These communications are positive for the project as they allow us to anticipate and analyze the strategic decisions the protocol will be working on this year. We will try to assess what is most interesting among all the announcements, aiming to analyze as objectively as possible the potential impact.
The main objective is to bring traders back to the platform, something that can be measured very directly through metrics throughout the year. This is not an easy challenge, and I believe that in many cases, it does not necessarily depend solely on the user interface experience but also on understanding how we can create an environment where these investors have the potential to achieve sustained long-term profitability. This is extremely complex in the world of derivatives, especially with volatility continuously triggering liquidation processes that force many traders out.
The reality of this sector in the traditional world, especially in the retail segment, is that significant investment in marketing is required to continuously attract new investors to compensate for the substantial number of traders who end up leaving. In this regard, I believe that what would add the most value to the project is identifying profitable traders and enabling many investors to copy their strategies.
Another alternative would be to develop automated strategies that provide futures traders with a higher probability of profitability. Developing Cash & Carry products, which are excellent, would also be a great way to attract long-term clients to the platform, as we explained in some previous articles. In any case, improving the interface is undoubtedly critical to developing this business.
We will analyze the short-term modifications and their potential impact:
1) P0: Indexer Reliability (Website Stability During Market Volatility)
It is crucial to consolidate platform stability during such situations. As a retail user, I must say that my experience with the platform has been positive, even in complex moments. This is a positive improvement, but I don’t think it will have a major impact on attracting new users.
2) P0: Improved Deposits & Withdrawals (From 20 minutes to < 1)
Definitely an improvement for the project. However, as a retail user, I didn’t see this as a problem. In fact, I always thought that such delays might serve as a safeguard in situations where security is compromised, though I’m not sure if that is the case. A positive change, but I don’t think it will have a retail-level impact.
3) P0: New Mobile Interface
I fully agree with this analysis. Mobile plays a key role in retail. Perhaps not for more thoughtful and sophisticated trading, but certainly for situations where it’s necessary to quickly open or close positions. I believe this work could lead to an increase in new users and, most importantly, higher activity—especially if the interface allows for notifications and interaction with the device.
4) P0: Web Front End Improvements (Faster Front End, New Order Types, Feature Parity)
These developments seem to have the most potential. The addition of more sophisticated order types—specifically Grid Orders and Laddered Buy Orders—could significantly boost trading volume and profitability.
We should also start exploring AI-driven order execution engines to create more flexible and easily extendable interfaces. These engines could handle much more advanced orders, though the challenge would be ensuring correct execution. I believe this is an area where the protocol could start leading innovation again.
5) P1: Improved Transparency (New Website, More Frequent Communication)
This is particularly important to generate increased interest in the project. Token holders have been somewhat neglected this year, which ultimately affects confidence in investing in the project. I believe that listening more to investors strengthens the commitment to the project’s direction, which has gradually been eroded.
Mid-Term Roadmap
It looks like the project is opening up to new collateral:
“Connecting to Ethereum with IBC Eureka to support token transfers backed by ZK light client security. This opens the door to significant opportunities like spot trading and multi-collateral.”
I’ve been advocating for this for almost a year now, and I believe it is vital for the project—especially for enabling long-tail derivatives markets and Cash & Carry strategies. This is the first time it has appeared in a roadmap, and it is undoubtedly great news. It should be prioritized due to its high impact on the project.
“Improving the MegaVault to enhance capital utilization and liquidity to attract more capital without compromising risk safeguards.”
We discussed this last year as well—I believe there is significant room for improvement in the MegaVault, and it could even make sense for it to become multi-strategy. It should be one of the project’s main revenue sources, providing counterparties for retail traders—not simply passing their losses to the market, but in some cases, even mitigating them.
The plans to create an ecosystem around dYdX are crucial. We should start mapping projects that leverage the APIs to develop new solutions. This is key, especially since we now have our own blockchain, which provides significantly more capabilities.
Final Thoughts
Overall, this roadmap brings excellent news—especially the mid-term initiatives, which could significantly change the project’s trajectory. Prioritization will be key, as the opportunity cost is extremely high right now, and the project must focus on developments that generate real impact.