Synethix founder Kain Warwick has announced that the decentralized exchange and self-custodial account system, Infinex, is scheduled to launch on May 13, after several delays from its initially planned Q4 2022 debut. The announcement was made at the ETH Global conference in Sydney, Australia, on May 2.
Infinex, initially a decentralized front-end for accessing Synthetix liquidity and trading capabilities, has expanded into a more comprehensive platform designed to lower entry barriers into decentralized finance (DeFi). Warwick described the upcoming Infinex Account as a suite of cross-chain smart contracts that users can manage and recover through Web2 authentication methods like email login.
Warwick discussed the ongoing dominance of centralized exchanges in crypto transactions despite their vulnerabilities, highlighted by the collapse of the FTX exchange. He attributed the slow adoption of DeFi not to the safety features or the lack thereof but primarily to the poor user experience that decentralized platforms offer compared to their centralized counterparts.
Infinex aims to bridge this gap by serving as the “UX layer” of DeFi, providing a user interface similar to centralized exchanges but for decentralized applications across multiple blockchain networks such as Ethereum, Base, Optimism, Polygon, Arbitrum, and Solana. The platform plans to employ social passkeys to simplify the Web3 user experience, allowing logins via Web2 services like Google accounts.
Warwick also noted that Infinex would feature a governance points system, with a points-farming game starting soon after the launch to engage users.
Additionally, Infinex experienced a security breach on March 13, which delayed its launch from the original Q4 2023 target. The breach involved a social engineering attack that compromised the protocol’s DNS, prompting Warwick to overhaul the project’s security measures.
The May 13 launch date is still pending final approval from Infinex’s governing council, the Infinex Council, which will vote on-chain to make a decision. Warwick expressed confidence in the council’s approval.
Post-launch, Warwick hopes Infinex will achieve $50 million in total value locked and attract 10,000 genuine users in the first 30 days, distinguishing real users from the 200,000 on the waitlist, which includes sybils, airdrop farmers, and bots.
Warwick is optimistic about Infinex’s growth potential, expecting “hundreds of thousands” of users to join within a year if the current bullish market conditions persist.