Scaling DeFi Communities with AZEx
Boring financial platforms are being left behind in crypto. Instead, people are looking to hubs like AZEx that are exploring peer-to-peer trading, yield farming, and soon, AI copy trading features.
In a recent Alpha and Yap chat, AZEx's Elyas gave us a behind-the-scenes look into their journey and how they're approaching users and community.
Building a cross-chain DeFi platform
AZEx has reached impressive milestones, including a TVL exceeding $10 million and trading volumes surpassing $2 billion on other chains. They're now expanding to Monad, Berachain, and Unichain. Their Monad testnet alone has attracted over 80,000 testers, showing that community interest is very much alive.
With a broad range of features like peer-to-peer trading and yield farming, they aim to solve the fragmentation issues common in the crypto space.
Why Berachain?
AZEx chose Berachain as their initial mainnet destination for a handful of reasons:
- Multi-layer infrastructure
- Novel approach to bridging assets
- EVM compatibility for user-friendliness
- Cross-chain messaging capabilities
- Integrated bridging solutions
- Optimized for interoperability
Perhaps most importantly, the vibrant Berachain community swayed their decision. "You can see on X how loud and visible the community of Berachain is," Elyas noted, adding that Berachain's collaborative development approach made them an obvious choice.
What makes AZEx different?
AZEx describes itself as a "decentralized peer-to-pool perpetual DEX" using automated market maker (AMM) technology and liquidity pools to facilitate trading. Unlike centralized exchanges, AZEx doesn't hold custody of user funds, significantly reducing counterparty risk.
Nobody owns the funds, and it's just there for people to access depending on what they want to do. Their perpetual trading model has no expiry date, so users can go long or short and exit positions whenever they choose.
The AZT token ecosystem
The AZEx token (AZT) serves as the lifeblood of their ecosystem with multiple utilities:
- Governance: AZT holders can vote on protocol upgrades, fee structures, and new asset listings
- Staking rewards: Users staking AZT earn a share of trading fees and additional yield during liquidity mining events
- Fee discounts: AZT holders enjoy reduced trading fees
- Premium features: Unlock advanced analytics tools and priority access to new pools
- Bridging mechanism: AZT functions as universal collateral for cross-chain deployments
Community development
AZEx has embraced a philosophy of treating users as co-builders, not just customers. Their community engagement strategy includes:
- Weekly community calls
- Twitter Spaces discussions
- Dedicated forums for proposals and voting
- Transparency through regular updates
- Open dialogue about challenges and milestones
This approach has paid dividends, with early adopters becoming governance members and ambassadors. The team has also worked to balance the needs of DeFi enthusiasts who appreciate technical complexity with newer users who need simplicity and security assurances.
"Our philosophy is to treat every user as a co-builder. We are all here to build," Elyas emphasized.
What’s next for AZEx?
AZEx is working on finalizing their bridging architecture to support more EVM-compatible chains while exploring integration with non-EVM networks. Their roadmap includes introducing cross-chain yield aggregators to help users access the best yields across multiple networks.
Version 2 will introduce AI copy trading capabilities. This AI-powered system will analyze performance data to optimize trading decisions.
DeFi and CeFi's collaborative future
When asked about the relationship between centralized and decentralized finance, Elyas believes they will continue to coexist and inform each other. "You cannot drop one and have the other," he noted, highlighting that competition drives innovation and improvement.
AZEx aims to "push the boundaries of decentralization while ensuring a user experience that can compete with centralized exchanges," demonstrating that advanced financial products can be secure, transparent, and user-centric without sacrificing convenience.
Join the AZEx fun
For traders, liquidity providers, and yield farmers interested in upgraded DeFi experiences, AZEx offers rewards and a streamlined user experience. The team is currently developing their ambassador program to further expand community engagement.
Follow AZEx to stay updated on their latest developments, partnerships, and reward opportunities.