What is UNUS SED LEO?

UNUS SED LEO acts as the utility token for iFinex, which owns and operates the crypto exchange Bitfinex. The token’s unique moniker comes from a Latin citation in one of Aesop's fables. LEO tokens are issued on two blockchains: Ethereum, which has 64% of the original supply, and EOS, which accounts for the remaining 36%.

A brief history of UNUS SED LEO

UNUS SED LEO was conceived in May 2019 by iFinex when authorities confiscated a portion of the cash held by Crypto Capital, the business that handled iFiex’s payments. iFinex, the parent company of Bitfinex, found it impossible to retrieve these monies, and instead created the LEO token to address this financial challenge.

During its initial exchange offering (IEO), a total of 1 billion UNUS SED LEO minted tokens were sold at the rate of 1 USDT each. A total of USD 1 billion was raised over 10 days. As a result, iFinex managed to cover the $850 million it lost to the Panama-based bank Crypto Capital.

The token's unusual name comes from the Latin phrase, 'Unus sed leo' and originates from Aesop's fable, 'The Sow and the Lioness.' Translating to 'one, but a lion', the saying expresses that quality is more important than quantity.

Designed to empower the Bitfinex community, the cryptocurrency allows its customers to save money on trading fees. The discount amount is determined by how much LEO the client has in their account, and the savings are divided into three tiers. Fluctuations depend on whether a trading pair is crypto-to-crypto or crypto-to-stablecoin.

How UNUS SED LEO works

When it comes to the problems Bitfinex hopes to tackle with LEO, the primary goal is to develop the Bitfinex community and profit from the benefits of processing transactions in the Bitfinex ecosystem.

Moreover, the token works on a buyback and burn mechanism, and has a limited lifespan. Bitfinex spends 27% of its income on token buybacks for burning. The Bitfinex dashboard provides a thorough and open record of token purchases and burning. iFinex has committed to a buyback scheme at current market rates until no tokens remain in commercial circulation. In other words, LEO is not designed to exist forever a unique feature of this token Because iFinex owns a significant portion of Tether operations, it has been previously assumed that their buyback figures include Tether revenues.

According to the UNUS SED LEO white paper, 80% of any BTC recovered from a 2016 breach the iFinex suffered, will also go toward the buyback scheme. 6.5 BTC have been retrieved thus far. Furthermore, if iFinex ever recovers the cash lost as a result of the US government's seizure of former payment processor Crypto Capital, 95% of the recovered assets will also be allocated to the buyback scheme.

At the time of writing, 61,790,865 LEO from the 1 billion token supply had been burnt, amounting to more than $232 million.

What is UNUS SED LEO used for?

LEO is the utility token at the core of the iFinex ecosystem. Token holders benefit from the company’s entire portfolio and future projects, products, and services.

It gives LEO token holders freedom and interoperability. It is home to two distinct groups and habitats. It makes it possible for the currency to be used in a broader variety of decentralised exchanges (DEXs) and decentralised applications (DApps).

Furthermore, Bitfinex serves as a link between Ethereum and EOS, allowing the LEO token to be transferred between the two platforms. As a result, the token may be utilised in both ERC20 and EOS token standards.