Mario Nawfal Roundtable - The Future of Decentralized Trading w/ ZKX

In this Mario Nawfal’s Roundtable Twitter Spaces which took place on June 6, 2024, Pulse Digital hosted by Eduard and a panel to discussand Tommy for an in-depth discussion on the current state of the perpetuals market, ZKX, and more. Read our notes to learn more.

Background

Pulse Digital (Host) – Spaces Host

Eduard (Guest) – Founder at ZKX Protocol

David (Guest) – CIO of Mixie AI and Spaces Host at Mario Nawfal Roundtable Spaces

Dan Clarke (Guest) – Crypto Marketing Consultant

ZKX Protocol – a perpetual futures DEX with self-custody on StarkNet

Introduction

Eduard says ZKX is a derivatives protocol aiming to gamify crypto trading, making it fun while users trade and make money.
Pulse Digital asks Eduard about long-term strategies for DEXs and the importance of building a community for long-term success.
Eduard says that the first building block is technology that enhances user experience. He points out that, until recently, users couldn’t log in to a DEX with an email and password. Uniswap’s mobile app, which has millions of downloads, is an example of bridging the gap to make DEXs more user-friendly. He predicts more DEXs will go mobile, providing an experience similar to Robinhood.
Pulse Digital asks about the hurdles of getting users to switch from using a DEX inside a wallet to a full-on app and whether security concerns are a factor. Eduard explains that most users in crypto, especially in emerging markets, use their phones for everything, unlike the degens who use desktops. He notes that many DeFi applications still don’t have a mobile app, which is a significant gap.

Gamification in Trading

David says that he has participated in gamified trading without fully understanding it, often following guides in Discord for airdrops. He believes gamification is the future for engaging ordinary people in trading.
Pulse Digital asks Buzz if he’s ever participated in trading competitions. Buzz shares his experience with trading competitions on Binance and Bybit, noting that earlier competitions were more engaging and less dominated by bots and algorithms.
Irina shares her experience with Gleam campaigns and engaging content that encourages participation. She believes gamification is crucial for marketers to attract users in a competitive environment. Irina recalls the Uniswap airdrop and emphasizes the potential for gamification in various platforms, including museums and metaverses. She looks forward to more creative ideas that combine gamification with augmented and virtual reality.

Dan shares that he has not participated in trading competitions but did run one for his own token project in 2020 to stress test and drive volume. He found it effective short-term but not sustainable long-term.
Pulse Digital agrees with Dan, noting that trading competitions can drive short-term volume but often result in participants selling off their tokens immediately after the competition ends, making it unsustainable.
Jakub shares that he has always been suspicious of trading competitions and prefers to avoid them. He believes crypto itself is already a big game and doesn’t need additional gamification.
Adi points out that trading competitions were crucial for FTX’s launch and believes they can be effective for new exchanges to capture volume. He sees the increasing competition among exchanges as beneficial for users, leading to lower fees and more perks. He predicts that as regulation becomes more favorable, exchanges will offer more creative promotions to attract users.

ZKX’s Innovative Approach to Gamified Trading

Eduard says that he has been passionate about gamification and trading since the early ICO days. He highlights the success of platforms like PancakeSwap in engaging users through gamified experiences and highlights the importance of designing incentives in crypto to create engaging user experiences. He predicts a positive future with friendlier regulations and improved onboarding tools.
Eduard says that ZKX aims to innovate beyond the basic trading interfaces of most platforms. ZKX talks about their 30-minute trading competitions where users can interact and compete in real-time, offering a unique and engaging trading experience.
Pulse Digital inquires about the challenges of attracting users to decentralized exchanges compared to centralized ones. Eduard acknowledges this challenge and explains that ZKX leverages technologies like account abstraction and custom-built blockchains to compete with centralized exchanges.
Eduard mentions that features like email logins and live chats will make using a DeFi platform as easy as a centralized one, potentially offering an even better user experience due to fewer onboarding requirements.
Pulse Digital asks about the differences between ZKX’s OG Trade and Pro Trade. Eduard explains that Pro Trade caters to professional traders with advanced tools, chart analysis, and API trading. OG Trade, on the other hand, is designed for new crypto users and Degens, offering a more accessible experience with 30-minute trading competitions.

Closing Thoughts

Eduard talks about perpetual swaps, noting their simplicity compared to other derivatives. He highlights the ability for users from emerging markets to gain significant exposure with small amounts of capital through leverage, while cautioning about the risks of liquidation.
Eduard talks about $ZKX’s token model, where users earn locked $ZKX tokens on a one-to-one basis for their trading activities, highlighting transparency and fairness compared to point-based systems. He also mentions the inclusion of loss leaderboards to reward all trading behaviors.
Eduard invites users to engage with ZKX on Twitter and Discord, highlighting the platform’s accessibility and the benefits of their app-chain, which avoids high Ethereum fees.

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Show Information

Medium: Twitter (Audio)
Show: Mario Nawfal’s Roundtable Twitter Space
Show Title: The Future of Decentralized Trading w/ @zkxprotocol #CryptoDaily
Show Date: June 6, 2024