VCRED is a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol that functions as an AI-powered liquidity layer for on-chain perpetual futures order book exchanges. The platform allows users to deposit single-sided liquidity into smart contract vaults and earn yield from complex, automated market-making strategies executed by the project's proprietary artificial intelligence models. VCRED's objective is to democratize access to institutional-grade trading strategies, a domain traditionally dominated by specialized quantitative trading firms.

Overview

VCRED is designed to operate on top of existing perpetual derivatives decentralized exchanges (DEXs), acting as a specialized and automated liquidity provider. The protocol solves the high barrier to entry for market making by abstracting its complexities away from the end-user. Participants can deposit assets, typically stablecoins like USDC, into strategy vaults and passively earn real yield generated from trading fees, funding rates, and other market-making activities. The protocol's AI and generative AI models analyze vast amounts of market data, including order book depth, trade flow, and social media sentiment, to dynamically manage liquidity positions and optimize for profitability. ^{[1] [2]}​

The core value proposition of VCRED is twofold. For liquidity providers, it offers access to a source of yield that aims to be delta-neutral, minimizing exposure to the directional price movements of volatile crypto assets. For the perpetual DEXs it integrates with, VCRED provides deep, stable, and professional-grade liquidity, which can lead to reduced slippage for traders, higher trading volumes, and a more efficient market overall. The project has operated primarily on blockchains such as Arbitrum and Avalanche, with integrations on DEXs like Hyperliquid. ^{[1] [3]}​

The project's history shows a significant evolution. It was initially conceptualized in 2021 as a flash loan-based protocol on the Avalanche network before pivoting to focus on AI-driven market making. In August 2024, the team announced that the protocol was evolving into a new project called RNDM.io, built to capitalize on user demand for its capital-efficient volume generation capabilities on user-selected tokens. ^{[4] [5]}​

History

The VCRED project began in 2021 with a different focus from its later incarnation. Early announcements in mid-2021 described it as a "bot driven flash-loan protocol" on the Avalanche blockchain, with a mission to automate yield enhancement in DeFi through single-transaction loans. ^{[4] [5]} In December 2021, the project announced the integration of Chainlink Price Feeds on Avalanche, a foundational step for its automation goals. A key early partnership was established in March 2022 with the Blizzard Fund, Avalanche's ecosystem fund, to accelerate DeFi automation on the network. ^{[4] [5]}​

By 2023, the project's direction had pivoted significantly. In May 2023, the team announced it was preparing for the launch of its "AI-Powered smart Market Maker (sMM)," signaling a strategic shift toward providing liquidity for perpetual exchanges. This was followed by details on "AI-Powered Perp Agents," components designed to manage trading strategies in volatile market conditions. ^[5]​

The protocol saw a major public relaunch in 2024. In February, VCRED's first integration went live in a closed alpha on the Hyperliquid exchange, followed by a public launch in March 2024. ^[2] The project's native token, 100 million in total trading volume by June 2024 and expanding its vault integrations to other platforms like Aevo. By September 2024, the total trading volume was reported to be over $115 million. ^{[1] [4]}​

In August 2024, the team announced the project's next phase: an evolution into a new protocol named RNDM.io. The stated reason for this change was to leverage the core technology for user-directed, capital-efficient volume generation on specific tokens. ^[4]​

Technology and Mechanism

VCRED's architecture combines on-chain smart contracts with a sophisticated off-chain AI decision-making engine to execute its strategies.

Core Architecture

The system is built on two primary components:

• On-Chain Liquidity Vaults: These are programmable smart contracts where users deposit their assets (e.g., USDC) via single-sided staking. Each vault can be programmed to execute a different AI-driven strategy with a unique risk-reward profile. ^[6]
• Off-Chain AI Engine: This is the protocol's backbone, responsible for all strategic decision-making. It comprises AI models and "decision engines," also referred to as "Perp Agents," that analyze data and execute trades on integrated exchanges. VCRED employs a "Trustless Factor Approach," a mechanism that allows these off-chain agents to manage funds within the on-chain vaults without having direct custody, aiming to enhance security. ^[1]

AI Engine and Data Processing

The AI engine is fed by a continuous stream of financial and alternative data. An "industrial grade socket" collects tick-level order book data from Central Limit Order Book (CLOB) exchanges and mid-frequency candle data from Concentrated Liquidity Market Makers (CLMMs). These datasets are used to train the machine learning models that guide the market-making strategies. ^[1]​

In addition to quantitative market data, the protocol utilizes Generative AI to process qualitative data. The Ganesh Vault, for instance, is specifically designed to analyze sentiment from social media platforms like Crypto Twitter (CT) to inform higher-risk, opportunistic trades. ^{[1] [6]}​

User Workflow

The process for a user to participate in VCRED's ecosystem follows a clear, passive liquidity provision model:

1. Deposit: A user deposits a single asset, such as USDC, into a selected VCRED vault.
2. Mint Vault Token: Upon deposit, the user receives a liquid vault token (LVT), which represents their share of the vault's total assets. One version of this is the vCRED token, designed as a yield-bearing stablecoin pegged 1:1 to USDC, which accrues value as the vault generates profit. ^[3]
3. Liquidity Deployment: The pooled capital in the vault is deployed by VCRED's AI engine into automated trading strategies on partner DEXs.
4. Yield Generation: The strategies, primarily focused on delta-neutral market making and funding rate arbitrage, generate yield from trading fees and other market inefficiencies. ^[4]
5. Yield Accrual: Profits are periodically collected and reinvested into the vault, compounding the value of the users' positions.
6. Withdrawal: Users can redeem their LVT to withdraw their initial principal plus any accrued yield, typically subject to a predefined redemption period to ensure orderly liquidity management. ^[2]

Products (Liquidity Vaults)

VCRED offers distinct vaults, each powered by a different AI strategy and tailored to a specific risk profile.

Atlas Vault

The Atlas Vault is designed to be a delta-neutral strategy with high capital efficiency. Its primary objective is to maximize trading volume on underlying exchanges. This approach is also used to accumulate rewards from exchange-native incentive programs, such as points farming on platforms like Hyperliquid. The Atlas Vault was live and operational as of mid-2024. ^{[1] [6]}​

Ganesh Vault

The Ganesh Vault employs a higher-risk, opportunistic strategy that utilizes Generative AI. This vault's models analyze sentiment from sources like Crypto Twitter to execute what the project describes as "degen trading." The goal is to capitalize on short-term, sentiment-driven market movements. The Ganesh Vault was also live and operational as of mid-2024. ^{[1] [7]}​

VCRED Vault

The VCRED Vault was announced as a future offering that would provide users access to a "perp portfolio." Access to this vault was planned to require staking of the native VCRED token. ^[1]​

Tokenomics

The VCRED ecosystem appears to utilize at least two types of tokens: a native governance and utility token (VCRED) and a liquid vault token (vCRED). Sourced data presents conflicting details regarding the governance token's contract addresses and total supply.

$VCRED (Governance and Utility Token)

$VCRED is the protocol's native token, designed for governance and revenue sharing. Holders can participate in protocol decisions and stake their tokens to receive a share of the performance fees generated by the liquidity vaults. The protocol employs a vote-escrowed model where users can lock $

There are multiple contract addresses and supply figures associated with the $VCRED token across different sources and blockchains:

• Arbitrum: 0x51E380153579165313a522336338b555811F1F81 with a total supply of 100,000,000. ^[1]
• Avalanche: 0xA9981aE308a3BEc528f85f381f9b01511218556A with a total supply of 100,000,000. ^[1]
• Arbitrum (for veVCRED): 0x958ACC3b93f8A71490231518544d156645369A1C with a max supply of 100,000,000. ^[8]

Another source lists a total supply of 1,000,000,000 $VCRED. The discrepancies may reflect different stages of development, token migrations, or errors in data aggregation. ^[2]​

vCRED (Liquid Vault Token)

Separate from the governance token, vCRED is described as a liquid vault token issued to users upon depositing USDC into a vault. It is designed to be a crypto-backed, yield-bearing stablecoin pegged 1:1 to USDC. As the vault generates yield, the value of vCRED appreciates. This token is designed for composability within the broader DeFi ecosystem, allowing it to be used as collateral or in other yield strategies. ^[3]​

• Network: Hemi
• Contract Address: 0x71881974e96152643c74a8e0214b877cfb2a0aa1
• Supply: The max supply is elastic (infinite), as new tokens are minted with each USDC deposit. ^[3]

Ecosystem and Partnerships

VCRED secured a $1.5 million seed funding round led by Crypto3 Capital and GreenHorns Capital. ^[7] The project has established a network of investors and partners across DEXs, infrastructure, and technology.

Investors

• Avalanche (via Blizzard Fund)
• Big Brain Holdings
• CMS Holdings
• Cogitent Ventures
• Crypto3 Capital
• DeFi Capital
• Green Horn Capital (also referred to as Green House Capital or GreenHorns Capital)
• Sanctor Capital ^{[1] [7]}

Partners and Integrations

• DEX Integrations: Hyperliquid, BSX, Aevo
• Infrastructure & Technology: Chainlink, Contango, Elixir, Gravity (GRVT), Hyperlane, Movement Labs, Orderly Network, Ritual ^{[1] [5]}

Team

Various sources identify different individuals in leadership roles, potentially reflecting changes over the project's lifecycle.

• Rhemraj Sugrim (Co-Founder & CEO) and Anurag D. (Co-Founder & CTO) are listed as key figures based on an analysis of the project's public information. ^[1]
• Vijay Lakshminarayanan (also cited as Vijay L.) is identified as the Founder and CEO in other sources, including summaries of an AMA event from 2022. His background is noted as including engineering experience from Bentley Motors. ^{[5] [7]}