On logging into Osmosis around a month ago I noticed that I’d been dropped some SOMM - I’m not sure why, it must have been for holding somm token or other (see what I did there!?!) probably ATOM.
Unlike the various drops of fishing coins I’ve had to MetaMask this one actually seemed genuine, I mean I was able to swap some of this for UST, no problem, on OSMOSIS, while some I held and pooled with OSMO.
But what is SOMM and is it worth holding onto or even buying more…?
Sommelier Finance - The basics...
Sommelier Finance aims to develop Smart Contracts that allow users to move their DEFI assets from pool to pool automatically.
The general idea is that using their application (yet to be released) you will be able to automate moving out of selected pools (whichever ones they write the smart contracts for I guess) when certain conditions are met - for example the yield falls below a certain level or when the balance of assets changes beyond a certain point; and you'll be able to enter other pools when similar conditions are met.
This is kind of like setting 'limit orders' for when you enter and exit DEFI pools.
This is pretty exiting stuff as ATM there is no so functionality on any DEFI platform anywhere.
The proposed benefits of SOMM....
At the moment all of this is yet to be released, but they do mention four specific benefits, all of which are pretty juicy:
They are planning to enable you to batch transactions together which should lower your ETH tx fees, and through automation you can protect yourself against IL.
Nice!
SOMM tokenomics and SOMM price
The SOMM price did the usual airdrop thing of dropping after the drop, from $5 down to $2 ATW, but TBH that's not too bad for a free money token...
In total 15 million SOMM were dropped out of a total supply of 500 million, so we've only had a tiny fraction dropped so far, not encouraging!
TDLR - The Aims of Sommelier Finance
- Sommelier is a 'co-processor' for Ethereum betting that Ethereum will be the main player in DEFI going forwards.
- It aims to develop smart contracts that allow users to set LIMIT ORDERS ON DEFI protocols, something which at the moment is only possible CEFI.
- SOMM should enable people to rebalance their DEFI portfolios automatically through mechanisms such as limit orders.
- It's not clear to me whether they are just developing this on ETH or whether this will also apply to protocols on the COSMOS network where the SOMM airdrop occurred.
Limitations
The roadmap on the website runs through 2021, and we are now in 2022, so it seems they are a year behind as their app is not working yet, so this is very much still a work in progress.
There is, it seems, a functioning chain that you can check out on
SOMSCAN but when I try to 'launch app' it can't provide a secure connection, so still a work in progress it would seem!
Still, the airdrop is nice.
Final Thoughts - Is Somm worth buying...
For me, no.
While I REALLY like the idea of it, there's no details on the tokenomics or release date of the platform, a year behind on the roadmap.
The airdrop was nice, I held 30% of it, it's value has held up OK, it's earning me a decent yield pooled with some OSMO, but I won't be buying any more, the future's just too indistinct...!