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Automated market makers and decentralized exchanges: a DeFi primer

Author

Listed:
  • Vijay Mohan

    (RMIT University
    Lattice Analytics Pty Ltd)

Abstract

Recent advancements in decentralized finance (DeFi) have resulted in a rapid increase in the use of Automated Market Makers (AMMs) for creating decentralized exchanges (DEXs). In this paper, we organize these developments by treating an AMM as a neoclassical black-box characterized by the conversion of inputs (tokens) to outputs (prices). The conversion is governed by the technology of the AMM summarized by an ‘exchange function’. Various types of AMMs are examined, including: Constant Product Market Makers; Constant Mean Market Makers; Constant Sum Market Makers; Hybrid Function Market Makers; and, Dynamic Automated Market Makers. The paper also looks at the impact of introducing concentrated liquidity in an AMM. Overall, the framework presented here provides an intuitive geometric representation of how an AMM operates, and a clear delineation of the similarities and differences across the various types of AMMs.

Suggested Citation

  • Vijay Mohan, 2022. "Automated market makers and decentralized exchanges: a DeFi primer," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 8(1), pages 1-48, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:fininn:v:8:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1186_s40854-021-00314-5
    DOI: 10.1186/s40854-021-00314-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Eduard Hartwich & Alexander Rieger & Johannes Sedlmeir & Dominik Jurek & Gilbert Fridgen, 2023. "Machine economies," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 33(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Yutong Quan & Xintong Wu & Wanlin Deng & Luyao Zhang, 2023. "Decoding Social Sentiment in DAO: A Comparative Analysis of Blockchain Governance Communities," Papers 2311.14676, arXiv.org.
    3. Francesca Carapella & Nathan Swem, 2022. "Decentralized Finance (DeFi): Transformative Potential & Associated Risks," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2022-057, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    4. Matthias Nadler & Felix Bekemeier & Fabian Schar, 2022. "DeFi Risk Transfer: Towards A Fully Decentralized Insurance Protocol," Papers 2212.10308, arXiv.org.
    5. Ravi Kashyap, 2023. "DeFi Security: Turning The Weakest Link Into The Strongest Attraction," Papers 2312.00033, arXiv.org.
    6. Ghosh, Indranil & Alfaro-Cortés, Esteban & Gámez, Matías & García-Rubio, Noelia, 2023. "Prediction and interpretation of daily NFT and DeFi prices dynamics: Inspection through ensemble machine learning & XAI," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    7. Erdong Chen & Mengzhong Ma & Zixin Nie, 2024. "Exploring the Impact: How Decentralized Exchange Designs Shape Traders' Behavior on Perpetual Future Contracts," Papers 2402.03953, arXiv.org, revised Apr 2024.
    8. Arman Abgaryan & Utkarsh Sharma, 2023. "Dynamic Function Market Maker," Papers 2307.13624, arXiv.org.
    9. Philippe Bergault & Louis Bertucci & David Bouba & Olivier Gu'eant, 2022. "Automated Market Makers: Mean-Variance Analysis of LPs Payoffs and Design of Pricing Functions," Papers 2212.00336, arXiv.org, revised Nov 2023.
    10. Nicola Cantarutti & Alex Harker & Carter Woetzel, 2023. "Silkswap: An asymmetric automated market maker model for stablecoins," Papers 2302.07822, arXiv.org.
    11. Daniel Kirste & Niclas Kannengie{ss}er & Ricky Lamberty & Ali Sunyaev, 2023. "How Automated Market Makers Approach the Thin Market Problem in Cryptoeconomic Systems," Papers 2309.12818, arXiv.org, revised Sep 2023.
    12. Dev Churiwala & Bhaskar Krishnamachari, 2022. "QLAMMP: A Q-Learning Agent for Optimizing Fees on Automated Market Making Protocols," Papers 2211.14977, arXiv.org.
    13. Quan, Yutong & Wu, Xintong & Deng, Wanlin & Zhang, Luyao, 2023. "Decoding Social Sentiment in DAO: A Comparative Analysis of Blockchain Governance Communities," OSF Preprints bq6tu, Center for Open Science.
    14. Dominik Metelski & Janusz Sobieraj, 2022. "Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Projects: A Study of Key Performance Indicators in Terms of DeFi Protocols’ Valuations," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-23, November.
    15. Bikramaditya Ghosh & Dimitrios Paparas, 2023. "Is There Any Pattern Regarding the Vulnerability of Smart Contracts in the Food Supply Chain to a Stressed Event? A Quantile Connectedness Investigation," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-12, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Decentralized finance (DeFi); Automated market maker (AMM); Decentralized exchange (DEX); Smart contract; Ethereum;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D20 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - General
    • G20 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - General

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