A dollar invested in KNC crypto token at the beginning of 2020 is now worth $6.
The supersonic price rally appeared amid an escalating craze around decentralized finance projects. KNC, a DeFi crypto itself, powers Kyber, one of the most active decentralized exchanges by volume.
Meanwhile, the token is also at the center of a multitude of Kyber operations, which include staking, delegation, and collateralization.
KNC surged 600 percent YTD against the top cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Source: TradingView.com
Traders are bullish on KNC for its imminent demand as the Kyber Network expands. The uplifting sentiment has prompted the crypto’s price to surge from $0.7 to $1.7 in less than a month. Market observers see the growth to continue further into the third quarter. And they have plausible reasons.
KNC Listings
The Kyber Network team has successfully pushed KNC into popular crypto exchanges. On Tuesday, US exchange Kraken announced that it would list fiat-enabled Kyber pairs on its platform, a move that will enable traders to sell and purchase KNC directly for/via US dollar and Euro.
https://twitter.com/HabichtJonathan/status/1283095854627409920
Before Kraken, Binance, Smart Valor, and Bitcoin Suisse Online introduced KNC spot trading to their platforms. Meanwhile, Binance, alongside FTX and MXC, also launched KNC derivatives.
That further helps create a strong bullish case for the DeFi token.
Its spot listings can attract new money via quick fiat-onramps, thereby raising its exposure before long-term investors. Meanwhile, margin trading further promises to boost KNC’s demand among speculators as they attempt to move its spot price in the direction of their call/put targets.
High-Profile Partnerships
KNC’s explosive price rally in 2020 also appears as the Kyber Network secures huge investments from some of the top blockchain firms.
ParaFi Capital, for instance, bought KNC tokens in a strategic partnership that would see it assisting the Kyber team in bringing new clients. The investment firm will also assist Kyber in upgrading its decentralized exchange to provide bank-grade market-making services.
The Kyber network has also entered partnerships with Chainlink, Digifox wallet, Chicago DeFi Alliance, Origin Protocol, and others.
KNC also serves as collateral for issuing MakerDAO’s DAI stablecoins.
Network Upgrade
Kyber decentralized exchange recently went live with a protocol upgrade called “Katalyst,” a move that changed the KNC economics for the benefit of its investors.
The KNC holders can now stake or delegate their tokens via KyberDAO to make changes to the KNC network parameters. In return, the exchange expects to pay the so-called stakeholders in ETH collected from its trading fees.
The announcement came at the time when Kyber volumes reached a significant milestone of $1 billion, the highest in the DeFi ecosystem, according to DappRadar. Most notably, $600 million of those trade volumes came during 2020.
Kyber Network Monthly USD Volume. Source: Kyber Blog
Meanwhile, Kyber burns the KNC tokens used for voting on its network. It has roughly burned 2.4 percent of its net supply, thereby making KNC scarcer against a potentially rising demand.
That also explains why KNC traders are long-term bullish.