Sometimes
it
takes
a
dictator
to
get
things
done
in
decentralized
finance.
At
least,
that
seems
to
be
the
case
for
Aave’s
stablecoin
GHO.
The
asset,
which
has
been
valued
at
less
than
$1.00
for
nearly
all
of
its
life,
gained
ground
this
week
and
rallied
to
$0.985
for
the
first
time
since
August.
Its
volatile
gains
aren’t
doing
anything
to
fix
GHO’s
reputation
as
a
not-so-stablecoin,
but
they
do
set
the
token
close
to
the
levels
one
might
expect
from
an
asset
that’s
supposed
to
be
worth
a
dollar
–
not
$0.96.
The
higher
price
price
matches
the
target
set
by
the
hands-on
DeFi
engineer
who
insiders
have
called
GHO’s
“benevolent
temporary
dictator,”
TokenBrice.
This
month
the
pseudonymous
Frenchman
took
over
the
liquidity
committee
Aave
tasked
with
restoring
GHO’s
dollar
peg.
He
then
embarked
on
an
“ambitious
gamble”
to
at
least
get
GHO
halfway
there
by
Nov.
30.
Getting
GHO
on
peg
is
no
easy
task
because
the
stablecoin
doesn’t
work
like
others
do.
It
lacks
a
redemption
mechanism
that
usually
ensures
these
assets
maintain
a
lower
bound.
And
the
interest
rate
is
controlled
by
Aave
governance,
another
possible
negative
in
borrowers’
eyes.
TokenBrice’s
strategy
focused
on
incentivizing
buying
support
for
GHO
in
a
very
targeted
manner.
This
played
out
most
critically
on
the
DeFi
protocol
Maverick,
an
Automated
Market
Maker
that
offers
more
levers
than
other
AMMs
for
controlling
the
liquidity
of
its
pools.
“We
are
using,
for
the
first
f——
time
ever
in
the
history
of
Defi,
liquidity
shaping
in
an
opinionated
manner,”
TokenBrice
said
in
an
interview
with
CoinDesk.
(He’s
also
an
advisor
to
Maverick).
“We
don’t
just
pay
for
liquidity
and
incentives
somewhere,
we
pay
for
a
very
specific
kind
of
liquidity
that
are
biased
toward
the
buying
side,
and
it
helps
us
create
price
support
for
buying
pressure
for
GHO,
and
progressively
push
it
upward.”
In
a
Nov.
23
committee
report,
TokenBrice
said
Maverick’s
so-called
Boosted
Pools
had
decisive
advantages
for
engineering
liquidity
compared
to
better-known
DeFi
trading
stalwarts,
like
Uniswap.
“Far
from
being
a
panacea,
the
new
AMM
stands
out
as
a
solution
to
help
stablecoins
return
to
peg,”
TokenBrice
wrote
of
Maverick
in
the
report.
The
Maverick
solution
has
certainly
worked
for
GHO,
said
Marc
Zeller,
a
vocal
member
of
the
Aave
community
who
leads
the
Aave
Chan
Initiative.
He
said
there
may
be
some
conflicts
of
interests
in
TokenBrice
implementing
and
singing
the
praises
of
a
project
he
advised.
The
GHO
repeg
“is
a
great
ad
for
Maverick,”
Zeller
said
in
an
interview.
“But
let’s
say
that
from
my
&
Aave
DAO’s
point
of
view,
that’s
a
win
win.”
He
compared
the
situation
to
a
“double
edged
sword:
a
failure
would
not
have
been
great
for
Maverick.”
Zeller
said
his
ACI
also
had
a
hand
in
organizing
the
repeg.
“We
coordinated
governance,
increases
to
borrow
rate
&
DAO
deals.”
There’s
more
to
come
in
GHO’s
road
to
$1,
he
said.
For
starters
some
Balancer
pools
have
an
excess
of
GHO
token,
and
that
needs
to
be
addressed.
And
the
token’s
total
issuance
has
been
capped
at
35
million
for
months,
limiting
its
ability
to
grow.
“Once
we
reach
a
critical
mass
of
sane
liquidity
around
peg,
we
will
propose
to
the
DAO
a
“Stop
and
GHO”
approach
to
gradually
increase
the
mint
Cap
of
GHO
allowing
more
assets
in
circulation
and
a
virtuous
circle
of
liquidity,”
Zeller
said.