First DEX on Internet Computer launches, others coming soon

The first decentralized exchange on the Dfinity Foundation’s Internet Computer blockchain went live this week, following up on the recent release of a new whitepaper. And according to information shared with Cointelegraph, there are already two other exchanges in the works.

The first version of the new DEX called Sonic launched to mainnet on Sunday. There are initially only three pools for token swaps using its native token Internet Computer Protocol (ICP): InterICP/WICP (wrapped ICP), ICP/XTC (Cycles Token), and WICP/XTC. Users can also earn rewards for providing liquidity.

— DFINITY Foundation (@dfinity) January 22, 2022

Dfinity Head of Comms Michael Less told Cointelegraph that Sonic plans to redefine what it truly means to be an example of decentralized finance (DeFi). Sonic has sub-one second transaction finality and is entirely run on the IC’s public blockchain network without any gas fees.

“It is completely running on a public blockchain, where it cannot be shut down — you can’t shut it down, it runs perpetually,” he said, explaining that its current primary focus is an upcoming integration with Ethereum, which is slated for Q3 this year.

“You’re going to be able to bring your Ethereum assets into Sonic, and it will be like Uniswap but with no gas fees and lightning fast.”

There are already plans for a Sonic V2, which will add a token Launchpad, DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) tools, and its own native SONIC governance token. The launch date for Sonic V2 is yet to be confirmed.

According to information shared with Cointelegraph, there are at least two other DEXs that will be joining Sonic on the IC “in the next few weeks”, including InfinitySwap and ICP Swap.

Internet Computer is a public blockchain and protocol aimed at running a truly decentralized internet by allowing developers to install smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps) directly on the blockchain.

It was incubated and launched after years in development by Dfinity in May 2021 – a nonprofit based in Zurich.

The new white paper “The Internet Computer for Geeks” released on Jan 21 goes back to basics, explaining the fundamentals of how the IC uses smart contracts to power the emerging Web 3.0 decentralized ecosystem.

Related: Internet Computer: Correction risk rises after ICP price gains nearly 60% in 5 days

According to Dfinity, there are over a thousand developers building on the IC blockchain. Projects include social media DApps such as Desocial, DSCVR and Distrikt; Metavserse projects such as PokedStudios and IC Gallery, and gamefi projects such as Cube Run and MetaSports Basketball.