OPNX, a crypto-claims trading platform, has launched
OPNX, an exchange where users can trade claims from bankrupt cryptocurrency firms, went live on Tuesday, That was said by CEO Leslie Lamb via Twitter.
“We’re building OPNX here because we want to help the industry. Right now there are over 20 million claimants worldwide for FTX, Celsius and other platforms who are stuck waiting for years just to get access to their money, and we think they deserves better,” she said of the stock market.
On OPNX, short for Open Exchange, individuals can register their claims and sell them directly to crypto on order books, or use the claim as portfolio margin.
Users can now use the exchange for spot and futures trading for major tokens including Bitcoin, Ether and USDC.
The claims trade, which has not yet opened, will “allow claimants … an opportunity to be made whole again,” Lamb said on Twitter. It is expected to open in the coming weeks.
Plans for OPNX were first reported in January when Su Zhu and Kyle Davies, the founders of defunct hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, began raising $25 million to launch the exchange.
At the time, their pitch deck referred to the project as GTX, which fell flat due to its similarity to bankrupt crypto FTX. It was renamed OPNX in February.
Su and Davies collaborated on the project with Mark Lamb and Sudhu Arumugamthe founders of the crypto exchange CoinFlex, which is itself in the middle of restructuring.
OPNX’s initial token will be CoinFlex’s FLEX token. FLEX holders will get up to 50% off trading fees when using the token, which according to CoinDesk will periodically be taken out of circulation in a process called “burning.” This “could potentially improve value for FLEX holders in the future if demand and traction for OPNX increase and supply gradually decreases,” CoinDesk reported.
In a letter posted on OPNX’s website, Leslie Lamb provided further details about the spirit of the exchange.
“Last year, the beautiful promise of crypto – transparency and financial sovereignty – was sadly lost. The industry strayed far from the fundamental principles underlying crypto, opting instead for unnecessary risk and adopting the worst aspects of traditional finance,” she wrote. “TThese choices led to the collapse of chains, centralized exchanges, and massive projects… The human impact has been immeasurable, and the backlash for crypto adoption is enormous.”
In the current market, after the aforementioned collapses, the opportunity exists to “have the biggest impact… to create the best outcome for those who have suffered and set a new standard to rebuild the crypto industry,” she wrote.
Lamb did not return a request for further comment.
