Introducing Camelot as the First Orbital Liquidity Network

New vision. New roadmap. Bigger ambitions. Same name. Same token.

Initial Foundations

Camelot started with the vision of being the native decentralized exchange of Arbitrum, providing the infrastructure and support so that builders could achieve long-term sticky liquidity, whilst scaling a protocol that could generate real yields and sustainable revenues for its holders. After 1 year of constant progress, Camelot has successfully achieved its initial vision and cemented its position on Arbitrum — becoming the largest native DEX, supporting over 75 partners, generating >$27m in fees, and being the largest protocol exclusive to Arbitrum. Ultimately, Camelot has moved away from the traditional role of a DEX as a yield farm, turning the protocol into a long-term base for serious builders who want to achieve sustainable liquidity.

While Camelot is proud of the progress made, it serves as just the initial foundation on which it will continue to build, and it provides the opportunity to become significantly more ambitious. Camelot’s expansion beyond Arbitrum One is a natural evolution, with the recent move to supporting Orbit chains playing a defining role in the Castle’s updated vision. Camelot is the first and only protocol to support Orbit chains, with users now trading across Sanko, XAI, Reya, and many more. Camelot will act as the ecosystem hub to build a network of aligned Orbit chains, reducing fragmentation and accelerating the growth of Arbitrum. Becoming the Orbital Liquidity Network is now reflected through updated branding, a new roadmap, and a general evolution of the core Camelot vision.

The GRAIL token has always been the cornerstone of everything Camelot does, aligning incentives between users and token holders. GRAIL will earn fees from Camelot’s network of Orbit chain deployments, reinforcing and diversifying the existing real yield generated and acting as the core value capture mechanism. As mentioned in the new roadmap below, a future token split for GRAIL will additionally allow the token distribution to grow and align with the rapid expansion across Orbit.

Camelot is no longer just the native DEX of Arbitrum — it’s the first Orbital Liquidity Network.

What is the Orbital Liquidity Network?

Since its inception, Camelot has been 110% committed to being the largest DEX on Arbitrum, fulfilling the role of being the native ecosystem hub that could support protocols and builders whilst generating real yield returns for users. With the advancement of Arbitrum’s roadmap to Orbit chains, Camelot made the strategic decision to prioritise this several months ago. Orbit chains provide the tech stack for builders to launch highly performant and flexible Layer 2 or Layer 3 chains. These chains can have a wide variety of use cases and applications, from gaming to social, with some also serving as general-purpose L2s. This technology presented a significant opportunity for Camelot, to provide the liquidity infrastructure to these chains whilst acting as the ecosystem hub that can turn fragmented Orbit chains into a network of liquidity and users.

This direction is already underway, with Camelot deployed on 8 Orbits, adding new chains each week. Camelot has acted as the frontend of Arbitrum by onboarding protocols and users, and this approach is now being applied to Orbit chains, where the Castle is the unifying force between different rollups and the gateway for users to swap, bridge, and explore the ecosystem. Now, the introduction of Camelot as the Orbital Liquidity Layer serves as the official new direction that Camelot is building towards and will underpin the strategic roadmap moving forward.

Camelot’s Orbit strategy will play a significant role in the protocol’s future, expanding its growth potential from just one chain to many diversified rollups. By being the only protocol deployed on multiple Orbit chains, Camelot is uniquely positioned to act as the ecosystem hub and create a cohesive network. Instead of fragmented chains, Camelot will act as the driving force to align the various Orbit builders to be a part of the broader Arbitrum collective. The Camelot app will serve as the main entry point into the ecosystem where users can easily swap, bridge, and explore the network of Arbitrum chains. Camelot’s updated roadmap will focus on bringing the best cross-chain solutions directly to the app, making the user experience seamless and accessible across all Orbit chains. Most importantly, the value generated across its network of deployments will generate further real yields for xGRAIL holders.

The value is in the network.

The evolved Camelot roadmap

Instead of Orbit chains being isolated, Camelot will create network effects so that each chain is connected to the broader Arbitrum community. This will unlock significantly more value for everyone in the network, fueling higher volumes, liquidity, and overall user activity.

Becoming the Orbital Liquidity Network is a significant shift for Camelot and has required months of development to lay the initial foundations. Camelot is now deployed on 8 Orbit chains and will continue to expand at an increasing pace. This new vision has brought in a refreshed brand and roadmap to reflect the evolved direction of Camelot.

Firstly, the team made an early bet on Orbit and has spent the past 8 months building a highly scalable version of the protocol that can expand rapidly to new rollups. This important decision has allowed Camelot to move fast and be the first & only protocol on multiple Orbits.

Camelot is now uniquely positioned to build out its network vision through a new and adapted roadmap that improves incentives, cross-chain UX, gauges, GRAIL tokenomics and more…

Orbit chain expansion

Over the past 6 months, the Camelot team has been focusing on redeveloping the protocol to make it highly scalable. One of the key views of the new strategy is that there will be an explosion in rollups, and a large number of these will be built on the Arbitrum Orbit stack. Therefore, the most important first step was to ensure that Camelot would be able to meet this pace of growth and that new Orbit deployments could be done in hours not weeks. We’re proud to share that this work has been done, and Camelot can now expand its infrastructure rapidly, whilst prioritising stability and safety. This has been the main factor for Camelot to be positioned early and first in the Orbit narrative.

Camelot is currently on 8 Orbit chains, and the team are already collaborating with every project currently building on the stack. Through close relationships with RaaS providers and other partners, Camelot can assist in the onboarding and rapid growth of Orbit, being one of the first protocols to deploy on these chains. The current rate of Orbit deployments is 2–4 per month, and the team anticipates this to increase over the rest of the year, accelerating significantly as the network effects are achieved and there is even further value from building on Orbit.

The team initially prioritised this phase of the roadmap back in December 2023, and new developers have joined the team to ensure that the Orbital Liquidity Network can scale aggressively. The Orbit chain expansion will continue to evolve in line with the rest of the roadmap, as new features such as incentives, bridging, and cross-chain solutions are integrated. Orbit chains already integrated with Camelot will naturally be included as part of the future Orbital Liquidity Network vision.

Cross-chain aggregation and abstraction

The vision for the Orbital Liquidity Network is driven by Camelot being the hub for a wide range of Arbitrum rollups, providing the liquidity infrastructure and creating the network effects to turn isolated chains into a cohesive ecosystem.

Currently, Orbit chains are fragmented with each chain having various and limited bridging options. Right now it’s difficult for users to move to Orbit chains and even harder to move from one Orbit chain to another. This user experience will improve significantly over the coming months as protocols and solutions come to fruition. Camelot’s priority is ensuring that the best cross-chain solutions are brought directly to Orbit and the Camelot app.

As the only protocol to be deployed across multiple Orbits, Camelot is uniquely positioned to create this network. Allowing users to easily bridge between Orbits on the Camelot app will unlock significant growth and bring the network vision to reality. Simply put, a user will be able to buy $DMT on Arbitrum One, bridge and trade directly on Sanko Mainnet, and then explore other chains, all from the same familiar Camelot app. By reducing friction, each chain in the network benefits from the users and liquidity of the others.

Many of the biggest and most promising projects are building on Orbit chains, and it is imperative for the whole of Arbitrum that the value of these chains is shared with the rest of the ecosystem. Camelot will unlock frictionless movement and allow liquidity and users to easily bridge between Arbitrum, ApeChain, Sanko, XAI, and every other Orbit in the Camelot Orbital Liquidity Network. Once bridging infrastructure is in place, it becomes a natural extension to then support cross-chain swaps and more, further accelerating and improving the experience for users across Orbit.

Camelot is working with all major cross-chain protocols and stakeholders to find the best solution. The end product will be composed of multiple solutions, as Camelot believes that chains will prioritise what works for them at the expense of adopting a single global standard. Expecting 100s of chains to all use the same approach is not realistic and will force a holistic approach for complete coverage. Therefore, building out the cross-chain solutions on Camelot will involve a combination of intents, native canonical transfers, and other forms of bridging. The first proof of concept is expected in the coming months, starting with the key Orbit chains and then rapidly scaling out, with volumes, liquidity, and overall activity continuing to be unlocked as the user experience improves. In addition, this adds a further potential source of revenue, as Camelot’s app is a prominent position for the majority of activity and order flow across Orbit.

Token Split

For the first time, Camelot is excited to share that a key part of the future roadmap includes a token split for the GRAIL token. When Camelot first started, the Holy Grail was designed to bring a fresh approach that genuinely focuses on long-term value capture and sustainability. From pioneering the xGRAIL illiquid approach to distributing real yield, GRAIL has continued to display Camelot’s commitment to doing things the right way. Starting with a small max supply of 100,000 was aligned with the initial vision of GRAIL being highly scarce, literally the Holy Grail.

As the protocol has evolved, the team has continued to listen to the community feedback and ensure that the views of holders are taken into account. With the new vision of Camelot as the Orbital Liquidity Network, it is an appropriate time to re-evaluate the position of GRAIL, and ensure that its distribution can scale alongside the overall network expansion. Camelot will no longer be on just Arbitrum One as originally set out, with the next years bringing potentially 100s of Orbit chain deployments. Therefore, a GRAIL token split will increase the max supply and ensure that there can be effective distribution of the token and set the foundation for future governance participation. As a purely theoretical example, a 100,000:1 token split would mean that the max supply of GRAIL would go from 100k to 10bn. Every 1 GRAIL held would convert to 100,000 GRAIL after the split, therefore keeping the overall user share of the supply unaffected.

New incentives system

Most users are familiar with Camelot’s custom incentive system that includes spNFTs and Nitro pools. These were initially designed to provide a bespoke way to permissionlessly incentivise liquidity, specifically designed for v2 pools that Camelot launched with. Since then, activity on Camelot has moved significantly to its Algebra V3 AMM, with incentives already requiring several adjustments to be a better fit for concentrated liquidity. To more effectively distribute incentives to v3 pools, the Camelot team has custom-built an entirely new incentive system that will be released in the coming weeks. Further details and announcements for the full launch of the new system will be shared in the following days.

This new incentive system takes all of the lessons and feedback learned from 2 years of being the largest Arbitrum DEX, and applies them to a highly efficient and flexible product that will sit directly in the Camelot app. This will make it better and easier for protocols to incentivise pools, and most importantly, it will significantly improve and simplify the user experience. Instead of having to navigate spNFTs and separate Nitro pools, the new incentive system will reduce friction and make it easier than ever before to access the yields on Camelot. Earlier this year, Camelot also mentioned the future potential of gauges. The focus on Orbit and the complete revamp of how incentives work on the app have naturally pushed gauges further down the roadmap. Once the larger structural developments are in place, the protocol will be in a better position to explore the implementation of emission voting plugins and more.

In addition, the new incentive system will allow for permissionless incentives across all supported Orbit chains. Memecoins, projects, and Orbit chains will be able to add rewards to both v2 and v3 pools in a highly efficient way. This further expands Camelot’s infrastructure and will open up future possibilities for cross-chain products related to gauges.

Integral v4 AMM

After launching with just a v2 AMM, Camelot’s partnership with Algebra has been a key factor in allowing it to be one of the most competitive DEXs in the market, leveraging its innovative concentrated liquidity AMM. Features such as dynamic fees have allowed Camelot to scale its liquidity sustainably and long-term. Most of Camelot’s activity now takes place on Algebra’s tech, and we’re proud to expand it to all of the supported Orbit chains.

Algebra therefore plays a key role in the first Orbital Liquidity Network, allowing Camelot to offer cutting-edge AMM infrastructure for the entire Arbtirum ecosystem. Camelot’s relationship with Algebra continues to deepen, with the team making an investment in Algebra’s upcoming fundraise. Camelot is proud to work closely with Algebra to support and develop the best tech in the market, and the Orbital Liquidity Network will act as a significant catalyst for both teams.

Integral is the latest offering in AMM tech, with highly advanced features that offer more flexibility and customization than Univ4. Camelot will look to integrate Integral in the near future, first leveraging it on Arbitrum One before taking it to Orbit and beyond.

Orbital Accelerator

The first protocol from Camelot’s Orbital Accelerator programme will be announced in the coming week, with a launch expected later in 3Q24. The Orbital Accelerator focuses on providing hands-on support to fund and assist in the building of protocols that leverage the Camelot tech. Camelot’s Orbital Liquidity Network vision cannot be achieved alone, and we’re excited to already top builders looking to align and extend the ambitions of Camelot.

The Holy Grail

The GRAIL token has always been the glue to bring the Camelot vision together, aligning the growth of the protocol with users and token holders. GRAIL first launched in a public sale with no VCs or private investors, prioritising the community from day one. The novel xGRAIL mechanics have allowed Camelot to find a healthy balance between incentivising liquidity and growth, ensuring that holders’ value is captured and maintained.

The protocol has grown to generate significant fees and revenue, and most importantly, the GRAIL token continues to capture this through real yield staking, where xGRAIL holders have consistently earned 25% APY since launch. This will remain a key focus for the future of Camelot. In addition to the strong foundation that Camelot has built on Arbitrum One, the expansion into Orbit will now provide multiple diverse sources of revenue for GRAIL holders. Instead of just earning revenue from one chain, the GRAIL token will capture fees from across Camelot’s network of Orbit chains.

With the launch of Sanko’s Orbit chain, DMT was the first new token to be distributed via xGRAIL staking. This sets the scene for where Camelot is heading, where we expect several new Orbit tokens to be distributed via xGRAIL staking in the future too. As Camelot starts to generate more fees on chains like Sanko, WINR, XAI, ApeChain, these earnings will all be distributed back to xGRAIL holders. Simply by staking xGRAIL, holders will earn real yield from across the entire Orbital Liquidity Network.

Camelot appreciates that the GRAIL tokenomics are harder to understand than other tokens due to the xGRAIL mechanics and various distributions. In the next few days, a fully updated tokenomic report will be published that breaks down the current supply and future forecasts, making it easier than ever before to see the strength of GRAIL. Following a full report and updated docs, a monthly transparency report will be shared to further highlight shorter-term metrics such as fees, revenue, emissions and more. Camelot operates one of the most efficient and sustainable protocol models in DeFi, and it’s important that these numbers become more appreciated.

The Orbital Alliance

As mentioned, Camelot’s role expands beyond just being a DeFi protocol. First, this was focused on creating a hub and scaling Arbitrum One, and now it’s driven by creating the first Orbital Liquidity Network. Camelot is deeply aligned with the overall success of Arbitrum and the Orbit ecosystem, and as part of this vision, Camelot is committed to ensuring that the best builders in the space have the support and coordination needed to make the most of Arbitrum’s potential.

There are already many top builders in the Orbit space, from the chains to RaaS, bridges, cross-chain protocols and more. As the only protocol deployed on multiple Orbit chains, Camelot is positioned to act as the neutral party to help connect and support everyone in the ecosystem. Through the Orbital Alliance, Camelot will bring these stakeholders together and ensure that Orbit acts as a collective to generate growth for everyone.

Making the Orbit ecosystem a cohesive network isn’t just solely down to technical solutions; it’s also largely driven by builders working together to give users the best experience possible. For most users, the technical solutions don’t matter; therefore, for Orbit to succeed, it also needs to feel like a cohesive community. This holistic approach is what Camelot will help support and accelerate.

Conclusion & summary

Introducing Camelot as the first Orbital Liquidity Network includes several new changes and updates that will continue to be built on in the coming weeks:

• The Camelot branding has now been updated to reflect the new vision, users will notice that the app now features a new look
• The Orbital expansion is already underway with 8 chains already live, and the new roadmap is adapted to support this. Some of the biggest Orbit chains, such as WINR, ApeChain, and AlephZero, will launch in September. A brand-new custom-built incentive system will be launched in September, with a future token split, gauges, Integral AMM and more coming soon.
• GRAIL remains the only token for Camelot, continuing to capture real yield from across Camelot’s network of Orbit chains. New rewards tokens through xGRAIL staking will be added alongside the growth of WINR and ApeChain Orbit launches. Further details will be shared closer to the time of execution.
• The first protocol to come out of Camelot’s Orbital Accelerator will be announced in the coming weeks.
• The Orbital Alliance brings together the best builders to push the entire ecosystem forward