Through our v3 upgrade, Thetanuts Finance will transition from being an option vault protocol and into a decentralized on-chain options protocol – where users can go long or short on altcoin options.

In conjunction with the v3 upgrade, we are also pleased to announce the launch of the v3 Incentivized Alpha — an early access version of Thetanuts Finance v3, where selected participants will have early access to our new features on v3. We intend to begin the v3 Incentivized Alpha in mid December 2023.

For more information on the v3 upgrade and v3 Incentivized Alpha, please view our Medium content:

• Thetanuts Finance: Launching the v3 Upgrade
• Thetanuts Finance: Under the Hood of Thetanuts Finance v3
• Thetanuts Finance: Launching the v3 Incentivized Alpha
• Thetanuts Finance: Kicking Off Phase II of v3 Incentivized Alpha

Our key objectives for the v3 Incentivized Alpha are as follow:

• Bringing the Community Together: The v3 Incentivized Alpha represents an opportunity to bring Traders and Liquidity Providers together to learn more about our first-to-market v3 architecture and upgraded trading interface from the v3 upgrade.
• Bootstrapping TVL and Trading Volume: Through the v3 Incentivized Alpha, we hope to bootstrap TVL and Trading Volume, which are both key components for a successful v3 launch.
• Gathering Feedback on v3: Thetanuts Finance seeks to gain valuable feedback from the Community (including Traders and Liquidity Providers), on how we can improve Thetanuts Finance v3 as we move toward v3 Mainnet.

Users must meet the following criteria to be eligible for participation and rewards:

• Certain jurisdictional limitations apply (i.e. users must be non-U.S./Canada and OFAC compliant), as outlined by Thetanuts Finance’s terms and conditions and here.
• Participants will need to complete on-chain transactions on Thetanuts Finance’s v3 Incentivized Alpha, including trading or providing liquidity.
• A non-custodial EVM-compatible wallet (i.e. via Metamask) is required to connect and engage with Thetanuts Finance.

Approximately 2.0% of NUTS is expected to be distributed as part of Airdrop Season 1, expected to take place in Q1 2024. Recipients will receive their rewards as veNUTS, a staked representation of NUTS that will have access to the full benefits of being a member of the Thetanuts Finance community. veNUTS will be subject to a vesting period to be unlocked for NUTS, subject to the discretion of the Thetanuts Finance team.

To be eligible for rewards through the v3 Incentivized Alpha, users must:

• Trade: Trading Volume contribution will be measured in determining a user’s airdrop, with eligible actions being Longs and Shorts.
  
• Provide Liquidity: TVL contribution will be measured in determining a user’s airdrop, with eligible actions being Boost, Add Liquidity, and Lend.

In conjunction with the v3 upgrade, we will also look to launch NUTS — the governance token of Thetanuts Finance. NUTS will be vital in achieving the long-term objectives of the protocol — including decentralization, governance, and incentives.

Holders of NUTS will enjoy the below token utilities:

• veTokenomics & Gauge Voting: $NUTS can be staked to become $veNUTS – with holders of $veNUTS being able to participate in gauge voting for every component within the Thetanuts Finance ecosystem.
• Governance & Decentralization: Holders of $veNUTS will be able to participate in governing Thetanuts Finance toward its long-term objectives.
• Value Accrual: Fees earned by Thetanuts Finance will be accrued to the Treasury, in which the Thetanuts Finance DAO will have control over once governance is live.
• Boosted Emissions: Holders of locked $veNUTS receive Boosted Emissions on their liquidity incentives on Thetanuts Finance.

We believe that the v3 Incentivized Alpha should be the first instance of Thetanuts Finance utilizing NUTS to achieve our objectives – in this case, rallying the Thetanuts Finance Community around the v3 upgrade.

The v3 Incentivized Alpha Phase II is expected to last approximately 1 - 2 months. This timeline is subject to change at the discretion of Thetanuts Finance as the v3 Incentivized Alpha progresses.

Thetanuts Finance is a leading option vault protocol, and the options protocol with the largest coverage of altcoin options. The first iteration of Thetanuts Finance saw the launch of Basic Vaults — where the Basic Vaults sell out-of-money European cash-settled options to accredited market makers.

With the v3 upgrade, Thetanuts Finance will transition to becoming a decentralized on-chain options protocol focused on altcoin options – allowing users to go long or short on on-chain options.

Our v3 upgrade will see a number of benefits:

• Decentralized:Unlike other options protocols where implied volatility is input by protocol teams to price options, Thetanuts Finance v3 will feature free-market pricing — where users express their view on what pricing should be. The launch of $NUTS will also allow us to eventually achieve our goals for decentralized governance.
• Our Focus on Altcoins: Most protocols focus on Ethereum Mainnet, utilizing majors (i.e. $ETH and $WBTC) as underlying assets. There is a distinct gap within the decentralized altcoin options space, as altcoins have higher volatility compared to majors, with users needing an avenue to go long or short on altcoin volatility. Leveraging our prior track record of being a top option vault protocol focused on altcoins, we believe in the ecosystem's ability to fill this gap within the altcoin options space.
• Additional Sources of Yield: Through v3, users have access to additional sources of yield beyond just option premiums. These additional sources include: AMM trading fees, borrowing rates on the Lending / Borrowing Markets, and additional liquidity rewards.

Thetanuts Finance previously raised $35mm through Seed and Series A rounds from Polychain Capital, QCP Capital, Deribit, Paradigm, GSR, Wintermute, Jump, GoldenTree, Tribe Capital, and others.