Dolomite (DOLO): Building a Capital-Efficient Money Market on Arbitrum and Beyond
When you think of DeFi money markets, names like Aave and Compound often come to mind. But Dolomite is carving out its own niche: a margin-enabled DEX + lending protocol that doesn’t just let you deposit and borrow, but also ensures you keep the full DeFi-native rights of your assets. That means staking rewards, governance rights, and yield flows remain intact, even while your tokens are working as collateral.
Why Dolomite stands out
Unlike traditional lending markets that strip your tokens of utility once deposited, Dolomite’s architecture introduces “virtual liquidity” and isolated positions. This allows a user to open multiple borrowing positions under one account without the risk of cross-contamination. Combined with segregated risk modes and E-Mode (efficiency mode for correlated assets), it provides the capital efficiency of pro trading desks but wrapped in a retail-friendly interface.
It’s also deeply composable. Dolomite integrates with projects like GMX/GLP, Pendle, and JonesDAO, enabling collateral types that are usually excluded elsewhere. For example, you can margin trade or borrow against yield-bearing tokens or staked derivatives.
Products and ecosystem
Dolomite Balances: a unique feature where collateralized assets still retain their governance/voting rights and yield.Margin trading DEX: opening leveraged positions directly against a wide variety of pairs, not just the usual ETH/stables.Zap strategies: one-click leverage and farming flows.Security audits: core contracts have been audited by OpenZeppelin, Bramah, SECBIT, Cyfrin; modules reviewed by Zokyo, Guardian.
Backing and fundraising
Dolomite has gained serious traction with investors. In May 2023, it closed a $2.5M seed round co-led by Draper Goren Holm and NGC Ventures, joined by Coinbase Ventures, 6th Man Ventures, WWVentures, RR2, Orchard Street Capital, Guanxi DAO, and a roster of angels. In March 2024, it followed with a $900k strategic round, onboarding key KOLs and builders to strengthen adoption. Reports also point to an Arbitrum Foundation grant (~$804k), highlighting its alignment with L2 growth.
Token design: DOLO, veDOLO, and oDOLO
The Dolomite ecosystem runs on a tri-token system:
DOLO is the ERC-20 token.veDOLO is an NFT representation of locked DOLO, used for governance, fee sharing, and boosting rewards.oDOLO is emitted weekly and must be paired 1:1 with DOLO to buy discounted veDOLO, creating a flywheel for protocol-owned liquidity (POL)
From its 1B total supply, about 50.75% is earmarked for community incentives, 20%+ for the team, ~15% for investors, and the rest for foundation, advisors, and service providers. Vesting schedules extend across 3–4 years, with cliffs to ensure long-term alignment.
Binance HODLer Airdrop spotlight
Dolomite was the 33rd project featured on Binance’s HODLer Airdrops, a program designed to reward loyal BNB holders. A total of 15M DOLO (1.5% of supply) was distributed between Aug 3–6, 2025. Binance later announced an additional 10M DOLO airdrop six months post-listing. On Aug 27, 2025, DOLO debuted on Binance with trading pairs DOLO/USDT, DOLO/USDC, DOLO/BNB, DOLO/FDUSD, DOLO/TRY, under the Seed Tag. Circulating supply at launch: ~441.6M DOLO.
Token unlocks and supply schedule
At TGE, Dolomite unlocked 415.4M tokens, of which ~326.6M were DOLO and ~79M veDOLO. Unlocks are stretched over 4 years, with an optional 3% annual inflation starting in Year 4, subject to DAO governance (either allocated to incentives or burned).
Closing thoughts
@Dolomite isn’t just another lending platform. By merging a margin DEX, a capital-efficient lending layer, and a veToken model, it’s trying to out-innovate the incumbents. With credible backers, multiple audits, and a Binance spotlight, the project has momentum. The open question is:
👉 will Dolomite’s tri-token design and composable money market be enough to secure a lasting moat in the crowded DeFi arena?
#Dolomite $DOLO