Velodrome on Metal L2 is a decentralized exchange designed for fast, low-cost trading and liquidity opportunities. It combines automated market maker pools with governance incentives, making it easy to earn rewards—especially now that it’s live on Metal L2.

As a community, we’re initially focusing our efforts on the vAMM-WETH/MTL pool. This pair is generally less volatile and simpler to manage, making it an ideal place for newcomers to get started. When you provide tokens like WETH and MTL to this liquidity pool, you receive LP tokens representing your share and earn fees whenever traders swap against your pool. On Metal L2, these pools also reward you with xVELO tokens over time.

You’re able to bridge your xVELO to Optimism Mainnet and convert it into VELO, the utility token for Velodrome. Alternatively, you can hold on to your xVELO, provide liquidity in the xVELO/WETH pool, or swap it for another asset if a swap is available. Once you have VELO on Optimism, you can lock it to obtain veVELO, which grants you governance power to vote on how Velodrome’s token emissions are distributed. This voting power is crucial because veVELO holders decide which pools receive extra rewards each week.

By directing emissions to the vAMM-WETH/MTL pool, you can boost rewards for both yourself and other liquidity providers. Metal DAO may also offer MTL incentives or “bribes” to voters who support MTL-based pools, meaning you can earn MTL simply by participating in governance. The step-by-step process looks like this: first, provide WETH and MTL liquidity on Metal L2 under the vAMM-WETH/MTL pool and stake your LP tokens on the Velodrome Dashboard. Over time, you’ll accumulate xVELO. Then bridge xVELO to VELO on Optimism on the Swap page. Next, lock your VELO to gain veVELO voting power. Finally, vote for the vAMM-WETH/MTL pool, and once weekly incentives are allocated, you can claim the MTL and other rewards you’ve earned.

Always remember to keep enough ETH on Metal L2 and Optimism to cover transaction fees, manage your risk carefully by only investing amounts you’re comfortable with, and follow Metal L2 and Velodrome’s official channels for updates on bridging xVELO, newly incentivized pools, and any additional rewards.

This is not financial advice; always do your own research and assess the risks before participating in DeFi.