How to use Ref Finance (REF): A Step-by-step Guide

This article will introduce Ref Finance (REF) - a community-led, multi-purpose Decentralized Finance (DeFi) platform built on NEAR Protocol. We would like to give you clear instructions on how to use Ref Finance (REF), including its core features: Swapping, Providing Liquidity, Yield Farming, creating new liquidity pools, and FAQ about Ref Finance at the end.

Ref Finance Overview

Ref Finance is the first primary DeFi application on the NEAR blockchain. It aims to become a one-stop Defi service provider and offers core components such as a decentralized exchange, lending, a synthetic asset issuer, and others.

Ref Finance competitive edges are:

• Low fees and instant transaction settlements: Ref takes full advantage of NEAR’s low fees ($0.005 per swap), one-to-two second finality.
• With the recently launched Rainbow Bridge, traders can quickly transfer their ERC-20 assets from Ethereum.
• Customizable LP fees: LPs can charge higher fees for illiquid or highly volatile tokens.

Preparation for trading on Ref Finance

What are the prerequisites for trading on Ref Finance (REF)?

First, users need to have a NEAR wallet. If you don’t have a NEAR account, just follow this guide to set up your NEAR account.

Preparing NEAR for the gas fees

To swap tokens on Ref Finance (REF), users must have some Near tokens. Users can buy Near on a centralized exchange such as Binance and send them to the Near wallet.

How to use Ref Finance

Connecting Ref Finance with Near Wallet

Step 1: Visit Ref Finance’s trading interface through: https://app.ref.finance/.

Then click the Connect to NEAR button located at the top right corner.     

Step 2: Enter the wallet address and Click the ALLOW button to start the connection.

Step 3: Users will see their connected wallets at the top right corner of the screen.

Depositing & Removing tokens from Ref Finance

According to the team’s road map, an instant swap function will be launched to allow swapping assets without depositing. However, traders currently still have to manually deposit tokens to Ref Finance before actually making any transactions. Also, traders will have to manually withdraw funds to their Near wallets when the transactions are done.

1. Deposit token to Ref Finance

Step 1: Click the Deposit tab.

Step 2: Enter the amount you want to deposit and click DEPOSIT to confirm.

Step 3: Click ALLOW, wait for a few minutes, and the new balance of the token will show up at the bottom of the trading interface.

2. Withdraw token from Ref Finance

Step 1: Click WITHDRAW.

Step 2: Insert the preferred amount and click Withdraw one more time.

Step 3: Click ALLOW and wait for the transfer to process.

Step 4: The balance of assets will appear in the Near Wallet as follows.

Swap

Step 1: Head to the Swap tab at the top of the trading interface.

Step 2: Select the preferred token pair to trade from the dropdown. In this article, we chose the wNEAR/SKYWARD pair.

Step 3: Adjust the amount to trade. Click Swap and then ALLOW to confirm the transaction.

Step 4: Wait for a few seconds, and users will see the new balance of each token showed up on the next screen.

Add Liquidity

Step 1: Head to the POOLS tab and then click View Pools.

Step 2: A pool list will show up as follows.

Step 3: Choose a pool from the list above to start contributing liquidity. In this article, we chose the Skyward-wNEAR pool.

Step 4: Click Add Liquidity. Choose the amount you want to supply. Insert the amount of each coin/token and the system will automatically calculate the other.

Step 5: Click Add Liquidity one more time.

Step 6: Click ALLOW and wait a few seconds till the process is completed.

Remove liquidity

Step 1: From the Pools dropdown, select Your Liquidity.

Step 2: Click Remove. Choose the amount of token and click Remove Liquidity.

Step 3: Click ALLOW and wait a few seconds till the process is completed.

Staking on Ref Finance

Step 1: Move to the FARM tab and select the token pair to start staking.

Step 2: Click Stake.

Step 3: Insert the amount of tokens to stake.

Step 4: Click ALLOW to approve the transaction.

Step 5: Wait for a few seconds until the process is completed. The staking details and rewards will be displayed on the follow-up screen.

Claim rewards

Step 1: Head to the FARMS tab, then select the token pair to collect rewards.

Step 2: Click Claim. The reward amount will appear at the Your Rewards window located on the left side of the screen.

Step 3: Click WITHDRAW.

Step 4: Click ALLOW to approve the transaction and wait a few seconds for the transaction to finish.

Step 5: At the end of the process, traders will see the claimed rewards and new token balances on their personal Near Wallets.

Unstaking on Ref Finance

Step 1: Click Unstake.

Step 2: Insert the number of tokens to remove. Then click Unstake one more time.

Step 3: Click ALLOW to approve the transaction.

Step 4: Wait for a few seconds until the transaction is finished. Traders will see the new token balance on their personal Near Wallets.

Create a new liquidity pool

Step 1: Choose the POOLS tab on top of the screen and then click CREATE NEW POOL.

Step 2: Select the pair you want to add to pools.

Step 3: Click ALLOW to confirm the transaction.

Step 4: Wait for a few seconds then LPs will see the created pool on the next screen.

FAQ about Ref Finance

How can I buy REF tokens?

Ref token has not been listed on any DEXes or CEXs other than its own protocol. Traders can swap NEAR, SKYWARDS or OCT tokens to earn REF tokens. Currently, 1 REF = 0.54 NEAR.

We will update promptly about any exchanges listing Ref Finance (REF) in the future.

How much are the fees I can earn per transaction?

Fees are different between pools. LPs can view fee details in advance to make their own decisions before contributing liquidity.

Can I create a specific rate when setting up a new pool?

LPs can choose either 0.15%, 0.25% or 0.55% trading fee for each transaction. Based on the nature of the pool, LPs are able to set higher fees for illiquid or highly volatile tokens.

Summary

In the long run, Ref Finance (REF) still has a lot of things to do to prove its capability to compete with other competitors such as Uniswap (Ethereum), Raydium (Solana), Pancakeswap (BSC), or Pangolin (Avalanche). As a flagship and major protocol, it is exciting to see its new updates and contribution to the NEAR ecosystem.

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