YZi Labs has disclosed 24 new early-stage investments from the fourth season of EASY Residency, with each company receiving $500,000 through the incubation program. In the PANews piece, columnist Lianjin Shushu approached the list from a practical retail angle: what, if anything, can ordinary users actually do right now?
How the projects were screened
The article said this EASY Residency S4 batch stands out for its concentration in payment settlement, stablecoin foreign exchange, institutional credit, market making, APIs, privacy finance, and enterprise services. Many of the startups are aimed directly at banks, fintech firms, trading platforms, market makers, or other businesses.
That distinction matters for retail participants. The author argued that a project can be commercially promising while still offering little or nothing for ordinary users to interact with. One example in the piece was a startup that provides stablecoin APIs to banks: even if a retail user shows up with multiple wallets, there may be no meaningful interaction path available.
Using that lens, the article applied three filters:
- whether there is an entry point for ordinary users,
- whether participation can leave a real and measurable account or on-chain record,
- whether the team has introduced incentives such as Points, Rewards, Competition, or Referral programs.
From there, the 24 projects were split into two broad groups: higher-priority interaction targets and projects that are accessible but do not yet have clear campaigns or point systems.
Projects the article prioritized
Neutral Trade
Neutral Trade was presented as the clearest case. The project focuses on on-chain quantitative strategies and Market Neutral Vault products, where users deposit USDC and the underlying strategies perform arbitrage, hedging, and market-neutral trading. According to the article, its recently launched Neutral Autopilot has already integrated NT Points. The project’s X account was listed as @TradeNeutral.
The piece said users joining the current Autopilot Deposit campaign can receive 2x NT Points, with additional incentives tied to referrals and vault sharing. The author added that if the project eventually issues a token, deposit activity, TVL, and accumulated points would be natural data points for allocation.
For participation, the article suggested using a Solana wallet such as Phantom, keeping a small amount of SOL for gas, and preparing at least about 100 USDC. Users can connect to Neutral Trade, enter Autopilot, and make a small USDC deposit to begin accumulating NT Points. If the project later opens more referral tasks, vault-sharing tasks, or another points season, users can add those actions then. The piece also warned that this is a real-money strategy and that there is no need to overfund an account purely for points.
Primus
Primus was described as an on-chain privacy finance project centered on Confidential Finance. The article said users can continue using vaults and other on-chain financial products while protecting balance and transaction information.
Its most concrete hook is an active campaign. The piece said Primus is running a Kaito Warm Up Campaign from Aug. 25 to Sept. 8, with a total reward pool of 8,000 USDC.
The suggested route is to follow Primus on X, find the current Kaito campaign entry, and publish original content related to Primus, privacy finance, and Confidential Vault. For users with their own audience or communities, the article said referral activity and TVL-related participation can also affect final rankings.
Roostoo
Roostoo was framed as one of the better low-cost options for early positioning. The project is building an AI Trading Agent competition platform, combining AI agents, simulated trading, and trading contests. Both AI agents and human users operate strategies in the same environment and compete in ranked settings. Its X account was listed as @roostooAI.
The article said the official site has already opened a waitlist, early access, mock trading, live competitions, and exclusive rewards. It added that there is no clear token or point system yet, but user behavior on the platform should be relatively easy to quantify.
The recommended approach was straightforward: register a Roostoo account, join the waitlist, try mock trading if access is available, and join public competitions whenever possible. The article said users should keep watching for future Points, Season, Competition Rewards, and Early User Campaign announcements.
SmartX
SmartX is an AI social trading terminal that currently connects mainly to Polymarket. The article said it also plans to integrate Hyperliquid, Aster, Ondo, and bStocks. Its X account was listed as @SmartXTerminal.
The piece noted that SmartX previously ran a trading campaign combining USDC incentives with points, although that round has already ended. For the author, that history matters because it shows the team has used points and trading rewards to attract users before.
The current suggestion was to register for SmartX and connect a commonly used wallet. The author also noted that they had not yet obtained an invitation code themselves. What to watch next, according to the article, is the next points season or new campaigns tied to additional market integrations such as Hyperliquid and Aster.
Alloco
Alloco is working on on-chain asset management products across RWA, pre-IPO opportunities, and hedge fund strategies, with the longer-term goal of packaging them into products similar to on-chain ETFs. Its X account was listed as @alloco_fi.
The article said core products including GAIN and ETFT are still marked as coming soon. At this stage, the author sees the main value in establishing an early identity with the project before any later campaign appears.
For now, the noted interaction path is limited. The piece said Alloco’s Telegram is already open and that the author had joined it.
Projects that are usable but lack clear incentives for now
Nara
Nara was described as a PayFi project that finances the short-term funding needs of cross-border payment companies and passes the yield to NaraUSD+ users. Its X account was listed as @narausd, though the author added that the account appeared to have been suspended.
According to the article, users can already swap NaraUSD, stake NaraUSD, hold NaraUSD+, and provide NaraUSD/USDC liquidity. The author said there is no visible Nara Points structure at the moment, so the project should not be treated as a certain airdrop candidate, even though the product is live.
The suggested participation method was to connect a wallet, do a small NaraUSD swap, optionally stake a small amount into NaraUSD+, and, if comfortable with LP risk, add some NaraUSD/USDC liquidity. The article also flagged that KYC is required and said current TVL is about $10 million. Future items to watch include Points, Referral, or Season-style campaigns.
ElfomoFi
ElfomoFi focuses on Prop-AMM and on-chain market making. The article said ordinary users can deposit assets into a Public Vault, after which the underlying capital participates in delta-neutral market-making strategies. Its X account was listed as @Elfomo_Fi.
The author’s view was that if a token ever appears, metrics such as deposits, TVL, deposit duration, and vault usage would be easy to track. At the moment, though, there is still no clear point system. The practical action is simply to connect a supported wallet and deposit funds. The article also noted that the APY is high.
Liquorice
Liquorice was described as a project that provides temporary liquidity for solvers and market makers. Ordinary users can participate as capital providers by supplying assets into its liquidity pools. Its X account was listed as @LiquoriceHQ.
The article said the app is already live on Arbitrum and has a public supply entry. Participation, in the author’s outline, means visiting the site, connecting a wallet, and supplying assets.
XHunt
XHunt focuses on AI Creator/KOL intelligence and is built to help users analyze creators, KOLs, and social influence. Its X account was listed as @xhunt_ai.
The article said the product is already live, but there is no clear points or airdrop structure at this stage. It added that the team has run content reward campaigns before. The suggested interaction path includes downloading the Chrome extension, registering an account, linking X, using the Creator or KOL data features, and joining related campaigns.
Final caution from the author
The article closed by saying the list was only a general整理 and carried no conflict of interest. It also warned that points do not guarantee a token, and an investment by YZi Labs does not guarantee an airdrop. That warning was aimed especially at projects that require users to commit real capital, with the author urging readers to do their own research.