Coindesk’s Thought Leadership team recently sat down with Stella Chan, the newly promoted COO of Phemex. We discussed Phemexia, the exchange’s vision for a blockchain-native future, and springboarded from there into a wider-ranging chat about Phemex’s direction.
Let’s start with a two-part question. First, how does Phemexia look now, and what functionality does it offer that Phemex as a CEX couldn’t provide as effectively? As a follow-up, what kind of functionality will Phemexia have when it is fully realized and how long should that take?
STELLA CHAN: We launched Phemexia, our Web 3.0 ecosystem, earlier this year, inviting our community to mint their Phemex Soul Pass. This non-tradable, non-transferable soulbound token – which you wrote about previously – serves as an innovative passport that authenticates its holders and acts as the entry point for Web3 activities on our platform. Through this unique system, users are rewarded based on their platform engagement. Notably, PSP holders have actively participated in and earned rewards from campaigns that dropped 1,000 BTC and 100 ETH. Our PSP community has rapidly grown to over 21,000 holders, with the number continuing to increase daily. Phemexia represents a comprehensive Web3 ecosystem, and in just a few days, it will be further enhanced with the introduction of a native platform governance token.
In terms of what Phemexia offers that a CEX cannot provide, a significant distinction lies in the collaborative governance inherent to a DEX. In the near future, our community members will have the opportunity to stake their Phemex Tokens, or PT, to acquire vePT – vote escrow tokens. These are our designated governance tokens. Possessing vePT enables users to wield voting rights within the Phemex DAO, thereby participating in decision-making processes related to platform operations, growth strategies, partnerships and treasury management.
With Phemexia, we are pioneering the integration of decentralized decision-making with the efficiency of centralized platforms. Through our hybrid approach, users can benefit from the convenience and liquidity characteristic of a CEX, all while actively engaging in the autonomous governance offered by a DEX. This innovative strategy empowers our users to actively shape the trajectory of our platform, fostering a collaborative environment that blends the best of both decentralized and centralized worlds.
I mentioned that our ecosystem will come full circle with the upcoming launch of PT, but this also marks a beginning for us. With Phemexia, we’re looking at DEX features such as decentralized credit scores as well as automated market maker liquidity provider integration and an associated lending protocol, all under the assurance of a transparent and trustworthy exchange.
As we anticipate the upcoming year, our roadmap for Q1 2024 includes the introduction of liquid incentives tailored for institutional users and market makers. This strategic move is aimed at bolstering liquidity and maintaining robust market conditions. Moving into Q2, we are excited to unveil the PhemexDAO, a groundbreaking initiative that actively involves users in exercising governance rights on our platform. By the end of 2024, I am confident that we will establish ourselves as a fully hybrid exchange.
Phemex has gone this long without a token. Why does it need one now? Is it necessary to launch Phemex Token?
SC: You're correct. Phemex distinguishes itself among the top exchanges by avoiding hasty token launches at the peak of the bull market and for good reason. Our focus extends beyond introducing just another platform token. We are currently navigating a transformative paradigm shift, decentralizing our platform with the solid foundation laid for Phemexia, and PT complements this evolution.
PT is positioned as a gateway to our ecosystem, providing a diverse range of benefits and use cases including staking yields, trader bounty rewards and governance within the Phemex DAO. These benefits are tied to a robust foundation, as we meticulously developed Phemexia over the course of a year, and crafted a sound tokenomics framework, detailed in our whitepaper.
Our community is well aware that we burned the latest stage of xPT pre-mining, allocating all generated funds to the treasury. Additionally, we've committed to sharing a portion of our contract trading fee revenue with our community. Through PT staking, users can earn high yields and participate in revenue-sharing. We promised to use 0.01% of the daily USDT contract trading volume to repurchase PT and distribute it as staking rewards to all vePT holders. Market makers will enjoy the lowest fees by staking and they will receive monthly rewards just by making deposits. These steps underscore our dedication to providing a token that stands the test of time. In essence, PT is a crucial element of Phemexia, but our journey involves more than a platform token launch. It is our goal to build a sustainable and valuable ecosystem for our community. We are currently experiencing one of the most thrilling weeks in Phemex's history. Not only will PT staking launch on November 30, we also have our Token Generation Event on the same day, so I urge traders worldwide to take on this unique opportunity to generate additional earnings.
Establishing Phemexia is an ambitious goal. What gives you and your team confidence that you can achieve it?
SC: Establishing Phemexia is indeed an ambitious goal, but one that our team is well-equipped to tackle. I have complete confidence in our expert team, which boasts over 20 years of collective experience in trading. The addition of Web3 experts further strengthens our capabilities, and we highly value their contributions.
As of November 25, we celebrated the fourth anniversary of Phemex. Reflecting on the past four years, we take pride in our achievements, positioning ourselves proudly among the top 5 futures trading platforms. With a global user base of 5 million and a robust daily trading volume exceeding $10 billion, we have weathered the crypto winter and emerged with something truly unique and innovative: Phemexia. Our commitment to changing the landscape of exchanges and introducing a hybrid movement is evident.
While our goals are ambitious, our track record of achievements and well-defined plans for the future serve as a testament to our confidence in achieving continued success.
Looking ahead to your future at Phemex, what's in store for your fourth year? Tell us something you're looking forward to.
SC: The launch of our native platform token and governance token is something we have all been eagerly anticipating. I think we all look forward to seeing the completion of our Web3 ecosystem.
It's important to emphasize once again that community is at the core of our mission, and with Phemexia, we invite every one of our users to grow with us as we move towards a hybrid future, to share in our success and to become our partners. This community construction approach serves as our compass for the coming year. We will continue to strengthen our offerings for the community and empower their trading journey. In fact, we have a social trading product coming up, and this is the first time I'm mentioning it publicly. It will benefit both key opinion leaders and their followers, incentivizing deep engagement and offering rewards based on trading and interaction. We have built an amazing community with PSP, and continuously making it better is something I am truly passionate about. I look forward to seeing where our efforts in community building will take us!
