Ep. 79 — The Kyber Network with Loi Luu

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, a rare and beautiful type of crystal was used by rogue anarchists to channel the light side of the Force in their fight for freedom, autonomy and peace — these were the Kyber crystals. 

This is the inspiration behind the Kyber Network, headed up by Loi Luu (CEO). Though, their inspiration runs deeper than a love of Star Wars. The Kyber Network’s vision is to become a global decentralised exchange and trading platform for those wanting to transact with cryptocurrencies as well as those who need a simpler way to engage in the cryptosphere using fiat. 

Kyber’s intention is to develop a platform that prioritises security and usability — both incredibly topical and important issues for cryptocurrency. They aim to achieve this by running their entire service on the Ethereum blockchain via the mechanic of smart contracts. This ensures user security and the sort of transparency that has been so evidently lacking with some of the more established, centralised crypto exchanges currently dominating the space. 

Besides developing a mobile wallet for instant payments, one of the ways in which Kyber seeks to be user-friendly lies in its addressing one of the more common issues for decentralised exchanges: liquidity. Kyber guarantees liquidity within their exchange which means that users can buy and sell the currencies they want, when they want. They achieve this through a dedicated reserve which incentivises contributors and provides the liquidity everyday users and traders depend on. 

The Kyber Network bears striking resemblance to something like the VISA network which can accept dozens of fiat currencies and guarantee liquidity for meaningful exchange between them. Though a key difference is that not only does the Kyber network aim to achieve this for cryptocurrencies but, as evidenced by partnerships like their recent one with Coinduck in South Korea, crypto to fiat transactions are just as achievable. In fact, they are happening right now! 

At the time of recording the Kyber Network was built exclusively on the Ethereum blockchain, however in the following days Loi Luu has signed a partnership with Wanchain. Wanchain is a cross-chain protocol capable of executing cross-chain smart contracts and token exchange. Kyber has announced they will be building a decentralised exchange on top of Wanchain to compliment their presence on the Ethereum blockchain. The ability to meaningfully translate value between blockchains is an essential step for the success of decentralised exchanges. 

Decentralised exchanges are sorely needed in this burgeoning and exciting world of cryptocurrency. They address some of the more fundamental problems the community has run into time and time again, like transparency and liquidity. But perhaps more importantly, they represent the ethos behind cryptocurrency and blockchain technology — a break away from centralised control. Ultimately it comes down to a reclaiming of ownership and trust. Decentralised exchanges are another step in this promising new direction.  

The Kyber Network’s decentralised exchange is already live — you can find it here: https://ropsten.kyber.network 

You can learn more about the Kyber Network here: https://kyber.network 

Wanchain: https://wanchain.org 

Link to Crypto 101’s interview with Loi Luu: https://apple.co/2G49u6Q