The Adoption of Blockchain-based Decentralized Exchanges

70 Pages Posted: 17 Mar 2021 Last revised: 1 Jun 2022

See all articles by Agostino Capponi

Agostino Capponi

Columbia University - Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research

Ruizhe Jia

Columbia University

Date Written: March 15, 2021

Abstract

We show that pricing curves implemented by automated market makers allow arbitrageurs to extract profits from liquidity providers. This raises the cost of liquidity provision, and may lead to a liquidity freeze if token pairs are too volatile. A more convex pricing curve results in higher price impact, which inhibits arbitrage but also reduces investors' surplus. The convexity of the socially optimal pricing curve is higher for more volatile token pairs. Our empirical analysis reveals that gas price volatility is 60% lower for stable-coin pairs, and that deposit inflows are negatively correlated with volatility, and positively correlated with trading volume.

Keywords: Cryptocurrency, FinTech, Decentralized Finance (DeFi), Market Microstructure

Suggested Citation

Capponi, Agostino and JIA, RUIZHE, The Adoption of Blockchain-based Decentralized Exchanges (March 15, 2021). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3805095 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3805095

Agostino Capponi

Columbia University - Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research ( email )

RUIZHE JIA (Contact Author)

Columbia University ( email )

3022 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
United States

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