KuCoin AMA With ZKX (ZKX) — The Social Revolution in Perpetual Futures Trading

Dear KuCoin Users,

Time: June 18, 2024, 12:00 PM - 1:04 PM (UTC)

KuCoin hosted an AMA (Ask-Me-Anything) session featuring the Founder of ZKX, Eduard Jubany Tur, in the KuCoin Exchange Group.

Official Website: https://zkx.fi/
Whitepaper: https://docs.zkx.fi/zkx-docs

Follow ZKX on X, Telegram and Discord

Q: Can you tell us about yourself and give an overview of ZKX?

Eduard: Of course. (So), as per my background and the team's background, we have long-term experience in technology and venture capital across Europe, Middle East and Asia. Some of us have worked for big tech, some of us have worked in crypto, and (some,) a mix of both. (As for myself,) I have been working out of Asia for over 10 years now. I started tinkering with Bitcoin and blockchain around 2014, and went full-time into the industry around 2016.

We had a unique experience working with SOSV, a billion dollar venture capital fund from the USA, that has an extensive portfolio of startups in Asia. The star of the portfolio was Bitmex. We saw the rise of crypto derivatives and we understood that new solutions were required to scale DeFi for millions of users across emerging markets like Turkey, Vietnam, and Nigeria.

This is why we decided to build ZKX, to offer a DeFi experience that would truly be fun, yet serious and trustworthy for the users from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East that have been driving crypto adoption since the start.

ZKX is a mix of GameFi and SocialFi delivered as a perp DEX where you have trading competitions, battles and can trade perps in a fun way.

As a DEX, we focus on gamification, scalability, and self-custody. We built an infrastructure that scales across DeFi verticals. The aim is to make trading social by perfecting both the backend and the user experience. With OG Trade, our gamified terminal, users can jump into 30-minute PvP battles and compete for volume, profit, or losses. For the hardcore traders, Pro Trade offers 24-hour competitions with advanced tools.

This setup turns trading into a social and competitive experience, where you can see other traders’ moves, compare strategies, and track progress on live leaderboards.

Check out the terminals here: OG and Pro Trade.

Q: What are the standout features of ZKX that differentiate it from other exchanges?

Eduard: I think our differentiator is how we transform the conventional trading experience into an engaging and responsive experience, setting it apart from other decentralized exchanges.

From a user's perspective, we offer a unique and dynamic trading experience. At ZKX, we host 30-minute trading competitions in a PvP (Player vs. Player) battle mode, where users compete based on volume, profit, and losses.

Unlike most trading terminals, which tend to offer a static user experience, our OG Trade gamified trading terminal is designed to evolve interactively as users trade. Whether a user gets liquidated, makes a profit, or incurs a loss, the terminal responds with different reactions and prompts, enhancing engagement through tailored feedback and gamified elements.

This dynamic system adapts to the user's actions, providing an exciting, personalized trading journey that continuously evolves based on their trading behavior.

Q: Could you explain the tokenomics of $ZKX and its core utility within the ZKX ecosystem?

Eduard: Sure, $ZKX is designed to be the governance token of our platform, giving our community the power to guide the protocol's development. You can also stake $ZKX which allows users to earn a share of the protocol’s revenue in USDC, fostering long-term benefits and incentivizing active participation in the ecosystem.

The intention behind our tokenomics is to create a fair ownership mechanism that benefits token stakers and traders alike. Our approach is strategic—we’ve consciously avoided the pitfalls of over-tokenization, focusing instead on a sustainable token model. We want $ZKX to be in the hands of our most active community members and traders. That's why we've allocated 33% of the circulating supply at the time of launch.

For more details, you can check out this link.

Q: How does ZKX leverage Web3 technology to provide a unique and engaging experience for its users?

Eduard: At ZKX, we focus on three key elements: gamification, scalability, and self-custody.

Self-Custody

Since we’ve created our own ZKX account using account abstraction, it allows users to log in easily without sharing personal information. This self-custodial account ensures you have full control over your account at all times.

Scalability

To achieve the scalability of a centralized exchange (CEX) while ensuring safety, we opted for the appchain model. Think of the appchain as a customizable blockchain tailored to our needs. This includes an internal oracle, an API, and an order book, which are all key features for its exchange operations.What makes ZKX unique is how it integrates with both Layer 1 (L1) and Layer 2 (L2) smart contracts. This ensures that everything stays secure and unchangeable. When you make a trade on L2 or L1, the appchain processes it and sends back the results. But all the funds remain safely on L1 or L2, using account abstraction. This setup keeps the value of transactions secure while making sure the system can handle many transactions efficiently.

Gamification

This architecture allows us to add another layer of gamification and different UIs for various types of traders. It's challenging to scale derivatives without an appchain model, something we realized about two years ago from our testnet insights. Our multi-layered approach, which we adopted two years ago, is now the industry standard.

Q: With the Token Generation Event (TGE) set for June 19th, what should participants expect during the launch, and how can they get involved?

Eduard: We're just one day away from the TGE, and there's a lot in store for participants. Here’s what you can expect and how you can get involved:

Listings

$ZKX will be listed on KuCoin, Gate.io, and Bitget.

Trading Competitions

From June 19th to June 26th, 2024, you can participate in our trading competitions that we are doing with you guys which has a prize pool of 20,000 USDC. It's a great opportunity to get involved and potentially earn some rewards.

There will also be multiple campaigns that we will be running without listing exchanges, so stay tuned to our X (Twitter) announcement in the next few weeks. Of course, we also welcome everyone to come and try our platform.

Q: What approaches has the team taken to cultivate and maintain an active and engaged community?

Eduard: Currently, we are hosting ongoing trading competitions on the OG Trade and Pro Trade platforms. These competitions are open to everyone and allow participants to trade and earn a lot of ZKX tokens. Additionally, traders will become eligible for Stark rewards, which will be available in the next few months.

The incentives are particularly appealing due to the dual token rewards system, which offers a high API and presents a tangible opportunity for active traders. Participants in OG Trade also have the chance to earn OG Trade NFT badges, which are part of the criteria for airdrop eligibility.

Furthermore, ZKX has introduced a referral program that rewards users with USDC based on the new users they bring to the platform. Check it out here.

We have recently partnered with Galxe for a quest campaign as well, with the idea to tap into new users for ZKX and of course for Galxe users to explore ZKX. It was a great campaign and we are going to do a new one soon in the coming months.

Q: What are the key differences between the OG Trade and Pro Trade exchanges offered by ZKX, and which types of traders are they each designed to serve?

Eduard: OG Trade is our way of redefining what's considered standard in the trading world. Traditional trading platforms have become somewhat stagnant, often looking and functioning the same. With OG Trade, we aimed to break this mold by introducing elements of gamification to make the trading experience more engaging and exciting. This platform is designed for all types of traders, especially those new to ZKX and DeFi. By making the interface more dynamic and the features more accessible, we're lowering the entry barriers for everyday crypto users. It's particularly geared towards users in regions like Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. We've simplified the features, cut out the technical jargon, and embraced a user-friendly approach. OG Trade is all about providing an exciting and sustainable entry into the world of perpetual swaps and DeFi.

On the other hand, Pro Trade is built for the more experienced traders—those who need advanced tools and features. It offers all types of orders, complex trading features, and public APIs. This platform caters to experienced traders, whales, and prop trading firms. So, while OG Trade is about making trading fun and accessible for casual users and degens, Pro Trade is tailored to the needs of professional traders. Despite these differences, both platforms share a single order book but feature different UIs to suit their respective user bases.

In essence, OG Trade and Pro Trade are two sides of the same coin, each designed to serve the distinct needs of different types of traders.

Q: It's said that ZKX is aiming to make perps social. Can you share a little bit of your vision?

Eduard: Our vision is to make DeFi accessible and social for everyone. We aim to bring a new experience to derivatives by integrating a social aspect into Perps. Currently, the Perp market lacks differentiation, and we want ZKX to stand out as a platform where you can follow your favorite trader and replicate their success.

This vision is reflected in our 2024 roadmap, which includes features like Copy trading and Prediction Markets. Each product we introduce is designed to bring SocialFi elements into DeFi, creating a more engaging and collaborative trading experience.

Q: Does the project have regional chats for project participants and subscribers from different countries? If so, can you please post the links. If not, do you plan to create them, and which countries will be the most priority?

Eduard: We take great pride and care in serving our users in each of their languages. Our platform is translated into more than 10 languages: Bahasa, Chinese, Turkish, Vietnamese, Russian and more. On our Discord, we also have regional channels where you can talk to other users and ask any questions on the platform. You can check them out here.

Q: Can you share your social media links so we can keep ourselves updated?

Eduard: Here is the link to our socials: X (Twitter), Telegram and Discord.

Q: How does the project plan to sustain long-term value for its token, and what strategies are in place to ensure a steady growth in profitability for token holders?

Eduard: ZKX staking will go live tomorrow with the KuCoin listing. Anyone can deposit their ZKX tokens to ZKX and stake them to earn the revenue share from the platform. As traders use the platform and more USDC is earned, the more is shared to the ZKX token stakers.

Q: Beyond your core features, what's a hidden gem in your project that most users might miss?

Eduard: The $STRK APY for trading on ZKX right now is over 40%. Traders earn $STRK to trade on ZKX too, the campaign will last until later this year.

Q: Can you provide details about any security audits conducted on your project? How do you prioritize and address potential vulnerabilities to ensure the safety of users' funds and data?

Eduard: We have conducted two audits with Nethermind Security, which are available on our website. We take great care in making sure the funds are SAFU, that's why the main accounts of ZKX users are self-custodial and sitting on L2 and Ethereum.

🎁 Participate in the ZKX AMA quiz now for a chance to win $10 in ZKX.

The form will remain open for five days from publishing this AMA recap.

KuCoin and ZKX have prepared a total of $2,000 in ZKX to give away to AMA participants.

1. Pre-AMA activity: $800 in ZKX

2. Free-ask section: $50 in ZKX

3. Flash mini-game: $400 in ZKX

4. Post-AMA quiz: $750 in ZKX

Sign up for a KuCoin account if you haven’t done so yet, and ensure you complete your KYC verification to be eligible for the rewards.

Follow us on Twitter, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit.