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Tsunami: A Decentralized Exchange Bringing Price Discovery to the Aptos Ecosystem

Tsunami is a decentralized exchange that aims to bring price discovery from off-chain sources onto the Aptos blockchain. It does this by using price oracles to provide global prices for assets like Bitcoin and USDC from an API feed on a centralized exchange like Binance, to enable traders to trade against these prices on the Aptos blockchain.

In addition to spot trading, Tsunami also offers leveraged trading by allowing users to borrow funds from the protocol to take long or short positions on assets.

As a service provider to Liquidswap, Tsunami aims to help bring prices on the Aptos ecosystem in line with global prices, making it easier for traders to make informed decisions.

Price Discovery in DeFi: DEXes and On-Chain Central Limit Order Books

Decentralized exchanges such as Uniswap have the potential to serve as trusted sources for price discovery in decentralized finance. However, it's important to consider the liquidity and risks of a particular trading venue to protect liquidity providers.

On-chain central limit order books are another potential solution for decentralized price discovery, but it's important to consider metrics such as liquidity and historical data to determine their trustworthiness and safety.

To ensure the safety of users, it is necessary to validate liquidity and volume by looking at time-weighted average liquidity and volume over a period of time and to be aware of potential attack vectors that could compromise these factors.

But what about assets that are considered "long tail," or those with less volume and liquidity? These assets may not have the same basket composition as more dominant assets like USDC, but that doesn't mean they can't be traded.  The idea of a "guarded launch" for these types of assets, where limits and fallback procedures are put in place to mitigate risk is being explored.

This approach could be especially useful for testing out new and untested assets in a real-world environment, while still maintaining safety measures. It's an exciting prospect and one that could potentially pave the way for even more innovation in trading cryptocurrencies.

Why Aptos?

One of the standout features of Aptos is its use of the Move programming language which is fast, intuitive, and provides a higher level of safety compared to other languages such as Solidity.

In addition to its programming language, Aptos also offers upgradeable contracts and a modular design, which promotes collaboration and sustainability within the ecosystem. This allows for more flexibility and scalability, as developers can easily update and expand upon existing decentralized applications without disrupting the entire network.

But Aptos's focus on accessibility doesn't stop with its developer-friendly features. The team behind Aptos also prioritizes low barriers to entry, to enable open access for all users. This includes efforts to improve the throughput and finality of transactions, ensuring that the network can handle a high volume of activity without causing delays or increased costs for users.

Gas Costs on Tsunami

The current cost of gas for transactions on the Tsunami testnet ranges between 6 to 12 cents per transaction. To reduce these costs and improve the overall efficiency of the platform, a proposal has been put forth to adopt a free market model for determining the cost of gas.

Under this model, the cost of gas would be based on market demand and would start at a low base cost, potentially as low as a thousandth of a penny. This approach aims to optimize throughput and reduce the occurrence of spam, ultimately leading to lower costs for users.

It is anticipated that the cost of gas on Tsunami will significantly decrease in the near future as a result of optimization efforts carried out by Aptos Labs, and the implementation of the proposed fee market model.

Engaging with the Ecosystem: The Key to Success in Crypto and Web 3

Community building is key for success in the crypto and web 3 space. Projects need to engage with and connect with other players in the ecosystem, as these relationships and connections can help to promote and support the project.

Twitter spaces and other online events allow for more personal and direct engagement with people in the industry, helping to foster a sense of community and belonging.

Anonymity and pseudonymity have long been a part of internet culture, and this is especially true in the crypto and web 3 space. However, the current bull market has seen a trend toward more open and identifiable online personas, as people become more comfortable sharing their identities and building genuine relationships with others in the industry.

The FTX Event and the Power of Crypto Twitter

The crypto industry has developed its own unique culture and set of values, particularly within the community on Twitter. This was particularly evident during the recent events involving the FTX exchange. While most traditional media outlets turned a deaf ear, it was largely the "citizen journalists" of crypto Twitter who worked to uncover and disseminate information about the event.

One aspect of this culture within the crypto community is a focus on decentralized finance and a skepticism of centralized finance.  This event and the actions of certain individuals involved – especially SBF – only served to reinforce these concerns.

While Sam might have had good intentions, there are allegations that he broke terms of service and commingled funds, which if true would be considered fraudulent behavior. However, Sam was also known for his work on legislation which some saw as problematic due to how he pursued these endeavors.

For example, he was accused of using his influence and connections to obtain licenses that may not have been available to other independent developers. As the dust settles on this event, it is important to reiterate the importance of decentralized exchanges over centralized exchanges.

One reason people continue to use centralized exchanges is for the convenience of on and off-ramp services, nevertheless, people need to consider the benefits of self-custody and move over to decentralized exchanges. For example, Tsunami is a  low-cost, high-throughput solution that allows for margin trading with cross-collateral margin trading, similar to the popular feature on FTX's perpetual.

Onboarding users to DeFi: Reliability Vs Gas Fees

While DeFi offers many benefits such as increased security and control over one's assets, it can also be intimidating for users who are not familiar with the technology. Reliability and gas fees also play a significant role in attracting new users. For instance, consider Solana and Aptos; while both offer high throughput, they differ in terms of reliability and fees.

Solana has been known to have some issues with chain health, leading to concerns about its reliability. However, its fees are significantly lower than those on Aptos. On the other hand, Aptos is more reliable but comes with a slightly higher price tag in terms of fees. This leaves users with a trade-off to consider: do they prioritize lower fees and potentially sacrifice some reliability, or pay more for a more reliable platform?

One factor that could sway users towards Aptos is the emergence of the fee market. This means that users are more likely to experience smooth operation on the Aptos platform, as the fees will be able to cover the cost of running the network. In contrast, Solana's lower fees may not always be sufficient to cover the cost of running the network, leading to issues with chain health.

Some solutions can be developed to further alleviate the gas costs that could be a barrier for many users. These include rebates and subsidized gas, as well as batching transactions through the use of roll-ups. As the infrastructure for high-level crypto applications continues to improve, we will likely see more people making the switch to DeFi.

NFTs as a gateway to DeFi

Many people, particularly on platforms like Solana, were onboarded to crypto through NFTs, which provided a relatively low-risk and low-commitment method of getting started.

Initially, people were drawn to NFTs as a form of speculation, buying them with the hope that they would increase in value. However, as they become more familiar with NFTs, they discover their utility as access tokens that unlock various perks and benefits on other protocols.

For example, an NFT may grant access to boosted yields on a decentralized exchange or lower fees for trading. In this way, NFTs serve as a way to onboard users to DeFi and introduce them to the benefits and potential of decentralized technologies. As more people become familiar with DeFi through NFTs, they may be more likely to use and engage with other DeFi protocols and services.

Aliens: Are We Them?

Have you ever stopped to consider the possibility that we humans may not be native to Earth? It may seem like a far-fetched idea, but if you think about it, many aspects of our history and technological advancements are shrouded in mystery.

For example, consider the pyramids. These ancient structures have stood for over 6,000 years, yet we still don't fully understand how they were built. And just recently, the discovery of Gobekli Tepe in Turkey revealed another ancient, massive stone structure that dates back 12,000 years – which predates the development of agriculture and the emergence of settled communities in the region.

This raises the question: what other ancient civilizations and structures have yet to be discovered?

Furthermore, the evolution of technology does not seem to follow a linear or exponential path. There are often missing chapters between major innovations. For instance, in the 1960s we made great strides in space travel and even landed on the moon, but for the next 50-70 years, there was a lull in progress. Similarly, electric cars were widely used in the early days of the automobile industry, but their popularity waned before seeing a resurgence in recent years.

Even modern advancements, such as cryptocurrency, can be traced back to earlier concepts. And when it comes to the world of video games, it's easy to forget that the industry is still in its infancy.

So, what does all of this mean? It's possible that humans are not as native to Earth as we may think. The jumps and mysteries in our history and technological development could suggest that we are, in fact, aliens to this planet. And if that's the case, it begs the question: where do we come from and what other civilizations may exist out there in the vast expanse of the universe?

ABOUT TSUNAMI

Tsunami is a margin trading and spot exchange platform that is powered by the Aptos blockchain. It is designed to offer users the ability to trade on margin with zero slippage, low fees, and small spreads. Tsunami is a great option for liquidity providers who are looking for higher yields and less risk compared to other automated market maker (AMM) platforms. Users of Pontem Wallet can connect to Tsunami and leverage the power of the Aptos blockchain through the Liquidswap DEX.

ABOUT PONTEM

Pontem is a product development platform that enables global financial inclusion through blockchain technology. Pontem is developing the infrastructure and decentralized tools necessary for the adoption of the fastest and most scalable layer-one blockchain – Aptos

The Pontem wallet is the gateway to the Aptos ecosystem and it is available as a Chrome extension,  Firefox extension, and an iOS application. Users of the Pontem wallet can send and receive tokens, connect to decentralized applications, and explore the Aptos ecosystem.

As a result of its partnership with Aptos, Pontem has developed the foundational dApps, EVMs (such as the Move Playground), AMMs (such as Liquidswap), and other infrastructure (such as ByteBabel) needed to adopt its layer one blockchain.