology, a feature that shapes the protocol and its tokenized Stems. This article explores Root's innovative approach to DeFi, seeking to provide a balanced understanding of its functions, goals, and market potential. We will delve into the key facts about Root and BloomWorks, their mission to develop novel DeFi protocols, and the resulting Hub, Sprout. Additionally, we will objectively evaluate Root's revenue streams, primarily derived from omnichain governance aggregation, and its strategy to mitigate centralized financial risk.

Democratizing DeFi

Emerging as a formidable force within the DeFi sector, Root DAO has exhibited a disruptive potential that promises to reshape the DeFi landscape.Root primarily functions as a governance aggregator across major blockchains, similar to how a farmer selects apples from his trees. Root selectively acquires Treasury reserves and assets, including Ethereum and other whitelisted assets, establishing a layer of governance over high-performing DEXs and protocols. Termed "Orchard," this model manifests in a stream of Treasury revenue, consistent growth, and an expanding influence across the liquidity and governance facets of the DeFi sector.

Key innovation

The key innovation of Root DAO lies in its governance aggregator model. By acquiring DEX tokens and incentivizing protocol-owned liquidity (POL) pools, Root DAO is able to generate revenue while simultaneously bolstering its decentralized ecosystem. Significantly, Root commits to channel profits derived from this ecosystem back to its stakeholders, further fostering a sense of community ownership.

Root's earning strategy is agnostic to specific chains, a testament to its adaptable design. It can be deployed across all major, emerging, and upcoming EVM-compatible blockchains, reflecting its readiness to leverage the best of blockchain technology regardless of the platform.

Competitive advantage

What sets Root DAO apart in the bustling DeFi market, which boasted a market capitalization exceeding $20 billion in June 2023, is its commitment to accessibility. By consolidating various dApps into a singular, user-friendly platform, Root DAO seeks to democratize DeFi, making it more appealing and accessible for all. It seeks to capitalize on the rising interest in DAOs as more businesses explore this novel governance form for enhanced transparency and automation. Root DAO's forward-thinking model, its dedication to stakeholders, and its efforts to make DeFi universally accessible make it a noteworthy platform in DeFi.

The Democratic party

The team behind Root DAO is anonymous. Despite their concealed identities, the core team's efforts have not gone unnoticed. They have executed an innovative vision for Root DAO, which is reflective of their depth of knowledge and expertise.

WrRoot DAO's strategic alliances are key to its growth trajectory. Their only partnership is with THENA, a leading ve(3,3) DEX designed to usher in the next generation of protocols to the BNB Chain. The collaboration between Root DAO and THENA is expected to generate considerable mutual value, volume, and Total Value Locked (TVL). It is this alliance that establishes Root and its stems as a major player in shaping DeFi on the BNB Chain.

Fundraising is another crucial aspect of Root DAO's operations. Recently, the DAO has undertaken an intriguing approach by organizing a public mint of a deflationary series of 3000 NFTs, each worth 0.6 Ethereum. Despite the anonymity of its core team, Root DAO’s innovative strategies, strategic partnerships, and unique fundraising approaches underscore its potential to be a trailblazer within the DeFi sector. Its ongoing progress serves as a testament to the team's expertise, even as their identities remain unknown. With staking the Root NFT, user will receive 40% APR in $ROOT during the first year, receive airdrops from all tokenized Root-incubated projects, get royalties from secondary sales and Earn 20% LP fees.

A deeper look into Root DAO

Root DAO operates by absorbing the inherent value creation from next-gen flywheel DEXs, positioning itself akin to an 'Orchard,' much like 'Convex is to Balancer.' This strategic positioning allows Root to benefit from the trend where bribe-driven DEXs are proving to be sustainable alternatives to constant product formula (x*y=k) based exchanges. The dominance of these next-gen DEXs in the liquidity landscape across major blockchains bolsters Root's potential for growth.

At its core, Root functions as a value accrual layer situated atop these next-gen DEXs. This symbiotic relationship is evidenced by the significant interest from key protocols leading to formal partnerships, as Root adds and cycles value back into these protocols.

The revenue generation process of Root is systematic and innovative. Initially, Root offers discounted ROOT in exchange for $ETH through bond issuance. Following this, Treasury assets such as ROOT and/or $ETH are used to place bribes for its gauges on leading DEXs and bribing layers like Balancer and Aura. Liquidity Pools, majorly comprising Protocol-owned Liquidity (POL), earn emission tokens from each protocol, thereby generating a profit for Root's Treasury. To consolidate ownership of veAssets and sustain a base of voting power, Root may lock these earned emission tokens. Upon reaching a certain threshold of voting power and economic growth, Root introduces surplus voting power to the market, with protocols having the option to bribe veROOT holders for governance power.

The Treasury-generated revenues of Root are directed judiciously. As the Treasury expands, it backs the issuance of bonds to further stimulate growth and/or manage the price of the ROOT token. Other applications of the Treasury include re-injecting liquidity via Orchard across next-gen DEXs, supporting DeFi Protocol Development via BloomWorks Studios or "Stems," and financing growth and market penetration activities. Additionally, revenues are allocated towards developing, upgrading, and maintaining Sprout, Root's consolidated DeFi Hub, and to rootNFT holders.

When Root Token

The ROOT token lies at the heart of the Root Protocol ecosystem, playing a vital role in its governance structure and offering potential rewards for holders. Despite no official launch date being announced as of yet, the mechanisms through which users can acquire ROOT are already in place. For instance, users can opt to purchase bonds from the Protocol's dApp at a significant discount, effectively earning an 'instant profit'. Alternatively, the token can be acquired on decentralized exchanges such as Balancer and Uniswap, or via a router like 1inch.

Upon its launch, ROOT will have an initial circulating supply of approximately 12,600,000 tokens, while the total and maximum supply is capped at 110,000,000 tokens. This limit is built into Root's contracts, thereby eliminating the possibility of manual minting. As such, the supply of ROOT can expand through various channels including veROOT and Genesis rootNFT emissions, bond emissions, and DAO fee emissions, but it can never exceed the fixed cap.

veROOT is the vote-escrowed form of ROOT which confers accelerated esROOT yield, governance rights to stakers, and more. esROOT is an escrowed version of ROOT, designed to reward veROOT holders and rootNFT holders. Up to 31,000,000 esROOT tokens will ever be emitted. The entire supply of esROOT is included within the Total and Maximum supply of ROOT

As the protocol approaches this cap, the Root Protocol intends to distribute the revenue secured from Treasury growth strategies and stem protocol revenues and products to its stakeholders, which include veROOT holders. In terms of tradeability within the Root Protocol ecosystem, ROOT stands as the sole token option.

Upon its launch, ROOT is expected to have a starting price of $0.13 per token, and a circulating market cap of approximately $1.17 million. The fully-diluted market cap at launch is projected to be $1.63 million, and would rise to $14.3 million if the maximum supply were emitted.

Regarding vesting, all categories are subject to a linear drip vesting, ranging from 9 to 24 months, depending on the stakeholder category. Moreover, ROOT incorporates several protection mechanisms to ensure stability and sustainable growth. These include a fixed supply cap, an inverse bonding architecture that allows Root to use Treasury reserves to stabilize the ROOT price through Inverse Bonds, a deflationary instant-vesting mechanism, auto-compounding of esROOT rewards into veROOT, continuous stem development via BloomWorks Studios, and minting aligned with Root's Vesting schedule.

Gaining Traction

Despite its relatively recent entrance into the field, Root DAO has shown impressive traction, quickly gaining momentum and the attention of an engaged community.

One of the key indicators of Root DAO's popularity is its social media presence. With over 6,000 followers on Twitter, the project has proven its capacity to engage an extensive audience.

Even more impressive is Root DAO's thriving community on Discord. Boasting over 3,500 members, their Discord channel serves as a hub for real-time discussions, brainstorming, and community engagement. It's where ideas are shared, solutions are proposed, and the project's community-driven ethos truly shines.

However, perhaps the most tangible demonstration of Root DAO's traction is the success of their initial NFT Mint. The DAO managed to raise more than 1440 Ethereum, translating to a little under $2.5 million. This fundraising effort exemplifies the confidence investors have placed in the project, its team, and its future.

Future potential

Root DAO is shaping up to be of considerable promise. Barely a few months old, the project has already made waves in the decentralized space, successfully amassing about 2.5 million dollars through a unique NFT mint. This milestone not only puts Root DAO firmly on the DeFi map but also provides a substantial base to pursue its ambitious and groundbreaking objectives.

The imminent launch of its core token, ROOT, signifies Root DAO's commitment to an inclusive and diverse ecosystem. The ROOT token sale encompasses 6 opportunities:

• Early Access Raise: Offering a first-come, first-served initiative, this round primarily caters to third-party protocols and trustworthy angel investors.
• AmpliFi Limited Raise: This round caters solely to the AmpliFi community, giving an opportunity to individuals who have held #AMPLIFI, including Amplifiers, Stakers, Liquidity Miners, and Fusers, to obtain ROOT tokens.
• $ARB Pioneers Raise: Directed at the early adopters of the Arbitrum network who were previously whitelisted for an airdrop, this raise will persist until its prescribed limit is reached.
• Discord Whitelist Raise: This opportunity is tailor-made for the winners of the Discord whitelist giveaway contest.
• Discord "OG" Raise: Spawned by the proactive Root DAO Discord community, this round is prioritized for the most dynamic members of the Root Discord.
• Fair Launch Public Raise: To round off the opportunities, a public round will present an array of offers including ROOT emissions, LP fees, lifetime royalties, and more.

Further sweetening the deal, ROOT token holders can anticipate potential airdrops from Root's tokenized "Stems", fostering an additional layer of reward and engagement within the ecosystem. If Root DAO manages to replicate the success of its initial NFT mint in the forthcoming six raises, we could be looking at an impressive total fundraise.

Final Thoughts

With its Layer Zero technology and a unique Orchard model, Root DAO has started to stake its claim in this sector. It's a promising ecosystem that combines decentralized governance with the functionality of several different dApps, streamlining and enhancing the user experience. One of the most innovative aspects of Root DAO is its revenue streams. The protocol acts as a governance aggregator, absorbing value from various DEXs and creating a steady stream of Treasury revenue. This revenue generation model is not only chain-agnostic but also designed to benefit its stakeholders, which adds to its appeal. With its strategy to mitigate centralized financial risk and its commitment to share profits with stakeholders.

Root DAO's recent fundraising initiative, a public mint of a unique deflationary series of NFTs, managed to raise a staggering $2.5 million. If it can replicate this success in its upcoming token sale, the project could see a remarkable total fundraise. As for the ROOT token, it is central to the Root DAO ecosystem. Root Protocol intends to distribute the revenue secured from Treasury growth strategies and stem protocol revenues and products to its stakeholders, which include veROOT holders.

Given Root DAO's innovative approach to DeFi, its unique revenue generation model, and its successful fundraising efforts so far, minting the project's NFT appears to be a worthwhile investment. The future of Root DAO, though nascent, seems to be filled with promise and potential. As the ecosystem continues to develop and expand, early participation may well yield significant returns in the long run.