NASH 101

Everything you need to know about NASH explained.

What is Nash?

Nash was founded in 2017 and was originally known as the Neon Exchange (NEX) whose products form an integrated financial services platform that is fully non-custodial through the use of blockchain infrastructure. Users can invest in, trade and make payments with digital assets and at no point will Nash control their funds.

Their main product is a decentralized digital asset exchange (DEX) that competes with the speed and functionality of centralized services. Connected to this are funds management tools and a payment platform that uses the exchange to convert currencies (discussed more in-depth throughout this article).

By combining revolutionary technology with simple, intuitive interfaces, Nash aims to make decentralized finance accessible to everyone.

Why is Nash needed?

Current blockchains are too slow to handle the high transaction capacity needed to process trades instantly which is why people turn to centralized solutions.

A centralized exchange (CEX) takes custody of users’ assets, allowing them to trade rapidly on a private server. Users are drawn to these services because they offer high speed and volume but you are giving up ownership of your funds and trusting the centralized service which is often susceptible to; corruption, security leaks, legal issues, insolvency, incompetency, etc.

A decentralized exchange (DEX) is much more secure than a centralized service because its infrastructure resides on the blockchain which allows users to control their own funds. But current blockchains are limited in the number of transactions they can process per second which makes it difficult to match the trading speeds of a centralized service that process hundreds of trades per second. There are many different types of DEX’s but for the sake of simplicity, we won’t go into depth on them in this article but you can read more about them as well as how Nash is a unique DEX here.

Nash’s Security Standard

Nash aims to offer its customers with the best and most secure user experience. In order to achieve the best user-friendly financial platform, you need to make security the cornerstone of everything you do. This is why Nash aims to be fully legally compliant in the jurisdictions in which they operate (including the U.S.) while at the same time providing all of their users with self-custody. After all, why would you want to trust anyone else to manage your hard earned money?

The NEX Token

Nash Exchange’s native security token is NEX and is built on the NEO blockchain. The NEX token is the first ever approved security token in Europe and was approved by regulators at the Financial Market Authority (FMA) of Liechtenstein. The NEX security token allows Nash to deliver strong token economics for investors by allowing NEX token holders to legally receive dividends from revenue generated through the exchange. You can earn passive income by staking NEX!

The NEX security token offering (STO) was conducted of a fair lottery selection (shown below). The token has a max supply of 50,000,000 NEX and token distribution can be seen below.

NEX securities token offering

NEX security token offering distribution

Staking

Users can stake the NEX token to receive dividends from the exchanges trading fees that pass through the matching engine.

Staking involves locking tokens into a smart contract anywhere from 1 month up to 2 years. The longer you stake the more rewards you receive. 1 month pays out 25% of the fees and increases gradually to 75% for the full 2-year stake. Once staked you can make a claim on the smart contract monthly at which point dividends are paid out upon claim.

Since fees are generated for all assets traded on the Nash Exchange, users will receive a dividend in each of these assets. Alternatively, you can take advantage of the exchange to automatically convert dividends into a single asset of choice with the click of a button.

In order to stake, you will have to pass a Know Your Customer (KYC) background check for legal purposes, US residents are eligible to stake as well if KYC is passed.

NEX staking instructions

***Note that during this time your staked NEX tokens cannot be removed from the smart contract until the contract length is finished but dividends are available at the time of claim.

The User Experience

The user experience Nash provides is where things really start to become apparent. The Nash team has pulled out all the stops from end-to-end when it comes to the user experience by making it seamless and intuitive.

The Nash Extension is the first cross-chain browser extension, it lets you store your assets, make fast payments, log in to services and sign smart contracts through dApps (decentralized applications) and websites that use Nash services. However, the extension is merely a tool that connects you with all of the Nash services, it will not be required in order to access the exchange or funds management tools.

Nash browser extension

Once logged in through the Nash Extension you are then taken to the exchange where you can purchase digital assets with national currencies. Nash has a global network of banking partners already setup making Nash the first decentralized exchange with fiat on-and off-ramps.

The interface is accessible to anyone and everyone and will have two user interfaces:

The simple exchange interface (to be revealed post launch) will let you buy and sell with one click, no need for complex order types or overwhelming information.

The advanced exchange interface (shown below) provides all the features traders are familiar with on centralized exchanges including complex order types, such as market and limit orders. Nash will also offer margin trading in the future.

An early version of the Nash Exchange advanced user interface

The exchange can also compete with the speed and volume of centralized exchanges by processing tens of thousands of transactions per second without taking control of your assets!

Nash isn’t limited to just one blockchain either, they will offer cross-chain trading through a number of different tokens and aim to support all major digital assets soon after launch, including Bitcoin. This will make Nash the first DEX in the world to offer true self-custody bitcoin trading! Current tokens and pairing that will be available at launch are seen below with the number doubling each month after.

Nash initial listings and pairings at launch

Nash charges no listing fees for projects to get on the exchange other than $10,000 which covers the fees for legal options to ensure listing meets legal compliance! If you are on a project team and are interested please contact the Nash team.

Nash even simplifies the business of moving and tracking your funds by providing the tools needed all within a funds management tab. Here; deposit, withdrawal, and trading histories are neatly presented on demand through a number of blockchain wallets allowing you to store and manage your assets, view balances and track your portfolio progress over time. It’s also easy to manage your staking dividends from here as well.

Funds management interface

Nash Mobile

Soon after launch, Nash will offer their mobile app for users which will provide the same experience as the web platform allowing you to have the full power of Nash at your fingertips while on the go.

Nash mobile interface

Nash Pay

Nash Pay is a digital payment service that gives retailers and customers the ability to accept, pay and convert digital payments easier than ever. It allows customers to pay through scanning of QR-codes in order to purchase goods and services, it even allows digital assets unaccepted by the retailer to be used for payment by converting them to a currency the retailer accepts through the click of a single button! Whether you’re sending money to a friend or paying for goods online Nash Pay makes it simple and easy and with the addition of the mobile app you will always be able to pay with your crypto anywhere Nash Pay is accepted.

The best part is Nash charges no additional fees for Nash Pay other than the trading fees required to swap assets behind the scenes! The process is simple and instant!

Nash Pay through the Nash Extension and mobile wallet

For example, let’s say Company XYZ is a clothing company with an online store and they accept both USD and Bitcoin but Dave (the customer) only has Ethereum, Nash Pay can handle the conversion and payment of ETH to BTC in the background all with the click of a single button needed for the transaction. Dave only sees that he paid for his clothing with ETH and the clothing store only sees that they got their BTC payment for the goods they sold. It’s a win-win!

How Nash works (a.k.a. the Matching Engine)

Nash is powered by its unique matching engine which functions by matching trades off-chain. The benefit of off-chain matching of trades allows the matching engine to bypasses the speed limitations of current blockchains. The matching engine can also match trades across multiple chains all while allowing the user to retain custody of their funds.

So how do you know that the matching engine is fair and not prioritizing one person’s trade over another? Unlike a centralized exchange or smart contract–based DEX, Nash users can verify trades through the matching engine themselves and can prove that the matching engine matches trades in the fairest way for everyone, and does so every time.

Nash architecture

Community

The Nash community is dedicated and ever expanding. If you want to be a part of the official community forum, join here.

Nash community registration process

Many people wonder why there is no telegram, it was decided early on that there would be no official community telegram group to protect Nash users due to the number of scammers targeting users more and more each day on telegram.

Developers

Nash has made a full suite of packages available to developers. Developers can easily connect to Nash’s flexible API framework to get up and running with Nash services!

So what now?

Nash will offer a one-stop shop to onboard, trade, pay, shop and off-board your assets without ever giving up custody to anyone else. It truly is going to be a simple and enjoyable end-to-end seamless experience.

Currently, there is an ongoing giveaway where you can signup for the exchange and participate for a chance to win. Don’t get left out, register here!

All information discussed here can be found through https://nash.io/ or by contacting the team.

Contact Me

Please feel free to contact me with any thoughts or suggestions about this article or if you have any questions about Nash!

I have been following the project since the first day it was announced and if I don’t know the answer I can point you to someone who does.