Info
You may have already noticed that our favorite DEX exchange Leodex, which allows swapping various cryptocurrencies for a small fee using several protocols — Maya protocol, Chainflip, Rango, Relay, and Thorchain — has now launched the historically first feeless swaps on the Thorchain network. In the past, these feeless swaps were also possible on the Thorchain network, but it was not on the mainnet (BEPswap). What they have done now is something very unexpected.
What I think about it
Given the reactions on Twitter, this is definitely something that everyone in the Thorchain community who doesn’t manage their investments through individual UIs greatly appreciates. Thorchain has recently somewhat stepped back from the spotlight, or more precisely, its revenue has slightly dropped (which might be just a short-term dip). This change in Leodex.io is therefore a big deal in currency swaps on the Thorchain protocol, leading to a significant reduction in swap fees.
If I don’t count any referral discounts, the fees used to be twofold — Thorchain’s fees itself (each swap involves 2 transactions, each with a 0.08% fee => 1 swap costs 0.16%) and on top of that, Leodex.io’s UI fees, which were by default 0.45%. As you can see, this was quite disproportionate. Do not forget the slippage of something around 0.1%.
However, now that Leodex has removed its fees on Thorchain swaps, only the fees for using the Thorchain protocol remain. This can reduce fees by several thousand USD. WOW.
So what do I think about this, and why did Leodex.io and @kaleelkazi do it?
Well, it’s probably simple — to attract new users to the exchange, whom Leodex wants to draw in with a beautiful UI and UX. If successful, Leodex could finally start being used by big players who swap tens of bitcoins in one transaction using Thorchain or other DEX platforms. If this happens, it’s a win-win for both Leodex and us LEO token holders.
For me, this is something that will finally stir up the waters in the Thorchain community, which hasn’t changed much since BEPswap and keeps using its favorite UIs like Thorswap, Thorwallet, or Asgardex repeatedly. Leodex has definitely turned up the heat on them, and some of those UIs seem quite annoyed about it (at least that’s the impression I get from some tweets). A major advantage for Leodex.io is that profits from Thorchain are not what they rely on most — it’s just one of several paths through which Leodex (and its team) could profit.
The plan now is that if someone wants, they can support Leodex through their swaps…
For me, all of this could very quickly make Leodex the largest exchange in the DEX world, because swaps (e.g., BTC-ETH, BTC-BSC, etc.) on thorchain.leodex.io (with a referral code) are now the cheapest.
At the same time, with feeless swaps, there will be zero profit from swapping on Thorchain, which could limit Leodex’s earnings and potentially reduce the incentive for people to invest in LEO (sLEO). How this will ultimately turn out for us LEO token holders will be interesting. I can’t wait to see.
PS: The Leodex.io site still works with all five protocols (including Thorchain, but note that the fees mentioned above still apply there). And how this new Thorchain Leodex site stands against CEXs?
