Recently I keep hearing about Transparent Exchanges (TEX). I know about Centralized Exchanges (CEX) and Decentralized Exchanges (DEX), but what is TEX? Does anyone have insights?
This article talks about their differences, but I'm still not quite clear. Does anyone have insights?https://medium.com/@Tsp_Exchange/what-is-tex-how-is-it-different-from-cex-and-dex-dfef89ac952c
The FTX collapse can be called the “Lehman Moment”,in which one of the top2 cryptocurrency exchange after Binance,stunned the entire crypto community.The cause of this event was the misappropriation of user assets, which brought about a crisis of trust in the entire industry.
This event highlights the vulnerability of the centralized financial system which forced many to reconsider the potential risks associated with the centralized exchanges(CEXs) because that we all know that FTX is not the first and will not be the last centralized exchange to experience challenges or collapse. Over the years, many centralized cryptocurrency platforms,including Celsius, BlockFi, Voyager, 3 AC, Axie Infinity, and Terra,they all have one thing in common that require users to trust them,and users can’t verify the truth of these platforms.
Some of the top exchanges, such as Binance and Coinbase, have faced challenges due to the event. In response, these exchanges have taken steps to demonstrate the safety and security of users’ assets and improve transparency and disclosure. One such measure is Proof of Reserve, which allows users to verify that the exchange holds the amount of cryptocurrency it claims to hold. However, Proof of Reserve is only a touchstone, and the long-term mechanism is the key. Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, proposed a solution to this problem in the form of the Merkle root proof scheme, but it also has limitations and potential flaws.
In fact,the lack of transparency is a fundamental problem for centralized institutions, including cryptocurrency exchanges such as FTX be. To address this problem,we should not rely on centralized institutions to prove their innocence, because the cost of doing evil is very low, and this kind of trust cannot be verified.it is important to prioritize real transparency, which involve using smart contracts to provide users with public, transparent and verifiable data and information.Real transparency is a necessary condition for their survival and for the advancement of the industry as a whole.
Transparency is Trust
To address the occurrence of such incidents, we cannot take enforcement measures after the damage has occurred, but take pre-emptive measures to protect users and funds before the incident occurs.
If FTX which are composed of smart contract protocols,can offer greater transparency, traceability, and verifiability on the chain, users have greater control over their funds, and there is no need for centralized custody of assets. This can help to eliminate many of the centralized risks, such as fraud, unauthorized access, and market manipulation.
Transparency and self-custody are essential features through smart contracts and code, and that these features can help to prevent incidents like the collapse of FTX.
Centralized entities can be opaque and difficult to assess from the outside. The bankruptcy procedure documents released by FTX show that the problem of changing the company had been worsening in the months leading up to the bankruptcy. The potential problems early on, before they escalate into a crisis or even they will not do evil at all, and eventually avoid it if the FTX is transparent and can be supervised by everyone. Transparency means trust, which makes it difficult for a centralized institution like FTX to do evil for a long time.
True on-chain transparency through smart contracts which is rooted in immutable code according to a specific protocol or system architecture, users can keep their own assets and still withdraw funds from the service, product or tool even if the project fail.
Transparency can help to promote confidence and security ,and can attract more users and investors to the industry because the cryptocurrency market is relatively new and lacks regulation.
TEX is the Future
You maybe will ask that we can use decentralized exchanges(DEXs) such as uniswap,however, it is important to consider whether DEXs can fully replace the function of centralized exchanges (CEXs) at this stage.
In the early stages of cryptocurrency development, CEXs such as Mt.Gox, Flexcoin, and Bitstamp experienced collapse, leading to financial losses for users. More recently, some CEXs like Celsius, BlockFi, and FTX have also faced bankrupt. Despite these issues, why users continue to trust CEXs?
One reason is that the existence of cost of trust (the cost that people need to pay to maintain trust and the loss caused by dishonesty) and optimism bias.The cost of trust refers to the cost that individuals need to pay to maintain trust in a particular entity, and the loss caused by dishonesty. CEXs often have a trust cost due to their opacity and unverifiability. However, this cost is usually not apparent during normal operations, and the centralized exchange does not need to pay the trust cost in advance.Then the cost to maintain trust is very small because as long as the user are willing to trust the exchange,but the loss caused by dishonesty is huge, and the loss is after the fact, and users will not immediately experience the trust cost they are bearing.
There is also a general phenomenon of optimism bias,where individuals tend to believe that they are less likely to experience negative events than others,and they are unwilling to believe in the exchange they choose will be collapse.Therefore, due to the trust cost of CEXs , coupled with the widespread optimism bias,even when more and more CEXs collapse , users may still be reluctant to switch to a new centralized exchange that they perceive as being more trustworthy.
Additionally,the user experience differences between DEXs and CEXs. DEXs currently require more technical knowledge and multiple steps for users to trade, including private key management and wallet interaction, which can be daunting for new users. In contrast, CEXs offer a more traditional Web2 model, with a familiar registration and KYC process, consistent user habits, and lower education costs for users.However, it is important to note that abandoning CEXs is not the solution, as they come with various potential frauds and risks, as well as centralized control.
So, is there a new type of exchange that combines the transparency and security of decentralized exchanges (DEXs) with the centralized user experience of centralized exchanges (CEXs)?That is Transparency Exchange(TEX) where all transactions are executed through smart contracts, and the code is open source. Some of the features that enable this Transparency include:
1. Data transparency.Which means all transaction data will be publicly visible and verifiable on the blockchain, including the current price,trading volume of each trading pair, the time, quantity, price of each transaction, and the asset balance of each user.Data transparency also allows users to monitor the performance of their orders and transactions and make informed decisions based on the most current information available.
2. Trading activities transparency.Unlike centralized exchanges, where trading activities may be opaque or hidden from public view, TEX trading activities are recorded on the blockchain and are publicly visible to anyone. This means that users can see all of the details of their trades, including the price, volume, and timing of each transaction. It also means that the market demand and supply, reflected in the order book, are transparent and available for anyone to see. Trading activities transparency allows users to verify that their trades are executed as expected and that the market conditions are fair and unbiased.
3. Real-time transparency.Unlike CEXs, where transaction data and order book information may be delayed or selectively disclosed, TEX transactions and trading activities are recorded on the blockchain in real-time and can be viewed publicly by anyone. This means that users can see the latest market data and trading activities as they happen, providing a more accurate and up-to-date picture of the market conditions.
This transparency is one of the core features of Transparency Exchange(TEX) , which can improve the fairness and credibility.
At the same time, self-custody of assets is another important aspect of Transparency Exchange(TEX) . unlike the centralized exchanges (CEXs) where users need to trust a third party to hold and manage their assets,in TEX, users have full control and ownership of their assets, and they are stored in their own wallets.
TEX offers a centralized trading experience that is convenient and user-friendly, while also ensuring transparency and security. Some of the features that enable this user experience include:
1. Easy registration and login: Users can quickly create accounts and conduct transactions through mobile phone numbers or emails.
2. Modern user interface: TEX provides an intuitive trading page, trading depth chart, and market data, which allow users to quickly understand market dynamics and execute transactions.
3. Mobile application (APP):TEX offers a mobile application, which allows users to trade anytime, anywhere, providing convenience and speed.
4. Various trading tools and functions: TEX provides various trading tools and functions, such as limit orders, market orders, stop-loss orders, trailing stop orders, etc., which enable users to execute transactions more flexibly and control risks.
In the future, transparency will not only be limited to exchanges, but will also extend to the entire financial industry. This will mark the arrival of TransFi (Transparency Finance), where transparency will be the norm. The crisis of trust in CeFi will serve as a catalyst for the real TEX. The narrative of transparent trust and centralized experience that drives TEX could become the driving force behind the development of TransFi, and bring about the real TEX soon.
The transparency and centralized trading experience offered by a future transparent exchange (TEX) will be a paradigm change for the entire financial system, and that the scale of TEX will surpass that of centralized exchanges (CEXs), eventually leading to the replacement of decentralized finance (DeFi) by transparent finance (TransFi) in the cryptocurrency industry.
https://medium.com/@Tsp_Exchange/if-you-dont-want-to-meet-ftx-collapses-you-should-know-about-transparency-exchange-tex-56caef3c2eb2
