What is Ghast Protocol?Ghast Protocol is a yield-and-lending protocol that operates on top of GMX's $GLP, GMD Protocol, and other popular applications in the Arbitrum ecosystem. It utilizes an enhanced version of GMD Protocol's Pseudo-Delta-Neutral strategy. Ghast Protocol provides a liquidation-free money-market approach for yield-bearing tokens, enabling DeFi investors to access high-quality yield optimization and maximize capital efficiency.What makes Ghast Protocol unique?Ghast Protocol's Borrow and Lending APY (Annual Percentage Yield) are determined solely by market dynamics and are not controlled by the Ghast Protocol Team. This introduces various scenarios that require testing and simulating the functionality of the Ghast Protocol.Please note: To thoroughly review GhastProtocol, it's important to test various types of transactions on the platform, such as deposits and withdrawals. Evaluating the dApp's performance by manipulating time is crucial. This test is specifically designed for that purpose and is larger in scope than expected. We won't just focus on lending activities but also extensively manipulate the system for comprehensive end-to-end testing.We understand that none of these options are feasible on the Arbitrum Mainnet. Testing with real money would be too risky, and using the Arbitrum Testnet would require deploying Ghast Protocol and its dependent protocols, which is a complex task in itself.Although we could potentially test on the local hardhat fork or anvil fork of Arbitrum Mainnet, it comes with its own challenges:<ol style="list-style-type:decimal;"><li>We would need to go through the process of impersonating accounts to obtain ERC20 tokens for testing.</li><li>Without an explorer, it would be difficult to debug any failed transactions.</li><li>We would have to write custom scripts for borrowing, lending, and claiming tokens.</li></ol>As you can see, it's quite inconvenient and limiting. We are unable to utilize the Arbitrum Mainnet, Arbitrum Testnet, or even the local hardhat fork for our testing purposes.Therefore, we decided to leverage <a href="http://buildbear.io/">BuildBear.io</a> to establish a Private Testnet of the Arbitrum Mainnet. By doing so, we were able to effectively utilize the Ghast Protocol front end.It's important to note that as premium users of BuildBear, the chainId we obtain from the platform matches the chainId we are forking. For instance, the private Testnet we created on BuildBear, named "<code>FORWARD-DARTH-VADER</code>," shares the chainId <code>42161</code>, as it is a fork of the Arbitrum Mainnet. This was possible due to the <code>premium</code> account of BuildBear.Set-up before the testing:&nbsp;Using our Private Testnet Faucet to mint ARB, USDC, and WBTC Tokens.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:47.36%;"><img src="https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/Untitled_design_13_49b39b4373.gif" alt="Untitled design (13).gif"><figcaption>Minting Tokens using BuildBear Faucet</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:62.38%;"><img src="https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/Untitled_78_b95c9c8af0.png" alt="Untitled (78).png" srcset="https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/thumbnail_Untitled_78_b95c9c8af0.png 245w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/small_Untitled_78_b95c9c8af0.png 500w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/medium_Untitled_78_b95c9c8af0.png 750w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/large_Untitled_78_b95c9c8af0.png 1000w," sizes="100vw"><figcaption>gmdUSDC/USDC pool</figcaption></figure>Transaction 1:&nbsp;Lending 100K USDC into the gmdUSDC/USDC pool.&nbsp;After depositing 100K USDC, the Lending APR decreased from 10.11% to 8.52%. As mentioned in the <a href="https://ghast-protocol.gitbook.io/ghast-protocol/features/money-market-mechanism">Ghast documentation</a>, the APR is entirely market-driven, determined by the balance of supply and demand equilibrium.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:56.03%;"><img src="https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/Untitled_79_ae50f2fe98.png" alt="Untitled (79).png" srcset="https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/thumbnail_Untitled_79_ae50f2fe98.png 245w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/small_Untitled_79_ae50f2fe98.png 500w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/medium_Untitled_79_ae50f2fe98.png 750w," sizes="100vw"></figure>Transaction 2: Depositing 100 gmdETH into the gmdETH/WETH pool.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:58.83%;"><img src="https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/Untitled_70_be1eead80a.png" alt="Untitled (70).png" srcset="https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/thumbnail_Untitled_70_be1eead80a.png 245w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/small_Untitled_70_be1eead80a.png 500w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/medium_Untitled_70_be1eead80a.png 750w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/large_Untitled_70_be1eead80a.png 1000w," sizes="100vw"><figcaption>gmdETH/WETH pool</figcaption></figure><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:57.08%;"><img src="https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/Untitled_71_3a57075e69.png" alt="Untitled (71).png" srcset="https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/thumbnail_Untitled_71_3a57075e69.png 245w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/small_Untitled_71_3a57075e69.png 500w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/medium_Untitled_71_3a57075e69.png 750w," sizes="100vw"><figcaption>After Depositing 100 gmdETH</figcaption></figure>Transaction 3: Borrowing the maximum borrowable amount of 1.885 WETH of 100gmdETH deposit position. After borrowing, the borrow APR increased from 9.08% to 9.14%.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:56.38%;"><img src="https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/Untitled_72_11bfaf0edd.png" alt="Untitled (72).png" srcset="https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/thumbnail_Untitled_72_11bfaf0edd.png 245w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/small_Untitled_72_11bfaf0edd.png 500w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/medium_Untitled_72_11bfaf0edd.png 750w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/large_Untitled_72_11bfaf0edd.png 1000w," sizes="100vw"><figcaption>After Borrowing WETH</figcaption></figure>Transaction 4: Depositing 10 gmdBTC into the gmdBTC/WBTC pool.Transaction 5: Borrowing the maximum borrowable amount of 0.0088 WBTC using the 10gmdBTC deposit position. After borrowing, the borrow APR increased from 8.48% to 8.49%.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:57.32%;"><img src="https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/Untitled_80_aefe99bba6.png" alt="Untitled (80).png" srcset="https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/thumbnail_Untitled_80_aefe99bba6.png 245w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/small_Untitled_80_aefe99bba6.png 500w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/medium_Untitled_80_aefe99bba6.png 750w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/large_Untitled_80_aefe99bba6.png 1000w," sizes="100vw"><figcaption>After borrowing WBTC</figcaption></figure>The REAL TestTo accurately assess the actual amount we would receive, we Advanced the time for a year using the BuildBear utility tools (again available as a part of the BuildBear <code>premium account</code> services. This allowed us to simulate the passage of time and evaluate the final outcomes more realistically.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:52.3%;"><img src="https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/Untitled_design_12_0d0270e916.gif" alt="Untitled design (12).gif"><figcaption>Advancing time for a Year</figcaption></figure>Repaying the Borrow positionsTransaction 6: Repaying WETH.The net amount we need to pay is 2.0587 WETH for the 1.8859 WETH we have borrowed.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:53.12%;"><img src="https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/Untitled_75_7d48cc2a34.png" alt="Untitled (75).png" srcset="https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/thumbnail_Untitled_75_7d48cc2a34.png 245w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/small_Untitled_75_7d48cc2a34.png 500w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/medium_Untitled_75_7d48cc2a34.png 750w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/large_Untitled_75_7d48cc2a34.png 1000w," sizes="100vw"><figcaption>Repaying WETH</figcaption></figure>Transaction 7: Repaying WBTC.The net amount we need to pay is 0.00954282 WBTC for the 0.0088 WBTC we have borrowed.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:51.95%;"><img src="https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/Untitled_76_1151ba9cb4.png" alt="Untitled (76).png" srcset="https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/thumbnail_Untitled_76_1151ba9cb4.png 245w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/small_Untitled_76_1151ba9cb4.png 500w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/medium_Untitled_76_1151ba9cb4.png 750w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/large_Untitled_76_1151ba9cb4.png 1000w," sizes="100vw"><figcaption>Repaying WBTC</figcaption></figure>Withdrawing lent position:Transaction 8: We withdrew 104,778 USDC. After a year, the initial 100K USDC we lent has earned 4,778 USDC, in addition to receiving 44 GHA and 178 esGHA rewards tokens.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:53.12%;"><img src="https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/Untitled_77_86c3f6e21b.png" alt="Untitled (77).png" srcset="https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/thumbnail_Untitled_77_86c3f6e21b.png 245w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/small_Untitled_77_86c3f6e21b.png 500w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/medium_Untitled_77_86c3f6e21b.png 750w,https://strapi.buildbear.io/uploads/large_Untitled_77_86c3f6e21b.png 1000w," sizes="100vw"><figcaption>Withdrawing lent position</figcaption></figure>Lent Transactions<figure class="table"><table><thead><tr><th>Lent Amount</th><th>Net Amount After One Year</th><th>Reward Tokens Received</th><th>Net Amount Received (including Reward Tokens)</th><th>APR Presented by Ghast Protocol</th><th>APR Based on Amount Received</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>100K USDC</td><td>104,778 USDC</td><td>44 GHA (748 USDC), esGHA (3,026 USDC)</td><td>8,552 USDC</td><td>8.52%</td><td>8.55%</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>Borrow Transactions<figure class="table"><table><thead><tr><th>Collateral Amount</th><th>Borrowed Amount</th><th>Net Amount to Repay After One Year</th><th>APR Presented by Ghast Protocol</th><th>APR Based on Amount Repaid</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>100 gmdETH</td><td>1.8858 WETH</td><td>2.0589 WETH</td><td>9.14%</td><td>9.7%</td></tr><tr><td>10 gmdBTC</td><td>0.0088 WBTC</td><td>0.0095 WBTC</td><td>8.49%</td><td>8.6%</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>In Conclusion:The tables above show that we have achieved APR values that closely match the projections presented by Ghast Protocol. However, we are not really sure why the numbers are not exactly the same as it was expected. We will reach out to Ghast Protocol to hear from them. If we do get any feedback from them, we will update this article for the same.We were able to accomplish this by using BuildBear, which allowed us to deposit large amounts of tokens and manipulate time by advancing it for a year. This approach helped us accurately assess the actual amounts we would receive in these transactions.Leveraging BuildBear for Quality AssuranceIf you are a DeFi Web3 App seeking to:<ul><li>Establish an internal QA Environment for your team, or</li><li>Develop a private testing environment for your community prior to Mainnet release,</li></ul>Feel free to reach out to us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:team@buildbear.io">team@buildbear.io</a>. We are here to assist you in creating a fully customized testing environment tailored to your needs, ensuring a seamless experience.NOTE:&nbsp;The information provided in this article should not be considered financial advice.

Testing and Simulating Ghast Protocol with BuildBear

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Let’s get started then, Shall we?

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