1. Introduction

The global financial system has long been dominated by centralized institutions such as banks, brokers, and remittance providers. These intermediaries create high barriers to entry, impose hidden costs, and depend on rigid credit systems.

The emergence of blockchain technology began a process of dismantling these centralized structures. Bitcoin introduced peer-to-peer transfers, while Ethereum enabled programmable finance through smart contracts. Yet the evolution of decentralized finance has not been without failures. DeFi 1.0 faced liquidity fragmentation and impermanent loss, while DeFi 2.0 introduced Protocol-Controlled Value (PCV) models that often spiraled into collapse. Most importantly, both iterations relied heavily on inflationary incentives, eroding long-term sustainability.

New Gold Protocol represents the next evolution — a DeFi 3.0 framework focused on fairness, autonomy, and resilience. Central to this system is $GAIN, a utility token designed not as a speculative instrument but as the circulatory force of the ecosystem. $GAIN reinforces liquidity, stabilizes markets, enables staking utility, and serves as the bridge to real-world assets and metaverse economies.