Balancer (BAL) is an automated market maker (AMM) protocol that operates on the Ethereum blockchain. Launched in March 2020, Balancer strives to function as a self-balancing weighted portfolio, price sensor, and liquidity provider. It allows users to receive compensation through its native token, BAL, by contributing to customizable liquidity pools. Balancer was not initially launched with a native token, but in June 2020, the BAL governance token was introduced to encourage liquidity provision and decentralization. Balancer's unique feature is that it allows liquidity providers to have up to eight assets per market, which are weighted by percentage and rebalanced automatically.

Balancer operates several types of pools: private pools, shared pools, and smart pools. Private pools give the owner governance over the pool, making them the sole contributor of liquidity. Shared pools are designed for those who want to become liquidity providers (LPs), who are compensated with Balancer Pool Tokens (BPTs). Smart pools are similar to private pools but are controlled by a smart contract, allowing anyone to contribute liquidity. Balancer's unique feature is that it allows users to decide how much of a supported asset they wish to deposit, rather than requiring a 50% deposit of the desired asset.

Balancer's primary use case is to provide a platform for users to receive compensation by contributing to liquidity pools. It also offers a unique feature that allows more than one token to be added to a pool, and Ethereum (ETH) is not required. This flexibility makes Balancer a versatile tool in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. Balancer also strives to offer potential benefits on assets that are in low demand through arbitrage opportunities and slippage reduction.

Balancer was developed by Balancer Lab, founded by Fernando Martinelli and Mike McDonald. The project began as a research program at a software firm, BlockScience, in 2018. The team behind Balancer is composed of individuals with a deep understanding of the DeFi space. Balancer was launched in March 2020 and raised funds in a seed round by Placeholder and Accomplice. In June 2020, Balancer introduced its native token, BAL, following the introduction of other tokens in the DeFi space. The introduction of the BAL token aimed to encourage decentralization and reward liquidity provision.