Decentralized exchange (DEX) Switcheo has unveiled plans, and a preview, of its new account-style wallet system. The new system will closer resemble those of centralized exchanges, with an email/password paired account, complete with two-factor authentication (“2FA”) security.
(Screengrab of new interface)
This change will have the effect of unifying trading on the two ecosystems that Switcheo currently supports: Ethereum (ETH) and NEO. The preview claimed that “Switcheo Account users will also not have to understand or manage the transfer of funds between contract and wallet balances.”
Despite resembling slick, easier-to-use centralized exchanges, Switcheo remains non-custodial – meaning they never possess or control users’ funds. As far as exactly when the new system will be live, Switcheo says “very soon.”
(Screengrab of current wallet interface)
Under the Hood
The preview went on to elaborate somewhat on the new structure of the accounts, which are one step above trading directly from a user-controlled wallet or device (hardware wallet), like a Ledger:
When users create a new Switcheo Account, they actually create a multi-chain wallet using mnemonic phrases, which is then encrypted using state-of-the-art technology and procedures
The article added, critically, that “even if Switcheo Exchange ceases to exist, users can be confident that all funds are recoverable with only their backup phrases.”
Such new capabilities and the polished interface will hopefully bring new users and foster more usage. As is the norm with DEXes, trading volume on the exchange is very low. At the time of writing, the Switcheo exchange has hosted only $67,000 in daily trading volume, according to available data.
Originally a NEO-only exchange, Switcheo added support for ERC-20 Ethereum tokens late last year. Switcheo co-founder Ivan Poon, in a recent interview, also suggested the possibility (and interest) of adding support for Zilliqa (ZIL) and tokens launched on that ecosystem.
Zilliqa has in fact recently made waves, for being the first smart-contract-style blockchain to launch “sharding” capability on a live chain. Sharding essentially spares a blockchain from having to validate every transaction, splitting the workload down and delegating it to a sufficiently large portion of the network to achieve consensus. The Zilliqa team claim that their platform can already process 2,500 transactions per second.
