Ironclad: Distributing OP Incentives to Grow Lending and Staking Participation

What is Ironclad?

Ironclad Finance is a decentralized non-custodial liquidity market protocol where users can participate as depositors or borrowers. Depositors provide liquidity to the market to earn a passive income, while borrowers are able to borrow in an overcollateralized (perpetually) or undercollateralized (one-block liquidity) fashion.

The Challenge

Ironclad regularly received OP incentives, but the big question was how to distribute them in a way that actually benefited the platform. Simply giving them away wasn’t an option—they wanted to make sure rewards went to users who staked, provided liquidity, or borrowed, helping to grow the ecosystem.

To do this, they needed a system that was:

• Fair and transparent, so users knew exactly what they were earning.
• Automated, to avoid the hassle of manual tracking and distribution.
• Scalable, allowing them to keep rewarding users over time without extra effort.

They needed a way to reward real participation, attract new users, and keep everything running smoothly without creating a logistical nightmare.

The Solution

1. Conversion Events

To make sure incentives went to users who were actually contributing, Ironclad rewarded:

• ICL stakers, encouraging long-term commitment.
• Lending market participants, both depositors and borrowers, to keep liquidity flowing.

2. Payout Rules

To distribute rewards fairly and efficiently, Ironclad used a Pool Distribution model. Instead of setting fixed rewards per user, they allocated a weekly budget of OP tokens:

• At the end of each week, a snapshot captured users’ positions in the lending markets.
• The total reward pool was then distributed pro rata, meaning users earned OP incentives based on their actual contribution, whether they were lending or borrowing.
• Since rewards were directly tied to platform activity, the system made sure that the most engaged users received the biggest share, aligning incentives with long-term growth.

This automated pool-based model allowed Ironclad to scale rewards effortlessly while keeping the process transparent and fair.

3. Incentives Hub

To keep everything running smoothly, Ironclad used Fuul to:

• Automate tracking and reward distribution, so no manual work was needed.
• Ensure transparency, giving users a clear view of their earnings.
• Launch a custom landing page using Fuul’s no-code tools, allowing users to check program details, track their participation, and claim rewards effortlessly.

This setup made it easy for users to engage with the program while keeping things simple for the Ironclad team.

Results

In just two weeks, 45,000 users participated, significantly increasing engagement on the platform. During this time, 8,000 OPs were distributed, ensuring that incentives went directly to active users. By structuring rewards around real participation, Ironclad was able to drive long-term engagement while keeping the process efficient and scalable.

Conclusion

Ironclad turned OP incentives into a powerful tool for growth. Instead of a manual and inefficient approach, they set up an automated, transparent system that ensured rewards went to users who were actually helping the platform grow.

This case study shows how well-designed incentives can boost engagement, attract users, and scale efficiently, without unnecessary complexity.