Darius Tabai, CEO of Vertex Protocol, on Perpetual Trading, DeFi Infrastructure, and UX Improvements | Ep. 426
Darius Tabai, CEO of Vertex Protocol, joined the Cryptonews Spotlight Podcast to discuss the challenges of building a decentralized exchange (DEX) on Arbitrum, the evolution of perpetual futures trading, and what’s next for DeFi UX improvements.
As an experienced trader with a background in FX, commodities, and crypto, Darius brings a unique perspective on how Vertex is navigating the rapidly evolving landscape of DeFi and blockchain interoperability.
Building on Arbitrum: Speed and Compatibility
“When we first launched, it was three and a half years ago that we kind of made the commitment to launching on Arbitrum, almost four years. They were just by far and away the standout L2 in our mind.”
Darius explained that Arbitrum’s speed, low fees, and EVM compatibility made it the ideal Layer 2 for Vertex’s initial launch. Despite the increasing number of chains today, Arbitrum remains central to Vertex’s strategy.
What Makes Vertex Unique?
“Vertex is a perps DEX that sits on top of Borrowland. So everything’s like integrated, works through an order very super fast.”
Vertex combines perpetual trading with lending and borrowing, creating an integrated trading environment where users can deposit collateral and trade directly – all on a fast, multi-chain architecture.
The Challenge of Perpetual DEXes
“Actually, the level of people that tend towards using a perps DEX tends to be pretty experienced, tends to be a little bit more in the weeds.”
Unlike simpler trading platforms, perps DEXes attract experienced traders who understand the risks and complexities of leverage. The challenge for Vertex is improving user experience while maintaining sophisticated trading features.
Educating Users on Perpetual Futures
“You trade a derivative – effectively, you’re borrowing to take a bigger position in an underlying.”
Educating newcomers is a challenge because leverage and derivatives are inherently complex. Vertex is working on making the onboarding process smoother while ensuring users understand the risks.
The Meme Coin Phenomenon
“It was a tidal wave of crap basically, right? So there was just no quality control of things coming through.”
Darius commented on the recent meme coin hype, describing how low-quality projects flooded the market, leading to hype cycles that burned many new traders. Vertex’s focus remains on reliable, high-liquidity assets.
Maintaining High Performance on DEXes
“One of the problems we observed with on-chain stuff is when you get a failed transaction, or things don’t go through, or gas goes very high, and the chain slows down.”
To address performance challenges, Vertex uses Edge, a high-speed sequencing layer that improves transaction throughput and mimics the instant finality of centralized exchanges.
UX: Making DeFi Feel Like CeFi
“The best UX in all of crypto by a country mile in my opinion is centralized exchanges.”
Darius acknowledges that CeFi platforms like Binance offer a smoother user experience, and Vertex aims to match that level of performance while retaining the benefits of decentralization.
Solving Fragmented Liquidity Across Chains
“The fragmentation is inevitable. Chains are spinning up all over the place, and consolidation hasn’t happened as expected.”
Instead of hoping for a single dominant chain, Vertex is embracing a multi-chain future by integrating liquidity across various ecosystems, making trading more efficient and interconnected.
The Next Evolution of DEXes
“We’re looking at how you can trade spot versus perp, so you can do things like basis trading or using perps to hedge yourself.”
Vertex’s vision is to bridge the gap between spot and perpetual trading, enabling users to utilize cross-margining and efficient hedging strategies without needing to switch between platforms.
Partnership with Sonic and Berachain
“We’ve got a few announcements coming up soon, which I think would be pretty exciting. By the time this comes out, we should have token liquidity onchain.”
Vertex’s collaborations with Sonic and Berachain are aimed at boosting liquidity and providing users with new trading opportunities, especially in high-velocity markets.
The Role of Market Makers
“Once a market gets to a certain size, you just list it, and then market makers will make the price, and they do the rest.”
Darius highlights that maintaining liquidity on a DEX is less about direct coin purchasing and more about attracting professional market makers who can stabilize trading pairs.
Bridging CeFi and DeFi
“Edge gives us that speed, that like feeling of kind of instant finality that you can’t get from being on chain.”
Vertex aims to blend the reliability of CeFi with the openness of DeFi, creating a platform that offers fast transactions, cross-chain compatibility, and robust user experience.
The Future of Perpetual Trading
“I think we’re overdue a bunch of consolidation in the space. The truth is like 5 to 10 of those are viable.”
Darius predicts a wave of consolidation in the DEX market, where only a handful of platforms will survive due to their robust liquidity and user-centric design.
Embracing Interoperability
“I think interoperability is really important in the world we find ourselves in.”
Vertex’s approach to liquidity and cross-chain trading prioritizes interoperability, allowing users to move assets seamlessly between ecosystems without losing functionality.
Making DeFi More Accessible
“The space is getting there, but it’s not there quite yet.”
Vertex continues to push the boundaries of DeFi user experience, focusing on speed, cross-chain trading, and enhanced UX, making decentralized trading more accessible and practical.