Goodbye ZKEX V2! What’s coming in ZKEX V3?
Since last September, over 250,000 wallets have connected, traded, or bridged assets on ZKEX Alpha Mainnet V2. With V3 on the horizon, traders can look forward to a 10x improvement in scalability, improved reliability, with more connected networks and assets.
The big idea of ZKEX has always been to make multi-chain crypto trading simple and secure, without making any compromises with security or functionality.
What is the long-term plan for ZKEX?
Our ultimate goal is to create a “Super DEX” — a platform that enables the purchase of native tokens from various blockchains in a single location, across both Spot and Derivatives markets, without the need for asset bridging.
And for the first time ever, we’re integrating advanced trading features traditionally found in centralized exchanges (CEXs), such as multi-chain cross-margin trading and unified accounts to a decentralized exchange (DEX).
The good, the bad, and the ugly
In September last year, we unveiled our multi-chain spot trading platform, known as “Alpha Mainnet V2.” This launch represented a significant learning experience for us, but it also demonstrated the effectiveness and robust security of our multi-chain approach.
The good — highlights of Alpha Mainnet V2…
- For a beta product, we’ve had significantly high usage, with one high point of 30,000 traders in a single day.
- The heavy load shows our systems are robust and capable of high throughput. - Our approach to build an unbreakable multi-chain layer using ZK-Proofs works, with zero losses due to hacks or exploits.
- Most importantly, we’re able to give our users peace of mind that their funds are safe. - Despite only connecting to 9 networks, 4 token pairs, and offering no incentives, we were able to make a small surplus in some months.
- This is a healthy sign for the protocol, allowing us to give back to our community in many ways in the future. - We discovered by accident that we are one of the cheapest and most secure cross-chain bridges in the industry.
- Our ZK-Bridge may well become a stand-alone product in the future.
The bad — what could have been better…
- The spread on our order book could have been tighter.
- The good news is that many market makers will be onboard soon, as we’re aware professional traders are still anxiously waiting for V3 to launch. - As a security precaution, a few orders were rolled back.
- We’re aware that failed orders are undesirable and with V3, security and stability will take the priority in system design.
The ugly — what went wrong…
- Occasionally, our fast withdrawal broker system would need more exit liquidity, and a slow withdrawal would kick in, causing a delay of around 24 hours.
- With V3 we’re going to add much more exit liquidity to ensure a consistently smooth withdrawal experience. - We found some UI bugs, for example, users misunderstood the “Send to another ZKEX address” function and entered external wallets instead.
- On V3 we’ll be applying a verification check to ensure the ZKEX wallet is valid, plus more rigorous testing.
Looking forward to V3
ZKEX V3 will be a big step forward to deliver our “Super DEX’ vision.
🏗️ Infrastructure — ZKEX V3 will run on its own interoperable L3 App-Rollup — powered by our partners zkLink — offering much higher scalability and customizability.
🔧 Functionality — We’ll roll out Perpetual Contracts (allowing derivatives trading for pros), and Portfolio Margin Mode (to help better manage risk).
😃 User experience — We’ll have a refreshed design with a faster user interface — traders can do more with less clicks.
🆘 Community Support — We’re bringing on board more moderators, plus a new ticket system with email, discord, and live chat support.
☔ Campaigns — We’ll announce two incentivized campaigns: ‘Trade to Earn’ (a farming program for traders) and ‘Road to OG’ (a lucrative community membership program).
Our migration page helping you to move assets from V2 to V3 will be up soon!
