Decentralized cryptocurrency exchange Waves DEX has been shut down and replaced by a hybrid exchange called Waves Exchange. Waves founder Sasha Ivanov promises that transactions on the new trading platform are irreversible, safe and completely controlled by the user. However, Waves Exchange also has features of centralized trading platforms.
Users of Waves Exchange won't send their currencies to the exchange. Smart contracts make sure that trading happens, even though the tokens remains in the user's private wallet. The exchange promises low fees of 0.0003 WAVES per trade, which is $0.00018. Users depositing or withdrawing bitcoin can use SegWit addresses, which allows for cheaper transactions.
The reborn cryptocurrency exchange has future plans for partner and market maker programs. For example Tether USD trading will be enabled when the gateway goes live in a few weeks. On top of that users will be able to generate passive income, including staking stablecoins and collecting interest.
Waves Exchange is developed by a separate and dedicated team, which also includes former Waves core team members. At the same time the core team will continue development of the protocol, including its privacy implementations, sharding and general infrastructure. Waves.Exchange is available on the web. Apps can be downloaded for iOS and Android as well.
Movement around decentralized exchanges
The change from Waves DEX to Waves Exchange seems like a small thing, but it's actually a lot bigger if you take a step back. Governments are trying to keep cryptocurrency exchanges under control. As a result some South Korean exchanges have removed privacy coin Monero, while other governments want thorough anti-money laundering and know-your-customer practices in place.
This isn't only happening to centralized exchanges like Binance and BitMex, but also to decentralized ones. For example, CryptoBride had to abide to European laws in order to keep functioning. Two months after they introduced AML and KYC as a part of their sign-up procedure, they had to close their doors. The cause? Not enough trading, and therefore not enough funding to keep going.
To think that decentralized exchange are death, is simply wrong. Binance launched a decentralized exchange earlier this year. Cryptocurrency prophet John McAfee launched his own DEX last month, while Poloniex bought the decentralized exchange TRX Market, and renamed it to Poloni Dex. Decentralized exchanges aren't going away, but they are shifting and getting more advanced.
Posted from my blog: https://www.nederob.nl/2019/12/03/waves-switches-from-decentralized-to-hybrid-exchange/