The Loopring platform is designed around the open protocol, which streamlines the building of decentralized exchanges while facilitating the transfer of assets between as many of these platforms as possible.
Loopring Solution To Centralized (CEX) and Decentralized (DEX) Exchange Problems
Loopring technology was developed in parallel with the growing use of tokenized and other assets which now exist on the blockchain. In 2014, its creators abandoned the idea of creating a centralized exchange and started working on Loopring – the goal was to create a platform that would address some of the numerous issues faced by both centralized and decentralized exchange trading platforms.
In general, Loopring would like to improve the following aspects of centralized exchanges:
- Security – Customers typically leave their private keys in the hands of centralized exchange authorities, which means that their crypto assets may suffer from compromised security. This results in intensive and well-documented hacking attacks targeting servers that store funds with amounts reaching millions of dollars. Loopring gives traders back control of their assets by eliminating the need to deposit them to centralized exchanges.
- Transparency – Customers who use centralized exchanges are also exposed to transparency risks. It is not possible to expect every exchange to be honest when it comes to shutdowns, asset freezes, bankruptcy, etc. Additionally, the exchanges may be less transparent when it comes to lending out one’s assets to unauthorized parties while they are in custody. Loopring aims to solve these issues by removing custody altogether: users no longer need to send tokens to an exchange-based wallet for custody. With Loopring, the tokens will stay with the user’s blockchain address while the trading and transactions are being processed. During the entire trading/transaction life cycle, tokens are always kept in users’ blockchain addresses. Loopring will also prevent situations in which users are locked out of their assets by allowing them to transfer tokens after the orders have already been submitted and handling the automatic adjustment of order amounts during settlement.
- Liquidity – A centralized exchange’s divided liquidity makes it harder for new exchanges to enter this market. The exchanges with the most trading pairs have an easier time doing business as they are chosen by users over their competitors since they support a wide range of transactions on one platform. The exchanges with larger order books are also favored because of bid-ask spreads for the offered trading pairs. Loopring plans to stimulate competition and disrupt the existing market share division by being an open source solution favoring wider participation. It allows any entity to become an independent decentralized exchange with the help of Loopring software, as well as use an option to join the DEX network for sharing one’s liquidity with other participants.
Loopring Mining Pool and Automated Transaction Execution With ETH and NEO
In addition to its exchange protocol, the Loopring platform offers an automated execution system that runs on Ethereum and supports cross-exchange trading of various assets.
Loopring will start by pooling the orders it receives from its platform. Orders are then communicated off-chain via order books held by various exchanges. In addition, Loopring enables decentralized applications to perform exchange functions.
Loopring enables both decentralized and centralized exchanges to create liquidity across as many exchanges as possible. Additionally, investors have access to a wide range of prices on the market and can select the one that best suits them. Loopring is considered to be a blockchain “agnostic” platform, which means that it can be integrated with other platforms that utilize smart contracts technology.
Loopring itself is built on the sets of smart contracts which perform various tasks:
- Mix-Matched Contracts are used to manage the status of orders in the loop, monitor volume and prices and ensure interaction with other smart contracts;
- Order Contracts are used to maintain order databases and cancellations;
- Registration Contracts manage services for exchanges that implement the Loopring platform and token deposits;
- Stats Contracts are used to determine prices between token pairs and exchange volumes.
Trading With Loopring Wallet
Loopring users do not need to deposit funds in exchange to get started, as is the case with even some decentralized exchanges. In this sense, Loopring will function similarly to debit account transactions, in that transaction authorizations take place prior to the final settlement which is handled subsequently.
Accordingly, the trading process works as follows:
a) Users initiate trading by placing their order via a Loopring wallet.
b) Users sign with their private wallet key which is bound to one’s wallet address. It is important to stress that this does mean that the user’s funds will be transferred by this act. The reason for this is the fact that Loopring operates only as an “interface” for managing one’s funds stored in the wallet, in a manner similar to what websites or apps do when offering insights into one’s bank account.
c) Placed order is communicated to the smart contracts which are created on the platform which support them (such as Ethereum, Qtum, NEO and others). Orders are also forwarded to off-chain relay nodes and matched in the best possible manner, as part of Loopring’s “order-matching-as-a-service” system. Once this is done, the orders are confirmed and prepared for execution.
d) With the help of smart contracts, the funds in wallets are exchanged for the preferred currency units one wants to trade with. At the same time, the order book is managed by the off-chain nodes and its status is broadcast to ring miners.
Ring-Miners, LRC Token Fees and Split-Margins Explained
Ring-Miners play an essential role in the Loopring ecosystem. Their activities center on executing (or partially executing at the very least) orders with the help of order rings in exchange for rewards. These compensations have two basic formats:
- Fees based on the platform’s Loopring (LRC) token. In this case, the user who creates an order sets the maximum amount of LRC tokens which are to be paid to the miner in form of a fee.
- Split-margins subtracted from the final amount of a particular order. While placing an order, the user can also determine the percentage of the margin that can be claimed for a specific order, leaving the choice between fees or margins to the miners themselves.
The existing system is designed to help the miners get adequate compensation for the services they provide – it is based on the incentive for them to look for the best exchange rate deals which can help them get better split-margins for themselves. Finding best trading deals is also a guarantee that the users will get the most value for their traded cryptocurrencies, making it a potential win-win for both parties in the process.
Loopring’s Crypto Assets Order Matching Algorithm
To make this process run smoothly, it was necessary for the Loopring team to implement two important technologies that run in the background:
- Order Rings. The ring matching process involves grouping transactions into “rings” which enable instant transactions between multiple users of the Loopring protocol and the currencies they use. Order rings are mainly dedicated to managing the matching process in the most satisfying manner for all parties involved. This is what separates Loopring from regular exchanges, as the number of parties involved in the order matching “ring” is not limited to two. Order rings also handle the grouping of otherwise unrelated orders in the manner which is helpful for their simultaneous execution. After a miner gets the job done with an order ring, the smart contract system checks if the orders can be executed to the benefit of both parties and the traded coins are transferred wallet-to-wallet as part of the atomic swap.
- Order Sharing. If the order matching process on the Loopring platform can be said to resemble the production line, order sharing can be compared to a work procedure that is supposed to increase its efficiency. As the orders are placed down the production line, the miners can attempt to fill them all by themselves as part of a single trade – if that is not possible, the order sharing allows them to “break” the order into smaller units and pass it further down the line until it is ultimately filled. This means that they will be simply assigned to the next order ring until they are fully processed.
Blockchain Agnostic Proof-of-Work (PoW) Coins LRC, LRN and LRQ Explained
The fact that Loopring is blockchain-agnostic means that each chain it integrates with leads to the creation of new tokens. Their existence is supposed to ease the handling of decentralized trading operations between tokens on various blockchains. The platform sometimes uses the designation of “LRx” for these new tokens, with “x” denoting the blockchain which actually hosts them. As of January 2019, implemented or planned Loopring tokens used on this platform are the following:
- LRC is the ERC-20 token running on Ethereum. It is the main token on the platform which was initially distributed as part of an ICO which took place in August 2017. The offering managed to raise some $45,000,0000 worth of ETH, a portion of which was given back to the investors from the project’s native China. Mining LRC is done in the manner similar to Proof-of-Work approach in which the verification and processing of trades carry rewards in form of LRC-based fees or split-margins. As of January 2018, there were 788,984,491 LRC tokens in circulation out of the planned supply of 1,374,955,752 units. In the same month, the currency’s market cap stood at just above USD 60 million. Its historic high was reached in January 2018, when it had the market cap of more than USD 1 billion. LRC tokens are readily available for trade on cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance and Bittrex and others. Acquired tokens can be stored in any ERC20-compatible wallet in addition to the official one. In order to improve the value of LRC and increase its scarcity on the Loopring network, the team recently introduced the LRC Burn Rate mechanism which ensures that wallets and miners who earn fees by completing tasks on the platform will have a portion of their fees converted into LRC (if they are not LRC already) and burned. The token also went live on Wanchain in December 2018.
- LRN is the Loopring token residing on NEO blockchain. It was distributed to LRC owners as part of several airdrops taking place between July and November 2018.
- LRQ is the planned Loopring token to be hosted on Qtum. As of January 2019, the tokens have not yet been released, but it is expected that the procedure will follow the same timeline and approach as those used with the LRN.
Loopring Founder and Team Members
The founder and CEO of Loopring is Daniel Wang who had previously established a centralized exchange Coin Port back in 2014. Unhappy with the potential offered by the centralized model, he started working on the Loopring platform with his team, which, among others, includes Jay Zhou (CMO) and Johnston Chen (COO) who gathered experience while working for well-known companies such as Ernst & Young and 3NOD.
The loopring project also includes the Loopring Ecosystem Advancement Fund (LEAF) which was established to provide rewards for contributors to the project and support investments in blockchain technologies.
One can say that, at first sight, Loopring faces strong competitors with the likes of Kyber Network or 0x. Yet, the team claims that these platforms are designed for different use cases. Unlike Kyber’s market-making protocol which offers liquidity at set prices within a defined timeframe, Loopring focuses on its ring order and ring matching technologies to power its third-party matching-as-a-service (MAAS) system.
Similar can be said of 0x which sources its liquidity from the exchanges existing on its platform, unlike Loopring with which the same is done with just about any exchange that is connected to its network.
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Author
Chris Munch is a professional cryptocurrency and blockchain writer with a background in software businesses, and has been involved in marketing within the cryptocurrency space. With a passion for innovation, Chris brings a unique and insightful perspective to the world of crypto and blockchain. Chris has a deep understanding of the economic, psychological, marketing and financial forces that drive the crypto market, and has made a number of accurate calls of major shifts in market trends. He is constantly researching and studying the latest trends and technologies, ensuring that he is always up-to-date on the latest developments in the industry. Chris’ writing is characterized by his ability to explain complex concepts in a clear and concise manner, making it accessible to a wide audience of readers.
