dYdX Instant Listings & MegaVault: What You Need to Know
Launchable Markets, dYdX Unlimited, & More
Between $TRUMP and the AI agents craze, we haven’t had a chance to discuss DeFi much recently. One of the protocols that sometimes goes overlooked is dYdX, the staple perps trading product that saw institutional use before Hyperliquid came around. In Q4 last year, we covered dYdX’s recent upgrades, detailing the sunset process of dYdX V3, the potential for token buybacks, and most importantly, dYdX Unlimited.
Since then, a lot has changed at dYdX. The DEX’s Founder, Antonio Juliano, returned as CEO, after previously stepping down. This saw the return of ‘Founder Mode’; 35% of the dYdX team would be let go with an emphasis placed on ending the exchange’s stagnant position and going back to the drawing board to reignite innovation in the DeFi and perps sector.
This has been a theme, both in and outside of crypto, as Founders are dissatisfied with the bureaucratic mass that their initial company may have become. We’ve seen more and more Founders take the wheel and slim down organizations. It’s been a couple of months since these significant changes in leadership and staff took place at dYdX. With the product market fit for perps and DeFi, in general, stronger than ever, dYdX is in a primed position to capture some of this value in its own unique way. In today’s edition, we’ll discuss some of dYdX’s recent developments, and what to look out for in the future.
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dYdX Unlimited & MegaVault
As it stands, dYdX is a sub-top-15 exchange by trading volume overall, among both CEXs and DEXsboasting high trading volumes and open interest. The platform historically attracted more sophisticated users and institutions. So, it stands to reason that new updates and upgrades are catered toward this crowd, not that dissimilar to Hyperliquid.
In November, the revamped dYdX team rolled out dYdX Unlimited, which features various new additions and initiatives we previously covered. Among them is the MegaVault. MegaVault is a unified liquidity pool, used for making markets across the dYdX platform. Users can allocate their $USDC across a whole spectrum of markets, enhancing their risk management and returns profile, and making all markets on the exchange more performant and liquid.
As a reward for providing liquidity, users are able to receive a steady yield. As with most DEXs, the idea is to encourage liquidity provision which ideally drives trading volumes, and thus higher fees. This is the flywheel dYdX is looking to enhance with MegaVault. One of the key reasons for rolling out MegaVault itself, and a key component of building this flywheel is the addition of Instant Listings, which we’ll detail below.
Instant Listings
Instant Listings allow users to forgo DAO governance and approvals, and instantly list a token themselves. This feature is made possible by tapping into MegaVault’s liquidity, avoiding isolated pools per market.
dYdX regularly sees hundreds of millions in volume per day ($350M today) on its platform. Recently, with the launch of $TRUMP, the expectation for what is possible with a decentralized exchange product has been significantly lifted, with Solana exchanges and aggregators seeing tens of billions in volume processed. It’s clearer than ever that dApps, whether it be Hyperliquid, Jupiter, or dYdX, can compete with CEXs. Now, it’s a matter of providing products on par with CEXs or being first to the chase in listing assets.
DYdX already has an expansive list of tokens to trade, but especially in frothy bull market conditions, there’s always a new, shinier object. Addressing this is a focal point of the dYdX team, prompting them to roll out instant listings. Instant listings pre-list tokens for trading, but users must provide liquidity to create the market.
The process for doing this is simplified; users deposit $10K into the MegaVault. Currently holding ~$70M in TVL, users earn a passive 16% APR, as of now. Those making a market for the first time will have to commit to a 30-day lockup period.
If there is demand for a token, users can provide liquidity and create a market for it, no questions asked. There is great demand for this product, with Hyperliquid scrambling to list $TRUMP, $MELANIA, and other new tokens. Platforms like OX FUN also have seen a lot of trading volume, a by-product allowing users to deposit a range of tokens as collateral as well as providing perps markets for otherwise untradable spot tokens.
DYdX takes a more permissionless approach, though tokens still need to be greenlighted. There is a list of tokens that are pre-selected, which users can then choose to launch a market for. However, the team has been quick to add most tokens that are popular, giving users the choice of whether or not a market should be created for them. Since Instant Listings was rolled out, the total number of tokens listed on dYdX has increased from ~140 to just under 200.
Listing tokens like $TRUMP, $PENGU, and more, with numerous tokens greenlighted, users can expect frequent new listings from dYdX. Users can also likely expect the team to push these launches: recently, a $15K trading competition was rolled out for $TRUMP traders on the dYdX platform. Offering incentives in addition to fast listings can help to ensure that traders choose dYdX over other platforms.
Overall, the dYdX team has made a lot of changes, some noticeable, others less so. Having shipped dYdX Unlimited successfully, and with the team seemingly having a finger on the pulse for what users may want, execution and promotion of the platform’s capabilities will be important for more user growth.
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