Key Takeaways

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• NAVI Protocol is the leading all-in-one liquidity platform on the Sui blockchain, combining decentralized lending/borrowing, liquid staking, and cross-chain trading tools in a single ecosystem.
  
  
• NAVI aims to be a “Web3 bank for Web2 users,” prioritizing user-friendly design and security. “NAVI” means “be kind to people” in an Indian language, reflecting its inclusive ethos.
  
  
• Backed by top-tier investors, NAVI raised $2M in a Jan 2024 seed round co-led by OKX Ventures, Hashed, and dao5 (with participation from Mysten Labs, Mechanism Capital, Coin98, etc.).
  
  
• $NAVX, NAVI’s governance and utility token (1B max supply), launched in Feb 2024 via IDOs on Cetus DEX, Gate.io, etc. Only 1.2% was sold publicly; the rest is allocated to community, team, and investors (with vesting).
  
  
• The $NAVX token has a wide range of use cases within NAVI Protocol. These use cases for $NAVX have been designed to promote growth and asset composability across the broader DeFi and crypto exchange ecosystem.

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Introduction

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The vision of NAVI is often described as creating a “Web3 bank for Web2 users,” meaning it strives to combine the user-friendly experience and trust of traditional online banking with the innovation and permissionless nature of crypto finance.
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Built on Sui, NAVI leverages the Move programming language and Sui’s object-based architecture to enhance security and scalability. The platform enables users to supply assets to earn yield or borrow assets against collateral within a unified liquidity pool, maximizing capital efficiency. By late 2024, NAVI had grown into the largest DeFi protocol on Sui by TVL, indicating strong product-market fit in the ecosystem.

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What Is NAVI?

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• NAVI Protocol is fundamentally a decentralized money-market and liquidity hub on Sui. It allows anyone to become a liquidity provider (lender) by depositing assets, or a borrower by taking loans against deposited collateral. All loans on NAVI are over-collateralized, meaning borrowers must maintain a health factor (collateral ratio) above a certain threshold to avoid liquidation.
  
  
• Core product • Lending & borrowing for SUI, USDC, USDT, wETH, wBTC and more, plus an in‑app DEX aggregator and liquid‑staking vaults. Users supply assets to earn yield or borrow against collateral, while traders can swap at best route prices found by the Astros aggregator.
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Team Background

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NAVI Protocol was founded by Silicon Valley tech veterans Charles and Elliscope, who bring experience from top firms like Apple and LinkedIn. Both have a strong track record in building scalable, user-centric technology products.

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Beyond the founding team, NAVI’s core contributors and advisors include seasoned crypto professionals. The project maintains a close relationship with Mysten Labs—the creators of Sui—as both an investor and collaborator, giving NAVI early access to upgrades and deep integration within the Sui ecosystem.

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The team selected Sui for its enterprise-grade architecture, a choice validated by NAVI’s rapid growth to hundreds of thousands of users without major security incidents. Robust risk management features have been implemented to safeguard user assets.

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Investors describe the NAVI team as “battle-tested,” proven in one of the most competitive corners of DeFi.

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Funding and Backing

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In January 2024, NAVI Protocol raised $2 million in a seed funding round co-led by OKX Ventures, dao5, and Hashed. The raise reflects strong investor confidence in NAVI’s vision to become a leading liquidity hub within the Sui ecosystem.

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The round attracted a wide range of prominent backers, including Mysten Labs (creators of the Sui blockchain), Mechanism Capital, Coin98 Ventures, Cetus Protocol, and others such as Comma3 Ventures, GeekCartel Capital, Nomad Capital, Maverick, ViaBTC Capital, Assembly Partners, Gate.io Labs, Hailstone Labs, Benqi, and LBank Labs.

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Key Features and Benefits
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NAVI is the main DeFi platform on the Sui blockchain, serving as a full-suite ecosystem with distinct products: NAVI Protocol for lending and borrowing, Astros for trading and cross-chain swaps, and Volo for liquid staking. This structure mirrors Suilend’s integrated yet modular approach, offering a seamless user experience across diverse financial primitives.

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NAVI Protocol (Lending & Borrowing)

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• Diverse Money Markets: Supports 20+ asset pools (SUI, USDC, wETH, wBTC, vSUI, etc.), enabling users to lend, borrow, and deploy capital across a wide range of opportunities. Deep liquidity facilitates complex strategies like arbitrage and leveraged farming.

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• Optimized Lending & Borrowing: Dynamic interest rates adjust based on supply-demand. Pooled liquidity ensures low slippage, while isolation mode allows riskier assets without exposing the main protocol to bad debt

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• Flash Loans & Leverage Vaults: Advanced users can utilize flash loans, auto-leverage strategies, and LST-based yield farming, all simplified through NAVI Protocol’s smart vaults and automation.

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Astros (Trading & Cross-Chain Swaps)

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• Cross-Chain Interoperability: Via the Astros aggregator, users can perform swaps across chains like Ethereum and Solana using integrated bridges (Axelar, Wormhole), all within the NAVI interface. This enables efficient trading and asset movement without leaving the platform.

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• Streamlined Trading: Astros optimizes trade execution with deep liquidity and minimal slippage, supporting both casual and advanced traders in accessing cross-chain opportunities.

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• Astros Perps: Astros’ next-gen perpetual trading product is currently in beta, bringing advanced derivatives trading to the Sui ecosystem. It has already attracted over 190k users and generated more than $5 billion in trading volume.

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Volo (Liquid Staking)

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• Liquid Staking Solutions: Volo enables users to stake assets like SUI and receive liquid staking tokens (e.g., vSUI) that can be used in NAVI Protocol’s money markets or Astros’ trading pools. This maximizes capital efficiency by allowing staked assets to remain productive.

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• Yield Enhancement: Volo integrates with NAVI’s yield automation, offering one-click staking and compounding strategies to boost returns while maintaining flexibility.

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UX & Security (Platform-Wide)

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• User Experience: Clean dashboards with real-time health factor alerts (via Notifi) ensure users can manage positions effortlessly across NAVI Protocol, Astros, and Volo.

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• Security: NAVI has passed audits, is open-source, and employs granular asset risk parameters to safeguard user funds across all products.

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Incentive Programs & Point Systems
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NAVI has rolled out multiple incentive phases to grow its DeFi ecosystem and reward users: 45.8% of NAVX supply is reserved for ongoing community rewards, ensuring long-term ecosystem growth.

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1. V1: Leaderboard Points (Dec 2023)
   Users earned weekly points by supplying, borrowing, and engaging with the platform. Rankings determined point multipliers, which formed the basis for early 2024 NAVX airdrops.
   Bonus: Bluefin DEX also used NAVI points and $NAVX holdings to airdrop tokens to 10,000+ users.
   
   
2. V2: Monthly Claims (Post-NAVX Launch)
   Users earned NAVX via liquidity mining, but rewards had to be claimed monthly or they expired—introducing added gas costs and manual overhead. While effective in the short term, it limited capital efficiency.
   V2 rewards fully expired after March 2025.
   
   
3. V3: Auto-Compounding & Gas Fee Reduction (Feb 2025)
   Launched to make DeFi more accessible and efficient:
   

• Rewards no longer expire and can accumulate indefinitely
  
• Rewards auto-claim and compound during normal user actions (e.g. deposits, loans)
  
• Gas fees significantly reduced across deposits, loans, LST strategies, and reward transactions
  
• Enables smaller users to reinvest and compound more frequently, improving capital efficiency across all levels

4. Referrals & Campaigns

• Trading Fee‍
  
  • A 1% fee applies to all trades.
  • Invited users receive a 10% discount on fees.
    
    

• Referral Rewards
  
  • Earn 35% cashback from invitee trading fees.
    
    • Rewards are claimable once they reach 0.0005 SUI.
  • Invite Perks: Your invitees get an automatic 10% fee discount.

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Token Generation Event, Airdrop Timeline, Tokens & Tokenomics
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$NAVX is the native utility and governance token of NAVI Protocol on the Sui blockchain (Max Supply: 1,000,000,000 NAVX).
View contract

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Use Cases

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• Governance: Token holders vote on protocol proposals (e.g., new markets, incentive structures, major updates).
  
  
• dLP Utility: Locking LP tokens (from NAVX/SUI or NAVX/vSUI) boosts rewards, shares protocol revenue, and amplifies voting power.
  
  
• Emission Boosting: To activate rewards on supply/borrow, users must lock at least 2.5% of their deposit value in dLP tokens.
  
  

Allocation

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• Ecosystem & Airdrops: 45.8% – Incentives, campaigns, early user rewards
  
  
• Team: 20% – Aligned with long-term protocol growth
  
  
• Investors & Advisors: 16% – Strategic backers
  
  
• Treasury: 10% – Operations and development
  
  
• Marketing: 3% – Outreach and user acquisition
  
  
• Liquidity Provision: 4% – Supporting market depth
  
  
• Public Sale (IDO): 1.2% – Initial distribution
  
  

NAVX emissions follow a structured vesting schedule post-IDO, supporting sustainability and decentralized growth.

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How to Get Involved

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NAVI offers multiple ways to participate whether as a user, contributor, or builder:

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1. Use the Protocol (Lend, Borrow, or Trade)

Supply assets like SUI or stablecoins to earn interest and NAVX rewards, or borrow against your holdings.
New users can start via the NAVI app using Backpack wallet. Active participation may qualify for future rewards or airdrops.

2. Trade or Provide Liquidity

Use astros.ag, NAVI’s DEX aggregator, for optimal Sui token swaps and gasless trading.
Provide liquidity on supported DEXs (e.g., Cetus, Turbos) or leverage flash loans for advanced strategies.

(You can claim 200 test USDC on Astros through the Astros Perp Testnet Faucet)

3. Stake SUI via Volo (Liquid Staking)

Stake SUI to receive vSUI and earn staking rewards. Use vSUI within NAVI to maximize yield via lending or collateralization. vSUI also qualifies for incentive boosts.

4. Join Governance & Community

Participate in discussions on Discord, Telegram, and Twitter. Vote on proposals if you hold NAVX.
Stay informed through community calls and announcements to influence the protocol’s direction.

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5. Referral Program

Invite others to NAVI.ag and earn 35% of their trading fees. Invitees get a 10% fee discount. Referral links are easy to generate and track in the dashboard.

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6. Testnet & Feedback

Join testnets, beta programs, or bug bounties. Report bugs or suggest improvements to earn potential rewards and contribute to platform development.

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Future Prospect

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NAVI Protocol is positioned to expand its influence within and beyond the Sui ecosystem through the following key initiatives:

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• Continued Growth on Sui: With Sui’s TVL surpassing $1.7B and NAVI holding a major share, NAVI aims to maintain dominance by listing new assets, optimizing interest models, and scaling securely. After reaching $750M peak TVL and $28B in deposits in 2024, NAVI now targets surpassing 1M users.
  
  
• Multi-Chain Expansion: NAVI plans to extend beyond Sui by integrating cross-chain infrastructure (e.g., Axelar, Wormhole). Potential deployments include Aptos and other chains to unify liquidity access and reach a broader user base.
  
  
• Launch of Astro Perps: NAVI is developing a decentralized perpetual futures exchange Astro Perps on Sui. This will enable margin trading within NAVI, powered by its own liquidity pools. A successful launch would position NAVI as both a lending and trading hub, with trading incentives likely to bootstrap adoption.

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