Finance is Broken
Traditional finance has always been about keeping the best opportunities for insiders. Billions remain unbanked, while the wealthy enjoy better rates, services, and opportunities, exacerbating inequality. Meanwhile, the blockchain industry is chaotic—chasing hype cycles and developing nonsensical use cases to attract VC funding rather than solving real problems. DeFi promised a fairer alternative but has failed to deliver:- Generalist platforms lack the performance and purpose-specific infrastructure needed for efficient financial applications.
- Appchains abandon composability, have weaker network effects, higher costs, and greater maintenance burdens.
An Integrated Blockchain for Finance
There is significant work left to do if we want DeFi to provide a compelling alternative to traditional finance. This is only possible with an opinionated blockchain—not trying to be all things to all people, but laser-focused on DeFi. Neutron is the first blockchain to combine:- The performance and purpose-specific infrastructure of appchains
- The composability, cost-efficiency, and speed of smart contracts
The Neutron Thesis
Financial market participants optimize for three key properties: execution quality (getting the best prices), capital efficiency (maximizing exposure with less capital), and user experience. Delivering optimally on these properties requires an integrated approach that combines highly-performant app-specific infrastructure with atomic composability—exactly what Neutron provides.Core Architectural Principles
Integrated Architecture
Neutron is purpose-built for DeFi, offering integrated, high-frequency oracles, native automation, and cross-chain modules—all within a single, composable state machine.
Opinionated Blockchains
Neutron takes an opinionated approach to blockchain design, making deliberate choices about infrastructure, security, and user experience to create an optimal environment for DeFi applications.
Proof of Liquid Staking
Neutron’s unique staking model features fixed supply, DAO-driven rewards, no slashing, and curated validator sets, with deep integration of liquid staking into the protocol.
Modular Governance
Neutron’s governance is modular and programmable, with privileged subDAOs, chain managers, and admin modules—enabling flexible, secure upgrades and ecosystem management.
What This Means in Practice
Unlike other networks where applications are isolated in the VM, apps on Neutron can tap directly into the network’s bespoke resources. Developers can leverage purpose-built infrastructure that enables superior designs impossible to build elsewhere. Applications on Neutron benefit from:- Per-block price oracles without third-party dependencies
- Integrated automation for consistent execution of critical functions
- Trust-minimized cross-chain account control and state queries
- Native market primitives for efficient capital allocation
Core Infrastructure Features
These are the foundational features built into Neutron’s protocol layer:Interchain Transactions
Execute transactions on remote chains with built-in acknowledgment handling
Integrated Orderbook
Protocol-native trading venue with high-performance orderbooks and JIT features
Interchain Queries
Trust-minimized querying of remote chain state and data
Native Automation: Cron
Built-in scheduling and execution of recurring tasks
Ecosystem Highlights
Built on Neutron’s integrated infrastructure, these applications showcase what’s possible:Drop Protocol
Deeply integrated liquid staking protocol backed by Lido for native LST functionality
Superbolt
Where NFTs meet DeFi - mint, trade and fractionalize your NFTs
Astroport
Permissionless liquidity network with algorithmic pools across multiple chains
Mars Protocol
Ultimate destination for leveraged yield with perps trading, lending, and borrowing
Ready to explore? Check out our Core Concepts to dive deeper into Neutron’s technical architecture, or visit the Developer Overview to start building.