Selecting a derivatives DEX: An overview & comparison

Decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes hit $32 billion in less than seven days in mid-November, the highest since early June of this year. This comes after his explosive and turbulent week in the crypto industry, with many investors (veterans and novices alike) turning to self-controlled, permissionless, decentralized trading platforms. I began to evacuate.

There are various DEX models on the market today. Built on the principles of decentralization and financial freedom for all without limits, DEXs are welcomed for the following reasons:

• Eliminate intermediaries that oversee transactions, where traders execute transactions based on immutable smart contracts
• Increased security and privacy as only traders are confidential with their data and such data cannot be shared or seen by others
• Traders own their funds and assets and have multiple options for recovering their funds in the event of an outage or disruption of platform services.
• No access restrictions based on geographic location or profile, i.e. no KYC requirements
• Community-centric where stakeholders share platform revenue to provide liquidity, staking, and more.

DEXs such as Uniswap dominated the November 2022 surge. With multiple options in the market, traders are spoiled for choice when choosing which DEX to rely on. Seasoned traders looking for an alternative to derivatives to seize trading opportunities and get the most out of all trading signals can turn to derivatives DEXs. Derivatives DEX presents margin trading and leverage options for customizable orders on a variety of popular contracts.

Here is a comparison of three derivative DEXs that have recently appeared on traders’ radars. Two of them are familiar to most traders. dYdX and GMX. The final DEX we’ll cover is the newly launched ApeX Pro. This has been getting more and more attention since the beta launched in August, with trading volume recording his 6,000% growth.

Let’s see the details

dYdX is a leading decentralized exchange supporting spot, margin and perpetual trading. GMX is a decentralized spot and perpetual exchange that supports low swap fees and zero price impact trading and operates on a multi-asset AMM model. And finally, ApeX Pro is a non-custodial derived DEX that offers unlimited perpetual contract access in an orderbook model.

Comparison standard

In this article, we will broadly look at three measures: (1) security and privacy, (2) transactions and cost efficiency, and finally (3) token ecosystem and reward generation services.

Above is a non-exhaustive list of notable highlights for each DEX. dYdX and GMX are trader favorites for good reason. Let’s see how the new ApeX Pro compares to his two other DEXes.

(1) Security and Privacy

All three DEXs are based on relatively equal grounds in terms of privacy protection measures, with self-custody of funds being the common denominator. In light of recent events, the importance of non-custodial trading platforms cannot be denied.

Notably, both dYdX and ApeX Pro have added safeguards by integrating StarkWare’s layer 2 scalability engine, StarkEx, to ensure that users of both DEXs have access to force requests even when the DEX is not running. to obtain funds. Additionally, both dYdX and ApeX Pro use STARK proofs to facilitate accurate verification of transactions, while GMX relies on Arbitrum and Avalanche safety provisions.

DEX is known for its privacy protection measures. As such, GMX and ApeX Pro are truly decentralized and completely KYC-free. Meanwhile, dYdX previously implemented his KYC to claim rewards for selected campaigns.

Another notable element is the provision of governance and community discussion. Pages hosting polls and discussions are readily available on dYdX and GMX. However, for now, ApeX Pro is working to create a dedicated community space for individuals to vote, make suggestions, and do other activities.

(2) Transaction costs and efficiency

ApeX Pro decided to adopt the orderbook interface most commonly found on CEX.Similar to dYdX, this trading model creates barriers for traditional and aspiring crypto traders to enter DeFi. It also utilizes three price types to help prevent market manipulation.However, for more accurate trading you can choose Midmarket Price (dYdX) or Last Traded Price (ApeX Pro) It is up to the trader’s preference to check the .

With StarkWare integration, it’s no surprise that ApeX Pro has increased transaction speeds, processing about 10 trades and 1,000 order placements per second with no gas fees, and low maker and taker fees. dYdX’s tiered fees are incredibly comprehensive and cater to different trade sizes for different traders. Without gas fees, it is not surprising that derivatives DEX traders have mostly focused on dYdX.

These tiered fees are well known to derivatives traders on CEX. On the other hand, GMX charges a network execution fee. This means that the gas fees a trader pays for trading may vary depending on market factors.

ApeX Pro has no tiered fees yet, but given that it just launched in November, the upcoming VIP program will likely see a drop in differential fees soon, where APEX’s stake volume is the maker taker. Determines discounts applied to fees.

For traders looking for a choice of trading pairs, dYdX remains the DEX with the largest number of perpetual contracts while also offering access to spot and margin trading simultaneously on layer 1 Ethereum. ApeX Pro and GMX don’t offer as many perpetual contracts as dYdX. Still, with new trading pairs being introduced frequently, it is only a matter of time before the trader will have access to a large number of assets and pairs on the rest of his DEX.

Worth noting for all is ApeX Pro’s support for multi-chain deposits and withdrawals on EVM compatible chains. This is certainly a plus point for traders who do dynamic trading across multiple crypto platforms, chains and asset categories.

(3) Tokens and Rewards

Of all the factors, this is probably what most traders care about. That is, how each DEX contributes to multiple rewards and earnings, and how these rewards are valuable to individual traders over time.

dYdX and GMX demonstrate the success and popularity of trading events for earning rewards and staking incentives. It is of utmost importance for DEX to give community members and token holders access to the revenue sharing program. This usually includes the distribution of transaction fees accrued in one period. Rewards and incentives are usually distributed in the platform’s native he token.

What dYdX offers is simple, a trading rewards program that distributes 2,876,716 $DYDX to traders based on their trading volume in a 28-day epoch. Additionally, users can stake $DYDX into the pool to receive additional staking rewards. This dual income track continues to be a success among traders. Meanwhile, GMX utilizes escrowed tokens in its staking program to advance community rewards, further stabilizing and maintaining the value of reward tokens received by traders.

Rather than using a single token for all DEX initiatives, ApeX Pro will create escrow tokens and liquid We will follow in GMX’s footsteps by enriching the token ecosystem with sex tokens.

With a total supply of 1,000,000,000 $APEX, 25,000,000 $APEX was minted to create $BANA. ApeX Pro’s year-long Trade-to-Earn event and weekly reward distribution on $BANA allows traders to redeem rewards for specific incentives in USDC and also redeem $APEX tokens after the event ends . Traders can also add liquidity to the $BANA-USDC pool in exchange for LP tokens. This will allow you to redeem more $BANA.

Additionally, ApeX Pro will maintain stability in the value of $BANA in the Buy & Burn Pool, ensuring that users’ holdings of either token are maximized at all times. $BANA worth $190,000 will be distributed weekly for one year. This is a quick and easy settlement that all traders will definitely appreciate.

Conclusion

DEX architecture innovations in the nascent DeFi industry abound as DEX finds a foothold in a world dominated by CEX. Good news for traders. A trader can choose his DEX based on the provisions that suit him best and withdraw his preferred profits on different platforms. With growth, within his first week of mainnet launch, we have seen an ecosystem that combines the best features of his existing DEXs, and ApeX Pro is his one to watch in 2023.

As usual, we end with a quote.

“Blockchain-based projects should go back to their roots: decentralization. Decentralization is here to stay and it is the future.”
– Andy Liang