DeFi’s newest dapp helps users buy crypto with interest from DAI

By Alexander Behrens

A new DeFi app is taking on two key components of growing the decentralized finance industry: managing risk and making it easy for novice users to enter the ecosystem and start earning returns. 

dPiggy launched yesterday and is built atop the Compound and UniSwap protocols. It provides a simple interface for users to earn interest on DAI deposits and have their returns automatically used to purchase a variety of crypto assets at the end of each month.

The project is developed by Auctus, a 2018 ICO issuer that originally developed crypto portfolio trading tools. dPiggy charges users an annual 0.5% service fee used to burn AUC tokens issued in the March 2018 ICO, and fees are waived for users who lock at least 10,000 AUC tokens in their dPiggy account. The dapp is being marketed as a ‘no-loss crypto investing platform’ because the stable value of DAI is secured by the Maker and Compound protocols. Users are free to withdraw their deposited DAI at any time.

Because of the variable rate of return from Compound on DAI deposits, dPiggy returns could fall below the 0.5% annual service fee month to month. Vinicius Melo, co-founder of Auctus, explained how the system is designed to protect user’s DAI deposits: 

“The fee is never charged from the DAI principal, [only interest earned on deposits],” he told Decrypt. “If during the entire month the DAI interest is lower than the service fee, we make sure the no-loss provision is still preserved.”

Melo added that the dapp is still in beta and additional upgrades and features are anticipated. “We will [also] be considering changes to make sure the user always gets a return,” he said. At launch, users can reinvest their interest into purchasing ETH, wBTC, Compound DAI, Maker tokens (MKR), and Auctus tokens (AUC).

DeFi has continued to attract attention in the blockchain industry because it represents some of the first real-world user applications for cryptocurrency, exemplifying how decentralized protocols can mimic the functionality of traditional financial service providers like banks, while leveraging community powered infrastructure. 

Ease of use, protection from loss, and returns akin to a traditional savings account may well make dPiggy a hit with users uninterested in the finer points of financial management, but nevertheless in search of safe value growth.

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