Bringing leveraged yield farming to NEAR with Pembrock: insights from CEO Igor Stadnyk

Please tell us about yourself and your experience in blockchain & crypto

I got into crypto in 2016, mostly mining Bitcoin and Ethereum, and one year later, my partners and I set up a multi-coin mining pool. Once it was up and running, I saw the growing market need for talented blockchain developers and that’s how INC4, a blockchain development company, came to life.

Soon after, DeFi started to gain momentum and it reflected my view of the perfect world: self-governance, decentralization, and a great way to earn returns. The sector was still early in terms of development and quite complicated to navigate for someone with no technical background. I believe that the idea for Pembrock came to me back then but it only became a reality with the tremendous success of the NEAR blockchain and its DeFi capabilities.

Can you please tell us about your new product – PembRock Finance? 

Gladly. Pembrock is the first leveraged yield farming platform in the NEAR ecosystem. 

I believe it unlocks the key need for the crypto community on NEAR — tools to get great returns and investment knowledge. It is also the first leveraged yield farming protocol, where users can provide liquidity, farm, stake, and make governance decisions. 

The Pembrock app with main features will be released this month, meaning that Nearians will soon be able to farm with leverage, stake, and make governance decisions to secure the smooth running of the platform on NEAR’s fast, secure and low-fee blockchain. The goal is for Pembrock to become a go-to platform for leveraged farming on NEAR and a standard in terms of security and UI/UX.

Right now, PEM supporters can already provide liquidity, as the pools have been recently launched on Jumbo Exchange and Ref Finance, which have also seen the launch of our liquidity pool incentivization program. 

So, PembRock Finance is the first leveraged yield farming on NEAR. What does it mean for you to be the first?

Being first always comes with a great degree of responsibility. My team and I want Pembrock to stand out and be the best user-centered leveraged yield farming protocol, with a focus on being easy for the newcomers to navigate. That’s why PembRock Finance will offer a library of educational resources for its users and in-depth materials on leveraged farming strategies. We aim to educate the users so that they can earn successfully with minimal risks and use all available tools to succeed. 

I believe that Pembrock benefits the whole NEAR ecosystem — it attracts great chunks of liquidity and helps boost token utilization.   

NEAR protocol is a fast-growing L1 solution. Is it helping you and your team deliver the product?

The Pembrock team is closely tied to the NEAR ecosystem — we have seen the NEAR community develop and grow stronger, which convinced us to become active NEAR users ourselves. Moreover, INC4 is one of the NEAR Guilds.

The NEAR blockchain is very attractive for new DeFi projects because it is a fast-growing L1 with great transaction speed per second, a user-centered wallet design, and the most active community I’ve ever seen. 

The support we receive from the NEAR family is simply amazing. I am also thrilled to highlight that Pembrock development kicked off thanks to the $75,000 grant from the NEAR Foundation. Overall, I know that NEAR cares deeply about the new projects expanding its ecosystem and rewards them accordingly. I also know that we can return the favor through our integration with Ref Finance and Jumbo. Users will add to the platform’s liquidity, helping NEAR to mature and spur further development.

Why did you decide to develop in DeFi and what is your vision for DeFi overall?

I believe that DeFi is the future of global financial operations, being easy to use and giving back decision-making to the users. Transparency, cost-efficiency, and the blockchain-based nature of transactions in DeFi are the proper way forward.

Even though the world of DeFi is sometimes difficult for beginners to comprehend, my team and I will go to all lengths to change that with PembRock Finance. 

Please share your top 3 achievements with PembRock Finance for now. 

It’s hard to only list three. Considering that we have completed Milestone 3 of the roadmap and are looking to launch the app shortly, I can say that I was thrilled about the outcome of our crowdfunding campaigns. Altogether, a total of more than $1,400,000 was staked during the PEM fundraisers on Meta Yield and Skyward. We also launched a liquidity pool incentivization program for PEM users on Jumbo and Ref Finance where users can get great APY. On the tech side, we have developed reinvesting mechanics and the final leveraged yield farming mechanics.

On a side note, we have joined forces with several leading crypto projects, including Ref Finance, Jumbo, Columbus Holdings, MetaWeb, Move Capital, and Block 0.

What can users expect from PembRock Finance in the near future?

We are thrilled about launching the app and main Pembrock features on the mainnet very soon! First, we will launch a deposits function for lenders to attract more liquidity, then, in one week, we will enable leverage farming. Hence, right now the team is working hard on designing the front-end with complete functionality, and deploying the smart contracts. 

We also look forward to working with our amazing NEAR-based partners and plan on partnering with more projects to fast-forward the Web3 and DeFi-first future on NEAR. Feel free to look through our roadmap for a more detailed outlook for Pembrock. 

How can users be in touch with you and your team?

Make sure to follow Pembrock on Twitter to stay updated, join our Discord to get acquainted with fellow PembRockers, and check out our website and roadmap. My personal Twitter can also provide some insights into the product.