Market Making
GX Exchange operates an open market-making model with no designated market maker (DMM) program. All participants compete on equal terms to provide liquidity.
Open Access
Any account can provide liquidity on GX Exchange:
- There are no special agreements, approvals, or contracts required
- All participants face the same fee schedule based on volume and staking tiers
- Market makers use the same API endpoints and order types as all other traders
- No preferential order routing or co-location services exist
Fee Incentives for Market Makers
The volume-based fee tier system naturally rewards active market makers:
| Tier | 14-Day Volume | Perp Maker Fee | Spot Maker Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | $0+ | 0.015% | 0.040% |
| 1 | > $5M | 0.012% | 0.032% |
| 2 | > $25M | 0.008% | 0.024% |
| 3 | > $100M | 0.004% | 0.016% |
| 4 | > $500M | 0.000% | 0.008% |
| 5 | > $2B | 0.000% | 0.000% |
| 6 | > $7B | 0.000% | 0.000% |
At Tier 4+, perpetual maker fees are zero. At Tier 5+, spot maker fees are also zero. Combined with staking discounts, high-volume market makers operate at minimal cost.
Recommended Tools
Post-Only Orders
Market makers should use Post-Only orders to guarantee maker execution. Post-Only orders are rejected (not filled) if they would cross the spread, ensuring the order always rests in the book and qualifies for maker fees.
API Wallets
Market makers can create up to 3 API wallets (plus 2 per sub-account) for parallel order submission:
- Each API wallet has its own nonce tracking, enabling concurrent order management
- Separate API wallets can manage different markets or strategies independently
- The main wallet signs once to authorize API wallets; subsequent orders use the lighter API wallet signature
Sub-Accounts
Market makers with diverse strategies should use sub-accounts to isolate risk:
- Each sub-account has independent margin and position tracking
- All sub-accounts share the master’s volume tier
- A liquidation on one sub-account does not affect others
Self-Trade Prevention
The expire-maker STP mode automatically cancels stale resting orders when a market maker’s new order would match against their own quote. This simplifies quote management by eliminating the need to explicitly cancel before updating.
Auto-Liquidity (Protocol-Level)
For spot tokens launched via the GIP-1 standard, GX Exchange provides an optional protocol-level auto-liquidity mechanism:
- Automated market making with a 0.3% spread
- Quotes recalculated every 3 seconds
- Operates independently of user market makers
- Can be activated by the token issuer at listing time
Auto-liquidity ensures baseline liquidity for newly listed tokens that may not yet attract independent market makers.
Best Practices
- Minimize latency: Connect to the nearest API endpoint and use WebSocket for real-time book updates
- Batch orders: Use batch order submission (up to 40 orders per batch) to reduce API weight
- Use CLOID: Assign client order IDs for reliable order tracking and deduplication
- Monitor funding: Adjust quotes around funding settlement times when volatility may spike
- Manage inventory: Use reduce-only orders and TWAP to manage accumulated inventory risk