Airswap (ticker symbol: AST) is a cryptocurrency and decentralized trading network that allows users to trade peer-to-peer on the Ethereum blockchain. The project was first announced on September 26, 2017^[1][2][3].

Overview

AirSwap was based on the Swap Protocol, distributed in May 2017. Swap provides a decentralized trading solution that centers on a peer-to-peer design^[4][5].

AirSwap core services include a pricing Oracle and a searchable collection of traders that are intended to trade. For users that would like to trade ERC20 tokens, the DexIndex will be an asset. Once matched, traders can connect and interact with no intermediary. The Oracle will then provide price suggestions that are created by many data sources. Once the traders agree on the price, one can make an order and the second takes and submits the order to an Ethereum smart contract where it is then settled.

Trading on AirSwap has no fees, with only a digital wallet needed to participate. AirSwap doesn't match orders or host an order book-with orders that are peer-to-peer, there is no possibility for orders to collide or price slippage.

With AirSwap, there is no expense except for the Ethereum gas paid for the decentralized calculation when settling an exchange on Ethereum.

Products

DexIndex

In January 2019, AirSwap introduced DexIndex, an open-source tool that searches Ethereum decentralized exchanges to find the best cryptocurrency prices^[15].

AirSwap Instant

In April 2019, AirSwap Instant got an update to 2.0 that included many improvements in the protocol to assist traders. Because it’s peer-to-peer, makers on Instant are able to offer better prices than through other alternatives^[16].

AirSwap Trader

In August 2019, the AirSwap team released AirSwap Trader, a “trust-less escrow” for OTC traders. It was created from team brainstorming from the company's prior project, AirSwap Spaces.

AirSwap Delegates

In February 2020, the AirSwap team released a Delegates feature. Delegates allow any trader to add rules that specify the size and price of a token. Users can connect their wallet, select a token, set a price, and begin trading.

AST Token

AirSwap held an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) back in October 2017, meeting their hard cap and raising $33 million dollars. AST tokens were priced at $0.30 at the time of the ICO and reached $2.08 in January of 2018. By being an ERC-20 token, AST can be stored in any ERC-compatible wallet that is capable of connecting to the AirSwap platform. Digital wallets that are compatible include Metamask, Ledger, Trezor, and Opera. It also supports mobile wallets including Trust Wallet, imToken, Status, and Coinbase Wallet.

Team

The founders of AirSwap are Don Mosites and Michael Oved, who were students together at Carnegie Mellon University. Oved went on to become a successful algorithm trader, while Mosites became a full stack designer and entrepreneur. Mosites spent over a decade designing products at companies like Zynga and Google before launching AirSwap with Oved. A third co-founder is Sam Tabar who has 15 years of expertise in the finance industry. Tabar was previously Head of Capital Strategy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and is also a graduate of University of Oxford and Columbia Law School. Other notable figures in the AirSwap platform are former hedge fund manager Michael Novogratz and Joseph Lubin, who was a co-founder of Ethereum. Both serve as advisors to the project.

As of 2020, AirSwap team includes:

• Michael Oved - Co-founder
• Don Mosites - Co-founder
• Alice Henshaw - Software Engineer
• Sam Walker - Software Engineer
• Ethan Wessel - Software Engineer
• Shawn Kim - Software Engineer
• Chriss Sugg - UX/UI Designer
• Maxime Bucaille - Analyst
• Calvin Chan - Engineer
• Khurram Dara - General Counsel

Partnerships

On May 9th, 2019, the team hosted the second Fluidity Summit. AirSwap was among many teams, projects, and companies all gathering to participate3 in planning the future of decentralized finance. In mid-May, ETHGlobal came to New York City with members of the AirSwap team and others that participated in discussion and also supporting the AirSwap sponsor table^[10].

In early October of 2019, Devcon5 took place in Osaka, with 5 members of the AirSwap team presenting, and another 5 in attendance. They covered popular topics in the space like encryption, design, coding, tools, and infrastructure.