Uniswap<\/a> and use them to provide liquidity and earn interest. Synthetics and derivatives are important for building mature markets (i.e., markets that have reached equilibrium) by facilitating price discovery and helping to hedge against volatility.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nFor example, if you anticipate that the value of your asset will rise in the future, but are hesitant to accept the risk that would come with the possibility that the asset\u2019s value fails to rise, you can buy an options contract. Options contracts are agreements between two parties that give you, the buyer, the option to buy or sell an asset at a future date at a predetermined price. This way, if the asset\u2019s value fails to rise, you can buy a contract that allows you to sell it at a certain price up to a certain date.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nOn Synthetix, all Synths created by staking SNX tokens are backed by a 600% collateralization ratio, which is determined through community governance. Stakers must manually manage their ratio on Mintr by minting sUSD if it is too high and burning sUSD if it is too low.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhen you stake SNX and mint sUSD, you take on debt reflecting the amount of sUSD that must be burned to un-stake your SNX. This debt, which also represents a proportion of all the debt on Synthetix, is denominated in sUSD and increases and decreases in accordance with the supply of Synths and their exchange rates. For example, if half of Synthetix\u2019s Synths were synthetic ether (sETH) and the price of ether doubled, the total debt and each staker\u2019s debt would rise by one quarter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nBecause the system\u2019s total debt is distributed in this way, the stakers act as a \u201cpooled counterparty\u201d to trades. This means that you do not need counterparties when you exchange Synths, and instead convert them directly through a smart contract. This system mitigates counterparty risks and slippage and ensures that there is sufficient liquidity for trading.<\/span><\/p>\nWhen you stake your tokens, you are eligible to receive two types of rewards if your collateralization ratio remains at 600%: staking rewards, denominated in SNX, and exchange fees from all Synth trades, denominated in sUSD. Exchange fees are distributed in accordance with the amount of debt each staker has issued. Linking rewards to the collateralization ratio ensures that Synths are always sufficiently backed by collateral. If you want to un-stake your SNX tokens, you must burn sUSD. Because the debt pool fluctuates, you may need to burn more or less sUSD than you initially minted.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhat is Kwenta?<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n