What is 0x (ZRX)? Beginner’s Guide
0x is an open protocol that is designed to offer a decentralized exchange as part of the Ethereum blockchain.
- Official 0x Website: https://0x.org/
- Github: https://github.com/0xProject
- 0x Blockchain Explorer: https://etherscan.io
When they founded 0x in October of 2016, Amir Bandeali and Will Warren were betting on the disruptive trajectory of blockchain technology. They believe in a future where assets of all flavors, from stocks to currencies to precious metals, are traded publicly as tokens on the blockchain. Given the versatility of Ethereum’s platform and the scope of its decentralized applications, they think Ethereum’s blockchain is the ideal medium to accommodate this revolution in asset exchange.
Creators and Developers of Ox project
- Will Warren – CEO and Co-founder
- Amir Bandeali – CTO and Co-founder
- Fabio Berger – Senior Engineer
- Alex Xu – Director of Operations
- Leonid Logvinov – Engineer
- Ben Burns – Designer
- Brandon Millman – Senior Engineer
- Tom Schmidt – Product Manager
- Jacob Evans – Ecosystem Manager
- Blake Henderson – Operations Associate
- Zack Skelly – Lead Recruiter
- Greg Hysen – Blockchain Engineer
- Remco Bloemen – Technical Fellow
- Francesco Agosti – Engineer
- Mel Oberto – Executive Assitant
- Alex Browne – Engineer in Residence
- Peter Zeitz – Research Fellow
- Chris Kalani – Director of Design
How is Ox different from a regular trading model?
Most cryptocurrency exchanges follow the established centralized trading model. In this paradigm, they are gatekeepers providing the infrastructure and acting as connecting agents to clear and facilitate trade between parties. North America’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, is the best example of this approach. This model requires customers to trust their funds with exchanges. While the model has worked for equity markets, an increasing number of hacks at exchanges has put its future in cryptocurrency markets under a cloud. Decentralized trading seeks to address that.
This is where 0x comes in. The 0x protocol improves decentralized exchanges by utilizing off-chain ordering relays in conjunction with on-chain settlements. Essentially, this allows you to broadcast an order off-chain that another user fills. Only value transfers are executed on-chain, leaving all other trading commands to off-chain procedures. Thus, transactions are only run through the network when a trade is executed, allowing users to reduce the gas fees associated with trading operations.
To accomplish this, 0x uses what it calls “Relayers”. Relayers are responsible for broadcasting orders through public or private order books. They bring liquidity to the network by hosting its order books, acting effectively as an exchange. Unlike an exchange, however, a relayer cannot execute a trade. It can only facilitate trading by presenting maker orders broadcasted to the network. For a trade to be fully executed, a taker must fulfill the order by submitting the maker’s signature along with its own to the decentralize exchange’s smart contract. In compensation for facilitating this exchange, a relayer is paid a fee in 0x’s native currency, ZRX, for each transaction.
Who invest in 0x project?
The 0x project is being funded by Fintech Blockchain Group, Pantera, Polychain Capital, Jen Advisors, and Blockchain Capital, showing a diverse range of interests.
When Warren and Bandeali co-founded the 0x Project in October of 2016, they did so in hopes of a world that allows for every asset’s representation as part of the Ethereum blockchain. Ideally, the included assets would have everything from digital game items to stocks to gold and fiat currencies. With so much tokenization, there will be thousands of different types of tokens, requiring a trustless exchange for users.
While the co-founders appreciate the developments of decentralized exchanges, they saw an opportunity for improvement. With 0x, they hope to address the inefficiencies of decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges as well as the inability of various exchanges to work together.
What Does 0x Cost?
Since 0x will prevent users from having to pay transaction fees by reducing the reliance on the blockchain, there is an opportunity for 0x to charge for use. However, 0x doesn’t charge fees of any type to use their protocol; it is free. Keep in mind, however, that if someone chooses to create a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange using the protocol, that person, known as a Relayer, can charge fees.
? Beginner’s Guide){kind=link}