Synthetix founder launches Infinex to compete with centralized exchanges

Infinex, a Synthetix frontend designed to rival centralized exchanges, was announced by its founder Kain Warwick on July 14.

Infinex serves as a frontend to the existing derivatives liquidity protocol Synthetix, which operates in part on Optimism’s OP Mainnet. The new Infinex interface is intended to tackle three key obstacles: migrating users to Optimism, acquiring the sUSD stablecoin, and solving the need to sign every action.

Infinex aims to improve user experience

Infinex more broadly aims to streamline users’ DeFi experience while addressing prominent issues in the decentralized exchange (DEX) market. Warwick said that Infinex has a simple approach, stating: “Nothing is sacred but the user experience.”

Warwick said that while many are optimistic about DEXs outperforming centralized exchanges, DEXs still face challenges in competing with centralized exchanges. Therefore, Infinex plans to replicate the centralized exchange experience instead of waiting for improvements to crypto UX or waiting for users to be concerned with counterparty risk.

Infinex will feature two interfaces: a simple mode for novice traders and a pro mode for experienced users. It will generate revenue through incremental trading fees, integration fees via the Synthetix Integrators program, and fees from SNX’s role as a liquidity provider (LP). All revenues will be used to accumulate additional SNX, boosting Infinex’s SNX LP position as Infinex trading volumes increase.

This platform also intends to show that Synthetix Perps can compete with centralized exchanges based on past accomplishments. Following developments in 2022, Synthetix launched Perpetual Futures in 2023 to mitigate key DEX friction points such as high slippage, low liquidity, steep fees, and market risk for Liquidity Providers (LPs).

In terms of governance, the Account Relayer—operated by Infinex Governance—will act like an L2 sequencer by processing all transactions and ensuring each one has been signed before execution. The platform will not launch a new token for this purpose: instead, Infinex will use the existing SNX token for governance.

Infinex has opened a waitlist for beta testing. Select traders with margin caps can use the platform on a first-come, first-served basis, and a referral program is also offered.

Infinex’s connection to Synthetix is noteworthy

Infinex was created by Kain Warwick, who is also the founder of Synthetix. Synthetix itself has recognized the new project by writing: “Let’s welcome Infinex, the newest perps integrator, to the Synthetix Ecosystem” on Twitter.

Sythenetix is the 21st largest DeFi platform by total locked value (TVL), with $531.4 million locked at present. The platform’s native cryptocurrency, SNX, is currently among the top 60 cryptos and reports a market cap of $754 million.

As such, the launch of Infinex provides a new way to access a moderately large decentralized exchange and could revitalize a notable DeFi platform.