Weekly Bonzo Bytes 🎙️🐵

bonzo_finance avatar
Bonzo Finance Labs
@bonzo_financeDec 12, 2025

The Spaces recaps a Bonzo Finance community call focused on the beta launch of Bonzo Vaults on Hedera mainnet, Season 4 point claims, and the start of Season 5. Speakers Ren Lee and Goring (Bonzo co-founder and CTO) outline three vault strategies—single-asset liquidity provisioning via Ichi-style mechanics, dual-asset concentrated liquidity management with auto-compounding and frequent rebalancing, and a leveraged liquid staking loop using HBARX and Stader Labs—emphasizing risk awareness and completed audits. Early vault liquidity is around $170K, with a soft-launch approach and a larger announcement planned next week. Season 4 claims are live, and Season 5 (Dec 9–Mar 9) continues points for lending, borrowing, and vault deposits to drive sustainable liquidity. A merch contest runs through Dec 29 with three Bonzo NFTs (each claimable for up to 6,270 BONZO). Upcoming community calls include Hedera’s end-of-year technical overview and a holiday X Space (Bonzo’s Brady attending). Protocol stats show TVL down from $26M to $23M (with HBAR-denominated TVL stable), Hedera chain TVL down to $77M, USDC on Hedera jumping to ~$145M, and HBAR at ~$0.125. In Q&A, Celestial explores multi-product differentiation, future integrations beyond SaucerSwap, revenue plans, tutorials, and the efficiency of auto-harvesting.

Bonzo Finance Twitter Space: Weekly Updates and Bonzo Vaults Beta Launch

Participants

  • Goring — Co-founder and CTO, Bonzo Finance Labs
  • Ren Lee — Host, Bonzo Finance team
  • Brady — Bonzo Finance team (absent, traveling)
  • Celestial — Community member

Opening and Disclaimer

  • The session began with brief housekeeping and a disclaimer: views shared are personal, not financial advice; forward-looking statements involve risks; do your own research and consult professionals. Neither Bonzo Finance nor speakers are liable for actions taken based on the session.

Major Launch: Bonzo Vaults (Beta on Hedera Mainnet)

  • Overview and release:
    • Bonzo Vaults officially released Tuesday this week in beta on Hedera mainnet.
    • Positioned as the first public release of automated vault strategies on Hedera.
    • The launch was a soft/beta release by design to enable public testing before heavier marketing.
  • Launch status and next steps:
    • Initial liquidity surpassed ~$170,000.
    • The rollout was smooth, with only minor issues, thanks to extensive testing and internal problem-solving.
    • Marketing ramp-up and a larger announcement are planned for early next week (Monday/Tuesday).
  • Strategy types available at launch:
    • Single-asset DEX vault (based on Ichi Vaults protocol):
      • Enables one-sided liquidity provision into a SaucerSwap pool (e.g., deposit a single token like BONZO into a BONZO–HBAR pool).
      • Mechanism: a small portion of the deposited asset is internally swapped into the counter-asset to create LP exposure; on withdrawal, users receive both assets back.
      • Typical conversion is limited to a few percent, contingent on vault liquidity conditions.
    • Dual-asset DEX vault (Concentrated Liquidity Management, CLM):
      • Concentrates liquidity around the current price in tight ranges to maximize fee capture.
      • Smart contracts auto-compound and rebalance at defined intervals:
        • Stable pools: rebalanced ~2 times per day.
        • Volatile pools (e.g., USDC–HBAR or USDC–Saucer pairs): rebalanced ~6 times per day.
      • Goal: keep liquidity efficiently deployed to earn the most fees possible from the target pool.
    • Leveraged liquid staking (HRX vault):
      • Looping strategy: deposit HRX; supply to Bonzo Land; borrow HBAR; stake that HBAR via Stader Labs; return the staked asset to Bonzo Land, iterating to amplify yield.
      • Designed to maximize yield but carries higher risk.
  • Risk and audits:
    • Vault strategies are risky; users should participate at their own risk.
    • Contracts have undergone an audit and a follow-up audit to enhance safety.
  • Assets supported (beta set):
    • Supporting most major Hedera tokens at launch, including HRX, USDC, wETH (ERC-20 wrapped Ether), BONZO, SAUCE, and JAM, among others available on SaucerSwap.
    • More assets and vaults will be added progressively during the beta and beyond.
  • Roadmap and integrations:
    • The beta limits asset breadth initially; upcoming additions include more vaults and assets (e.g., wrapped BTC and additional HBAR pairs), with continued expansion through the coming weeks and months.
    • Vaults provide flexibility to integrate with multiple Hedera protocols beyond SaucerSwap (already integrated with Stader Labs); expect further connections and strategy types.
    • Vaults can underpin reward and incentive campaigns, token bootstrapping, and other protocol-level initiatives.

Bonzo Points: Season 4 Claims and Season 5 Launch

  • Season 4:
    • Claims for Season 4 are live: app.bonzo.finance/claim (use your points to claim BONZO tokens).
  • Season 5:
    • Started December 9; runs until March 9 (approximately three months).
    • Points structure:
      • Lending: 2 points per $1 supplied.
      • Borrowing: 8 points per $1 borrowed.
      • Vault deposits: 2 points per $1 supplied.
    • Objective: incentivize liquidity for both Bonzo Land (lending/borrowing) and Vaults, reinforcing protocol sustainability.

Community Merch Contest and NFT Giveaway

  • Contest window: open now through December 29.
  • How to participate:
    • Post a fun, creative photo featuring Bonzo merch.
    • Tag Bonzo Finance on X and (optionally) use # bonzomerch to help the team track entries.
  • Prizes:
    • Three Desert Bonzo NFTs will be awarded (three winners).
    • Each NFT includes the ability to claim up to 6,270 BONZO tokens.
  • Selection criteria: winners chosen by the Bonzo team based on creativity and presentation.
  • No purchase required:
    • If you don’t have merch, you can enter by posting original Bonzo-themed content (including AI-generated art) and following the tagging/hashtag guidelines.
  • Merch store: shop.bonzo.finance.

Upcoming Community Spaces

  • Hedera End-of-Year Community Call (next week):
    • Technical overview segment featuring Richard Bair (Hashgraph engineering lead), Carlos Mateo (ioBuilders), and Goring (Bonzo Finance Labs CTO).
    • Focus: key Hedera network upgrades from 2025 and what’s coming in 2026; a deep dive for those following Hedera’s technical roadmap.
    • Opportunity for Bonzo to present to the wider community, including Bonzo Land and Bonzo Vaults.
    • Link will be posted/pinned by the team.
  • Hashtag team’s holiday X Space:
    • Host: Phil (Hashtag team), inviting friends and ecosystem partners.
    • Brady will join from the Bonzo team.
    • Scheduled for December 18, 5:00–7:00 PM Eastern Time.
    • Link to be posted/pinned.

Protocol Metrics and Market Context

  • Bonzo TVL:
    • Down slightly week-over-week: from ~$26M to ~$23M, driven largely by HBAR price decline.
    • In HBAR terms, TVL is nearly flat: ~187.3M HBAR last week vs ~187.02M HBAR this week.
  • Rankings:
    • Across DeFi lending protocols, Bonzo ranks ~# 65.
    • Within Hedera, Bonzo is # 3 by TVL, behind SaucerSwap (~$51M TVL).
  • Hedera ecosystem stats:
    • Hedera-wide TVL fell from ~$84M to ~$77M; chain TVL rank is ~# 49 among all chains.
    • USDC issuance on Hedera surged from ~75.6M to ~145M (nearly doubled).
  • Market note:
    • HBAR price down from ~$0.133 to ~$0.125.
    • Expectation: the Bonzo Vaults beta should help support TVL growth as adoption increases.

Q&A Highlights (Celestial)

  • Dual product streams differentiation:
    • Celestial highlighted that Bonzo now operates two active product lines: lending/borrowing (Bonzo Land) and Vaults—distinct from competitors that only offer vaults.
    • Goring confirmed and emphasized that expanding product breadth strengthens protocol revenue and benefits BONZO token holders over time, while noting any buyback-style mechanisms would depend on legal guidance and aren’t promised.
  • Integrations beyond SaucerSwap:
    • Celestial asked whether Bonzo will connect with more liquidity providers.
    • Goring explained that Vaults offer significant flexibility; they’re already integrated with Stader Labs and can extend to other protocols. Vaults create surface area for reward campaigns, incentives, and token bootstrapping; more vault types and smart contracts will roll out over time.
  • Beta user experience and patience:
    • Celestial praised the UI and noted occasional “0 or negative” display quirks; plans to evaluate performance over a month rather than immediately pulling liquidity.
    • Goring thanked him and reiterated the beta’s goal: launch before the holidays to gather on-chain data and user behavior, then scale up next year.
  • Tutorials and educational content:
    • Celestial requested tutorials for easier onboarding.
    • Goring committed to noting it; Brady and Ren Lee will produce tutorials, and Goring will create technical guides.
    • Ren Lee added that new blog posts and video tutorials are in the pipeline.
  • Efficiency of smart-contract harvesting:
    • Celestial suggested emphasizing that contract-level harvesting/compounding is more cost-efficient than individuals doing it multiple times daily.
    • Ren Lee acknowledged and appreciated the point.

Scheduling Notes

  • Brady returns next week; that will be the final Bonzo Bites space for the year.
  • The team will skip sessions for Christmas and New Year holidays and resume the regular schedule the week after.

Key Takeaways

  • Bonzo Vaults have launched in beta on Hedera with three strategy types (single-asset DEX, dual-asset CLM, leveraged liquid staking), aiming for efficient fee capture and yield optimization; audited but still risky—use at your own discretion.
  • Bonzo Points Season 5 adds vault incentives alongside lending and borrowing to deepen liquidity and strengthen protocol sustainability.
  • Community engagement remains active via the merch/NFT contest and upcoming ecosystem spaces; tutorials and educational content are forthcoming.
  • Despite market softness, Hedera’s USDC supply has surged; Bonzo remains a top-3 Hedera protocol by TVL and expects Vaults to support future growth.