A new sovereign Layer 1 blockchain built exclusively for decentralized derivatives trading went live this week. AFX, the network behind the project, launched its Mainnet with a DAG-based consensus engine, zero gas fees for traders, and support for perpetuals on BTC, ETH, gold (XAU), and crude oil (CL) at up to 40x leverage. The exchange claims sub-100ms median latency and throughput above 100,000 transactions per second — numbers that put it in direct competition with centralized venues.
Zero gas, higher leverage
AFX introduces what it calls a Zero Gas execution model, meaning traders don't pay network fees for any transaction — a sharp break from Ethereum-based DEXes where gas can eat into profits during volatile periods. The Pro-Trader Suite comes with a Hyper-Efficiency Margin Engine that requires only 1.25% maintenance margin. That gives users about four times the capital efficiency of typical industry incumbents, according to the team.
Institutional-grade plumbing
AFX is the first decentralized derivatives exchange to offer native FIX protocol support, a standard widely used by algorithmic and institutional traders for order routing. That, combined with a dedicated mempool optimized for high-frequency order flow and protocol-level MEV resistance, signals an attempt to pull professional liquidity onto a chain that doesn't rely on validators front-running trades.
No VC money, no unlock drama
The project launched without venture capital funding, private rounds, or the kind of token unlock schedules that have tanked other coins. Instead, AFX implements a 100% Revenue Pass-through model — all fees collected by the protocol go directly to token holders and stakers. The design deliberately avoids the typical VC-overhang narrative that has soured many retail traders on new Layer 1s.
What trades on day one
At launch, the platform supports perpetual markets for four assets: Bitcoin, Ethereum, gold (XAU) and crude oil (CL). Each contract allows up to 40x leverage. The exchange runs on an ABCI modular architecture, which lets developers swap out the consensus layer or execution environment without forking the entire chain. Whether the throughput and latency claims hold under real-world trading volume will be tested in the coming weeks.
