DYdX Trading Inc., the developer of the eponymous decentralized financial exchange, is in negotiations to sell a portion of its derivatives trading software to a group including some of the largest cryptocurrency market makers for an unknown sum.
The potential buyers include prominent market makers in the cryptocurrency space, such as Wintermute Trading Ltd. and Selini Capital, according to insider sources. Perella Weinberg Partners is advising dYdX Trading in these negotiations
Launched in 2017 on the Ethereum network, dYdX allows users to trade perpetual futures contracts on cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, and Dogecoin.
The exchange shifted to a new layer over Ethereum with its v3 software to reduce fees and improve transaction speeds. It later launched its blockchain with the v4 software. Despite the launch of v4, the v3 platform remains attractive due to its higher liquidity and lower slippage on large transactions, according to Gauntlet, a crypto risk modeling firm.
According to VanEck’s estimate from March 2023, the v3 platform brought in $137 million in fees in 2022, with a total trading volume of $466.3 billion from over 33,900 individual users. DeFiLlama projects that the v3 platform will bring in around $18.67 million in revenue by 2023.
According to dYdX, the v3 platform’s website was recently compromised. As a result, users are advised to avoid clicking on any links until further notice. The v4 platform is unaffected by this problem.
Antonio Juliano, the founder of dYdX, stepped down as CEO in May 2023 and remains the president. Ivo Crnkovic-Rubsamen, a former trader at D.E. Shaw, has taken over as CEO. dYdX Trading is supported by venture capital firms including Andreessen Horowitz and Paradigm.
Mergers and acquisitions are uncommon in DeFi due to the open-source nature of many projects. The sector saw significant growth during the “DeFi summer” of 2020, driven by liquidity mining and yield farming programs.
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