Crypto Gloss

Equalizer

Equalizer is a Solidly ve(3,3) decentralized exchange operating on Fantom and Base, closely following the original Solidly design with EQUAL token vote-escrow governance and a gauge-bribe system for directing liquidity incentives — serving as one of the more faithful implementations of Cronje’s original ve(3,3) vision on the chains where Solidly itself launched and on Coinbase’s Layer 2.

Overview

Equalizer launched on Fantom shortly after Solidly’s abandonment in 2022, stepping into the void left by Cronje’s departure to provide a maintained ve(3,3) DEX on Fantom’s DeFi ecosystem. Later, recognizing Base’s rapid growth, Equalizer expanded to Base network to serve the growing Coinbase L2 ecosystem. Operating as a de facto continuation of Solidly’s project on Fantom, Equalizer fills a specific niche: users and protocols on Fantom and Base who want the classic Solidly vote-escrow bribe governance model without the additional complexity of concentrated liquidity integrations.

EQUAL Token and veEQUAL

EQUAL:

  • Governance and luiquidity emissions token for the Equalizer protocol
  • Locked to create veEQUAL NFT positions
  • Maximum lock: 4 years (inheriting from Solidly’s original maximum)
  • veEQUAL voting power decays linearly with time remaining on lock

veEQUAL:

  • ERC-721 NFT representing locked EQUAL governance position
  • Transferable on secondary NFT markets
  • Weekly gauge voting for directing EQUAL emissions
  • Fee income: 100% of trading fees from voted pools
  • Bribe income: all bribes paid to voters for a pool

Pool Types

Equalizer follows Solidly’s two-pool-type model:

Volatile AMM (vAMM):

  • Constant product formula: x*y=k
  • For uncorrelated pairs (e.g., FTM/USDC, WBTC/ETH)
  • Standard Uniswap V2-style pricing with full-range liquidity

Stable AMM (sAMM):

  • Curve-style StableSwap invariant for low-slippage stable-to-stable swaps
  • For correlated pairs (e.g., USDC/USDT, stFTM/wFTM, axlUSDC/USDC)
  • Much less price impact for large swaps between pegged assets

Both pool types are eligible for EQUAL emission gauges and the bribe marketplace.

Fantom Deployment

On Fantom, Equalizer positioned as the primary decentralized liquidity protocol after Solidly’s collapse:

  • Core DeFi infrastructure for Fantom-native tokens needing deep liquidity
  • Partner protocols on Fantom used Equalizer’s bribe market to incentivize their token pairs
  • Integration with Fantom’s broader DeFi ecosystem (SpookySwap, Geist Finance, etc.)

Base Deployment

Equalizer’s Base deployment targeted Coinbase’s rapidly growing L2:

  • Opportunistic expansion into Base’s DeFi ecosystem ahead of competing Solidly forks
  • Base-native tokens and Coinbase product integrations sought liquidity on Equalizer
  • Competition with Aerodrome Finance (the dominant Base ve(3,3) DEX) for liquidity and protocol partners

Comparison to Aerodrome and Velodrome

Feature Velodrome (Optimism) Aerodrome (Base) Equalizer (Fantom/Base)
veNFT version veVELO + Relay auto-comp veAERO veEQUAL (standard NFT)
CL integration Yes (Slipstream) Yes (Slipstream) Limited
Chain Optimism Base Fantom, Base
Team Velodrome team Aerodrome team Community fork

Equalizer’s simpler, closer-to-original Solidly design appeals to users preferring simplicity over the more complex Velodrome/Aerodrome upgrades.

Sources

  1. Equalizer Documentation — Equalizer Team, 2022–2023. Describes EQUAL/veEQUAL tokenomics, classic vAMM/sAMM pool design, gauge-bribe system, and multi-chain deployment on Fantom and Base.
  1. “Fantom DeFi After Cronje: Ecosystem Recovery” — Messari Research, 2022. Documents the collapse of Fantom’s DeFi TVL following André Cronje’s March 2022 departure and subsequent Solidly abandonment, and how protocols like Equalizer attempted to maintain core DeFi infrastructure on Fantom.
  1. “Base DeFi Landscape: First-Mover Protocols” — Delphi Digital, 2023. Maps Base network DeFi protocols in the months following its public launch, including Equalizer’s early Base deployment and competition with Aerodrome for the leading ve(3,3) DEX position on Coinbase’s L2.
  1. “Solidly Fidelity: When Forks Differ” — Bankless Research, 2023. Analyzes which Solidly features the major forks preserved exactly (Velodrome, Aerodrome, Equalizer) versus which they redesigned (CL integration, lock duration, anti-dilution rebase), evaluating whether deviations from the original design improved or worsened outcomes for users and liquidity providers.
  1. Equalizer Community Governance and Expansion Records — Equalizer DAO, 2022–2023. Governance discussions covering EQUAL emission schedule adjustments, Base chain deployment governance votes, new pool additions, and bribe program partnerships with Fantom and Base ecosystem protocols.

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