AIP 49: Create Exploratory Team to Recommend a Complete Multi-chain Strategy

[Koploseus]

Summary

• There has been demand for OTC and RFQ trades on L2 networks
• AirSwap should roll out all its swapping protocols on as many L2s as possible
• This AIP gives an overview of the current L2 / sidechain landscape
• AirSwap RFQ is already implemented on BSC (see AIP 24)
• AirSwap should prioritize establishing RFQ and OTC contracts on BSC and MATIC
• Optimistic rollups to be implemented next, followed by ZK rollups (if EVM compatible)

Specification

A team of developers and ambassadors will be created to explore the technical feasibility and market suitability of different chains. Devs will help to assess the technical integrations of AirSwap contracts on these other chains, while ambassadors will help to assess market conditions.

1. Developers to assess technical feasibility of each alternative
2. Ambassadors to engage potential integrations to ensure source of Takers
3. With potential integrations locked in, it would be easier to convince Makers to serve liquidity to these networks

BSC and MATIC networks are currently the only networks with all 3 parts in place and hence these could be used as pilot trials for AirSwap protocols. In parallel, we should also roll out our contracts on as many EVM compatible chains as possible, so that the Ambassadors can start to form horizontal networks in the DeFi space.

The technology of optimistic and zk roll ups are not quite ready for AirSwap contracts to be implemented yet. However, there is rapid development in space, and we will continue to monitor and be ready to roll out on these L2s once the technology is ready.

Rationale

AirSwap’s mission is to become the standard protocol for peer-to-peer trading. Many DeFi protocols have already started to build on L2 networks in order to take advantage of the cheaper fees and faster block times. We have already seen some demand from users who are looking to perform OTC trades on other networks but currently there is no protocol serving this demand.

AirSwap is well positioned to be the first mover to provide RFQ / OTC trades in these networks. In order to succeed at this mission, we need to understand the current landscape of L2 (or sidechain [understand the difference]) networks. This will help us to prioritize the implementation of AirSwap protocols on new networks.

Requirements

We require 3 things to generate volume on AirSwap :

1. Protocols

For AirSwap contracts to run smoothly, we need an EVM compatible chain with reliable short term timestamps. This will help makers to set a quote expiry (of approximately 3 minutes) with confidence. For example, block times on optimistic rollups like Arbitrum are not reliable in the short term (minutes) but are reliable in the long term (hours)

2. Makers

AirSwap has 4 or 5 professional market makers on mainnet serving liquidity behind the scenes. These Market Makers may not have the setup to serve liquidity on all chains

3. Takers

Presently, the bulk of AirSwap Takers are routed from MetaMask Swaps. However, in the future, we aim to diversify our pool of takers with our web-app and integrations with other DEX aggregators.

Landscape

Chain	Type	Market Size /24	Takers	Compatibility	Makers	Remarks
BSC	Sidechain	600M	MM Swaps	OK	Currently one maker already quoting	RFQ implemented
MATIC	Sidechain	60M	MM Swaps	OK	Few makers have voiced interest
AVAX	Sidechain	150M	None yet	C-CHAIN	None	Avax do promote DeFI integration + rewards on their chain
Fantom	Sidechain	50M	none yet	OK	None
Optimism	Optimistic rollup	3M	None Yet	Unreliable block times in minutes	None
Arbitrum	Optimistic rollup	16M	None Yet	Unreliable block times in minutes	None
zkSync	Zk rollup		None Yet	Coming soon	None
starkware	Zk rollup		None Yet	Coming soon	None
ICON	Sidechain/Crosschain	15M	Nonet Yet	Coming end of october	None
HECO	Sidechain	1B	None Yet	OK	None	Elastos is interested
Solana	Sidechain	154M	None Yet	OK	None

Copyright

Copyright and related rights waived via CC0.

[agriimony]

Like what Don mentioned, we can shift requirements and table up to Rationale, and leave recommendations under Specification

Also, can rename EVM tooling -> compatibility.

Otherwise looks good to go!

[Koploseus]

Updated.

[agriimony]

small formatting issue where "Takers" is different format than "Makers"

Small typos in "Market size / 24h" and "Compatibility"

[agriimony]

Changing this up to focus on establishing a team to assess suitability at the moment, suggesting

Specification

A team comprising of devs and ambassadors will be created to explore the technical and market suitability of different chains. Devs will help to assess the technical integrations of AirSwap contracts on these other chains, while ambassadors will help to assess market conditions.

[agriimony]

Chains will be assessed in the following manner

• The chain needs to be EVM compatible with reliable timestamps
• The chain needs to have sufficient volume and liquidity
• The chain needs to be supported by market makers