The innovative combination of an order book with an automated market maker has recently seen the price of IDEX explode from under $0.10 to an all-time high of above $0.60. The price has since retreated to $0.30 at the time of writing. However, it seems entirely possible that with more launches on layer one and layer two blockchains and an improving product, Idex can continue its growth path in the long run. .

IDEX is an [ERC-20](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/erc-20) token on Ethereum. The DEX has been audited by Quantstamp, a leader in blockchain security that has worked with reputable projects such as Maker, Compound, and Avalanche. Idex has so far proven to live up to its high security standards and has faced no problems with hacker attacks. ERC-20 is a token standard most new tokens follow when publishing on the Ethereum blockchain. Ethereum is one of the most popular blockchains and the go-to solution for many decentralized applications and exchanges to launch on. It is secured by a [proof-of-stake ](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/proof-of-stake-pos)consensus mechanism that requires validators to stake 32ETH to validate the network. A set of decentralized nodes validates transactions and secures the Ethereum blockchain.

The total supply of IDEX is 1 billion IDEX. The token distribution is as follows: 40% - market maker rewards, marketing campaigns, and airdrops 10% - IDEX members 25% - team 10% - future employee token pool 10% - future use 5% - business expenses Users can also run a lightweight node and stake their IDEX if they have a minimum of 10,000 IDEX.

Idex takes a unique approach to combining an order book model with an automated market maker. To execute trades, Idex uses an off-chain trading engine that matches the performance of centralized exchanges and guarantees sequencing. Trades are processed in an off-chain order book. Only when a trade is matched and executed, the transaction is settled on-chain. In doing so, users benefit from not having to pay additional network costs for placing and canceling orders. Furthermore, placements are processed in real-time, enabling more advanced trading and market-making strategies like stop-loss, post-only and fill-or-kill. The automated market maker guarantees liquidity by displaying virtual limit orders in the order book together with real limit orders to visualize AMM liquidity in the order book model. Orders are usually settled as AMM only or as a hybrid between the AMM and limit order liquidity. Idex uses smart contracts to decentralize fund custody and trade settlement. To enable the order book model, the smart contract executes trades off-chain but trades are settled on-chain with a delay. The smart contract acts as escrow and restricts the movement of funds until the settlement is finished. Furthermore, trades are sequenced, and a special function in the smart contract ensures funds cannot be restricted indefinitely. Moreover, the smart contract enforces ownership and authorization, meaning users maintain custody and can make markets without additional infrastructure.

Idex was launched by CEO and co-founder Alex Wearn and his brother and COO Phil Wearn. Alex Wearn previously worked for renowned companies such as Amazon, IBM, and Adobe and is an alumnus of Kellogg School of Management. Phil Wearn has a professional background in accounting with a degree in astronautical engineering and entrepreneurial experience. The management team is complemented by CTO Brian Yennie, a software engineer with over 20 years of experience. As per Linkedin, the current Idex team is 29 people strong. Idex launched in 2017, with its 2.0 version launching in fall 2020 after closing $2.5 million seed investment led by G1 Ventures and Borderless Capital, including Collider Ventures, and Gnosis.

[Idex](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/idex/) claims to be the first hybrid liquidity [DEX](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/decentralized-exchange-dex) that combines an order book model with an [automated market maker](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/automated-market-maker-amm). It blends the performance and features of a traditional order book model with the security and liquidity of an AMM. Idex takes an innovative approach to decentralized exchanges by combining an off-chain trading engine with on-chain trade settlement. Users benefit from that in several ways. First, this approach does away with failed trades and wasted money on gas fees, making the trading experience more pleasant and efficient. The instant trade execution means front-running or sandwich attacks are not possible and users can trade without waiting for previous trades to settle. As a result, more advanced order types and trading strategies can be executed since limit orders are possible, opening up arbitrage opportunities with other exchanges. Idex follows an ambitious roadmap that envisions a multi-chain future for the exchange, which currently runs on [Ethereum](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ethereum/) and [Binance Smart Chain](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/binance-coin/). For the remainder of 2021, it plans to launch on [second layer solutions](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/second-layer-solutions) and [Polkadot](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/polkadot-new/) and implement a referral. For the future, Idex plans to implement leverage trading and launch on additional layer one and layer two blockchains.