As crypto continues to threaten the traditional banking system, we can be almost certain that the friction to sign-up for traditional cryptocurrency exchanges is only going to get worse.
For that reason, cross-chain DEXs that require no account sign-up will only be growing in popularity. In this post, we are going to cover the latest updates for some of the top cross-chain DEXs.
THORChain (RUNE)
THORChain is a decentralized liquidity protocol that allows users to swap crypto across different blockchains without losing custody of their assets. Despite the fiasco with their savings and lending program in January, the project continues to push forward.
On January 24, THORChain processed $320 million in swap volume in a single day, showcasing its resilience in spite of the problem with their savings protocol.
By the end of January, THORChain had integrated Base (a Ethereum Layer-2 chain), with front-end interfaces like THORSwap, ShapeShift, and GemWallet all adding support for it.
In mid-March, THORChain successfully rolled out version 3.3 to its mainnet. The update introduced enhancements to the App Layer, enabling developers to build atop the protocol more effectively.
Maya Protocol (CACAO)
Inspired by THORChain, Maya Protocol is another decentralized liquidity protocol that allows users to swap crypto assets between even more blockchains, without the need for a centralized exchange.
Maya announced last week that the network had surpassed more than 40 validators, and that upcoming version 1.18 is set to introduce the first stage of CACAO pooling, allowing users to deposit and withdraw CACAO to earn rewards without selling.
Alongside the CACAO pooling feature, the new version will add support for Radix tokens (XRD), expanding Maya’s cross-chain capabilities beyond its current offerings of BTC, ETH, RUNE, DASH, and LEO.
Posts from rykcrypt indicate that Maya Protocol is nearing $2 billion in lifetime trading volume, with weekly volume continuing to trend upward.
Chainflip (FLIP)
Chainflip is another cross-chain DEX engineered to enable seamless swaps, without the need for wrapped tokens. Unlike THORChain's RUNE and Maya's CACAO, which exist on their own blockchains, the FLIP token was minted on the Ethereum blockchain.
Their blog post from late February discusses the upcoming v1.8 release, which focuses on enhancing integration reliability and strengthening the economic framework of the protocol (fees will contribute to a buy-and-burn mechanism for the $FLIP token).
Chainflip weekly volume has been trending toward a new all-time high, with an official post noting it was within $3 million of breaking the previous peak.
As a matter of fact, Chainflip’s daily swap volume hit a record $18.45 million just yesterday.
Serai DEX
We'll finish the article with an honorable mention of Serai, an upcoming cross-chain DEX with plans to list not only the big players (Bitcoin, Ethereum, DAI, etc.) but privacy-focused Monero (XMR) as well.
In early February, the official Monero X account highlighted Serai as an innovative decentralized trading platform that will support Monero. The Serai team has been actively searching for testnet validators to allow users to experiment with the liquidity pools.
Until next time...
Moving money in and out of centralized exchanges is only going to get more difficult as crypto continues to threaten TradFi. Despite some initial setbacks, the growth of cross-chain DEXs seems to continue unabated.
Taking into account their increasing volume and the relentless building, it may be worth keeping an eye on the above projects as we advance into 2025.
If you learned something new from this article, be sure to check out my other posts on crypto and finance here on the Hive blockchain. You can also follow me on InLeo for more frequent updates.
Further Reading
- Three Crypto Projects Worth Watching Into 2025
- Thorchain Wounded, But Dusting Itself Off After Latest Incident
- Imagining The World Running On Crypto, Instead of Fiat Currencies
- Don't Wait, The Friction To Get Into Crypto Will Only Get Worse