Yellow, also known as Yellow Network, is a Web3 infrastructure project designed as a decentralized, Layer-3 peer-to-peer financial network. Its primary purpose is to address liquidity fragmentation in the cryptocurrency market by connecting various exchanges, blockchains, and trading firms into a unified infrastructure for sharing liquidity and executing cross-chain trades. ^{[1] [2]}

Overview

Yellow aims to solve the issue of liquidity silos, where digital asset trading is spread across numerous isolated exchanges and blockchains, each with its own distinct markets and liquidity pools.

This fragmentation contrasts with traditional financial markets, which are more globally interconnected. The project proposes a solution by creating a peer-to-peer mesh network where participants, referred to as brokers, can directly communicate, trade, and aggregate the liquidity of all connected nodes. This model is intended to create a deeper, more efficient global market for digital assets. ^[2]

The core of Yellow's architecture is built on state channel technology. This approach is designed to overcome the scalability limitations of standard blockchain consensus mechanisms, which are often too slow for the high-throughput demands of modern financial trading. By moving the high frequency of transaction processing off the main blockchain, state channels enable real-time settlement between participants without requiring a new block to be created for every trade. This is intended to facilitate cross-chain trading without the need for traditional asset bridges, which often introduce security risks. ^{[1] [2]}

The project's vision is to integrate the benefits of blockchain technology into the primary use case of cryptocurrency trading.

Louis Bellet, CEO of Yellow, stated;

"Today, trading and speculation are the #1 use case for cryptocurrency, but most trading does not use any benefits of the blockchain. This is about to change." ^[2].

It is noted in the project's official documentation that Yellow Network is a project in development, and not all described solutions have been fully implemented, with technical specifications subject to change. ^[2]

History

The project's public roadmap outlines a series of development milestones planned for 2024 and 2025, focusing on building its core infrastructure and ecosystem. The first quarter of 2024 was dedicated to research and development for its state channel technology and account abstraction solutions, culminating in the launch of the Yellow Smart Account. The second quarter focused on the closed beta releases for the Yellow Terminal and its NeoDAX brokerage software. ^[1]

Later in 2024, the project planned to launch the Yellow Wallet and establish the legal framework for its Clearing Network in the third quarter. The fourth quarter was scheduled for the launch of the Yellow.com user portal and the finalization of the core protocol's architecture.

The development plan for 2025 shifts toward broader adoption and public releases. The first quarter of 2025 was slated for the beta launch of the Yellow SDK with private testing among initial partners. This was to be followed in the second quarter by the production release of the SDK, expansion to six new EVM-compatible chains, the launch of a builder program, and a comprehensive security audit. ^[1]

The latter half of 2025 is planned to feature the launch of the first applications built by partners, the public release of the NeoDAX software, and the finalization of the Clearing Network architecture. A public bug bounty program is also scheduled for this period. The year is expected to conclude with the public release of the Yellow Clearing Network, the launch of a Yellow App Store, the introduction of risk-neutral market-making solutions, and the initiation of a closed beta for supporting non-EVM chains. ^[1]

Technology

Yellow's infrastructure is designed as a multi-component system that combines off-chain communication with on-chain settlement to facilitate high-speed, cross-chain financial applications.

Core Architecture

The network is described as a decentralized Layer-3 peer-to-peer mesh network. It is positioned as an application layer that operates on top of existing Layer-1 and Layer-2 blockchains, utilizing state channels as its foundational technology. ^[2]

State channels are a core component used to enhance the throughput of public blockchains. This technology works by moving the high frequency of transaction processing off the main chain, creating private communication channels between participants. Within these channels, parties can execute a large number of transactions almost instantaneously without incurring on-chain fees for each one.

Only the final net state of the transactions is settled on the underlying blockchain, which is intended to reduce computational load on network nodes and enable real-time settlements suitable for high-frequency trading. Co-founder Louis Bellet noted that state channels "'Significantly Reduce Congestion and Transaction Fees,' Ideal for Decentralized Exchanges". ^[1]

Yellow Clearing Network

The Yellow Clearing Network is a non-custodial system designed to connect multiple exchanges and liquidity providers to aggregate and share liquidity. It utilizes multisignature smart contracts to secure user funds, ensuring that assets are not held by a single centralized entity. The network has connection points across major blockchains to facilitate the use of cross-chain collateral and enable settlements between different networks without requiring assets to be bridged. ^[1]

This network is designed to function similarly to a clearing house in traditional finance. A report from Bitcoinist highlighted the project's "ClearSync Protocol," describing it as an analogue to this traditional financial intermediary. ^[1]. According to a Nasdaq report, the network allows "participating exchanges to tap into supplementary liquidity reserves as needed" to "improve the trading experience for their users." ^[1]

Nitrolite Protocol

The Nitrolite Protocol is described as a modular infrastructure stack for building fast, scalable, and cross-chain applications on the Yellow Network. It integrates a real-time clearing engine, the Yellow SDK, and a network of smart nodes. The project has associated this protocol with the ERC-7824 standard, suggesting a focus on standardized communication and interoperability within its ecosystem. ^[1]

Products and Solutions

Yellow provides a suite of tools and software aimed at developers and businesses looking to build decentralized financial applications.

Yellow SDK

The Yellow SDK is a chain-agnostic Software Development Kit for building decentralized applications. It is marketed as having "bridge-less infrastructure," allowing developers to create applications that can interact across multiple blockchains without relying on traditional asset bridges. The SDK is designed for various use cases, including decentralized finance (DeFi), gaming, and the tokenization of Real World Assets (RWAs). ^[1]

NeoDAX™

NeoDAX™ is the flagship product built using the Yellow SDK. It is an open-source toolset for launching a crypto brokerage or exchange. Its features include:

• Guided Setup: A streamlined process for rapid deployment of a trading platform.
• Scalability: The architecture is designed to handle a high volume of transactions, stated to be in the hundreds of thousands per second.
• Security: The system combines security features from both centralized and decentralized financial systems to protect user assets and data. ^[1]

Other Products

The project's roadmap includes the development of additional ecosystem components. The Yellow Wallet was scheduled for launch in the third quarter of 2024.

Additionally, a Yellow Smart Account, an account abstraction solution designed to simplify user interactions with the blockchain, was planned for launch in the first quarter of 2024. ^[1]

Tokenomics

The ecosystem is powered by its native utility token, $YELLOW. The token is designed to serve multiple functions within the network, integrating payments, security, and governance.

The primary utilities of the $YELLOW token include:

• Transaction Fees: Used to pay for transactions submitted through a user's Yellow account across various supported chains.
• Clearing Fees: Both parties involved in a batch settlement on the Clearing Network pay a dynamically priced fee in $YELLOW, which is based on the USD value of the transaction.
• Network Access and Security: Applications can require participants to deposit $YELLOW as a form of collateral to incentivize responsible behavior and secure network operations.
• Tooling Access: The token provides access to premium modules within the SDK, as well as to wallets and routing tools in the ecosystem.
• Staking: Users can stake $YELLOW to enable a gasless user experience on the network and to earn rewards from network fees.
• Earning Opportunities: Participants in the ecosystem can earn $YELLOW by taking on roles such as brokers, validators, liquidity providers, or ecosystem integrators.

These functions are intended to create a circular economy where the token is used for network operations, and participants are rewarded for their contributions. ^[1]

Team

The Yellow project is led by a team with experience across fintech, blockchain development, and software architecture.

Alexis Yellow serves as the Executive Chairman and is a former rocket and aviation software developer who also co-founded a major cryptocurrency market maker.

Louis Bellet is the Co-Founder and Chief Architect, described as a serial entrepreneur in fintech and blockchain with experience working with major global banks. ^[1]

The technical leadership includes several Chief Technology Officers with specialized roles.

Camille Meulien, CTO and Architect, has over two decades of experience in fintech security, distributed systems, and high-traffic systems.

Hongtao J, CTO of Ecosystem, was formerly the Head of Exchange Tech at BybitX and m2.com.

Alessio Treglia, CTO of Protocol, previously served as the CTO at Tendermint, the company behind core infrastructure for the Cosmos ecosystem, including Tendermint Core and the Cosmos SDK. Other key members include Bakhtiyar Mamedov as CFO, with 18 years of experience at PwC; Shyla Khan as CMO, with prior marketing experience for Polkadot, Kusama, and DappRadar; and Neil Meintjes as COO, with over 25 years of experience in the ITC space. ^[1]

Funding

According to media mentions on the project's website, Yellow secured $10 million in a fundraising round led by Chris Larsen, the co-founder of Ripple. The article referenced is dated June 30, 2025. ^[1]

Partnerships

The project lists several backers and partners from across the Web3 and venture capital landscape. Individual backers include Chris Larsen. Institutional partners and backers include Consensys, Scroll, Avalanche, Cobo, Polygon, Fireblocks, Magmo, Zokyo, Mesh, Hacken, Gate.com, LD Capital, Linea, Flow, GSR, DWF Labs, Coinsilium, and NxGen. ^[1]