Fluid
Credit · Leveraged Yield · FLUID
Fluid (formerly Instadapp) combines lending, vaults and DEX liquidity through a shared liquidity layer, so the same capital can support lending and trading.
Capital-efficient lending + DEX hybrid on a shared liquidity layer.
Protocol TVL
$753.3M
-2.1% 24h
Latest data · 15 min delay
Research
Components, facts, FAQ, timeline, and tokenomics in one place
Main components (4)
Liquidity Layer
The core contract at the center of Fluid that custodies all protocol funds. It only interacts with the protocols built on top of it (not end users), consolidating liquidity from every module so newer protocols can automatically tap shared liquidity. It manages automated debt/supply limits, utilization rates, and pluggable interest-rate models.
Vaults (Smart Collateral & Smart Debt)
Fluid's lending/borrowing protocol. Users supply collateral and borrow against it. The DEX integration introduces Smart Collateral (collateral doubles as AMM liquidity, earning lending interest plus trading fees) and Smart Debt (borrowed debt is deployed as trading liquidity, earning fees that offset borrow APR), pushing capital efficiency well beyond siloed lenders like Aave.
Fluid DEX
An AMM built directly on the Liquidity Layer, launched October 2024. It powers Smart Collateral and Smart Debt by turning lending/borrowing positions into productive trading liquidity. Within ~3 months it became the second-largest DEX on Ethereum by volume, and was the fastest DEX to surpass $10B cumulative volume on Ethereum (100 days).
FLUID token
The protocol's ERC-20 governance token on Ethereum (max supply 100M). Formerly INST; rebranded to FLUID in December 2024 via a 1:1 conversion on the same contract with no holder action required. Holders govern fee structures, integration priorities, and risk parameters through the Fluid DAO.
Differentiator
Capital efficiency: a shared liquidity layer lets collateral, debt, lending liquidity and trading liquidity work together — more efficient but more complex.
Organizational structure
Units & roles
- Core development team
Instadapp Labs
The team that built and maintains Instadapp and Fluid. Founded by brothers Sowmay and Samyak Jain; over 4+ years building DeFi infrastructure managing several billion dollars in TVL.
- Governance
Fluid DAO
FLUID token holders govern the protocol - voting on fee structures, integration priorities, and risk parameters. Formerly the Instadapp DAO before the December 2024 rebrand.
Investment rounds
Similarity to traditional finance products
How Fluid maps onto established TradFi structures, and where it diverges.
| TradFi product | Similarity to Fluid | Key differences |
|---|---|---|
| Secured lending / margin loan combined with a market-maker desk | Like a broker's secured lending desk, Fluid lets you post collateral and borrow against it, with liquidation if collateral value falls below thresholds. | Unlike a bank where posted collateral sits idle, Fluid's Smart Collateral and Smart Debt simultaneously deploy that same collateral and debt as market-making (AMM) liquidity, so a single pool of capital earns lending interest and trading fees at once - impossible in siloed TradFi products. |