Blockchain protocol Linear Finance has completed the final phase of its product roll-out by launching its exchange mainnet. Built on Binance Smart Chain and integrated with oracle solution Band Protocol, the interoperable platform enables users to manage and trade a variety of synthetic assets.
The newly-launched Linear Exchange features a range of tradeable synthetic asset pairs, with spot cryptocurrency and gold (XAU) and silver (XAU) both supported from the outset. The base currency of the platform is ℓUSD, which can be minted to purchase assets – referred to as Liquids – or moved to other protocols. Users can also create their own Liquids on the platform.
Building Out a Decentralized Ecosystem
The trading exchange joins a suite of decentralized applications (dApps) released by Linear in recent months, including Buildr and LinearSwap. The former, which went live in December after months of extensive testing, allows users to buy and stake $LINA tokens, which can in turn be used to mint ℓUSD whilst earning rewards. LINA tokens also confer governance rights over the direction of the protocol via the Linear DAO.
LinearSwap, meanwhile, is a custom-built, cross-chain swap mechanism that can be utilized to convert Linear tokens into other ERC20 crypto-assets.
According to a post published on the company’s Medium page, the Linear team “will continue to expand functionality within Buildr and the Exchange, and also bring additional synthetic assets for users to trade with the help of Band Protocol.” Cross-chain decentralized oracle Band Protocol provides price feeds to the exchange, ensuring users can cost-effectively trade while relying on up-to-the-minute pricing data.
Being built on Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Linear seeks to offer traders an alternative to Ethereum, the smart contract platform that has become notorious for sky-high transaction fees during busy periods. Linear plans to integrate with other blockchains in the near future including Polkadot.
LINA Tokens Surge on Open Market
The launch of the Linear exchange platform coincides with the listing of $LINA on popular derivatives exchange FTX. The token will be available for trading on both the spot market (LINA/USD Stablecoin) and futures market (LINA-PERP). $LINA was one of the best-performing exchange tokens in January, its value rising by 282%. The price of LINA has increased by over 1,000% in the past three months.
Linear Finance has been backed by a range of high-profile funds including the likes of NGC Ventures, Hashed, Genesis Block Ventures, CMS and Alameda Research and others, who together contributed $1.8 million to the company’s latest seed round.
Strong trade volume continues to be seen in decentralized finance, though traders have complained about the excessive gas fees and slow confirmation times associated with the Ethereum network. Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Liquid went so far as to temporarily disable ETH withdrawals, saying service would resume once gas fees returned to normal levels. One of the biggest success stories of the defi space has been decentralized exchange (DEX) Uniswap, whose native token has appreciated by over 1,300% since being issued last September.
Protocols like Linear seek to onboard crypto-curious traders, offering them the ability to speculate on both digital assets and familiar primitives such as commodities, indices, and forex.
Linear Finance Ceo Kevin Tai said, “The team has proudly launched our full suite of dApps, welcoming DeFi users to a synthetic asset protocol that is not only fast and cost-effective to use but also cross-chain compatible between Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain. We have an exciting journey ahead of us as we continue to build additional functionality, integrate with other public blockchains like Polkadot and introduce more synthetic Liquids for users to trade. We are committed to providing institutional level information, transparency and research to the DeFi community.”
Disclaimer: the writer has a personal relationship with the Linear team and used this relationship to source insights for this article. This article is not financial advice and is educational in nature. Please consult your financial advisor before investing in any digital currencies or projects.
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