New dYdX v4 reaches community vote stage

On-chain vote to launch dYdX v4 is expected to be live in early September

August 28, 2023 10:26 am

Tikhonova Yana/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

The community that oversees the dYdX protocol is looking to adopt dYdX v4 in a recent governance proposal.

The crypto derivatives exchange plans to launch a custom dYdX app chain using the Cosmos SDK has been in the works since early last year as it migrates from an Ethereum rollup.

A public testnet of dYdX v4 was launched in early July and has seen transaction volumes north of $46 million.

MEV mitigation is the subject of ongoing discussion, with monitoring by Skip Protocol, combined with some sort of governance-based social slashing the trendy approach.

Newsletter

Subscribe to The Breakdown

On the governance front, Callen Van Den Elst from Wintermute has noted that a handful of requirements must be met in order to successfully launch dYdX v4.

Notably, DYDX, the native token of the network, will be the layer-1 token for its new app chain. DYDX tokens will be bridged through a one-way Ethereum smart contract commissioned by the dYdX Foundation, and validators must reference the Ethereum Smart Contract when distributing DYDX tokens on the app chain.

Community governance will also determine whether a wrapped version of the Ethereum-based DYDX token (wethDYDX) will have the same governance and utility as ethDYDX tokens on dYdX v3.

This final requirement is necessary to ensure that governance on Ethereum remains functional during the transition period.

These proposal items will all be included in a 4-day Snapshot vote beginning Monday at 7:49 pm ET.

The price of DYDX is trading at $2.16, up from $1.97 the day prior as of 10:15 am ET.

Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

The Breakdown: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.
0xResearch: Alpha in your inbox. Think like an analyst.

Tags

Newsletter

The Breakdown

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Digital Asset Summit 2026

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

buy tickets learn more

recent research

Research

ERC 8004: Introducing Trust for AI Agents

ERC 8004 introduces a new trust layer for AI agents by standardizing onchain identity, reputation, and validation. As agents begin handling capital and coordinating autonomously, trust becomes the key constraint to broader adoption. The rollout mirrors the early x402 narrative, where adoption lagged the initial launch until major integrations and a viral use case pulled attention into the ecosystem. If ERC 8004 follows a similar path, downstream infrastructure tied to the standard could see outsized benefit as the narrative gains traction. The primary beneficiaries are likely to be agent frameworks and launchpads at the distribution layer, agent to agent coordination platforms that enable delegation and payments, and validation providers that offer stronger security and execution guarantees.

by Kunal Doshi