Papaya anchor (apay.io)

umbrel

Image header: apay

Project title: Papaya anchor (apay.io)

Summary: Anchor for BTC, USDT, LTC, ETH, KIN and other cryptocurrencies and tokens

Category: Applications

Goals:
General goals for apay:

Make most popular crypto tradable on SDEX
Improve SDEX liquidity

Specific goals for the latest updates:

Make all our code open-source, so everyone can use it for their projects
Turn apay.io from static website with instructions into a functional exchange, rival to changelly, shapeshift and others
Improve liquidity by attracting user funds and making opportunities for users to make money by providing liquidity

Timeline:
15 Feb - MVP of new anchor backend, functional for Testnet BTC (complete)
01 Mar - MVP of new frontend (complete)
15 Mar - Anchor backend fully functional for assets already supported by apay, like ETH, ERC20 tokens + KIN (partially complete)
01 Apr - New market-making service, inspired by uniswap, rewarding users for participation (complete)
15 Apr - Interactive flow (sep24) implemented for anchor backend (in progress)
01 May - Launch new frontend
May-June - Migrate to the new backend

Description:
Apay is one of the oldest crypto-anchors on Stellar network. I'm using that experience of running the platform for almost 3 years to build a new more-reliable and secure open-source version. Anyone can now start their own anchor by using our code.

We're also launching a new frontend for currency conversion on stellar DEX, interface is similar to changelly and similar services. You can now access liquidity on Stellar without making a Stellar account or establishing trustlines.
The latest batch of changes is a full rebuild of our platform:

Third major improvement - Market-maker service - for people who aren't technical enough to run something like kelp bot. Users will be able to commit capital and bot will do the trading following a simple, but effective algorithm. Users can withdraw their funds back at any time, and make some return on their investment. Provided capital is going to help liquidity on Stellar, while user funds are stored safely in a cold-storage.

Links:
https://apay.io
https://github.com/apay-io/stellar-anchor - new open-source anchor backend
https://github.com/apay-io/apay-io - new frontend with exchange feature
https://github.com/apay-io/apay-bot - market-maker bot

Tags: anchors, node.js

ddombrowsky

umbrel Summary: Anchor for BTC, LTC, ETH, KIN and other cryptocurrencies and tokens

Will "other crypto" include Zcash/ZEC?
(oops)

umbrel

Just a small update:
frontend prototype is published here https://apay-io.apay.workers.dev/

Check it out and let me know if you like it or not.
It is of course still in development (buggy), and don't send real funds, there is no tx processing

inative

The UI looks nice.
Is this going to be a custodial solution? How do you secure the private keys if so?

umbrel

inative Is this going to be a custodial solution? How do you secure the private keys if so?

There are 3 parts to this question:

Anchor itself is a custody solution, you deposit BTC, we store it securely (90% in cold storage without rehypothecation, exchanges or any other third parties), then we give it back whenever you request it by sending BTC token back on Stellar.
"My account" section requires only a public key at the moment, it's just an overview of the account and simpler way to explain to people how to deposit/withdraw assets to/from the anchor. (still complicated, because users need to sign transaction manually, so I'm considering options with private key, but existing solutions are not production-ready)
Currency swap is not atomic, so yes, it takes custody of your funds for the moment of the exchange. You can actually do a path payment yourself, if you understand it, but this interface is targeted at people who may not have/want stellar account.

Freitag

Big fan of this expansion to the apay service. Looks like a legitimate effort in making a polished exchange UI. Very similar to coinbase design language.

John

Good work, Keep in growing

alejomendoza

Looks sick, great job!

Justin

Is this not against the spirit of stellar ? When you do Marketing , the user must trust you to use this , and this make it not decentralized. By putting this in front , you want to put other stellar anchor and asset in the shadow. The Goal of stellar DEX is to be one Network for every asset , stellar native asset and crypto . You want to kill the DEX volume with this.

umbrel

Justin I don't understand why. I've tried different methods to explain to users what DEX is, some just don't care. My goal is to provide easy-to-use service. Everyone can use it without the complexity of setting up an account, funding it, establishing a trustline, making offers or path payments. All exchanges are happening on Stellar, which is good for everyone and brings more liquidity to the DEX.

Users will be incentivized to learn about Stellar, because when you withdraw BTC - you pay a $1 fee. Withdrawing to Stellar account is free.

Additionally I'm open-sourcing it all, everyone can spin up another service like that, maybe hundreds of them in every possible language. When it brings more users - it's more profitable for market-makers, which is even better for liquidity and end-users.

umbrel

John At this point I'd appreciate if you could provide more details, what do you think sucks in the current version?

I'm at the point of making it live, just needs a bit more testing for the transaction processing.
I agree it's far from perfect in UI/UX perspective, but that's what I have resources for at the moment. The bigger issue is liquidity, and this is what I'm focused on right now with hosted trading bot, which allows external contributions from users.

marcinx

Looks great! I think this will make a lot of people's life's easier when on and off ramping assets from/to the network because it abstracts away a lot of the complexities that are otherwise involved. Eye-pleasing design too. Looking forward to the final product!

MisterTicot

Hey, it's using Cosmic.link 😃
Quick tip: you can add &network=public to ensure it'll be signed for the right network.
Nice interface btw.

MisterTicot

You can also provide generic links for non-logged users this way: https://cosmic.link/?type=changeTrust&network=public&maxTime=+3&asset=MTL:GBDEVU63Y6NTHJQQZIKVTC23NWLQVP3WJ2RI2OTSJTNYOIGICST6DUXR (federated address can be used as well)

umbrel

MisterTicot Thanks, I was gonna ask you for a review later, those are nice tips!

umbrel

Just want to provide an update -
MM bot is functional and currently prototype is running on XLM / SLT pair
Feel free to watch it: GDO2OU2OLMAVOLYIUUD3S62FKQ43FRK6QZ4EOGAG6AUE4JXRHD5P5R7K.

Screenshot from stellarport

Meanwhile I'm working on a multi-account support for it and fault-tolerance.

And making a system to account for user contributions, calculate profit/loss in specified period and make it possible to withdraw user funds any time.

umbrel

ddombrowsky Maybe, I want to put a mechanism for voting, where users can commit capital towards market-maker bot for currencies they want listed. Once it passes certain threshold - I'll add it.
By asking for monetary commitment I'll make sure that voting cannot be cheated, at the same time listing assets without market-making is useless, seen that with REP/OMG.

umbrel

Published the code for MM bot, going to test it some more and then launch the production service.
https://github.com/apay-io/apay-bot

umbrel

Published an article introducing to the problem I'm trying to solve
https://medium.com/apay-io/stellar-dex-where-does-liquidity-come-from-959d36ad9222

Have a read an let me know what you think

dexter

umbrel

This was a good read. I have an alternative perspective on one point- arbitrage traders generally remove liquidity so I wouldn't call them liquidity "providers". They typically act at the last minute and only consume the offers that are profitable to them. This is especially true for Stellar path arbitrage. They trade and contribute to the volume, but they don't add anything to the order book.

umbrel

dexter Yes, they are takers, but it's important too, because it helps others to complete the trade. MM won't be profitable if nobody takes their offers. Markets are healthier when there are many different roles/participants.