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Polkadex: Why We Invested

Jul 06 - Michael McLarnon
Polkadex: Why We Invested

Polkadex: Why we Invested

Polkadex is a fully decentralized, peer to peer, orderbook-based cryptocurrency exchange for the DeFi ecosystem in Substrate

Introduction

Polkadex is the Polkadot ecosystem’s answer to a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange (DEX). The team at Polkadex have gone to incredible lengths to develop the perfect DEX, with key benefits over traditional competitors.

Polkadex: An overview

Before exploring some of its idiosyncrasies, it is worth exploring how Polkadex builds upon the fundamentals of any centralised exchange, through lightning-fast transaction speeds and sub-millisecond latency. For a quick comparison, Polkadex will support transactions at a rate 25,000 fold of what is currently possible with Ethereum, or over 71,000 times that of Bitcoin, maintaining a high level of safety, scalability and efficiency as yet unforeseen in the DeFi space. This unmatched performance is married to a decentralized design for added security, alongside a unique decentralized KYC option allowing users to store their data on personal wallets and not the Polkadex platform.

Central to its design, Polkadex introduces the “Fluid Switch Protocol”, which uniquely merges the Automated Maker Model (AMM), commonplace among DEX’s (and the solution that led to the likes of Uniswap), with the Order Book Model utilized by centralised exchanges.

Pre-existing forms of the AMM can be slow, and consequentially, exchanges inevitably lack liquidity. The Polkadex Orderbook is the Polkadex core product, solving this issue to facilitate the aforementioned near-instant transaction speeds and enabling several additional novel features. One such feature is on-chain trading bots, bringing high-frequency trading (HFT) to retail and institutional traders. This feature, alongside nil gas fees, will make the platform a more viable option to traders who have previously not deviated from exploring centralized exchanges, in particular targeting those currently enjoying easy navigation and speedy transactions, whilst offering additional security and privacy in bridging to a decentralized operator.

In a similar vein, accessibility with a user-friendly front end was another factor strongly considered in the Polkadex design process. Indeed, the developers were aiming for a decentralised platform with a “centralised feel”; to attract both newcomers and veteran crypto enthusiasts. The desktop browser-based application has a beautiful design, with the mobile version enhanced to allow traders to place, modify and cancel trades from their air-gapped cold wallets as well as receive funds directly to it. With crypto moving closer to the mainstream in recent months, and many newcomers and hobby-investors utilizing mobile platforms, doubling down on mobile functionality is undoubtedly forward-thinking.

Although we have touched on some of the features we are most excited about there are many other features central to Polkadex that we will not discuss within the remit of this article. Some of these features include:

– Polkadex IDO Pallet

-Offchain State Commits

-Trustless Cross-Chain Transfers

-Polkadex Fiat (enabling crypto-fiat transactions)

-Polkadex NFTs

-New Token Generation

-Forkless Upgrades

We hope to explore each of these features in more depth in future issues.

The Polkadot dream team: Market leaders in Web3

Turning to the team behind Polkadex, consisting of over 20 team member and featuring veteran blockchain specialists from a global background, all with successful track records. Of note, their cryptoeconomics advisor is none other than Matthias Hafner, managing economist at Swiss Economics and serial blockchain economic advisor, ensuring an extremely high level of expert input to the exchange. Other names include Garlam Wong, leading the direction on marketing, previously featured in Forbes for his impact in the crypto community and well known for working on big projects such as Kylin Network, Iconiz and Harmony.

Polkadex has captured the attention of many well-respected, early-stage investors alongside GD10, including Master Ventures, Block Dream Fund, Au21 Capital, BTX capital, and many others, with 23 venture capital firms featured on their website.

The Bright Near-Future of Polkadex

In a series of rapid-fire moves, April brought Polkadex even closer to the forefront of Web3 interest. In the past month, we have witnessed a successful IDO, a Uniswap listing, an IEO on KuCoin, a beautiful new website design (showcasing a capacity for simple, user-friendly interfacing) as well as a host of PR events.

So what’s next for Polkadex? We are immensely excited for the upcoming Testnet V3 at the end of the month, showcasing high-frequency trading on Polkadex Orderbook, cross-chain bridges from Ethereum’s Kovan testnet via Chainbridge and a fully on-chain IDO platform with basic functionalities. Following the security audit, we then eagerly anticipate the mainnet launch in the latter half of 2021. This will be followed by the introduction of systemic strategies that are tried and tested in conventional asset classes- futures trading, options writing and more- in this blooming new hub for decentralised finance.

Closing Remarks

We cannot stress how impressed we are with the meticulous detail, rigorous testing and unparalleled quality we have seen in Polkadex to date. This is what makes Polkadex so attractive to us as a value-based investment, which we see as a definite leader among decentralised exchanges.

Read more about Polkadex at Polkadex.trade.

 

Contributors

By Michael McLarnon

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-mclarnon-01/

Eds. Dr Deeban Ratneswaran

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deeban-ratneswaran

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