Echelon Market: A Rising Star in the Aptos DeFi
Echelon is a decentralized financial market written in the Move programming language. Its users can borrow and lend assets to each other indirectly via non-custodial pools to earn interest or increase one's buying power with leverage.
Echelon plans a two-phase approach to build a leading DeFi lending platform:
Echelon v1 (Aptos Money Market): This initial version focuses on the Aptos blockchain. It offers features like:
- Increased loan sizes with advanced risk management for Aptos assets.
- High-speed performance optimized for Aptos' fast transaction processing.
- Borrowing and lending using Aptos' native token (APT) and liquid staking derivatives (like sthAPT).
- Integration with other Aptos protocols like Econia for margin trading.
- Support for new asset types as they appear on Aptos.
Echelon v2 (Universal Move Money Markets): This future version aims to connect liquidity across different blockchains. It will be an "omnichain" lending market with these key features:
- "Root and branch" architecture: Uses a central messaging layer to securely communicate between different blockchains.
- Integration with existing cross-chain bridges like LayerZero and Wormhole for fast and secure transactions.
- Ability to connect with various Move-based blockchains (Aptos, Sui, etc.) and potentially even non-Move chains (Ethereum, Solana).
- Seamless sharing of liquidity between users and applications across different blockchains.
Overall, Echelon wants to start by capturing value within the Aptos ecosystem and then expand to become a major player in DeFi by connecting liquidity across various blockchain platforms.

Echelon, a DeFi platform focused on borrowing and lending, has a roadmap outlining their development goals through 2025. Here are the key highlights:
- February 2024 Launch: Echelon v1 will launch on the Aptos blockchain, offering an efficient lending protocol with features like various tradable assets.
- Protocol Integrations: They plan to collaborate with other Aptos protocols to expand their functionalities.
- Community Governance: Echelon will introduce its own token and involve users in governing the platform.
- Echelon v1 Enhancements: They aim to enable using real-world assets as collateral and offer flash loan options.
- Multi-Chain Expansion: Echelon plans to expand to other blockchains based on Move language.
- Omnichain Lending (Q4 2024): Echelon v2 will focus on connecting liquidity across different Move blockchains for broader use.
- Bridge to Non-Move DeFi (2025): In the future, they aim to connect their lending service with DeFi platforms beyond the Move ecosystem.
