What is BENQI: A Complete Guide to the Avalanche Lending Protocol and Its DeFi Opportunities

BENQI's Positioning and Significance

In 2021, the BENQI team launched BENQI (QI), aiming to address liquidity fragmentation and inefficient capital utilization in DeFi ecosystems. As a decentralized non-custodial liquidity market protocol on Avalanche, BENQI plays a key role in DeFi lending and liquid staking.

As of 2026, BENQI has evolved into a comprehensive DeFi infrastructure within the Avalanche ecosystem, with an active community of 38,034 holders and development efforts. This article will provide an in-depth analysis of its technical architecture, market performance, and future potential.

Origin and Development History

Birth Background

BENQI was created by its founding team in 2021, aiming to solve capital inefficiency and limited liquidity options in decentralized finance. It emerged during the rapid expansion of DeFi and the growth of the Avalanche ecosystem, with the goal of providing accessible lending markets and unlocking staked capital liquidity to transform the landscape. The launch of BENQI brought new possibilities to DeFi users and AVAX token holders.

Important Milestones

• 2021: The protocol launched its lending market, enabling users to earn interest on digital assets.
• The project raised funds through four token sale rounds, with QI tokens sold at prices ranging from $0.0030 to $0.0090.
• Development of Liquid Staking functionality began, allowing users to stake AVAX tokens on the EVM-compatible Avalanche C-Chain.
• The protocol introduced tokenized staking assets, enhancing composability and capital efficiency in DeFi.

With support from its community and ongoing development efforts, BENQI continues to optimize its technical capabilities, security features, and real-world applications.

How BENQI Works

No Central Control

BENQI operates on a decentralized network across the Avalanche blockchain, free from control by banks or governments. These network participants collaborate to verify transactions, ensuring system transparency and attack resistance, granting users greater autonomy and enhancing network resilience.

Blockchain Foundation

BENQI's infrastructure is built on Avalanche's public, immutable blockchain, which records every transaction. Transactions are processed through smart contracts that automate lending, borrowing, and staking operations. Anyone can interact with the protocol without intermediaries, establishing trust through code. The protocol leverages Avalanche C-Chain's EVM compatibility to enhance performance and interoperability.

Ensuring Fairness

BENQI relies on Avalanche's consensus mechanism to validate transactions and prevent fraudulent activities. Validators and protocol participants maintain network security through operating nodes and providing liquidity, earning QI rewards and interest. Its innovation includes efficient capital deployment and composable staking derivatives.

Secure Transactions

BENQI uses public-private key cryptography to protect transactions:

• Private keys (similar to secret passwords) are used to authorize operations
• Public keys (similar to account numbers) are used to verify ownership

This mechanism ensures fund security while transactions maintain transparency on the blockchain. The protocol implements additional security features through over-collateralization requirements and smart contract audits.

BENQI's Market Performance

Circulation Overview

As of January 23, 2026, BENQI's circulating supply stands at 7,200,000,000 tokens, with a total supply of 7,200,000,000 tokens, indicating a fully circulated model with a fixed maximum supply.

New tokens entered the market through four rounds of token sales, raising approximately $993,000 in total. The distribution included 5.93% at $0.0030 per QI, 12.07% at $0.0055 per QI, 6.10% at $0.0075 per QI, and 0.90% at $0.0090 per QI, which has influenced its supply-demand dynamics.

Price Fluctuations

BENQI reached its all-time high price of $0.39417 on August 24, 2021, driven by favorable market conditions during the broader crypto market expansion and increased adoption of DeFi protocols on the Avalanche network.

Its lowest price of $0.00291093 occurred on January 1, 2026, reflecting broader market corrections and evolving market dynamics.

These fluctuations reflect market sentiment, adoption trends, and external factors. Recent data shows varied performance across different timeframes: a 1.52% increase over 1 hour, a -1.18% change over 24 hours, a -10.22% decline over 7 days, a 2.36% gain over 30 days, and a -78.33% decrease over 1 year.

Click to view the current BENQI market price

On-Chain Metrics

• Holder Addresses: 38,034 addresses (reflecting user participation and token distribution)
• 24-Hour Trading Volume: $12,337.42 (indicating network activity)
• Market Capitalization: $22,240,800 (representing current market valuation)

BENQI Ecosystem Applications and Partners

Core Use Cases

BENQI's ecosystem supports multiple applications:

• DeFi: BENQI's lending market enables users to borrow and lend digital assets while earning interest. The protocol provides passive income for liquidity providers through its lending and borrowing mechanisms.
• Liquid Staking: BENQI is developing liquid staking functionality on the EVM-compatible Avalanche C-Chain, allowing users to stake AVAX tokens while maintaining asset composability for broader DeFi utilization.

Strategic Partnerships

BENQI operates on the Avalanche network, leveraging its high-performance infrastructure. The protocol integrates with DEX platforms for liquidity mining opportunities, where users can stake QI tokens to earn rewards.

Challenges and Controversies

BENQI faces several challenges:

• Market Volatility: The token has experienced significant price fluctuations, with notable declines over the past year
• Competition Pressure: Operating in the competitive DeFi lending space alongside other established protocols
• Technical Evolution: The ongoing development of liquid staking features requires continuous innovation and refinement

These factors contribute to ongoing discussions within the community about the protocol's growth trajectory and market positioning.

BENQI Community and Social Media Atmosphere

Community Engagement

BENQI maintains an active community with approximately 38,034 token holders. The protocol's governance model enables QI token holders to participate in decision-making processes that influence future products and protocol development.

Social Media Presence

BENQI engages with its community through various channels:

• The project maintains an active presence on X (formerly Twitter) through @BenqiFinance
• Community discussions focus on protocol updates, governance proposals, and DeFi opportunities
• Users share experiences with lending markets and anticipate liquid staking feature launches

Discussion Topics

Community members discuss various aspects of BENQI:

• Supporters highlight the protocol's integration with Avalanche's efficient infrastructure and the utility of QI tokens in governance and liquidity mining
• Community focus centers on yield opportunities, protocol security through the staking module, and the potential of liquid staking to unlock capital efficiency

Recent conversations reflect interest in the protocol's development roadmap and its role within the broader Avalanche ecosystem.

BENQI Additional Information Sources

• Official Website: Visit BENQI Official Site for platform features, updates, and documentation
• Application Platform: Access BENQI App to interact with lending markets and protocol features
• Smart Contract: View the BENQI contract on Avalanche C-Chain explorer for on-chain transparency
• X Updates: Follow BENQI on X at @BenqiFinance for protocol announcements, technical updates, and community engagement

BENQI Future Roadmap

• Liquid Staking Development: Launch of liquid staking functionality on Avalanche C-Chain, enabling users to stake AVAX while maintaining liquidity through tokenized staking assets
• Ecosystem Expansion: Continued growth of the lending market with support for additional assets and enhanced user experience
• Long-term Vision: Establish BENQI as a core DeFi infrastructure component within the Avalanche ecosystem, providing comprehensive liquidity solutions

How to Participate in BENQI?

1. Purchase Options: Acquire BENQI tokens on Gate.com and other supported exchanges
2. Storage Solutions: Store QI tokens securely using compatible Avalanche C-Chain wallets such as MetaMask
3. Participate in Governance: QI token holders can engage in protocol governance to influence future developments and parameters
4. Utilize Protocol: Visit the BENQI application platform to supply liquidity, borrow assets, or stake tokens for rewards

Summary

BENQI leverages blockchain technology to provide decentralized lending and staking solutions on Avalanche, offering transparent, non-custodial financial services with yield generation opportunities. Its active community of over 38,000 holders, governance participation mechanisms, and ongoing development efforts position it within the DeFi landscape. While facing market volatility and competitive pressures, BENQI's focus on liquid staking innovation and its integration with Avalanche's infrastructure demonstrate its commitment to expanding DeFi accessibility. Whether you're exploring DeFi lending or interested in liquid staking solutions, BENQI presents opportunities for participation in decentralized finance.

FAQ

What is Benqi and how does it work?

Benqi is a decentralized lending protocol on Avalanche that enables users to deposit cryptocurrencies to earn interest and borrow assets against collateral. It operates through smart contracts, automatically managing interest rates based on supply and demand dynamics in the market.

How do I use Benqi to lend and borrow crypto assets?

Connect your wallet to Benqi, deposit crypto assets to earn interest through lending, or borrow against your collateral. Select assets, set parameters, and manage positions directly from the platform dashboard.

What are the risks of using Benqi protocol?

Benqi protocol risks include smart contract vulnerabilities, market volatility affecting collateral value, liquidation risks from price fluctuations, and liquidity constraints during extreme market conditions. Users should understand these factors before participating.

What is the difference between Benqi and other lending protocols like Aave or Compound?

Benqi specializes in Avalanche ecosystem lending with optimized speed and lower fees. It offers unique Avalanche-native features, superior user experience, and competitive interest rates compared to multi-chain protocols like Aave and Compound.

How do I earn rewards and governance tokens on Benqi?

You can earn rewards by supplying assets to Benqi's lending pools and staking QI governance tokens. Suppliers receive interest from borrowers, while stakers earn protocol fees and additional QI token incentives. Governance token holders can participate in protocol decisions.

Is Benqi safe and audited?

Yes, Benqi has undergone multiple security audits by leading firms to ensure protocol safety. The smart contracts are regularly audited and the platform implements robust security measures to protect user assets and funds.