IDEX, a decentralised cryptocurrency exchange (DEX), has secured a USD2.5 million seed investment led by G1 Ventures and Borderless Capital, including Collider Ventures, and Gnosis, to launch IDEX 2.0, a high-performance DEX. The new exchange will combine the speed and features of a centralised exchange (CEX) with the security of a DEX.
Historically, DEXs have lacked liquidity compared to their centralised counterparts, primarily because their design is not compatible with the software and strategies of the largest market makers and liquidity providers. High-latency, driven by on-chain execution, has made it impossible for market makers to quote deep liquidity at tight spreads, while unique technology requirements have made DEXs cost-prohibitive for market makers to support.
IDEX 2.0 is the first DEX to provide the unique combination of performance and adherence to industry standards, enabling market makers to support the exchange out of the box with their existing systems.
Traders on the IDEX 2.0 platform will benefit from low-latency trade execution, standardised APIs, advanced order types, and a matching engine capable of processing hundreds of thousands of orders per second, a combination of performance and features previously not possible on decentralised exchanges. The API sandbox is now live on testnet, marking the start of a three-phase rollout, with the mainnet launch planned for a few weeks from now. Market makers, algorithmic traders, and anyone else writing software to interact with the exchange can get started today, a process that takes hours, not weeks.
“We are thrilled to have the support of industry expert investors to help fuel IDEX 2.0’s growth,” says Alex Wearn, IDEX co-founder and CEO. “Our investors share our understanding that market makers and algorithmic traders are key to our success. Attracting this group requires us to deliver an entirely new product that offers centralised exchange features and performance paired with decentralised security. We’re extremely excited to deliver that with IDEX 2.0, the first DEX that doesn’t sacrifice performance for security.”
“G1 Ventures is proud to support IDEX in its pursuit of a new generation of high-performance DEXs, complementing our portfolio of digital asset infrastructure investments which, among other verticals, is focused on non-custodial fintech solutions,” says Eldar Khamitov, Investment Director at G1 Ventures. “The IDEX team is the first to marry the benefits of decentralized custody with traditional exchange architecture to create a world-class platform in both performance and security.”
“In addition to a quality team and industry leading product, IDEX also represents a unique investment opportunity via their IDEX token,” says David Garcia, Founder and Managing Partner at Borderless Capital. “This asset not only helps secure the layer-2 network, enabling IDEX to match centralised exchanges in throughput, but also allows stakers to earn a percentage of the trade fees. Stakers earn ETH for their work, rather than IDEX tokens, a more sustainable model that doesn’t rely on short-term asset inflation to create incentives.”
