On Friday, October 25th, SORA contributor Catswithouthats and Dr. Makoto Takemiya held a live AMA session to discuss the Aggregate Liquidity Technology (ALT). The team answered community-submitted questions and provided key insights.
On October 25th, SORA held an AMA to dive into Aggregate Liquidity Technology (ALT) and the Orderbook, addressing top questions from the community. The team shared valuable insights into how ALT optimizes liquidity, enhancing the overall trading experience.
Catch the full transcript and session recording for all the details — questions and answers have been edited for clarity!
Hello, Dear community! Welcome to the ALT (XST) AMA! Dr. Makoto Takemiya is joining us today to answer the major burning questions surrounding Aggregate Liquidity Technology. First, we will answer the pre-submitted questions and then have a short live Q&A.
Makoto: Hi, it’s great to be here today!
In the future will ALT be able to pull liquidity from CEXs or elsewhere?
MT: Eventually, yes, that’s the goal in the future to do liquidity aggregation. For now, ALT is focusing on liquidity sources within the SORA network, though. Maybe SORA v3 will make it easier to do complicated liquidity aggregation.
Was ALT difficult to build?
MT: Building is not the difficult part, making sure the system is safe and true to the vision is the tricky part. Also, the devs worked very hard to ensure good performance and an amazing user experience. With SORA projects, I think everyone has very high expectations for amazing user experiences.
I don’t trade using the orderbook, only normal swaps on Polkaswap (I’m a Polkaswapper). How does this benefit me?
MT: If by this you mean ALT, the liquidity would be taken from the orderbook as well, if it is the best trading route to complete your swap. So it would benefit you in the sense that you would use the feature without even knowing it, with style and freedom. That’s the best kind of feature — one users don’t even notice! Everything should be automagic.
Do orderbook orders pull liquidity from XYK pools?
MT: No, they are a different liquidity source altogether, although through ALT they are both used if you swap using the “smart” market algorithm on Polkaswap. Currently the “smart” market algorithm combines liquidity from 4 sources: XYK pools, orderbooks, token bonding curve, and XST).
Can ALT pull liquidity from the SORA v3 Hub Chain?
MT: Eventually, it will be able to, INSHALLAH, including the other networks connected to SORA v3.
What are the future plans for Aggregated Liquidity Technology (ALT), including other chains, across different blockchain networks, L2 networks, and centralized exchanges? How do you see ALT and the integration with Palmatrix? Do we have any way to avoid facing some regulatory hurdles?
MT: Regulation is an issue when you’re operating in a specific jurisdiction, since SORA is supranational, the responsibility to follow regulation comes down to the individual, as the tools to interact with the SORA network are self-custodial. Indeed, all those aspects you mention are the future plans for ALT! Eventually, the Polkadot AssetHub could also be a source. There was some interesting information in a talk by Joe Petrowski about some features that could make the implementation easier: (https://x.com/paritytech/status/1848759224894919137) And regarding Palmatrix, it would also be interesting to see it as a liquidity source within ALT, we would need to speak with their team and make it happen!
Can I put orders in the orderbook with stablecoins to VAL or PSWAP?
MT: At the moment there are VAL and PSWAP pairs to XOR and vXOR, but adding stable pairs could be interesting. Adding many KUSD-pairs to the orderbook is a great idea.
Could SORAs ALT connect to CEXs?
MT: Eventually, yes, INSHALLAH. (Maybe via asset hub?)
Do you have countries contracted to use SORA as legal tender, currently or in the future? If so, how many?
MT: There aren’t countries implementing XOR as legal tender right now at this moment in history, but there are interesting applications for countries and NGOs using the SORA infrastructure, although we cannot talk much about the details. Of course we are having many conversations and proposals, but this kind of work is not a 1- or 2-day task. It will take time to build relationships and make it happen. If SORA is the best economic system, then why wouldn’t countries adopt it?
Do swaps going through the order book burn PSWAP?
MT: The order book portion does not collect PSWAP fees, as PSWAP is a reward for XYK LPs and not orderbookers.
How does ALT aggregate liquidity from different pools like XYK, TBC, XST, and the Polkaswap Order Book?
MT: The current implementation of ALT splits the order into a number of buckets (like 10) and tries to find the best source for each bucket to maximize the amount returned to the user. Basically it checks the different sources for each bucket and swaps into that source if it is the best.
Currently it works only on a single base-pair (like only XOR-base pairs or only KUSD-base pairs), but in the future it will aggregate across base pairs.
What specific algorithms are used by ALT to break down liquidity and select the best price?
MT: The SMART algorithm in the Polkaswap interface (which is default) ensures the best output for the inputs of a trade performed on Polkaswap.
Does ALT introduce any delay in transaction times due to the aggregation of multiple liquidity sources?
MT: No, we benchmarked everything so it will not slow down the blockchain by making swaps using ALT. In fact, I believe it is a little faster now than our previous implementation.
How does the integration of the Polkaswap Order Book improve the overall liquidity aggregation process?
MT: If there are better trade conditions for an asset on the orderbook, it will be used. This leads to a better user experience as users will get less slippage, if there are orders being filled by the order book.
How does ALT handle situations when one of the liquidity sources (XYK, TBC, XST) is temporarily unavailable or underperforms?
MT: It would pick the better liquidity source and effectively omit the unavailable source. Not sure how any on-chain source could be “temporarily unavailable” though. I mean, you can disabled sources by governance, but that would just be gone then, not “unavailable.” The beauty of doing everything on-chain is that it is unstoppable.
How does ALT compare to liquidity aggregation technologies used on other decentralized exchanges?
MT: These are different systems, the main comparison point is that this system is tailor-made for the liquidity sources within Polkaswap, which are integrated directly on-chain. Usually DEXs have just an AMM source or an orderbook, overcollateralised stables aren’t a feature out of the box, and instead are a separate platform in some cases. Having tight integration between liquidity sources if very unique to Polkaswap, so access to these sources at easier and safer.
As the ecosystem expands, more sources will be added from other networks both within (if they’re based) or beyond…
What are the potential risks or downsides of using the ALT mechanism in liquidity aggregation?
MT: Being too liquid? There are some performance considerations, but it is implemented to be very fast on Polkaswap.io, so go try it out!
What future upgrades or enhancements are planned for ALT to further improve its performance or integration?
MT: Features are constantly being improved and optimised based on user feedback, network improvements, liquidity sources and changes to substrate/polkadot runtime. 改善 is a a way of life for us.
How does ALT maintain fairness for both liquidity providers and traders in the ecosystem?
MT: ALT ensures the best output for traders, so they get the best experience. Liquidity providers have several ways they can benefit, including access to more trades, although if your question is about providing smaller LPs also getting a piece of the pie, they should add more liquidity to have a higher trade proportion.
Is your platform suitable for crypto beginners? Or does it only limited for professional users?
MT: Polkaswap is suitable for crypto users of all levels, the basics are being optimised to make sure that even if you’re not a Nolan, you can still get the best out of your trades with the style and freedom that is not available on other platforms. Of course, the more experienced you are, the more features are available to you, but something like ALT, for example, helps even n00bs take advantage of everything Polkaswap offers. It will get even better in the future, once cross base-pair ALT is implemented.
Thank you very much for submitting your interesting questions, and special thanks to for answering! We look forward to seeing you in another AMA! Makoto-san, do you have anything to tell the SORA community before we wrap up?
About SORA
SORA is an innovative, adaptive, non-debt-based monetary framework that facilitates economic stability, particularly for financially vulnerable countries. As a groundbreaking platform, SORA exemplifies the potential of blockchain technology in fostering a more inclusive and stable global financial system. Its integration in projects like the Bokolo Cash CBDC signifies a new era in digital currency, aligning technological advancements to achieve broader economic stability and resilience. Through its unique approach and capabilities, SORA plays a pivotal role in the evolution of global finance, particularly by supporting economies that need innovative and sustainable financial solutions the most.
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