Elixir (ELX): The institutional bridge to DeFi liquidity

Real-world assets (RWAs) are one of the hottest topics in decentralized finance (DeFi), but their application in a web3 setting still comes with its own share of issues. First, asset owners such as investment funds don't have a wide choice of alternatives for securely tokenizing their assets in a compliant way. Secondly, there's a lack of sufficient avenues for the active use of RWAs within DeFi protocols after the assets have been tokenized and brought on-chain.

As a result, many institutional asset owners are still hesitant to use their funds within a blockchain environment. Those brave enough to adopt RWAs by tokenizing their assets on-chain face the reality of limited choices for deriving healthy returns from their investment. 

Due to these factors, RWAs — despite having great promise as a bridge between traditional and web3 finance — are still underutilized within DeFi.

Elixir is a modular blockchain and DeFi-focused platform that aims to make it easy for institutional investors to utilize their RWAs in yield-bearing products on-chain. The platform also acts as a liquidity provider to order book–based decentralized exchanges (DEXs). Elixir's synthetic stablecoin, decentralized USD (deUSD), plays a key role in enabling active RWA use for yield and liquidity provision to partner DEXs.

Key Takeaways:

• Elixir (ELX) is a blockchain platform that’s designed to support liquidity provision to DEXs and the utilization of institutional RWAs within DeFi.

• The platform's native token, ELX, is used for governance, staking, stake delegation and validator reward payouts.

• ELX can be bought as a spot pair on Bybit (ELX/USDT).

What is Elixir?

Elixir (ELX) is a blockchain network that facilitates institutional investors' use of RWAs in the DeFi ecosystem and provides liquidity support to DEXs. The project features a synthetic stablecoin, deUSD, that’s backed by collateral made up of two crypto assets — USDS and stETH. USDS is a stablecoin of the Sky Protocol (SKY), formerly known as MakerDAO (MKR), while stETH is a tokenized version of staked Ether (ETH) provided by the Lido (LDO) liquid staking protocol.

Elixir enables institutional holders of tokenized RWAs, such as those issued by Securitize and other RWA service providers, to mint deUSD and use it in DeFi while still earning yields from their underlying assets.

Elixir also helps other DEXs by enabling its users to supply liquidity to order book–based exchanges easily. This reduces DEXs' reliance on centralized market makers and allows them to access additional liquidity. Users who provide liquidity earn subsidized APYs, which are either incentivized by Elixir or the DEXs themselves. As of early 2025, Elixir has already been integrated by more than 30 DEX platforms.

The Elixir project was founded in 2022 by Philip Forte and Christopher Gilbert. Its chain launched the first phase of its mainnet operations in October 2024 and held a token generation event (TGE) for its native cryptocurrency, ELX, on Mar 7, 2025.

How does Elixir work?

The Elixir network is based on a delegated proof of stake (DPoS) consensus model. The project’s documentation states that its network features a highly modular design and high throughput capacity.

To synchronize its work with other DEXs, the network uses exchange feeds, which pull live trading data from these DEXs and send it to Elixir's data aggregators. An aggregator node is then responsible for creating an encrypted database from these feeds and passing it to the chain’s validator and auditor nodes. Then, relay nodes execute trades on DEXs using their API keys, collect order proposals from validators and send them for auditing before final execution.

Validators

Elixir's validators secure the network using a DPoS consensus model, whereby users can delegate their funds to a preferred full validator node. The network requires a 66% consensus among its active validator nodes in order to approve transaction blocks.

A validator node needs to have at least 9,000 ELX staked or delegated to it to earn block rewards. As such, it's important for users to choose a reasonably popular validator in order to ensure they can earn rewards from their delegated funds. For instance, as of the time of this writing (Mar 17, 2025), fewer than 30 Elixir validators have enough funds staked with them to generate rewards.

Auditors

We noted above that relay nodes send order data for executing transactions on other DEXs for further auditing before the actual execution occurs. Auditors are the nodes responsible for verifying this data before the orders can be placed. In addition to the order data sent by relay nodes, auditors also use the encrypted exchange feed data sent by aggregators.

Auditors use these two critical data sources — the encrypted exchange feed data from aggregators and the order data from relay nodes — to verify and approve the orders for final execution on the participating DEXs.

Controller

Elixir's controller is a smart contract that ensures the smooth operation of several key network activities: staking, reward distributions to validators and financial penalties to misbehaving validators, known as slashing.

In the case of disputes or inconsistencies in the network data, the controller and auditors resolve these together, acting as a dispute resolution layer.

What is deUSD?

deUSD is a synthetic stablecoin introduced by Elixir. Subject to approval via a governance vote, the token will be used for staking, allowing users to earn rewards from protocol fees. The staked version of deUSD, sdeUSD, is an asset that’s used to accrue yields from rewards generated both on Elixir and via its partner DeFi platforms.

Importantly, deUSD is also used to provide liquidity in the form of collateral to participating DEXs. The deUSD stablecoin enables users in the institutional domain, specifically RWA holders, to obtain a sufficiently liquid asset to participate in the wider DeFi ecosystem. According to the project’s documentation, more than ten leading institutional finance organizations have already adopted deUSD for their assets.

How is deUSD unique?

deUSD differs from many other stablecoins in that it isn’t collateralized by US dollar reserves. The token’s collateral is made up of Lido’s stETH and Sky Protocol’s USDS. To ensure its stability, deUSD is subject to an algorithmically adjusting overcollateralization mechanism, the Over Collateralization Fund (OCF).

When funding rates become negative, the OCF shifts more of deUSD’s collateral into USDS. If the OCF’s value drops too much, it automatically converts its assets into USDS to ensure deUSD’s backing remains intact. Meanwhile, when funding rates become positive, funding rate exposure — that is, the potential gains and costs from holding leveraged positions in perpetual futures contracts — is used to generate additional returns.

During the project’s earlier period of operations, centralized exchanges (CEXs) are expected to provide the bulk of liquidity for deUSD and facilitate the token’s minting and redemption. Eventually, the protocol plans to shift more of the backing and liquidity management to decentralized platforms. The minting/redeeming process will be supported by authorized market makers, who will use stETH collateral and engage in basis trading to manage risk.

What is the Elixir crypto token (ELX)?

The Elixir protocol's native token, ELX, is primarily used for governance, staking and stake delegation. Certain rewards, such as airdrops, can also be distributed in ELX. The token’s total and maximum supply is 1 billion.

How to buy Elixir (ELX)

The ELX token is available on Bybit’s Spot market as a swap pair with USDT. You can also take advantage of Bybit’s campaign dedicated to the token to grab a share of the 8.5 million ELX prize pool.

Under the terms of the campaign, new users can earn ELX rewards by accumulating a deposit volume of at least 200 ELX, or by depositing at least 100 USDT and trading 100 USDT worth of ELX via their first trade. Existing users can also qualify for rewards by trading at least 500 USDT worth of ELX on the Spot market. The campaign is valid till Mar 24, 2025, 9AM UTC.

How to get the Elixir (ELX) airdrop

Bybit also offers two additional ELX airdrop campaigns to its users. One of these is the 30,000 ELX Listing Celebration event. In order to receive your share of the airdrop, just follow these three steps: 

• Register for the event

• Deposit at least $100 via Bybit Crypto Deposit, P2P Trading or Fiat Deposit

• Trade at least 100 USDT worth of ELX on the Spot market. 

The airdrop is valid till Mar 31, 2025, 10AM UTC.

ELX Treasure Wheel

The other campaign is the ELX Pre-Listing Treasure Wheel. Win a share of the 40,000 ELX prize pool by registering for the event, completing specified tasks to earn Lucky Draw tickets and spinning the wheel by using your tickets. You can register for the event until Mar 20, 2025, 12AM UTC, and the Lucky Spin period ends exactly 24 hours after this date.

Additionally, Elixir runs its own reward campaign, Elixir Apothecary, that lets you earn Potions, points that help you build power across the platform’s network of participating DEXs. However, note that participation in the Apothecary campaign doesn't guarantee an airdrop of ELX tokens.

Closing thoughts

Elixir is a relatively new entrant in the DeFi space. The project launched the first phase of its mainnet in October 2024, with the main launch in March 2025. Elixir’s platform aims to address the issue of inflexibility of RWA use on-chain. The project aims to focus its efforts on larger institutional players, including leading investment funds.

At the same time, while Elixir pursues the ambitious goal of attracting the big players of the financial world via its RWA stream, its second key specialization — liquidity support to DEXs — should provide enough quick wins within the shorter term. With more than 30 DEXs already in Elixir’s ecosystem, it looks like this specialization is already paying dividends. The question now is: Will the push for the top brass of the institutional finance world enjoy similar success?

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