Metronome

Metronome is a multi-collateral synthetic asset protocol that lets users deposit crypto collateral — including yield-bearing tokens from Vesper Finance — to mint synthetic versions of popular assets (msETH, msUSDC, msBTC, etc.) which can be swapped with zero slippage on the Synth Marketplace. It also offers Smart Farming, an automated yield-looping engine that repeatedly cycles deposits through Vesper pools and the Synth protocol to amplify yield. The protocol is governed by the MET token and its DAO, and is deployed on Ethereum, Optimism, and Base.

Metronome generates yield from three main sources. Here is how they work and where the money flows.

1. Fees from the Synth Protocol

When people use Metronome's synthetic assets (like msETH or msUSDC), the protocol collects three kinds of fees. All of them go to the Metronome DAO Treasury (a shared pot managed by the community):

• Synth Balance Fee — a small, ongoing charge on anyone who has borrowed by minting a synthetic asset. The fee grows their debt over time (calculated every second), and the rate depends on the riskiness of each synthetic asset.
• Marketplace Trading Fee — charged when users swap synthetic assets on the Synth Marketplace. It is 0.45% on most networks and 0.55% on Ethereum mainnet.
• Liquidation Fee — an 18% premium taken when someone's position gets liquidated. Of that, 10% goes to the person who performed the liquidation, and 8% goes to the Treasury.

2. Productive Collateral (yield-bearing deposits)

Users can put up "productive" tokens as collateral to mint synthetic assets. For example, you could deposit vaUSDC — a yield-bearing token from Vesper Finance. Even while that token sits as collateral, it keeps earning its normal yield (the lending or strategy returns from Vesper's pools). So you get the benefit of the yield and the ability to use the synthetic asset you minted.

3. Smart Farming (automated yield looping)

Smart Farming is a tool that runs a repeated loop to multiply your exposure to yield. Here is the basic cycle:

• You deposit productive collateral (e.g., vaUSDC) into Metronome.
• You set a loop multiplier (how many times to repeat the cycle).
• The system mints synthetic assets against your collateral.
• Those synths are swapped on a DEX (like Curve) back into the original asset (e.g., USDC).
• That USDC goes back into Vesper to mint more yield-bearing tokens.
• Those new tokens are re-deposited as additional collateral.

This creates a self-reinforcing position that amplifies your yield — but also increases your liquidation risk (leverage cuts both ways).

MET token holders and revenue share

Separate from the yield strategies above, the MET token has its own incentive mechanism. Holders can lock MET to receive esMET (a vote-escrowed position, tracked as an ERC-721 NFT). Each month, the DAO votes on an amount of Treasury funds to use for buying back MET on the open market. That bought-back MET is then streamed proportionally to everyone holding esMET. In short: locking your MET entitles you to a share of the protocol's buyback rewards.