ForkDelta, also known in the cryptosphere simply as, FD, is an off-shoot or fork of Ethereum Decentralized Exchange (DEX), EtherDelta (ED).^[1][4][5]

Overview

ForkDelta or known in the cryptosphere simply as, FD, is an off-shoot or fork of Ethereum decentralize. When it comes to trading ETH and ERC20 tokens, ForkDelta is one of the more popular decentralized exchanges out there today.^[1]

However, it also has the reputation as being one of the least beginners friendly optionsd exchange, EtherDelta (ED). In December 2017, EtherDelta became a target of a Domain Name System snatching scheme during the 2017 Crypto bull market. ForkDelta was founded in January 2018. Just like EtherDelta, ForkDelta only provides trading in Ethereum tokens or more specific, ERC20 tokens, tokens based on the ERC20 token standard.^[2]

Since it is based on Ethereum, the serviceability of the platform is dependent on smart contracts. This means that trading is not instant, and any clogging in the smart contract will undoubtedly cause delays in ForkDelta as well. Asides mot being user beginner friendly, another disadvantage of ForkDelta is that fiat-crypto trade is not possible, meaning that new cryptocurrency investors will not be able to use the platform before utilizing another one to make the fiat-crypto trade first.^[3]

About

ForkDelta is an open source fork of EtherDelta that still uses the same smart contract but different front-end interface. Essentially the back-end is exactly the same (and not just a duplicate, it is literally the same smart contract) while the outside is slightly different.^[2]

December 2017, hackers managed to compromise EtherDelta’s DNS server and serve its users a phishing site instead. At least 308 ETH was stolen as a result of the hack. Around the same time as the hack, there were strong suspicions that the original creators of EtherDelta had sold the site. The new owners immediately embarked on an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) at the end of 2017, which raised numerous red flags from the community, such as its whitepaper missing key elements.^[4]

The ICO became a failure and it reached only 3% of its hard-cap. The EtherDelta token, is now practically worthless and useless. All of these prompted members of the EtherDelta community to lose faith in the platform, with many worrying that the security of their funds had been compromised. Hence, a few of them decided to take matters into their own hands. Thus, in February 2018, ForkDelta was created. After the creation of ForkDelta, EtherDelta is essentially dead and is considered inactive.^[1]

Popularity of ForkDelta

Kindred to AirSwap, ForkDelta is a decentralized exchange that allows you to trade ETH and other ERC20 tokens. While its trading volume isn’t particularly high, its popularity stems from it being the first access points for listing of ERC tokens post-ICO (this was the case for EtherDelta too prior to the fork). As a result, ForkDelta has probably the highest number of ERC20 tokens listed; well over 200.^[1]

Buying and Selling ERC20 Tokens

Unlike AirSwap, which grants users access to use Metamask wallet to directly trade ERC20 tokens, ForkDelta imposes on extra layer, funding the underlying smart contract. To do this, you will have to use the ‘Balance’, which can be found at the left top corner of the screen of the wallet.^[3]

Note that the gas price default might actually be set a little high. You can go to ETH Gas Station to check the standard gas price and the safe low gas price. Once you click submit the following notification pops up which also gives you transaction hash ID that you can check on Etherscan. An important advice, always check the market price before selecting an order.^[2]