In the past six months, it feels like the entire community has fallen into a craze for 'points'. Since EigenLayer, it seems that overnight, all projects are focused on points, and all users are grinding for points. What we study every day is no longer the fundamentals and technological breakthroughs of the projects, but rather which project's point expectations are higher and how to maximize points with the least amount of money.
To be honest, it feels quite twisted.
On one hand, you cannot deny that this is currently the most effective way to guide users and achieve a cold start. With point expectations, there is TVL, there is activity, and the project can get up and running. But on the other hand, how loyal are users and funds that are purely dependent on 'future airdrop expectations'? When the points are exhausted and the airdrop lands, how many people will still remain? We have seen too many projects that collapsed into chaos after 'mining and selling'. This kind of prosperity built on financial incentives often resembles a mirage.
Everyone is playing a game of musical chairs, competing to see who runs faster, but very few care about whether the venue itself is worth staying in after the music stops.
It is against this backdrop that Mitosis's approach has shown me something different. It is also working on points; its 'Expedition' activity is designed to be even more 'intense' than many projects, stacking nearly four to five layers of returns. But if you only see it as just another score-farming mine, then you're underestimating it. Mitosis is using points as a tool to leverage a grander and more sustainable economic flywheel.
The core of this flywheel is not 'points', but 'productive liquidity'.
What does this mean? In traditional liquidity mining, we provide LP and receive project token rewards. Our LP itself, besides earning transaction fees, is passively 'locked' there. Its only 'productivity' is to exchange for liquidity depth for the project party.
But in Mitosis's system, the liquidity you provide (such as eETH) becomes extremely 'busy' and 'productive' from the moment you deposit it.
Firstly, it hasn't moved from its 'home' in the mainnet, so it continues to earn you the most basic ETH staking rewards and points from the LRT project itself. This is the first layer of productivity.
Secondly, Mitosis will give you a derivative certificate, mi-eETH. This certificate is not just a receipt for your withdrawal; it is a new, active, and combinable asset. You can take it to any chain to participate in local DeFi protocols and earn a second layer of returns. This is the second layer of productivity.
The key is the third layer. In Mitosis's design, the mi-eETH you hold can be used to ensure the security of the entire cross-chain network. In simple terms, Mitosis uses Hyperlane for cross-chain communication, and you can use your mi-eETH to 'guarantee' the authenticity of these cross-chain messages. If the messages are fine, you can earn $MITO tokens as rewards. This means that your liquidity itself has become the 'computing power' that maintains network security. Your money is not only 'mining' for you but also acting as the 'security' for the entire system.
Did you see it? Your same amount of money has done at least three jobs at the same time. It is both an income-generating asset and a combinable DeFi building block, as well as the cornerstone of network security. This is what I understand as 'productive liquidity'. Your capital is no longer simply 'rented' by the project party but has become an active, multifunctional 'participant' and 'builder' within this ecosystem.
Once this model runs, it will form a very powerful positive cycle:
The more people are attracted by multiple returns and deposit assets -> The higher the TVL of Mitosis, the better the liquidity of miAsset -> The larger the value of cross-chain, the higher the demand for security in the network -> The greater the incentive for LPs to use miAsset to ensure security, the more $MITO rewards LPs receive -> Higher returns attract more people to deposit assets.
In this cycle, points are just the most basic 'trigger'. What truly retains users and liquidity is this endogenous economic model that maximizes capital efficiency and allows liquidity providers to deeply participate in network value creation. It aims to solve the 'mining-selling-withdrawing' curse, transforming pure 'mercenary capital' into 'stakeholders'.
When your assets can not only make money here but also determine the security and development of this system, your relationship with this project is no longer a simple zero-sum game.
So, don’t just focus on Mitosis's points. That’s merely a ticket to an amusement park it hands to you. The real fun lies in the 'roller coasters' and 'merry-go-rounds' that can give you one input and three outputs in its park. This may be the correct way for future De-Fi protocols to traverse bull and bear markets and truly retain value.
