Bitfinex subsidiary Ethfinex Trustless launches blockchain-enabled OTC trading

Bitfinex-owned cryptocurrency exchange subsidiary Ethfinex Trustless has launched its new on-chain decentralized over-the-counter (OTC) trading feature.

The new service, which aims to offer more flexibility when trading cryptocurrencies, has no centralized order book or matching engine. Instead, it generates a unique “taker” URL that can be shared.

“In a nutshell, Ethfinex Trustless OTC is a blockchain enforced OTC service, removing the need for placing trust in escrow or counterparties,” its blog stated.

No minimum or maximum order size is required to use the new service. In addition, users can swap any ERC-20 compliant tokens, including those that are not currently listed on Ethfinex, for a fee of only 0.02%, 250x lower than most escrows charging between 2% and 5%.

In addition, Ethfinex Trustless OTC also addresses the issue of trust by using a non-custodial smart contract that requires both parties to fulfill their obligations or lock their full collateral in before the trade is settled.

The rollout came just after Bitfinex and its affiliated stablecoin issuer Tether have been granted a stay of document demands after both parties filed a motion to dismiss the proceeding of the New York Attorney General’s (NYAG) office last month. The NYAG office alleged that Bitfinex lost $850 million and consequently used the funds from Tether to cover the lost.