Introduction

Staking in blockchain technology is adopted to secure and maintain the integrity of blockchain networks, particularly those using the Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism or its variants. Participants (validators or delegators) help validate transactions, produce new blocks, and maintain network consensus by locking up cryptocurrency as a stake. However, the challenge with the conventional staking model is that it locks the tokens and limits its utility as a liquid asset.

Liquid staking is an alternative to traditional staking that addresses the challenge of asset illiquidity. In liquid staking, participants can stake their tokens while receiving a liquid derivative token representing their staked position. These derivative tokens maintain the value of the staked assets and can be freely traded or used in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.

Amnis Finance provides liquid staking on the Aptos blockchain through a secure and user-friendly interface offering investors a chance to earn as they stake their APT tokens while unlocking liquidity with derivative tokens like amAPT and stAPT, and utility with its governance token AMI.

What is Amnis Finance?

Amnis Finance is a liquid staking protocol operating on the Aptos blockchain, designed to enable institutional and retail investors to optimize the returns on their staked APT tokens. The protocol currently offers a staking annual percentage rate (APR) of 8.55%, with no fees charged on staking rewards. However, future updates plan to allocate fees to the protocol’s treasury.

Amnis Finance offers token utility for governance, incentives, and participation; support for institutional-grade KYC compliance, and a referral system to promote adoption and engagement. The protocol has raised $2 million in funding from prominent investors, including Gate Ventures, Borderless Capital, Chorus One, Ambush Capital, and SkyVision Capital. Also, Amnis Finance is backed by the Aptos Foundation.

Partnership

Cellana Finance

Cellana Finance is a community-owned decentralized exchange and liquidity layer on the Aptos Chain. Stakers on Amnis Finance can use their derivative tokens to provide liquidity on Cellana Finance.

Aries Markets

Aries Markets is a decentralized exchange on Aptos that allows users to borrow, lend, swap, and trade with margin via an on-chain order book. Users can deposit stAPT on Aries to borrow APT token and loop in Amnis.

Brief History of Amnis Finance

Amnis Finance was established in October 2023. Before this, the Amnis Team had won 2nd place at the Aptos Foundation Hackathon, an event in Singapore on September 2023, as part of the TOKEN2049 Event.

Team

Eric Hung Nguyen

Eric is the CEO and Co-Founder of Amnis Finance, with over 10 years of experience in the financial industry, including roles as a trader at Nomura International and Elliott Management Hedge Fund in London. He’s also the Co-Founder of Spores Network and serves as Vice President of the Investment Committee at the Vietnam Blockchain Association. Eric Hung holds a BSc in Finance from the London School of Economics and an MSc in Finance from Imperial College London.

Patrick Nguyen

Patrick is the Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer at Amnis Finance and a former software engineer at Google. He has a BSc in Computer Science from Simon Fraser University, Canada.

Hoa Ha

Hoa is the Head of Business Development and Partnership at Amnis Finance, and also serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Spores Network. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and International Business from the Foreign Trade University, Vietnam.

Features

Liquid Staking

Amnis provides liquid staking, a concept where users stake their tokens to a smart contract or staking pool to generate a derivative token that matches the value of their staked tokens, this derivative token, generally referred to as Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs), can also be used across other DeFi platforms.

Yield Tokenization

Yield tokenization refers to the process of splitting yield-bearing assets into separate tokens representing their principal (PT) and yield (YT) components. PT reflects the original value of the staked asset, redeemable at a 1:1 ratio at maturity, while YT represents the interest generated, granting holders full access to the yield without principal repayment.

How Does Amnis Finance Work?

Overview

Amnis uses a simple model of liquid staking. Stake APT token, to mint amAPT (a liquid staked token), which can be used for various DeFi transactions on the Aptos Ecosystem, including restaking on Amnis Finance to earn stAPT.

amAPT - Amnis Aptos Coin

amAPT is a stablecoin that maintains a loose peg to APT at a 1:1 ratio. Each amAPT in circulation corresponds to an equivalent amount of APT held within Amnis Finance’s reserves. When users deposit APT into Amnis Finance, an equal amount of amAPT is minted, ensuring the circulating supply matches the reserve balance. This mechanism allows amAPT to act as a liquid representation of staked APT, allowing users to engage in decentralized finance (DeFi) transactions while their staked APT continues to earn staking rewards.

amAPT can be used to provide liquidity on Pancakeswap, Liquidswap, or staked to earn stAPT in return with a +8.66% APR.

stAPT - Amnis Staked Aptos Coin

stAPT is a derivative token for users to earn staking rewards on their amAPT holdings. When amAPT is deposited into the stAPT vault, it is exchanged for stAPT, representing a claim to a share of the staking yield accumulated by Amnis APT validators. Over time, As the vault gets more rewards, the value of stAPT increases, and an equivalent amount of amAPT is minted and added to the vault, meaning users can later exchange their stAPT for more amAPT than they initially deposited.

How to Mint amAPT

• You need to purchase Aptos (APT) from your Gate.io account
• Withdraw the APT to your Aptos-supported wallet, e.g. Pectra, Martian, Pontem
• After successfully depositing APT in your Aptos-supported wallet, navigate to the Amnis Finance website.
• Click on “Stake Now”

Source: Amnis Finance

• On the Mint tab, enter the number of APT that you would like to mint to amAPT
• Click “Mint Only” and then confirm the transaction to receive amAPT

Source: Amnis Finance

How to Stake amAPT

• On the Stake Tab
• Enter the number of APT you want to stake and confirm the transaction. This will stake your APT coin, and you will receive stAPT in return.

Source: Amnis Finance

To Unstake stAPT

• Click on the Unstake Tab, and enter the number of stAPT you would like to unstake to amAPT
• Click “Unstake”, then Confirm the transaction.

Source: Amnis Finance

Withdrawal

On the Withdraw Tab, there are two ways to obtain APT from amAPT:

i) Slow withdrawal: This process takes approximately 14 days. After that, you can claim your APT using the Claim tab.

ii) Quick withdrawal: This process only takes a few minutes and allows you to exchange amAPT for APT on Pancakeswap and Liquidswap.

Source: Amnis Finance

What is AMI Token?

$AMI will be the governance token of Amnis Finance, and its DAO operating on the Aptos blockchain. The token will allow the community to propose, vote, and implement changes to on-chain activities relating to the development of the protocol.

$AMI tokens will also be used as an incentive to reward participants in the recently concluded retroactive airdrop.

As of the time of writing (December 2024), no news relating to token launch or tokenomics has been announced.

Is Amnis Finance a Good Investment?

Amnis Finance is a liquid staking protocol trusted by stakers on the Aptos chain and has amassed over $300 million in total value locked (TVL) within a year of launch. Aside from offering liquid-staked token amAPT, it also provides use cases for staked APT, converting them to yield-bearing stAPT. As of the time of writing (December 2024), it offers the highest APR (8.66%) for liquid staking Aptos.

For security guarantees, its smart contracts have been audited by Movebit and Verichains.

amAPT, as a derivative token, risk being devalued or losing its peg to APT when there’s an overwhelming demand for liquidity or a black swan event. This can lead to losses, especially for investors using the token as collateral on lending protocols, as they are at risk of liquidation.

Investors should also note that APR (Annual Percentage Rate) in crypto is subject to change. It’s not a fixed rate and can fluctuate based on market conditions or protocol changes. They are encouraged to research and evaluate their risk tolerance before investing in the project because, like any investment, investing in Amnis Finance has risks. Investors should consider the cryptocurrency market’s volatility and potential regulatory changes.

Note: Investing in any crypto project does not guarantee profit and could result in capital loss.

News on Amnis Finance

Amnis Ranks Top #1 Protocol on Aptos

Source: Defillama

Amnis Finance became the number one Protocol on Aptos, with over $280 million in Total Value Locked as of the time of writing (December 2024). It also recorded a 770% increase in unique active wallets, highlighting increased interest in the Liquid Staking Protocol.

Amnis Launches Movementum Accelerators with 200+ registrations

In a recently published annual recap, it announced the launch of the Movementum Accelerator, which would seed innovative products on Aptos. It has generated over 200 registrations from developers and entrepreneurs ready to build on Aptos leveraging Amnis’s expertise.