I was reluctant to dip into wLEO when it first came out because I had heard transaction fees where expensive. In addition the effort or steps to get swaps from LEO to wLEO and other tokens just seemed overwhelming to me. Heck although I use the computer daily I never fully grasp the world of DeFi and swaps. Then after reading several tutorials on CUB Finance and hearing all the phenomenal returns I have been seeing I decided to try it out. Here is my take on it and hopefully it will help others who are also beginners to CUB Finance.
Please correct me if you find any part of this post that is incorrect so that it helps me to understand Defi better and help others when referencing the post. Thanks!
Farm Versus Den
I read through some tutorials from @libertycrypto27 and @mineopoly related to CUB Finance and found it very helpful. In @libertycrypto27 posts the focus is on farming CUBs while in @mineopoly posts focus is on Den. I believe the latter is easier to setup due in part you only require one token to earn a APR.
In very simple terms a farm in CUB Finance in a way to provide liquidity between a pair of tokens being traded on Binance. In order for the exchange to have a steady supply of crypto to trade it provides an incentive for those who chooses to store crypto on the exchange by rewarding CUBs on a daily basis.
Currently there are 8 pairs of tokens that can earn users CUB when used for farming. Personally I was following libertycrypto's lead with the DEC-BUSD but since I do not have a Binance account the exchange of BUSD to me seem somewhat cumbersome. Cumbersome due in part I had to exchange Hive/HBD into bLEO and than to BUSD in Cub Finance. I was concern that the multiple trades will lead me into losing a decent portion of my initial investment. On top of that the effort it takes to do those transactions one after another is time consuming.
In farming both tokens have to be equal in USD value when being sent to the exchange. For example if I was to put in 10k DEC I needed the same amount of BUSD equivalent in $USD at the same time. (Note BUSD is a stable token in Binance's ecosystem. 1 BUSD = $1 USD.)
After reading @mineolopy's multi-day progress in CUB Finance it appeared to me that den would be a easier way to earn APR. What mineolopy did was exchange crypto into BUSD and then to CUB. With only CUB he could staked it in the den and that would earn him daily CUBs.
Presently there are four active tokens in the DEN. CUB is of interest to most due to its large APR. Although many have said this will likely not last forever but still a good way to invest capital for decent return.
Both farm and den will yield CUB daily but in farm user still owns DEC and BUSD that is equivalent to the amount they put in in $USD. While in den user only has the CUB that they initially put in.
Why I went with Den
Less exchanges of tokens to get to an APR return.
With less exchanges that means less fees and time to perform.
I am a long term believe of CUB.
Why I think CUB can succeed is that currently other farms using ETH blockchain is hindering gains due to transaction fees. ETH may get an update in July that would fix this but at current APR of over 200% when investing in CUB even waiting for three months is a lot of interest I would be missing out. Since CUB is a bridge to what is already low cost transaction fees for ETH and ERC tokens it already has a head start.
There are risks with this investment though, for instance even with high APR if CUB price falls to far from where I purchased them it will effectively make it a bad trade even if APR is high.
Step by Step Guide to Den
<1> Download and install Metamask and if its your first time create a new wallet.
<2> Link Binance Smart Chain to your Metamask.
Binance article on connecting with Metamask
In Metamask you need to add a new network with the following input parameters.
End result looks like this.
<3> Add DEC token into Metamask Wallet through Splinterlands.
Inside Splinterlands.com once you log into account, select name to get drop down menu and click "Link External Wallet".
A new window will pop up and select Binance Smart Chain and copy your Metamask wallet into Splinterlands, check the acknowledge disclaimer and click "Save". Wallet starts with "0x".
There is no window to promp successful completion but you will know it your Binance Smart Chain wallet is link to Splinterlands when the the wallet name stays on Splinterland's Link Wallet window.
<4> Link Metamask Wallet to CUB Finance.
In CUB Finance select "connect" and pick Metamask wallet.
Automatically the "connect" icon will turn into your wallet name and you are now linked to CUB Finance.
<5> Perform exchange trade of DEC to CUB in CUB Finance.
First you need to have DEC and CUB tokens visible in your Metamask wallet. To do this in Metamask click "add token" and then "custom token". In the "Token Contract Address" copy the exact text as screen shot below and then click "next".
Link to CUB's Contract Address for Metamask
Similarly for DEC token...
DEC Contract Address:
0xe9d7023f2132d55cbd4ee1f78273cb7a3e74f10a
When all said and done you should have CUB and DEC on your Metamask wallet.
In Splinterlands you can now transfer DEC to your Metamask wallet.
Once "transfer out" is click a small window with text asks you to confirm the DEC to be sent to wallet address. You can review to confirm the address matches the one in your Metamask wallet and click "Ok".
Within seconds both Metamask and CUB Finance shows the DEC.
<6> Exchange DEC for CUB in CUB Finance
Before we perform this step it is worth mentioning you need to have BNB in order to do the exchange. This can not be done if you do not have BNB. Currently my understanding is the way to get BNB is through Binance. Someone else have further insight on this let me know?
At CUB Finance select "trade" and "exchange". By default swap is selected and you will have to manually select your first token you hold and second token you wish to trade into. My choices are DEC and CUB respectively.
What is nice about swaps is apparently CUB Finance will try to find the best transaction between DEC to CUB for me, as shown below DEC to WBNB to CUB is giving me the best price impact for 1000 DEC.
There is a fix fee to do the exchange. It costs 0.0005 BNB.
Then there is a gas fee and in my case it cost:
Once you have exchanged your amount of CUB you can then go to Den.
<7> Stake CUB in Den.
Once stake CUB there is another fee.
That is it. There is a fee to harvest the earned CUB or compound it by earning even more CUB. For now I will let it run a few days and come back to check on it.
Sometime in the future I will post how my returns are. Good luck everyone for your endeavors into Defi.
None of what I write is financial advice. It is for entertainment purposes only. Thanks for reading!
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