Venus operates as an algorithmic money market and synthetic stablecoin system built solely on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC). It brings a straightforward lending and borrowing mechanism to decentralized finance (DeFi), allowing participants to borrow against collateral quickly while minimizing transaction costs. Furthermore, users can generate VAI stablecoins almost instantly by locking collateral worth at least 200% into the Venus smart contract.

VAI functions as a BEP-20 token tied to the value of one U.S. dollar (USD). In contrast, XVS is also a BEP-20 asset but serves governance purposes for the protocol. Holders can vote on changes such as introducing new collateral options, modifying parameters, or implementing product enhancements. Control over the protocol rests completely with the XVS community, as the founders, team, and advisors hold no allocation of XVS tokens.

The Swipe project team is responsible for developing Venus. The protocol aims to reach decentralization via community governance. There are no pre-mines allocated to founders, developers, or the team, which ensures that XVS holders have full authority over the future direction of the Venus Protocol.

Venus (XVS) stands out due to its rapid transaction speeds and minimal fees, advantages derived from its foundation on the Binance Smart Chain. It was the first protocol to allow real-time liquidity access for assets like Bitcoin (BTC), XRP, and Litecoin (LTC) through near-instant transactions.

Users can obtain loans via the Venus decentralized application (DApp) without undergoing credit checks. Because the system lacks centralized control, geographic location and credit history do not restrict access; instead, anyone can secure liquidity by providing adequate collateral.

These funds come from a pool supplied by Venus users, who earn a variable APY in return. Borrower deposits, which are over-collateralized, secure these loans. To prevent market manipulation, the protocol employs price feed oracles, such as those from Chainlink, to deliver untampered pricing data. Leveraging the Binance Smart Chain allows the system to retrieve these feeds more efficiently and at a lower cost, thereby reducing overall operational expenses.

The total supply of Venus (XVS) is capped at 30 million tokens. As of November 2020, slightly more than 4.2 million XVS were in circulation.

Venus was among the initial platforms to host a Launchpool on Binance, enabling users to earn XVS by staking assets such as Binance Coin (BNB), Binance USD (BUSD), and Swipe (SXP). This event allocated 20% of the total supply, amounting to 6 million XVS, and the token was listed on the Binance spot exchange soon after.

There were no private sales or pre-sales for the project, and the team holds no token allocation. However, 1% of the total supply (300,000 XVS) is set aside for grants within the Binance Smart Chain ecosystem. The remaining 23.7 million XVS are scheduled to be unlocked gradually over four years through mining by users of the Venus protocol.

The whitepaper states that daily XVS rewards are split as follows: 35% to borrowers, 35% to suppliers, and the final 30% to those who mint the VAI stablecoin.

The Venus network relies on the Binance Smart Chain for security, a blockchain operating alongside the Binance Chain. This system is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and can continue functioning even if the Binance Chain experiences downtime or problems.

To secure the blockchain, the Binance Smart Chain employs a distinct consensus method called proof-of-staked authority (POSA). This hybrid approach merges elements of proof-of-stake (POS) and proof-of-authority (POA). The structure depends on 21 validators who handle tasks on the Binance Smart Chain and agree on the status of recent transactions.

Additionally, suppliers on Venus are safeguarded by automatic liquidation protocols. If a borrower’s collateral drops below 75% of their loan value, the system automatically liquidates it to repay suppliers early, ensuring the minimum collateralization ratio is upheld.

As of November 2020, Binance is the only exchange where Venus (XVS) can be traded. The token is paired with Tether (USDT), Bitcoin (BTC), Binance Coin (BNB), and Binance USD (BUSD). At this time, there are no direct fiat on-ramps available for buying Venus.