In the midst of one of the biggest market slumps crypto’s seen for a long time, there are still the occasional good news stories to share. While the bear market is no fun for investors playing the long game, it’s a time that allows legitimate blockchain companies to get the hard work done and scale up for mass adoption.

That’s exactly what Digitex Futures has been doing, spending this year working to build the world’s first commission-free futures trading exchange with a Beta launch in the new year. And they currently have more than 500K users signed up to their Early Access Waitlist!

The launch date marks exactly one year from the company’s record-breaking ICO that sold out in just 17 minutes and will be available to the first 5,000 names on the list. To ensure that momentum keeps on growing for the exchange, the company has taken viral marketing up a notch by allowing traders to bump themselves up the list and earn a place among the first 5,000.

To do this, they have to refer a friend to sign up; the more they refer, the higher up they go. Not only does this give them a chance to start trading on the platform sooner by testing out the Beta launch, but they will also be airdropped 1,000 DGTX to play around with. The top 10 names will each receive a massive 100K DGTX to start trading with!

What’s So Special About Digitex Futures?

There’s quite a lot to get excited about when considering this particular blockchain project. No, it’s not just another exchange. It’s not even just another futures exchange (although the market is sorely in need of one). Current crypto futures exchanges include CME, BitMEX, and OKEx. None of them offer commission-free trading, a one-click trading interface or decentralized account balances.

Digitex is breaking the mold by covering the cost of commission fees for traders. With a CEO experienced as a pit trader in the 90s in London and short-term scalper, Adam Todd recalls the times that he would often see his profitable days wiped out by cripplingly high commission fees.

“I always dreamed of a way to trade without commission fees,” he says, “but it was always just a dream until I found out about Ethereum, the missing piece of the puzzle.”

Short term traders will be particularly drawn to Digitex Futures because the exchange allows them to accumulate small profits over a short long period of time. This is not possible if traders have to pay commission on every transaction or scratch trade.

The Native DGTX Token

Of course, the first question that springs to mind is how the exchange is able to cover the cost of commission-free trading. They do so through their native token, DGTX. All balances are denominated in DGTX and wins and losses paid out in it.

This creates a constant demand for the DGTX token and guarantees liquidity for the exchange. It also means that the token price will go up as more and more traders use the exchange. By minting a small amount of DGTX tokens every two years based on a community vote, the exchange is planning for major onboarding of new users.

Decentralized Account Balances

Slated for Spring of 2019, Digitex will be stepping things up a gear by providing decentralized account balances for its traders and becoming fully non-custodial. This will make Digitex a truly hybrid exchange in which traders can enjoy the very best in speed and usability with all the security of a trustless, non-custodial exchange.

Digitex will not hold on to traders’ funds and will never be able to interfere with trades or withdrawals–unlike plenty of questionable exchanges out there. OKEx forcing early closure of Bitcoin Cash futures exchanges? That would never happen at Digitex.

Moreover, the technology the company is using to provide this is cutting-edge as well. They are integrating plasma into the exchange to make this possible–not only to scale the decentralized side of the exchange but also to be a pioneer in Ethereum’s scaling solution.

The Burgeoning Futures Industry

The futures industry is a trillion-dollar industry, with transactions in 2017 estimated at a whopping $33.6 trillion. Futures trading on the blockchain so far has seen huge success with even in the bear market with CME daily volume increasing by 93% in the second quarter of 2018 after introducing futures.

This is a large and growing market ripe for the taking. Existing futures exchanges are in the most part clunky, slow, and lack sophisticated trading interfaces. Digitex Futures will offer a state-of-the-art ladder system that means traders can place orders at lightning speed with one click.

Considerable Demand for the Platform Already

While it hasn’t been the best year for markets all around, DGTX has held firm among the top 100 cryptocurrencies. In August, the token shot up to Coinmarketcap’s top three biggest gainers and registered a eye-watering 2,800% price increase in Q3.

While all cryptos have taken a hit lately, there’s still more than enough evidence of interest from traders and investors alike for commission-free futures trading.

The Digitex Telegram group stands at 55k strong, they have over half a million people signed up and waiting for the exchange to open its doors, and plasma will propel Digitex to the next level.

DGTX is currently available on a few exchanges, most notably HitBTC, and the waitlist closes on December 31, so if you haven’t signed up yet, make sure you do before then.