Yesterday I came across a tweet about YZi Labs' @yzilabs ten-week EASY Residency event, and it suddenly reminded me of Eric Chen @ericinjective — back in 2018, he brought Injective @injective to participate in the first season of the Binance Incubator, and he looked like a young guy just entering the field.
There were a few technical books piled up on the table, next to an old mug, coding in front of a few makeshift folding tables. Who would have thought that this project, which started with a temporary workspace in the incubator, is now a solid player in the Web3 space?
At that time, the Binance incubator workspace was only a few dozen square meters, and many teams were crowded together. Eric and his team didn't make a fuss; they came daily with backpacks to code, often spending weekends there. When CZ passed by, he'd chat with them for a bit and leave behind a book on this blockchain — those books are still on the shelves of Injective's old employees, becoming a cherished memory.
Looking back now, not many projects that came out of the incubator have survived to this day. Injective missed the bull market in 2018 and struggled in the first two years, almost causing the team to disband during the bear market. But Eric didn't change direction; he focused on the financial blockchain line and persisted until the mainnet was up and trading volume slowly increased.
Eric's story doesn't have much glamour: when he entered the Binance incubator in 2018, he was still a youthful student, and now he has become the CEO of a unicorn company. Over these seven years, the blockchain space has gone through many trends, from DeFi to the metaverse to AI chains, yet he has never moved from his original focus — just working hard on 'making decentralized exchanges a bit more usable.'
Injective is memorable not because of hype. As one of the first projects in the Binance incubator, in October 2020, it became the first incubated project to launch on Binance Launchpad (old players might remember that Launchpad was quite popular back then). Technically, it does have something: block production speed of 0.64 seconds, transactions without Gas fees (thanks to compression technology), and the ability to handle 25,000 transactions per second, which is quite fast among public chains.
But what's even rarer is that the team doesn't chase trends: while others were hyping new concepts and harvesting retail investors, they quietly kept the mainnet running steadily for three years, achieving a trading volume of 1 billion transactions and over 50 million INJ tokens locked in the chain for staking. These figures are not empty; they are built with real money.
What is Injective really about? It's essentially a blockchain that provides a platform for financial trading.
For example, it's like using a ready-made framework for house renovation; developers don't have to build walls from scratch but can quickly build trading exchanges and lending platforms on Injective.
Why do we say that its ecological project Helix is serious about this exchange? Look at these three solid facts:
1. Real investment products in reality can really be traded on-chain, not just empty promises.
You can directly trade stablecoins like PYUSD on Helix, as well as perpetual contracts for gold, silver, and euros. For example, in the past, to trade gold, you had to open an account at a bank. Now, on this platform, you can buy gold contracts using USDT, and you can borrow up to 100 times the amount to trade (leverage trading). What's even more interesting is that you can even bet on index contracts from BlackRock, tokenized yen, and even who will win the 2024 election — these aren't just empty claims, they can be traded for real money.
2. Trading is as smooth as Alipay, but the money is in your hands.
Anyone who has used traditional exchanges knows how often they get stuck and charge fees, but Helix is different: trading doesn't require Gas fees (blockchain transaction fees), and a transaction can be completed in 0.64 seconds, even high-frequency trading won't lag. The platform comes with trading bots; for example, if you want to do grid trading, just set the price range, and it can automatically buy low and sell high without needing to constantly watch your phone. Most importantly, your money is always in your wallet, so you don't have to worry about exchanges running away with your funds.
3. The benefits for users are real cash, not treating investors as fools.
Helix has a unique point: it hasn't sought outside investment, and all rewards are given to users. For example, if you stake INJ tokens, you can share in the transaction fee rewards and get discounts; there are weekly trading competitions where winners receive tokens directly. This practice of 'not harvesting retail investors' is quite rare in today's crypto world.
In short, Injective and Helix are not just blowing hot air; they are solving two old problems: making on-chain trading as simple as using Alipay, while also bringing real investment products like gold and stocks onto the chain. Whether it will succeed is hard to say, but at least they are not fooling people with empty concepts, which is quite practical in today's market.
This project hasn't jumped into the biggest bull market nor relied on hype to raise its market value; its growth is like drinking warm water in winter — not scalding, but feels good after finishing. The mainnet has been running for three years, burning 6 million INJ tokens, with 550,000 active addresses, more than many mainstream public chains, and the number of developer tool downloads has more than tripled in two months. These numbers may not look intimidating, but they are built up with real effort.
Helix has turned 'on-chain finance' from a boast into real trading.
While other projects are still making empty promises about 'bringing real assets onto the chain,' Helix has already enabled users to trade gold directly using USDT and buy stock indices. There are no empty concepts, just moving investment products from traditional finance onto the chain, and the fees are really low. For example, previously, to trade gold, you had to open an account at a bank, but now on Helix, you can open a position with just a few bucks, borrowing up to 100 times the amount to trade (leverage), which is quite convenient, similar to trading stocks.
Eric has endured from 2018 to now, possibly relying on this non-boastful spirit — in the blockchain industry, those who survive and grow larger have never relied on shouting slogans. If you want to try decentralized trading, why not directly open Helix @HelixApp_ to take a look: there's no flashy packaging, just a platform where you can trade spot, contracts, and even gold and oil with low fees. Sometimes, true innovation is hidden in this kind of 'no-frills' persistence, and you might find it surprisingly appealing as you use it.
#Injective #Helix
