Swarm Markets, which operates a compliant decentralized trading exchange (DEX), today announces it is available to the general public. This is the first unified platform where both retail and institutional investors will be able to trade securities alongside crypto.
The launch comes as total value locked in DeFi platforms has swelled to almost $90 billion, according to DeFi Pulse, since summer 2020, and regulators across the globe begin to crackdown on unlicensed crypto platforms.
Swarm Markets operates under Swarm Capital GmbH Branch Office Berlin, and is supported by Swarm Markets GmbH (together “Swarm Markets”).
Co-founder of Swarm Markets, Philipp Pieper, said, “We have the privilege of working with some of the most progressive legal minds in the crypto space and have been engaging in an ongoing dialogue with regulators for the past two years, interpreting securities laws and applying them to assets on the Blockchain.
“Regulators are starting to see the benefits of integrating traditional markets with blockchain technology, namely the transparency of transactions so regulators can lift the hood themselves and see what is happening in real time, reducing their reliance on companies reporting to them.”
The platform employs the same know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) protocols as other licensed financial service providers like banks, removing counterparty risk for users and enabling it to welcome new types of market participants and assets to DeFi.
Early adopters of the platform will enjoy greater rewards for adding liquidity and trading. Rewards are paid out weekly and boosts are available for users who hold SMT, the Swarm Markets payment token that facilitates efficient transactions on the platform. The platform reimburses gas fees on all transactions involving trading and adding liquidity.
Similar to other DeFi protocols, users on Swarm Markets can enjoy networked liquidity with self-custody.
Timo Lehes, co-founder of Swarm Markets, added, “The opening of Swarm Markets is a historic step to move corporate cryptocurrency trading out of its legal gray area and offers sophisticated institutional investors and their clients the full scope of benefits from trading digital assets, including the high APYs attendant to DeFi, for the very first time.
“There are several layers of uncertainty that need to be addressed with compliance in order to build trust. More than just a DEX with KYC, our compliance status means we can onboard new assets and participants into the DeFi ecosystem that others cannot. We believe assets on the Blockchain can provide the same consumer protections as in traditional finance without sacrificing the benefits of innovation.
“Our goal is to integrate traditional markets with Blockchain technology. Not only can existing market infrastructure be replicated on the Blockchain with greater efficiencies, but this technology will enable traders and asset holders to do more and have greater autonomy over the markets they want to participate in.”
Ethereum, Wrapped Bitcoin, SMT, DAI and USDC are currently available on the platform, with new types of assets being introduced in the near future. Swarm Markets launched its liquidity provider programme in July 2021. To date, nearly 2,000 people have registered for the programme, pledging over $100 million in aggregated assets.
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About Swarm
Swarm is a blockchain platform that brings novel digitization and trading solutions to the world of traditional finance. It is the first organization in the world to offer digitized treasury bills and Apple stock via a compliant and decentralized platform. Day to day, we work with real-world-asset owners to tokenize collateral and build trading infrastructure in a compliant way.
Swarm is a hybrid, embracing the advantages of blockchain-trading – flexibility, speed and efficiency – and pairing it with the trust and asset-range typically enjoyed by traditional exchanges. Swarm aims to integrate TradFi with DeFi so that everything becomes “Fi”. For more information, visit the website.
