Rhea Finance is a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform built on the NEAR protocol, formed through the merger of Ref Finance and Burrow Finance. It aims to provide a unified liquidity hub offering decentralized exchange (DEX) and lending services with a focus on chain abstraction. ^{[1] [3]}

Overview

Rhea Finance was established following the merger of two prominent protocols on the NEAR ecosystem: Ref Finance, a leading decentralized exchange, and Burrow Finance, a top lending protocol. ^[4]

The merger was announced in March 2025. The primary motivation behind the consolidation was to address the challenge of fragmentation within the DeFi landscape, where users often need to interact with multiple chains, platforms, and wallets to manage assets and optimize yield strategies. ^[1]

The platform seeks to create a single, integrated liquidity solution accessible to users across different blockchain ecosystems, including NEAR, Bitcoin, and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible chains. By combining the functionalities of a DEX and a lending protocol, Rhea Finance intends to enhance capital efficiency and provide a more streamlined user experience for swapping, lending, borrowing, and yield generation. The platform leverages the underlying infrastructure of the NEAR protocol. ^{[1] [2]}

Key Features

RHEA Finance integrates decentralized exchange and lending capabilities into a single platform.

• Decentralized Exchange (DEX): Allows users to swap various cryptocurrency tokens and provide liquidity to earn yield ^[2]. The platform lists multiple trading pairs, including NEAR, wNEAR, USDC, USDt, FRAX, REF, STNEAR, PURGE, BLACKDRAGON, LONK, GEAR, SHITZU, and KAT ^[2].
• Lending and Borrowing: Functions as a money market where users can lend assets to earn interest or borrow assets against collateral. It is described as a money market on NEAR ^[2]. Margin trading features are also available ^[2].
• Chain Abstraction: Designed to provide a unified liquidity experience that abstracts away the complexities of interacting with different blockchain networks ^[2].
• Aggregator Bridge: Facilitates the transfer of assets from various blockchain networks to the NEAR ecosystem, enabling users to access yield opportunities on NEAR with external assets ^[2].
• Satoshi Ramp: Described as a mechanism for integrating Bitcoin (BTC) into the NEAR DeFi ecosystem, providing users with yield opportunities for their BTC holdings ^[1].
• Yield Optimization: Aims to provide users with tools and features to optimize their yield generation strategies across different assets and protocols ^[1].
• Risk Management: Incorporates features intended to enhance risk management for users engaging in lending, borrowing, and trading activities ^[1].

Technology

Rhea Finance is built on the NEAR protocol. The platform offers a Software Development Kit (SDK), known as the Rhea SDK, to allow developers to build applications on top of the Rhea infrastructure ^[2].

Tokenomics

Following the merger, the native tokens of the predecessor protocols, $REF (Ref Finance) and $BRRR (Burrow Finance), were consolidated into a single primary token for Rhea Finance, designated as $RHEA.

The introduction of the $RHEA token was accompanied by the planned introduction of two utility tokens, $xRhea and $oRhea, intended to support governance and ecosystem functions. ^[5]

Partnerships

Rhea Finance has established partnerships with various entities within the blockchain ecosystem. Listed partners include:

• NEAR ^[2]
• Blocksec ^[2]
• Slowmist ^[2]
• Immunefi ^[2]
• OKX ^[2]
• Frax ^[2]
• Coin98 ^[2]
• Rainbow Bridge ^[2]
• Sweat Economy ^[2]
• Pikespeak ^[2]
• Cede.hub ^[2]

Quotes

Regarding the merger and the vision for Rhea Finance, the team stated:

"This merger is more than just combining two protocols. It’s building a unified DeFi infrastructure that services all users, from [Bitcoin] - (https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) and NEAR to the most active memecoin traders. Rhea Finance is designed to remove friction and provide seamless liquidity access." ^[1]