What comes to your mind when you hear “Blue Bird?” Well, for most of us, it’s the previous X logo (formerly Twitter) that surfaces. However, this isn’t an article about X. At least not directly. Instead, today, we will shift our focus to the Binance Bluebird Index — an index that was launched and ideated by the popular crypto exchange — Binance.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
► The Binance Bluebird Index was a crypto index tracking BNB, DOGE, and MASK in the form of perpetual contracts on Binance Futures.
► Speculation linked the Bluebird Index to Elon Musk’s plans for integrating crypto into X (formerly Twitter), although no official confirmation emerged.
► The index’s calculation was based on the weighted average prices of its constituent tokens, BNB, DOGE, and MASK, traded against USDT.
► Despite initial hype and speculation, Binance eventually delisted the Bluebird Index, settling all positions in March 2024.
What is the Binance Bluebird Index?
The Binance Bluebird Index was a crypto index that tracked three tokens: BNB, DOGE, and MASK. It was part of the Binance Futures basket, which allows traders to experience perpetual contracts (contracts with no expiry date).
The index came into existence on Nov. 2, 2022 and offered a maximum leverage of 25x. USDT was the available trading pair for this index. However, you could use the multi-asset trading mode for the Binance Bluebird Index — which then allowed you to deploy other assets — including BUSD — as margin.
On March 26, 2024, Binance closed all positions and conducted automatic settlements for BLUEBIRDUSDT perpetual contracts.
But that’s the fine print, right? Let us delve deeper into the world of the Bluebird Index.
Bluebird and Twitter: potato, potato?
In crypto, we listen to social media chatter. Even if we choose not to act on it, we still listen. When the Binance Bluebird Index came into existence, there was a lot of chatter connecting the index with X’s future payment integration plan.
It’s a good idea to listen to chats with crypto experts. For example, in our open BeInCrypto Trading Community on Telegram three experienced traders answer questions from subscribers every day.
Popular altcoin-tracking X handle Crypto Aidar attempted to connect the dots and consider whether the Bluebird Index assets have a place in X’s payment schema.
But that’s not the end of it! Some Tweeters even believed that the CZ-Musk partnership — concerning the $500 million investment made by CZ — is a plan to bring Web 3 and Crypto to X!
As if it wasn’t there already — these individuals believe that the Index that follows BNB, DOGE, and MASK would have played a crucial role in furthering X’s NFT initiatives — competing with OpenSea.
However, the most vocal speculation came from Miles Deutscher — a popular crypto analyst — who was one of the first X personalities to start connecting the dots. Here is what he tweeted:
Deutscher tweeted this on Nov 2, 2022., and it was shared more than 500 times, showing how aligned people are to this vision. However, no official came from CZ, Binance, or even X/Elon Musk.
But then, the crypto market does take sentiments and speculations seriously! After Nov. 2, 2022, Binance Coin (BNB), Dogecoin (DOGE), and even the Mask Network (MASK) rallied further.
Despite the many speculations around X (formerly Twitter) integrating crypto as a payment asset based on the Bluebird Index, the idea never came to fruition, as Binance delisted the asset.
Do we have more on the Binance Index?
In October, Elon Musk mentioned his ambitious “X” application. According to him, Twitter was an accelerant for the upcoming, all-inclusive super app. Here is what he tweeted:
And yes, this everything app will require payment support — which would have made the Binance Bluebird Index all the more important.
How is the Binance Bluebird Index calculated?
The Binance Bluebird Index incorporates the weighted averages of the tokens’ real-time prices. And from tokens, we mean BNB, DOGE, and MASK, denominated in USDT. The Index value is calculated using a formula that reads:
Here is what each component means:
If the above-mentioned formula leaves you overwhelmed, fret not, as we will explain each element in time.
The constituents count, or n, is 3 (BNB, MASK, and DOGE ). The latest price of a component “i” is denoted by “p,” which are the standard token prices on the Binance exchange at any given time.
Every coin has a weight in the exchange, denoted by w, whereas the divisior is the standard real-time multiplied value of the price and the weightage — of a particular component.
The “0” is replaced by “t,” which considers the time-based value of the price and weightage.
Coming to the weightage, here is the formula to calculate the same:
But wait, how do we find the weighting factor? There is a detailed formula for that as well:
In the formula above, the volume concerns the respective coin’s perpetual volume in USDT. The market cap data changes at the rebalance time.
Also, Binance mentions that the formulas used for the calculation can change without prior notice. As per calculation, here was the last weightage for the Bluebird Index:
- Binance Coin (BNB): 51.8116%
- Dogecoin (DOGE): 41.8677%
- Mask Network (MASK): 6.3207%
Data will self-update at rebalance time.
Tracking BNB, DOGE, and MASK
BNB, DOGE, and MASK belonged to Binance’s list of Bluebirds. And each crypto asset had a reason for featuring:
- BNB is Binance’s native crypto, and it is only appropriate to include it.
- Elon Musk is termed the Dogefather in jest, which makes DOGE’s inclusion quite appropriate. This move even airs the speculation that the Bluebird index has something to do with CZ’s X investment.
- Mask Network is an NFT-specific platform, and its inclusion seems appropriate considering the growth of NFT marketplaces.
But there is a lot more to the Mask Network that kind of validates most speculations! Read more about it in the next section.
What is the Mask Network?
The Mask Network is a decentralized protocol meant for sending messages over Facebook and X, in an encrypted manner. This network allows users to transfer and swap DeFi tokens — without leaving X — using the likes of SushiSwap and Uniswap.
But that’s not all! In essence, the Mask Network aims to bring decentralized levels of privacy to social networks — pushing them closer to Web 3.0 adoption. You can also develop DApps and NFT marketplaces and even share files using this network.
MASK — Mask Network’s native governance token — shot to fame when it became a part of the Binance Bluebird Index on 2 Nov. 2022.
How is MASK connected to X and Elon Musk?
However, the big question remains: How is MASK connected to X and even Elon Musk?
Firstly, we should clear out that every MASK-X connection you see on social media might just be speculation. Now that is out of the way, we can easily connect these dots:
- The Mask Network came to form in 2019, with X message decryption as one of the use cases.
- Elon Musk has previously relied on DOGE as a source of payment at a Supercharger in Santa Monica. And the Mask Network supporting infrastructure for crypto payments and swaps kind of makes people optimistic.
- Suji Yan — Founder of the Mask network — has long been advocating social liberty and freedom of interpretation.
In an interview with CoinDesk, he even mentioned that if Twitter turns into a protocol (now it’s a company), different social apps can start building on it. And that might even make way for a Mask Network integration.
And that’s not where the connection ends! If you remember clearly, Twitter already allows users to use NFTs as profile pictures. Plus, the platform might support Tweet-specific NFT buying and selling in the form of NFT Tweet Tiles.
And with the Mask Network allowing the use of NFTs and related DApps, we should not rule out an integration. Fingers crossed!
Binance Bluebird Index Perpetual Contracts
We know that the Bluebird Index belongs to the Binance Perpetual Futures basket. This also means that the value of the index was a function or derivative of the underlying assets — BNB, DOGE, and MASK.
But what does that actually mean? This means you could trade in futures using the Bluebird Index without worrying about the contract expiry. Plus, while trading, you get a 25x leverage, which might be risky and needs to be evaluated carefully before proceeding.
Unpacking the working of the Binance Bluebird Index
Coming back to the Binance Bluebird Index, the modus operandi is pretty direct. Firstly, you could trade it as a perpetual Futures contract. Secondly, unlike the COIN-M Futures, where we use relevant crypto denominations, the Binance Bluebird Index used the USD-M Index, with the market denominated in USDT.
You could even use it as a crypto index to see the growth across the three current constituents. To access it, you simply needed to search for the symbol BLUEBIRDUSDT on the USD-M index page.
To trade the Binance Bluebird Index, you would have to log into Binance. Once there, these were the steps to follow:
Step 1
Head over to the “Derivatives” counter and select the “USD-M Futures.”
Step 2
Once there, select the BLUEBIRDUSDT from the symbols page to start trading.
Step 3
You could move funds (USDT) from your Spot wallet to the USD-M wallet for trading.
Step 4
You can set a limit order and place the order. As mentioned, the minimum order value was 0.6 BLUEBIRD or 5.640 USDT.
You could either Buy/Long BLUEBIRD or Sell/Short BLUEBIRD. Once the order is placed, you can see them in the Open Orders tab. And that’s how trading the Binance Bluebird Index works.
The bluebirds have landed
Amid the speculations involving payment integrations, NFT marketplaces, and X scaling, the Binance Bluebird Index came with a lot of hopes. This hype subsequently transferred to the underlying assets, causing a brief rally. However, Binance would eventually “clip the wings” of the Bluebird Index, putting all rumors, speculation, and ambitions to rest.
Frequently asked questions
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