What is Bancor (BNT)?
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🟢 The simple version
Plain English — no jargon. Start here.
Bancor was the first major AMM DEX (2017, pre-Uniswap) and pioneered single-sided liquidity and impermanent loss protection — but IL protection was paused during the May 2022 Terra crash, causing major controversy and TVL collapse, leading to the Carbon DEX pivot.
Pioneer and 2022 crisis
Bancor (2017): first automated market maker. Innovations: single-sided LP (deposit one token, no need for pairs) + IL protection (protocol minted BNT to compensate LPs). June 2022: Terra/LUNA collapse caused massive volatility. Bancor's IL protection (which minted BNT to compensate) became unsustainable. Team paused IL protection. LPs expecting protection were exposed. TVL collapsed from ~$1B. The lesson: technical merit insufficient against Curve's veCRV flywheel. Post-2022: Carbon DEX (asymmetric directional orders — set buy-only or sell-only ranges, unlike Uniswap v3). Is BNT legal in India? Yes. 30% tax, 1% TDS apply.
🟡 A bit more detail
For when you want to go a little deeper.
Carbon DEX
Carbon allows LPs to set directional orders: buy-only range (only fills when price falls into range) or sell-only range (only fills when price rises into range). This is impossible in Uniswap v3 (both directions). Carbon enables on-chain DCA, range orders, and structured liquidity strategies.
🟣 The full technical picture
For the technically curious.
Key facts
- Token: BNT (governance)
- Pioneer: First major AMM (2017)
- June 2022: IL protection paused (major controversy)
- Carbon: Asymmetric directional DEX