HODLers vs LPers vs Stakers

How are users in incentivized pools behaving vs. non-LP OSMO token holders? What about versus stakers? Create an analysis that shows activity for the various types of OSMO holders and chart out some additional activities they’re undertaking. Are users LPing or staking more likely to increase their amount staked? What group is receiving the most IBC transfers into Osmosis?

Methodology

We are looking to see the difference in how stakers and liquidity providers interact with Osmosis. To do this we will look at the users and activity of stacking and LPing over time. We will also compare the IBC activity of these two groups. 

What is Osmosis?

Osmosis, which was built with the Cosmos SDK, makes use of Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) to facilitate cross-chain transactions. In other words, Osmosis is a decentralized exchange designed particularly for Cosmos, with intention to spread to other blockchains in the future.

What are liquidity providers?

A liquidity provider, also known as a market maker, is someone who provides their crypto assets to a platform to help with decentralization of trading. In return they are rewarded with fees generated by trades on that platform, which can be thought of as a form of passive income.

What is Staking?

Proof-of-stake protocols are a class of consensus mechanisms for blockchains that work by selecting validators in proportion to their quantity of holdings in the associated cryptocurrency. This is done to avoid the computational cost of proof-of-work schemes.

Observations

Before January 2022 there were between 1,000 and 5,000 users staking and providing liquidity on Osmosis per day. Since the start of 2022 both the daily number of stakers and liquidity when up over 100% Staking activity has remained at this elevated rate while liquidity providing dropped to its previous level. 

Conclusion

Both the stakers and the liquidity providers on Osmosis have used IBC a very similar amount of times. One large factor that could contribute to this many of the the users that are staking are also providing liquidity using superfluid staking. Before January 2022 there were between 1,000 and 5,000 users staking and providing liquidity on Osmosis per day. Since the start of 2022 both the daily number of stakers and liquidity when up over 100% Staking activity has remained at this elevated rate while liquidity providing dropped to its previous level. While liquidity providers were more active in February through March of 2022 on Osmosis stakes have been more active since.