Shadow Exchange

A Sonic-native, order‑style concentrated‑liquidity DEX built on the high‑speed Sonic blockchain. Featuring x(3,3), xShadow, dynamic fees, and sub‑second trades.

Overview

Shadow Exchange is a decentralized exchange (DEX) launched in early 2025 on the Sonic blockchain, designed for speed, efficiency, and capital‑optimized trading :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}. As a concentrated liquidity DEX, it improves upon legacy AMMs by enabling liquidity providers to define price ranges for their assets, resulting in reduced slippage, superior fee returns, and tailored capital allocation :contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8}.

Deploying all trading operations on Sonic means ultra‑fast, sub‑second processing and extremely low transaction costs—average fees under $0.001—powered by Sonic’s Fee Monetization model which returns 90% of gas to developers :contentReference[oaicite:9]{index=9}.

Shadow Exchange includes advanced incentive mechanics such as the x(3,3) reward model, xShadow governance token, and dynamic fee splitting, making it more user-friendly and efficient compared to other concentrated‑liquidity platforms :contentReference[oaicite:10]{index=10}.

Sub-second trades

How It Works

Concentrated Liquidity

Liquidity providers can assign assets to specific price ranges (e.g., ETH‑USDC between $2,300–2,500), rather than funding the entire price spectrum. This maximizes capital efficiency and enhances returns while reducing slippage :contentReference[oaicite:11]{index=11}.

x(3,3) Incentive Model

An evolution of Solidly’s ve(3,3), x(3,3) allows users to stake SHADOW into xShadow, vote on pool emissions, and earn protocol fees and emissions— all without rigid lockups :contentReference[oaicite:12]{index=12}.

xShadow & PvP Rebase

xShadow is the staking-based governance token, earned at 1:1 via SHADOW staking. Early exits incur penalties redistributed to remaining holders via PvP rebase, fostering active and aligned governance :contentReference[oaicite:13]{index=13}.

Dynamic Fees & Custom Splitting

Fees adapt to volatility: high‑volume pools set higher fee shares for LPs, while emerging pools may offer lower fees with boosted token rewards to incentivize early participation :contentReference[oaicite:14]{index=14}.

Architecture & Core Concepts

Shadow Exchange runs on Ramses V3 Core, a Uniswap V3 fork tailored for Sonic’s throughput. Its architecture layers programmable liquidity ranges, NFT‑based LP positions, and gas-efficient Stark-based order execution.

Smart contracts are audited and open-source, hosted in the “shadow-core” GitHub repo :contentReference[oaicite:15]{index=15}. Key components include:

Liquidity Range UI

Tokenomics & User Incentives

Key token features:

Earnings for participants include:

With ≈40M TVL and $1.6B monthly volume :contentReference[oaicite:17]{index=17}, Shadow is one of Sonic’s fastest-growing DEXes.

Getting Started: Step by Step

Stake xShadow Interface

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is x(3,3)?

A flexible incentive mechanism allowing users to stake SHADOW into xShadow and vote on pool gauges, earning fees and emissions without long lockups :contentReference[oaicite:20]{index=20}.

2. How does concentrated liquidity work?

LPs define specific price ranges for token availability, concentrating capital to reduce slippage and enhance fee yield compared to broad-range liquidity models.

3. What is PvP rebase penalty?

Early xShadow exits incur up to 50% penalty, which is redistributed to remaining stakers at epoch end—rewarding loyalty and active participation.

4. How are fees split?

Swap fees (0.3%) mostly go to LPs (95%). Protocol fees, gauge emissions, and dynamic adjustments are controlled via stakeholder voting.

5. Is Shadow secure?

Yes—built on audited contracts (Ramses V3), with community governance, on-chain transparency, and open source code :contentReference[oaicite:21]{index=21}.

6. How can I start with minimal capital?

You can begin by swapping small amounts using the interface. Liquidity provision requires more capital but can be scaled down using narrow price ranges.