0x is an infrastructure protocol enabling users to seamlessly trade ERC20 tokens and various assets across multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, without relying on centralized intermediaries. It serves as a protocol for decentralized exchange. 0x delivers this decentralized exchange capability through a suite of open-source, publicly auditable smart contracts. These contracts collectively provide a flexible, low-friction trading protocol that developers can easily integrate into their products. The protocol is utilized by companies developing web3 applications such as wallets, DEXes, portfolio trackers, and more. It is employed by hundreds of developers for their projects and has facilitated over $200 billion in trading volume since its inception. Its usage can be tracked through the dedicated platform explorer found at https://explorer.0x.org/. The protocol is driven by an ERC20 governance token known as ZRX. Holders of ZRX tokens can engage in protocol governance, allowing them to have direct influence over protocol changes and the community treasury.

0x Protocol was established in 2016 by Will Warren and Amir Bandeali. Will Warren currently serves as the CEO, while Amir Bandeali holds the position of CTO. The platform was launched after a successful initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017, which raised a total of $24 million. This achievement was backed by significant investment firms, including Polychain Capital, Pantera Capital, and FBG Capital. Before the sell-out ICO, Will Warren engaged in various research roles and briefly served as a technical advisor for Basic Attention Token (BAT). Amir Bandeali graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and occupied several trading positions before co-founding 0x. Today, the 0x team comprises over 30 professionals, including engineers, researchers, and designers, who are dedicated to updating the platform and maintaining its smooth operation.

Unlike many other decentralized exchange protocols on Ethereum, 0x supports both fungible tokens (ERC20) and non-fungible tokens (ERC-723). This capability allows for the permissionless trading of a diverse array of assets, enabling holders to buy, sell, and exchange the majority of Ethereum assets through over a dozen different applications. The 0x protocol is versatile and applicable to various use cases, including eBay-style marketplaces for digital goods and services, over-the-counter (OTC) trading desks, exchange functionality for decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, and traditional decentralized exchanges. While 0x can be leveraged to develop highly adaptable exchange products, it can also be integrated into products where asset exchange is a secondary feature, such as in-game purchases and portfolio management platforms. On the 0x protocol, liquidity takers are required to pay a fee using ZRX tokens — this fee is employed to incentivize liquidity provision by market makers (or relayers). Additionally, users are obligated to pay a protocol fee in Ether (ETH), which covers the gas costs incurred during transactions. As an open-source protocol, 0x does not receive any portion of this revenue and is instead supported by ZRX tokens allocated for team and developer incentives, along with its initial ICO funding.

The ZRX token, like many digital assets, has a fixed maximum supply that will never be surpassed, set at 1 billion ZRX. Currently, approximately three-quarters of this maximum supply is in circulation, with a small portion allocated for staking rewards. 0x Protocol has not publicly disclosed the emission rate for new ZRX tokens, which presents a challenge in predicting when the circulating supply will become fully diluted. When the token was launched in August 2017, 50% of the circulating supply was released. By October 2020, this had increased to 75%, suggesting that full dilution could occur in the early 2020s. According to an early blog post by 0x CEO Will Warren, 50% of the total ZRX token supply was sold to investors during the 2017 ICO. In addition, 15% is allocated to the 0x core development organization and another 15% to an external project development fund. A further 10% is reserved for the founding team, with a four-year vesting schedule and a one-year cliff. The remaining 10% is held for early backers and advisors.

0x Protocol is developed on the Ethereum blockchain, ensuring protection from attacks through the extensive collaboration of Ethereum's extensive miner and node network. Regarding the smart contracts, version 3 of the protocol has undergone audits by several third-party firms to identify any potential vulnerabilities, backdoors, or redundant functions. Among the auditors was ConsenSys Diligence, and no significant issues were discovered. Nonetheless, a vulnerability was identified in the v2.0 smart contract, which was subsequently rectified by the 0x core team. This issue was uncovered by an independent researcher and was not exploited. 0x maintains a robust bug bounty program to detect and rectify any issues before they can be exploited. For more detailed information, refer to Eulerpool.

ZRX is presently available for trading on more than 200 exchange platforms, with the most prominent being Coinbase Pro, Binance, and BitMax. It can be traded against a variety of other cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT), and Ethereum (ETH), as well as several fiat currencies, including U.S. dollars (USD), euros (EUR), and South Korean won (KRW). Interested in converting your fiat to crypto? Discover the process.