ABOUT VEGA

Vega is a proof-of-stake blockchain, built on top of Tendermint, which makes it possible to trade derivatives on a decentralised network with comparable experience to centralised exchanges. 

By using a blockchain optimised for capital efficient trading alongside Ethereum and other general purpose chains, Vega is able to fairly process and manage risk on thousands of trades per second settled in assets like Ether, BTC, and standard ERC20 tokens. Fees are only charged when trades are executed, and it is free to submit, cancel and amend limit orders.

OUR MISSION

Vega’s mission is to create software that gives everyone fair access to high quality derivatives markets, regardless of who they are or where they are from. We believe that nobody should be able to cheat or gain an unfair advantage as a result of wealth, status, or technical capabilities. We design Vega so that all participants benefit equally from competitive fees, and rewards are proportionate to the value added.

WHY THE WORLD NEEDS VEGA 

• Vega makes finance open
• Vega makes DeFi useful
• Vega makes trading fair
• Vega is just for trading

FEATURES & TECHNOLOGY

ATOMIC MARGIN CALCULATIONS

• The Vega trading engine uses industry standard risk models, which optimise margin requirements for markets based on their expected volatility and open interest. Every time a new block is created the network recalculates margin levels to ensure traders receive the most competitive leverage without compromising the safety of markets

BUILT-IN LIQUIDITY INCENTIVES

• Vega implements a novel liquidity mining mechanism, where liquidity providers (LPs) bid against each other to set the trading fee on each market. This leads to low fees on markets with a lot of competition, as well as sufficiently incentivising liquidity on new markets with lower volume.

LOW LATENCY & HIGH THROUGHPUT

• The Vega blockchain is optimised for trading by design. It operates with a block-time of approximately one second, and is capable of processing thousands of transactions per second. There are no fees to create, cancel or modify an order. Instead, traders only pay a fee when their order is matched with a buyer or seller, or to make deposits and withdrawals, for example from the Ethereum bridge smart contract. 

PROTECTIVE AUCTIONS & PRICE MONITORING

• The Vega network has built in circuit breakers to ensure that trading happens within safe bounds. For parties that are highly leveraged, large price moves may lead to insufficient margin to cover their open positions. The network implements price monitoring, which triggers an auction in the event of spurious price moves to protect market participants from the risk of loss as a result of manipulation or black swan events.

PERMISSIONLESS MARKET CREATION

• The Vega network enables users to propose, modify and approve markets for any asset they wish to trade with each other, without seeking permission to do so. By aligning the interests of liquidity providers, traders and token holders, Vega will enable rapid creation of new markets and unlock a wealth of new opportunities on the decentralised web.

PSEUDONYMOUS TRADING & GOVERNANCE

• Trading and governance on Vega is performed by pseudonymous users. Traders do not need to know the identity of each other to trade together in a safe environment. Sophisticated incentive mechanisms and strong protocol governance ensure that markets serve the best interests of all traders equally at all times.

RICH USER-FRIENDLY APIS

• The network exposes market data and access to trading via modern, user-friendly APIs. Access to markets is available via REST, RPC and GraphQL. Developers can build synchronous interactions using HTTP, or take advantage of streaming via web sockets to build sophisticated real-time applications.

THE VEGA TOKEN

The VEGA token is a standard ERC20 token and is used to secure and govern the Vega network. Upon Mainnet launch, VEGA tokens will have the following utility:

THE ABILITY TO APPROVE NEW MARKETS

• Active markets on Vega are determined by token holders through governance voting. Proposals to create, alter, or remove markets can be submitted to the network by anybody in the world. The community of token holders will collectively exercise control over whether proposals are approved or not. Designing safe and secure markets requires careful analysis, as well as collaboration with liquidity providers. Vega gives the power to network stakeholders to ensure the markets they need are prioritised and created.

GOVERNANCE OVER THE NETWORK

• Important network functionality is controlled by governance voting. For example, the number of block confirmations before deposits are credited, or participation thresholds to vote for new markets. Token holders play a crucial role in ensuring the Vega network operates a safe and secure environment for decentralised trading at all times.

STAKING VALIDATORS

• The Vega blockchain implements delegated proof-of-stake to achieve consensus. The network is comprised of validator nodes, which collectively operate markets by running the Vega software. The network is secured through staking, where token holders choose the validators they want to operate the network by delegating tokens to them. Fees are distributed to validators, token holders and liquidity providers as a reward for securing and operating the network.