INTRODUCTION

Mirror Protocol is a blockchain-based decentralized protocol for synthetic assets that functions in the decentralized finance industry. Mirror Protocol offers tools and capabilities that enable users to create their own synthetic assets, which are tokenized versions of real-world assets such as stocks or commodities.

The goal of the project is to allow users to trade US stocks 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Trading can be done by anyone, anywhere in the world, so the entry barrier has been lowered to make it easier for people to get into the financial market. Mirror Protocol's technology enables consumers to handle and trade tokenized assets by creating synthetic assets without ever owning the underlying stock or commodity.


HISTORY AND FOUNDER

Mirror was built by Terraform Laboratories (TFL), the organization behind the Terra blockchain whose purpose was to expand the Terra tooling and application ecosystem. Terraform Laboratories released Mirror Protocol in December 2020 to develop price-stable liquid derivative assets on the Terra network.

Do Kwon and Daniel Shin started Terra in January 2018. They thought of the project as a way to get more people to use cryptocurrency and blockchain technology by making it easy to use and keeping prices stable. Kwon became Terraform Labs' CEO.


REASON TO BUILD THE PROJECT

The developers of Mirror Protocol have set out to address a variety of issues. The project aims to accelerate the integration of traditional assets into the blockchain sector. By giving exposure to these assets through synthetics, anyone can take part in the market.

Millions of people worldwide cannot access vital financial resources owing to location, status, or other restrictions. Traditional financial assets like stocks, bonds, and derivatives are hard to invest in for people outside the U.S. and Europe. These investments have a lot of added expenses that make them tough for many investors. The Mirror Protocol provides a more inclusive market option.


BASE OF PROJECT

  • Minter - A minter is a person who enters into a collateralized loan position (CDP) to get newly created tokens from a mAsset. CDPs can take UST, mAssets, or whitelisted collateral as security. They must also keep a collateral ratio above the mAsset minimum multiplied by a premium rate. This rate is determined by governance.

  • Traders - Traders profit from the price fluctuations of equities that the mAssets reflect. They can show they believe in a company's stock by trading assets that have already been created on the protocol. Traders utilize UST stablecoin via the Terraswap network.

  • Liquidity Providers - The liquidity provider contributes an equal quantity of mAsset and stablecoin to the Terraswap pool. This boosts the overall market's liquidity. In this way, the liquidity provider is given newly created LP tokens. This signifies their stake in the pool. They also get rewards from the fees for trading in pools.

  • Stakers - A staker is a user who stakes LP tokens, SLP tokens (with staking contract), or MIR tokens (with Gov contract) in exchange for staking incentives in the form of MIR tokens. While LP and SLP token holders can receive staking rewards via inflation-related MIR tokens, MIR token holders can earn staking incentives through CDP withdrawal fees.

  • Farmers - Mirror Protocol allows crypto farming. Users are rewarded with MIR, the protocol's native token. In exchange, they are required to stake newly issued LP tokens while providing liquidity for mAssets and MIR. Yield is calculated on an annual basis. The MIR will be issued over a period of four years. This might theoretically increase the value of MIR over time.

USE CASE

The use cases of Mirror Protocol are:

  • Mirror Protocol is used to make synthetic assets that match the real-world and real-time value of assets in traditional financial markets. 

  • Anyone can produce mAssets from anywhere in the world. This makes it easier for people to start trading stocks, commodities, and other assets.

  • Mirror Protocol is also utilized to increase liquidity in the synthetic asset market, and the project's team intends to expand the network's functionality, such as receiving dividends for holding stocks, dynamic ETFs, and margin trading.

MAJOR NEWS AND EVENTS

DATE

NEWS/EVENTS

IMPACT

10/05/2022

MIR Crypto tumbles as the Terra Ecosystem pulls Mirror Protocol down

-28% Decrease

15/06/2021

Mirror Protocol announces its protocol upgrade Mirror V2

+30% Increase

19/04/2021

Mirror Protocol (MIR) will be listed on Binance's Innovation

+24% Increase


CONCLUSION

The DeFi industry is growing rapidly, and it is predicted that hundreds of billions worth of assets will eventually be tokenized. Mirror Protocol will play a significant role in this as it tokenizes shares in Wall Street's largest companies, effectively allowing millions of traders to trade freely in these markets.

Trading on the protocol is completely trustless, and there are no centralized entities that control user data or liquidity flows. The protocol is built on the foundation of traditional finance and uses new technologies from DeFi, such as yield farming, to make trading a much better experience.