OccamX Unveils Cardano DEX Demo — What this means for Occam.fi
Today, we unveiled the first OccamX DEX demo — complete with a working and provable solution for the UTXO Cardano concurrency challenge.
Here, we have some further info about the OccamX demo, including the improvements we’ve made and why our Cardano DEX is different. We’ll also explore pool mechanics, order submission, order execution, decentralization & concurrency, and OCX distribution information.
Remember, powering the OccamX DEX is the OCX token. You can get the OCX token through four different ways right now, either by staking ADA to our pOCC stake pool, staking OCC through our OccamRazer panel, staking OCC-ETH UniswapV2 liquidity tokens through our OccamRazer panel, or holding OCC as a Cardano native token (OCC-ADA). Skip to the bottom of this article for more details.
We will soon release a detailed roadmap for OccamX. We know there is growing excitement around OccamX, but before our DEX components go live, we must ensure the security, stability, and usability of OccamX. This involves extensive (~2 month) public beta testing and audits. Plutus audit partners are scarce, but it’s an important step in bringing a robust product to market. The following is a summary of our development efforts to date. Let’s dive in.
tl;dr
- Our demo — Shows for the first time a working solution for the concurrency problem with provable on-chain transactions.
- Pool mechanics — Similar to UniSwap-type DEXs, users need to provide both sides of the pool assets to initiate pools on OccamX. There will be unique pools for each pair of assets. OccamX utilizes NFT tokens to represent certain system UTXOs.
- Order submission — Submissions will occur through the ‘order slot’ mechanics. We have also developed a unique technique to overcome the order slot occupation concurrency problem.
- Order execution — Unique order slots mechanics will allow delegation of execution to any third party, so in the future anyone will be able to try and execute transactions and earn execution fees. Through this mechanism, we ensure no misbehaviour is possible on the backend, such as reordering of incoming trades or other frontrunning activities.
The demo
The demo, linked above, is narrated by Occam.fi technical writer Conor Devlin, author of the concurrency article quoted by Cardano Founder Charles Hoskinson. It shows for the first time a working solution for the concurrency problem with provable on-chain transactions.
Concurrency is a theoretical problem in UTXO-based accounting models, whereby simultaneous interactions with smart contracts occurring within a single transaction poses inherent technical challenges.
A source of debate within the blockchain community, concurrency needs to be overcome in order to have fast and efficient DEX capabilities on Cardano. In our first of its kind demo for OccamX, viewers can see and verify how two simultaneous swaps can be made in a single transaction on the Cardano network.
Our solution introduces a centralized element, albeit with order execution done on-chain. To our knowledge, this is the closest solution to the concurrency issue yet, and is essential for a seamless and fast DEX experience for Cardano users.
Pool mechanics
Pool origination and initiation flow is an essential part of any decentralized exchange ecosystem. As no centralized entity exists, assets must be provided by users of the OccamX DEX.
We follow the same model of pool initiation flow as UniSwap-type DEXs on Ethereum — i.e. users must provide both sides of asset trading pairs and liquidity to originate the pool.
A good example would be an IDO coming through OccamRazer, let’s take Ardana for instance. After finishing their IDO, Ardana could originate a pool on OccamX, supplying both Ardana tokens and ADA, and therefore providing liquidity to the pool for users to swap tokens.
Remember: We are building an ecosystem where projects use all of our products, from Occelerator Incubation -> OccamRazer IDO -> OccamX DEX = A full stack DeFi ecosystem for Cardano.
Order submission
For Cardano-based decentralized exchanges, order submission will be different on the back-end to that of Ethereum-based DEXs. This is due to the eUTXO accounting model that Cardano uses.
On OccamX, order submission occurs through the ‘order slot’ mechanics. In each block on Cardano, there are a number of order slots available to be occupied by new orders.
The number of slots is dynamic, and is adjusted automatically to follow the desired on-chain order throughput and network limitations.
Order execution
Next, we move to order execution. All order slots must enter the execution transaction, which is validated on-chain even if slots are empty — ensuring there is no chance of misbehaviour on the OccamX back-end.
This mechanism is one of the ways that OccamX solves concurrency at the order execution stage. All orders provided in a current batch of order slots are executed simultaneously, and within a single transaction. We will elaborate separately on our novel approach of several orders execution.
Our unique order slots mechanics will allow the delegation of execution to any third party, so in the future anyone will be able to try and execute transactions and earn execution fees.
In turn, this decreases the possibility of front-running and forbids the off-chain executor to ‘misbehave’ by reordering transactions to suit bad actors’ agenda.
Note: Front running is the act of placing a transaction in a queue with the knowledge of a future transaction. For instance, on the Ethereum blockchain, front running can occur when bots are able to quote a higher gas price than a pending trade, thus, hastening its processing — From CoinMarketCap.
Like any DEX, due to price volatility, the final price of a swap is unpredictable. Therefore OccamX will allow users to set the slippage of a transaction. Going forward, we may consider 3 or 4 slippage options for simplicity and better user flow, and we will have more information on this shortly.
How to get OCX
OccamX is supported by OCX, a DEX token that can only be attained through contribution to the Occam.fi ecosystem.
Contribution methods and ways to get OCX includes:
- Stake OCC here: https://razer.occam.fi/personal/occ-panel/staking,
- Stake OCC/ETH liquidity tokens, received for Uniswap liquidity mining here,
- Stake ADA to our Occam.fi Cardano Stake Pool, now live here,
- Hold OCC-ADA, You can purchase OCC-ADA on Bitrue exchange here.
You can already delegate ADA to the pOCC stake pool in return for OCX through Daedalus, Yoroi, ADAlite, or other wallets that support ADA staking. Find OCX’s pool information here. You can read more about how to get OCX here.
More details on reward ratios for our ADA stake pool, and distribution timelines of OCX will be provided shortly. OCX will be distributed when the OccamX DEX goes live. As you can see from this article, we are nearing closer to a live solution!
Follow OccamX’s social media channels to stay up to date with the latest news:
- Telegram Official Community — https://t.me/occamfi_com
- Telegram Announcements — https://t.me/occamfi
- Medium — https://medium.com/occam-finance/occamx/home
- Twitter — https://twitter.com/occamDEX
- Reddit — https://www.reddit.com/user/OccamFi
- Discord — https://discord.gg/9eQbAkPj7K
About OccamX: OccamX is a UniSwap-like decentralized exchange built for the Cardano Native Token ecosystem. Developed by the team at Occam.fi, officially backed by EMURGO and IOHK through the cFund, OccamX is set to become the most significant swap ecosystem for the Cardano ecosystem. The OccamX DEX is powered by the OCX token, which can only be gained by contributing to the Occam.fi ecosystem. Learn more at www.occam.fi.
About Occam.fi: The Occam.fi ecosystem is managed and maintained by the Occam Association, a Switzerland-based entity operating from the crypto-friendly Canton of Zug. When the Occam.fi ecosystem grows sufficiently, Occam.fi will be governed and steered by a carefully designed decentralized autonomous organization. Occam.fi is the first decentralized launchpad designed for the Cardano ecosystem, built with expertise and care from a veteran team of blockchain entrepreneurs and professionals. Learn more at www.occam.fi.
