The cryptocurrency market has been in turmoil for at least a year: hacks and attacks, the theft of colossal sums, incredible spikes in the value of key cryptocurrencies, and scandals, over and over again. Right now, we are watching the rush of the crypto industry giant, the centralized cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

Picture: Bitcoin exchange rate fluctuations in June 2023

All these events raise questions about the reliability and sustainability of centralized cryptocurrency exchanges. The next challenge is what will replace centralized exchanges and what technology will be used to create and operate them. This is discussed below in our article.

On the way to digital finance

Traditional banks and fiat currencies have become an indispensable part of human life for hundreds of years. The classics of economic theory have taught us that banks and financial institutions are the lifeblood of society. This has been the conventional wisdom for a long time.

But nothing lasts forever. And already economists of the middle of the 20th century, analyzing the phenomenon of inflation, questioned the ability of the state to control this process qualitatively: “The central banks’ promise of stability for a longer period of time is false in all cases. Their definitions of price stability mean that money tends to depreciate – some faster than others,” Peter A. Fischer notes in the pages of the respected Swiss newspaper NZZ.

The explosive growth of technology and innovation over the past forty years is forcing a rethinking of many traditional concepts including the traditional financial system.

Experts highlight two principal approaches to the functioning of a state’s monetary system. Firstly, the strictest and clearest rules can ensure that central banks are institutionally forced to give priority to monetary stability in their work.

For example, Othmar Issing, the first chief economist of the European Central Bank, acknowledged that rules have yet to be found that would provide long-term protection against political influence and politicization by elected officials.

Second, free competition between currencies could discipline central banks. As a central tool, proponents of the Austrian school of thought in economic science see private currencies that are as free from state influence as possible. With the advent of cryptocurrencies, their ideas have become easier to implement – although recently traditional central banks have been trying to counter this with central bank digital money projects and regulatory restrictions.

We can see how in the last 2-3 years states are trying to “ride the wave” of cryptocurrencies issued by the state (more than 100 states of the world are at one or another stage of implementation of digital currencies of the central bank, CBDC).

In any case, and in this opinion the experts of NZZ magazine are unanimous, as long as central banks keep inflation under control, prevent the development of crises on a global scale and manage currencies that are convenient for everyone, their position is stable.

But as Friedrich von Hayek, the greatest economic thinker of the 20th century, said: competition with public and private currencies is necessary. The world has embarked on this path, has tasted it, and will not turn back.

Diva.exchange’s brief history: how it started

Project “diva.exchange” appeared when it became clear that traditional financial systems do not cover the needs of 21st-century users, and centralized cryptocurrency exchanges copied the centralized management model and are very vulnerable.

Let’s turn back and look at the evolution of the “diva.exchange” project.

Diva (the software created by diva.exchange) is a distributed exchange (DX) and blockchain-based application that facilitates the trading and exchange of digital assets in a secure and transparent manner. It aims to provide a user-friendly and efficient solution for individuals and businesses to engage in peer-to-peer transactions without relying on intermediaries or central authorities.

One of the key features of diva.exchange is its fully distributed nature. Unlike traditional centralized exchanges, diva.exchange operates on a blockchain network, which means that the trading process is peer-to-peer and does not require users to deposit their funds into a centralized platform. Instead, users retain control over their assets, holding them in their own wallets until the point of the trade. This decentralized approach enhances security, reduces the risk of hacking or theft, and ensures greater transparency.

The history of diva.exchange dates back to its inception in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space. While specific details may have emerged and evolved over time, here is a general overview of the development of diva.exchange:

Foundation and Conceptualization (2020): diva.exchange was founded as an association in 2020 with the goal of creating a fully distributed exchange that prioritizes privacy security and usability. The team behind diva.exchange recognized the limitations of centralized exchanges and saw an opportunity to leverage blockchain technology to build a more transparent and efficient trading platform.

Development and Prototyping (since 2020): The team is focused on designing and developing the core infrastructure of diva.exchange. They are working on creating the underlying blockchain architecture, «smart contract» functionality, and user interfaces. The goal is to ensure a seamless and intuitive trading experience for users while emphasizing fully distributed and privacy.

Research cooperations (since 2020): Every few months diva.exchange is launching a new research cooperation with Swiss Universities. The research work is very much focused on discovering problems within the technical framework of diva.exchange and its related software components. The research work is – as all the source code – publicly available within the well-known repositories of diva.exchange (like GitHub, see links below). Usually, diva.exchange and related researchers are present at various conferences to present and discuss their work.

Conclusions

Cryptocurrencies themselves are not a universal answer to today’s challenges to the financial system. Cryptocurrency, or any digital asset, is much more than a simple replacement of a paper banknote with software code. It is a completely new way of thinking and perceiving, a new dimension of familiar things: privacy, security, and freedom. Diva.exchange opens the door to the space of distributed digital assets.

THIS IS DIVA.EXCHANGE

The non-profit association diva.exchange, Switzerland, uses a barrier-free and collaborative approach to create free banking technology for everyone. The open source technology ensures the privacy of all participants in the financial system of the future. The blockchain-based system is fully distributed. Everyone can participate in diva.exchange.

Diva.exchange is committed to the belief that only commercially free technology can reliably protect user privacy.

Collaboration with the scientific community plays an important role in the development of diva.exchange. The results of diva.exchange research are constantly being validated by academic institutions and publicly presented at specialized conferences.

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR WORK

All technical information is available at: https://github.com/diva-exchange/

I2P beginner’s guide and installation guide:https://www.diva.exchange/en/privacy/introduction-to-i2p-your-own-internet-secure-private-and-free/

All videos are here: https://odysee.com/@diva.exchange:d/

Introduction to I2P: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I2P

Testnet of diva.exchange: https://testnet.diva.exchange

CONTACT US

Twitter: https://twitter.com/@DigitalValueX

Mastodon: https://social.diva.exchange/@social

If you still have questions you can always find us on Telegram: https://t.me/diva_exchange_chat_de (in English, German or Russian)