Mirror Protocol is a decentralized trading platform that makes it possible to create and trade synthetic tokens. Based on Tetra blockchain and powered by smart contracts, the protocol acts as a borderless solution that bridges the gap between traditional finances and the world of decentralized finances (DeFi). It uses the Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism. The protocol offers synthetic assets called Mirrored Assets, or mAssets. Their synthetic nature allows them to be used for trading digital and real-world assets without actually acquiring underlying assets. The solution requires no intermediaries. mAssets and can be freely used across Terra, Ethereum, and Binance Smart Chain networks.

Mirror Protocol was created by Terraform Labs (TFL), the team behind the Terra blockchain that aims to further improve the capabilities of the technology The company is based in South Korea. The protocol was launched in December 2020 with the aim to capitalize mAssets with half UST at minimum.

The Mirror Protocol was designed to be decentralized. It was run by the community at launch with no special privileges to specific users or developers. There are five types of stakeholders: Minters, Liquidity Providers, Stakers, Traders and Oracle Feeders.

MIR token was issued at the end of 2020 for liquidity providers of the blockchain. Mirror was growing rapidly, it was the 15th largest DeFi protocol by Total Value Locked in the middle of 2021.

What are MIR key features and how does it work?

Synthetic assets provide exposure to an asset without holding the resource itself. This makes a global borderless access to financial markets possible. Low transaction fees among Mirror Assets and faster speed compared to traditional solutions are the main advantages of using the synthetic asset system compared to real-world derivatives.

Below are the advantages explained in detail:

Accessible outside of Europe and North America. Many countries in the world have limited access to foreign equities and markets. Cryptocurrency-based solutions make it virtually borderless.
Easier to execute fractional order. In traditional finances, such orders are bundled together for a transaction. The process is significantly simpler in the world of decentralized finances thanks to the nature of blockchain.
Nearly instantaneous speed. In traditional finance, orders sometimes take many hours to execute, blockchain technology can cut this time just to seconds.

The design of the protocol aims to solve typical problems of similar blockchain-based solutions. If more than half of the collateral is denominated in UST, the protocol allows for minting new mAssets with the value locked. This requires much less capital compared to other derivative-based protocols. Creating an mAsset requires locking 150% of the current asset value in UST as collateral.

The minting of Mirrored Assets is fully decentralized. An asset can be minted after the collateral is deposited.

The MIR token is used for governance purposes. It also makes staking possible for the users who provide liquidity to automated market makers (AMM).

MIR is the Mirror Protocol's governance token. It can be used for voting, provided a user staked it into the protocol. The stakers are also rewarded with MIR tokens. Initially, these tokens were distributed to the community participants, the company claims that no developers received the initial airdrop.

Mirror Protocol uses Tendermint Delegated Proof of Stake consensus mechanism as used by Terra network. The governance is fully decentralized and democratized. The decision-making depends on the majority of users that stake the tokens. No privileges are given to developers and initial investors.

Where can you buy MIR?

MIR coins are available to buy on several exchanges, including Binance, OKX, Coinbase, Huobi Global, and KuCoin. They can be traded against stablecoins (USDT) and cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH. FIAT options are also available.

How can you store MIR?

Since MIR is the token on the Terra blockchain, any wallet compatible CW20 tokens should be able to store these coins.For example, Terra Station is the most commonly used Terra-compatible wallet.

Mining

MIR is not a mineable cryptocurrency, but minting and staking options are available. MIR tokens have a limited supply capped at 370,575,000 coins at maximum.