Synthetix Introduces Infinex Trading Platform

Kain Warwick, the founder of the derivatives protocol Synthetix, has unveiled Infinex, a decentralized trading platform focused on perpetual futures contracts.

Source: Synthetix Twitter

With this move, Warwick aims to position the project to compete with centralized exchanges like Binance, which handle daily trading volumes in the billions of dollars.

"I've had several discussions recently. Many people ask when we will be able to reach the scale of centralized exchanges. And my answer is, right now."

Prioritizing User Experience

To compete with Binance, Infinex will make fundamental changes to the user experience, reducing the inconvenience of signing each transaction in the wallet. Instead, Infinex will adopt a simpler approach using usernames and passwords, similar to traditional applications.

The exchange will store private keys in the user's browser, which will be used to sign transactions under the hood. Importantly, according to Warwick, these private keys cannot arbitrarily withdraw funds deposited on the platform.

Earlier this week, Oku, an exchange supported by a grant from the Uniswap Foundation, also launched its product. GFX Labs, the team behind Oku, emphasized that user experience will be a critical focus for DeFi in the near future.

Optimized Infrastructure

According to Warwick, crypto infrastructure has matured enough to compete with Binance. Layer-2 solutions provide a robust backend capable of rivaling many centralized designs.

However, launching a product and attracting users are two different challenges. Infinex will need unique strategies to compete with existing centralized exchanges. Additionally, storing private keys in the browser may raise security concerns for some users.

Legal Ambiguities

Infinex will also face legal challenges imposed by the SEC on the crypto market throughout 2023. The Infinex team stated that they always adopt a risk-mitigating legal approach, and open-source deployment will be a top priority.

Governance-wise, Warwick mentioned that Infinex will not have its own token, but SNX tokens will be used for voting in the future. As of this writing, the price of SNX has increased by approximately 25% in the past month.

Stablecoin Deposit and Withdrawal Solutions

To use Infinex, users will need to deposit USDT and USDC into their accounts. This can be done through Coinbase, Binance, or even with current non-custodial wallet applications.

Infinex will collect trading fees, integration fees, and fees from staking SNX. The staking fees will come from commissions on each transaction on the Synthetix derivatives platform.

Under the hood, Infinex will use deposited stablecoins as collateral and allow users to borrow sUSD (Synthetix's stablecoin) for trading activities.