ZKX founder Eduard Jubany Tur on perpetual futures, the growth of DeFi in Asia and how DeFi can democratize finance

Last updated: May 10, 2024, 10:55 a.m. EDT | 4 minutes of reading

Eduard Jubany Tur, the founder of ZKXa decentralized and perpetual futures exchange on Starknetsat down for an exclusive interview with Cryptonews Podcast.

He spoke about the growth of the crypto industry in Asia, home to most of the early adopters, and the region’s key importance to the industry.

Tur also discussed the differences between crypto users in Asia and the rest of the world, noting that most people are nonetheless still on centralized exchanges rather than in DeFi.

It is currently difficult to get people to migrate to DeFi given its overall complexity, but there are clear solutions, Tur noted.

Crypto Growth Begins in Asia

While working in venture capital, Tur was based in Taiwan, which gave him a clear view of the Asian market, he said.

He has helped startup founders in various countries including Indonesia, India, Thailand, Korea and China.

Through this work, he was able to discover the strengths of each country and the specific issues each faces.

Notably, the data showed that “the bulk of crypto growth has historically come from these markets in Asia.”

Most of the centralized exchanges we know today and many projects originated in Asia.

However, what Tur and his colleagues found was that centralized exchanges were very successful in targeting users in emerging markets.

On the other hand, DeFi projects have not.

Cryptofolks in Asia are very different from the rest of the world

There are key differences between Asia and other parts of the world, Tur explained.

The first is demographics. Asia has a much younger population, whose purchasing power is also growing massively. They begin to have more disposable income to invest.

Another notable factor is that Asia has many more people who take risks. They are more willing to try new things and adopt new technologies.

“It makes a huge difference when it comes to overall crypto adoption,” Tur said.

However, each country also has its own unique characteristics.

For example, South Korea and Japan are huge markets for crypto. People here are more willing to hold coins for the long term and are often passive investors.

China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are moving more towards derivatives and leveraged trading. There are more risk takers here.

The Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam are also key markets where people have started farming new coins. People here may have less disposable income, but are still willing to invest and offer asymmetric bets in the ecosystem.

Additionally, some Asian governments have been relatively crypto-friendly, which has encouraged industry growth and crypto adoption.

That said, it is important to note that most of these users “are still very much oriented towards centralized exchanges”.

Getting people off centralized exchanges and onto DeFi

Millions of users are present on centralized exchanges, and only a few hundred thousand are actively trading in DeFi, Tur noted.

Changing this will require many improvements across the entire DeFi user experience.

A key element is account obstruction. It will provide users with a way to replicate Web2 experiences, but with the benefits of Web3.

There are a lot of interesting design possibilities around account obstruction that should really simplify onboarding, Tur noted.

Another key element is location. This involves providing products in local languages ​​and adapting them to the needs of users in each particular area.

Finally, DeFi has a developer-oriented culture. While this makes sense at the beginning of an industry, it’s time to move to a user-centric approach.

It is therefore necessary to create simple, understandable and attractive products that provide value to users. This way, new users will arrive on DeFi on their own.

This is the part of the cycle we will face in the coming years, Tur said.

Even the losers are rewarded

There is now a need for innovation that will push users towards DeFi, away from centralized exchanges.

A gradual improvement of infrastructure would not be enough. What is needed is innovation in user experience.

Most trading experiences in DeFi are now boring, Tur said. They are just trading terminals without a dynamic and engaging experience.

Therefore, ZKX’s mission is to make trading social and gamified within DeFi, Tur noted. This may encourage users to start trading within DeFi.

ZKX, for example, held 30-minute trading competitions with three ranking categories: volume, profit and loss.

This means that even losses benefit from some incentives, because these traders also contribute to the health of the protocol, Tur said.

It’s a balance that the platform has strived to build: being a serious, scalable, reputable and trustworthy platform within DeFi, but still simple and fun.

____

That’s not all.

In this interview, Tur also discussed:

• his pre-crypto background and Web2 experience;
• mining Bitcoin in 2014;
• building geolocation and digital mapping services on the blockchain, now one of DePIN’s use cases;
• why the team decided to create ZKX on Starknet;
• 30-minute ZKX trading competitions;
• perpetual swaps and futures contracts, and how they differ from each other and from other trading instruments;
• create user-centric platforms that cater to traders of all levels, encouraging engagement while ensuring accessibility.

You can Watch the full interview here.

__________

About Eduard Jubany Tur

Eduard Jubany Tur is the founder of ZKXa decentralized and perpetual futures exchange on Starknet.

His background in technology and finance has led him to address some of DeFi’s most pressing challenges, such as accessibility and user engagement.

With the aim of making DeFi more accessible and efficient, Tur has been at the forefront of integrating gamification into trading, improving the learning curve with innovative solutions.

Beyond that, Tur and ZKX also leverage Starknet for its scalability, advancing commerce with security and transparency and fostering community governance.

Source