Ethereum vintage platform leverages Polygon zkEVM in bid to go head-to-head with centralized exchanges

Ethereum’s archaic decentralized exchange IDEX is back in the spotlight, pedaling a new product after collaboration with Polygon Labs. The partnership comes as ongoing Layer-2 (L2) mania continues, this time poised to champion the cause of decentralized trading as traders flee centralized exchanges (CEX) in favor of self-custody and affordable settlement.

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Ethereum OG DEX collaborates with Polygon Labs

Ethereum continues to make headlines for the right reasons, this time bringing one of its oldest decentralized exchanges (DEXs) back to action with a new feature expected to intensify the DEX vs. CEX debate. Based on a recent announcement, Ethereum’s IDEX has released a new product dubbed Xchain in collaboration with Polygon Labs.

Citing IDEX co-founder and CEO Alex Wearn,

Xchain represents the final piece necessary to go head-to-head with centralized exchanges.

Xchain is an L2 built atop the Polygon zkEVM, a network known to support over $5 million in assets on the Polygon blockchain. The feature promotes the L2 protocol mania, an innovation characterized by enhanced transaction speeds and improved scaling capabilities. As such, onerous challenges of these kinds, among others, will be eliminated for IDEX exchange users. Further, it will increase the level of parity between centralized and decentralized exchanges and tip the odds further in favor of DEXs.

Specifically, while it will level the field on transaction costs and user experience (UX) metrics, security, which stands among the core differences between CEXs and DEXs, will remain a difference.

Benefits to traders

Besides security, top-notch performance, and complete self-custody, traders on the IDEX's perpetual futures exchange will enjoy additional benefits such as gas-free settlement, room for additional dApps to serve the exchange's users, and the fact that they will enjoy easy integration and liquidity with the Polygon 2.0 ecosystem.

Citing Twitter user @CoinBrainCom, the top analytics platform for crypto traders said:

IDEX is poised to be a key player in the cryptocurrency market, offering users a fast, secure, and flexible trading experience that is tailored to their specific needs and preferences.

DeFi moves to Polygon

As the use for zkEVM continues to grow, the number of assets on the Polygon network continues to grow, with zkEVM currently supporting upwards of 20 tokens. Most of these are in Ethereum or USD Coin (USDC).

Data on DeFiLlama also corroborates the thesis, showing the total value locked (TVL) of zkEVM has been on a steady ascent since April to the current score of $28.49 million, as seen in the chart below:

TVL Polygon zkEVM   Source: DeFiLlama

This is a testament to the Polygon zkEVM's promise for MATIC holders, acting as a magnet for partners across DeFi and Web3, including API3, ankr, Biconomy, Etherscan, Sequence, and IDEX.