ShapeShift, a cryptocurrency exchange, has opted to stop operating as a corporation and instead put its operations in the hands of its customers.
The exchange will be run by FOX token holders as a decentralized autonomous entity.
FOX tokens will be distributed to over 1 million users in an airdrop, causing its price to skyrocket by over 200 percent.
ShapeShift, a leading non-custodial cryptocurrency exchange, has opted to decentralize its operations and abolish its corporate structure. Users will have the ability to seize control of the platform, transforming it into a decentralized exchange.
ShapeShift, which was launched in 2014 by Erik Voorhees, is planning to open-source its entire software and technology in the coming months.
The changes are part of the platform’s promise to bring it “more in line with the genuine concept of irreversible, decentralized finance,” according to the company. As part of the shift, the Switzerland-based exchange will also establish a non-profit foundation to correspond with the DeFi mission.
The foundation will run any aspects of the code and infrastructure that cannot be open-sourced in the short term until decentralization is practicable.
Decentralization, according to Voorhees, is critical for establishing an immutable financial system, which is why he made the decision. He was inspired by the DeFi community as a whole, and he aims to be a pioneer in modeling “21st-century economic cooperation.”
DeFi and DEXs would restore the exchange’s original concept when traditional banking rules compelled it to install stronger Know-Your-Customer and identity verification methods.
The worldwide digital asset exchange will stop operating as a legal corporation and is only now beginning the long process of transforming into a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), which will be run by the users of its platform, who holds the FOX token.
ShapeShift kicked off the process by airdropping cryptocurrency to more than 1 million of its customers. The community received more than 60% of the total FOX supply of about 1 billion tokens. Users of other decentralized exchanges, such as Uniswap, SushiSwap, Yearn, Aave, and a few others, will be among the 1.1 million recipient addresses.
The number of FOX tokens distributed to users is determined by the frequency with which they traded on the platform prior to June 9. A total of 8,500 FOX tokens will be awarded to those who have completed more than 100 trades.
Since the announcement, the price of the FOX token has risen by over 243.5% in the last 24 hours, hitting approximately $1. With a supply of just over 1 billion coins, the currency was introduced in November 2019. Every month, ShapeShift members received $10 in free trade volume via the FOX token.
The exchange implemented a new feature for FOX tokens last month, allowing users to pay for gas while trading on ShapeShift. Depending on how many FOX tokens a user had, they may offset a part of their fees./n
