Roadmap update | Q3 2025
The pivot from protocol to frontend: charting a new course for the Balanced app.
In May, ICON announced their plan to merge with the Balanced protocol to become SODAX, a unified liquidity layer on the Sonic blockchain. Meanwhile, the Balanced app will become an independent product owned by PARROT9. All parties spent Q2 working through the transition, which requires extensive changes to both the app and tech stack.
Here’s how PARROT9 spent their time since the last roadmap update:
App
- Added support for intent-based trades on Stellar
- Designed a money market interface for Balanced v2
- Helped SODAX finalise their SDKs so Balanced can use them
- Began integrating SODAX intents into the Trade page
Bug fixes and enhancements
- Fixed numerous Stellar transaction issues
- Improved handling for intent-based trades
- Added estimated time to pending transactions
- Fixed some display issues on the Stats page
Marketing
- Published marketing pages for Stellar, Sui, and Arbitrum
- Began work on Balanced v2 updates for the marketing site
- Prepared content for a design-focused social media push
- Supported the Stellar Summer Rewards campaign (spearheaded by the SODAX team), which saw Balanced come first in phase one of Stellar’s user acquisition program
The core backend and smart contract work are now covered by SODAX, so you can read about their progress from news.sodax.com.
Balanced’s direction
As discussed in the last roadmap update, the Balanced protocol will merge with ICON to become SODAX. Governance will be removed in the coming months, and the app and brand direction is now up to PARROT9.
In June, the DAO approved PARROT9’s request for funding, which gives them a year of runway to enact their plan for Balanced.
Their first step is to integrate the SODAX tech stack, which includes intent-based trades on every chain and a money market to replace bnUSD loans.
The money market will make it easy to borrow bnUSD and many other assets on supported chains, and you’ll finally get to earn interest for the assets you supply. The money market design is almost complete, so look out for a public demo in the coming weeks.
After the transition, they’ll move on to the next phase: widgets.
Implemented correctly, widgets will make Balanced the most useful cross-chain DeFi app on the market. They’ll start off simple, focused on Balanced and general market utilities, then optimise the tasks you perform through other DeFi protocols. Whether you want to track the price of a specific coin, calculate risk scenarios, or stake, trade, and monitor your crypto in a single place, widgets will make it easy to build your DeFi experience around you.
Plans for Q3 2025
During Q3, PARROT9 will complete the transition from protocol to frontend:
- Begin building in public: Share more about our design process and work in progress to build Balanced’s reputation as a design-focused product.
- Ship money market demo: Complete the interaction design for the Balanced money markets and share with the community.
- Support intent-based trades on every chain: Use the SODAX intents SDK to trade across every chain at speed. The Bridge tab will be folded into Swap, and there’ll be an easier way to view your recent transactions. The Archway and Havah connections will be removed, as will ICON community tokens, but they’ll remain accessible through a separate URL.
- Build, test, and ship Balanced v2: Includes money markets, improved visual design, new reward & Savings Rate sections, extensive changes to the website, and an easy way to move between v1 and v2. Expected to ship by early Q4.
Additional updates related to the transition, like removing governance, distributing the DAO Fund, and converting BALN > SODA will be announced as ready.
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