Seamless Protocol launches altcoin-specific DeFi lending market on Base

The DeFi lending protocol Seamless has launched an altcoin lending market on Base, a Layer 2 developed by the crypto exchange Coinbase.

The first two tokens to enter the altcoin lending platform are DEGEN, of Degen Chain and rewarded to effective Farcaster users, and SEAM, the native token of the Seamless Protocol and the first Based-based token listed on Coinbase, according to a release shared with The Block.

The Seamless protocol is a decentralized finance platform built on Base, and it's also a fork of the decentralized liquidity protocol Aave v3. The new altcoin lending platform creates a supply market for DEGEN and SEAM and lets their holders earn platform rewards.

"A massive accelerant to Base’s recent growth has been the rise of altcoin and meme communities," Seamless Protocol core contributors told The Block. "These projects and community members are looking for more token utility, and by offering altcoin lending on Seamless, the idea is that over time these holders can continue holding while borrowing other DeFi assets such as stablecoins or ETH."

"Idle capital that is locked up in the form of tokens can be viewed as capitally inefficient if there is no utility or application available, but by providing borrowing capabilities, this idle capital can be put to work. Through thorough risk analysis with partners, Seamless is excited to be the first protocol to offer this service on Base," the contributors added.

Coinbase listed Seamless Protocol's native token SEAM in December 2023. The token traded hands at $7.01 at 3:43 p.m. ET on April 18 and saw a 1.34% 24-hour increase, according to CoinMarketCap.

DEGEN was valued at $0.33 at 12:46 p.m. ET on April 19 with a market capitalization of $465.6 million, CoinMarketCap also shows. DEGEN is an ERC-20 token native to the Layer 3 network Degen Chain, which rewards users with DEGEN for posting high quality content on Farcaster, a web3 social media platform.