AERA
DeFi-native treasury and risk management
Shaan Varia and Tarun Chitra from Gauntlet Networks approached us to help name and brand a new DeFi project they were bringing to market. The core value proposition and approach they were taking resonated with the kinds of crypto projects we love to work on - focused on delivering practical, real-world solutions that apply rigorous thinking from the finance world to the opportunities created by blockchain.
Aera enables DAOs and other projects to hedge risk by diversifying their treasury holdings, establishing growth & risk targets, and using a blockchain-native approach to risk management strategies.
A MODERN AERARIUM
Working closely with Shaan and Tarun, we started a greenfield naming process, looking for a name that both conveyed a sense of openness, potential, and modernity balance with a seriousness, solidity, and trust that the protocol’s ambition required. We evaluated over 80 names - including a few great ones that didn’t make the cut - before collectively centering on Aera Finance.
Aera comes from the Latin word aerarium, the name of the public treasury at the Temple of Saturn in Ancient Rome. It also plays off aes / aeris, the Latin word for bronze and a type of early Roman coinage. ‘Aera’ conveys a sense of openness, history, and public trust — which made it a perfect fit for the team’s vision.
RISK MANAGEMENT FOR TURBULENT MARKETS
Aera enables DAOs and other projects to hedge risk by diversifying their treasury holdings, establishing growth & risk targets, and using a blockchain-native approach to risk management strategies.
With a naming direction established, we developed a visual language highlighting the mathematical sophistication of the risk modeling that Aera was helping bring to the DeFi space, creating a sense of the openness and technical innovation of a crypto-native approach, balanced with a solidity and security of a company focused on helping blockchain protocols better manage their financial wellbeing through turbulent markets.
shaan varia, head of product, aera & gauntlet networks
LAUNCHING A NECESSARY PROJECT
Through the summer of 2022, as crypto markets were roiling, we worked closely with the Aera team to launch their initial public presence (https://www.aera.finance/) — a timely project, as the need for more mature and diversified treasury management strategies for serious crypto projects has become self evident.
