OPNX, an exchange where users can trade claims of bankrupt cryptocurrency firms, went live Tuesday, CEO Leslie Lamb said via Twitter.
“We’re here building OPNX because we want to help the industry. Right now, there are over 20 million claimants worldwide for FTX, Celsius and other platforms that are stuck waiting years just to access their funds, and we think they deserve better,” she said of the exchange.
On OPNX, short for Open Exchange, individuals can register their claims and sell them directly into crypto on orderbooks, or use their claim as portfolio margin.
Users are now able to use the exchange for spot and futures trading for major tokens including Bitcoin, Ether and USDC.
The claims trading, which hasn’t opened yet, will “allow claimants … an opportunity to be made whole again,” Lamb said on Twitter. It’s expected to open in the coming weeks.
Plans for OPNX were initially reported in January when Su Zhu and Kyle Davies, founders of the defunct hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, began raising $25 million to start the exchange.
At the time, their pitch deck reportedly referred to the project as GTX, which fell flat due to its similarity to bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. It rebranded as OPNX in February.
Su and Davies partnered on the project with Mark Lamb and Sudhu Arumugam, founders of crypto exchange CoinFlex, which in early March became the first crypto company to successfully complete restructuring.
OPNX’s native token will be CoinFlex’s FLEX token. FLEX holders will get an up to 50% discount on trading fees when using the token, which according to CoinDesk will periodically be taken out of circulation in a process called “burning.” This “may potentially improve value for FLEX holders in the future if demand and traction for OPNX increases and the supply gradually decreases,” CoinDesk reported.
In a letter posted on OPNX’s website, Leslie Lamb gave further detail on the spirit of the exchange.
“Last year, the beautiful promise of crypto — transparency and financial sovereignty — was sadly lost. The industry strayed far away from the fundamental principles that underpin crypto, opting instead for unnecessary risk and adopting the worst aspects of traditional finance,” she wrote. “These choices led to the collapse of chains, centralized exchanges, and massive projects ... The human impact has been immeasurable, and the setback to crypto adoption is immense.”
In the current market, following the aforementioned collapses, the opportunity exists to “have the greatest impact …to create the best outcome for those who have suffered and set a new standard in rebuilding the crypto industry,” she wrote.
Lamb did not return a request for further comment.
