---
title: "Tantalus DEX: Multi-chain and Decentralized"
---

# Tantalus DEX: Multi-chain and Decentralized

## Tantalus DEX

Tantalus as a DEX on Mina Protocol. This proposal includes just start as a DEX.

## Project Background

Tantalus will be the first decentralized exchange platform in work. As a start, of the Tantalus infrastructure that settles appchains on Mina blockchain, we're starting with a DEX which will be the first multi-chain, decentralized, and MEV forwarded exchange in Mina blockchain and the whole ecosystem.

With the usage of Data Availability Layer(s), toxic waste can be extracted from the existing chains' fee payers. With the usage of light nodes, users have an universal interoperability.

Tantalus DEX will be the first DEX to leverage zero-knowledge proofs, the recursion structure of Pickles, and the small size advantage of the Mina blockchain. As the beginning, we'll run our own sequencer for security and efficiency that we can provide with less users but at the and our DEX and the appchains on our infrastructure will have a sequencer network(s).

Tantalus was created at the Lambda Hack Week 2 in Brussels during ETH CC 7. Project won, The Best App on ZKSync and 3rd place on Mina Protocol.

## Proposal Overview

Tantalus is creating a DEX with it's own infrastructure. In Mina blockchain, most of the users want to create tokens, trade tokens, use zkApps but right now they're not able to do much on the Mina. Tantalus as a DEX, will provide the exchanging tokens on Mina and it'll be interoperable with other blockchains starting with Ethereum through light node bridges.

As a start, it'll have its own sequencer which will be provided by the team for securization at the beginning. Furthermore, Tantalus will provide a sequencer network that any user can join with their light nodes and earn incentives.

We're using Mina as a settlement layer because we can recursive every transaction in a time period on the Data Availability Layer and send only one transaction to Mina for settlements.

With this architecture we're providing an intent-centric structure but without any liveness issues.

- **Problem 1:** Concurrency issue

- **Solution 1:** Concurrency issue basically defined as: Ability of different actors to perform work simultaneously without interfering with each other. As a beginner solution we could fix it with a centralized sequencer which will powered by the team. In the other way, we could use distributed computation with users of the DEX. Which means, users can create their own proofs of their transactions.

- **Problem 2:** MEV (Maximal Extractable Value)

- **Solution 2:** The MEV is mostly called with Ethereum nearby but it could be counted as a problem for most of the blockchains. Because, we're using a Data Availability Layer we can connect to any chain with light nodes for solving the MEV issue and becoming a multi-chain DEX.

- **Problem 3:** Proving Cost

- **Solution 3:** The cost of the proving is much for any protocol that uses zero-knowledge proofs. Even SNARK marketplaces are not an ease solution for achieving the cost. As an optional addition, we may users to open up their light nodes while they're doing exchanges on our DEX. With this way, users can create their own proofs for their transactions. With this way we improved the distributed computation of proving with light nodes and each users choice. As a result, we can lower the proving costs of the transactions.

- **Problem 4:** Interoperability

- **Solution 4:** Blockchains are running in their own isolated worlds. Some projects try to aggregate some of the blockchains with layer solutions. In Tantalus, we achieve the problem of interoperability through light node bridges. It may hard to bridge directly from Mina to Ethereum but you can use the light node bridges to connect Mina to Data Availability Layer and Data Availability Layer to Ethereum or another blockchains.

- **Problem 5:** Liveness issue

- **Solution 5:** Centralized systems and distributed systems that have some centralized parts have the liveness issue, which creates a single point of failure. On Tantalus DEX, we have sequencer light nodes in our sequencer network and users can create their own light nodes for their exchange transactions. This problem could achieved by us with this way.

- **Problem 6:** Liquidity Fragmentation

- **Solution 6:** As we told a little bit, some blockchains trying to create aggregated layer solutions for shared liquidity. Everyone trying to connect to Ethereum because most of the liquidity stays on there. With our interoperability solution, we solve the fragmentation with lock and transfer (or mint) methods. We'll need some locktime on the other chains.

- **Impact:** As we'll become the first DEX of Mina, we'll run some liquidity to Mina blockchain for further opportunities. Users enabling to exchange tokens on Mina blockchain is a huge impact for the Mina Protocol. With our architecture we'll becoming the first decentralized exchange platform and because of we're settling on the Mina, we'll flow some users and liquidity through the system and real-users for using the DEX. Ethereum was the beginning of everyting, but Mina is the beginning of future Ethereum so, we're settling on Mina and interpreting the Pickle proofs to other chains like Ethereum. Ethereum and Bitcoin was the beginning of blockchains but we can't say they are decentralized at all. With everything are done under mathematical proofs on Mina, we can just prove the validation of everyting for decentralized world and decentralized exchange platform.

- **Audience:** The target of our proposal is the ones who want to be in the decentralized world, decentralized blockchains and decentralized exchange. Blockchain users are not tasting the decentralization in any protocol. We're providing this with our infrastructure and our DEX which is the first use case of our architecture.

## Architecture & Design

- **Detailed Design/Architecture:**

As a DEX on Mina, Tantalus will have this architecture.
1- Users only see our DEX interface for exchanges
2- Users can run their own light nodes for their transactions
3- If exchange got started, the zero-knowledge proofs of transactions created
4- Zero-knowledge proofs sent to Data Availability Layer through light node bridges
5- Data Availability Layer, sequence the transaction proofs with its own consensus
6- Data, sent to the Sequencer Network
7- Sequencer Network
7.1.- Reads the Data Availability Layer
7.2.- Aggregates the proofs
7.3.- Create a proof for the changes on Data Availability Layer
8- Proofs are settled to Mina blockchain through light node bridges

As a start, sequencer network may changed with a single sequencer for security.


If a user creates a transaction on our multi-chain architecture:
1- The asset got locked to our smart contract on that chain
2- Locktime starts
3- If exchange got started, the zero-knowledge proofs of transactions created
4- Zero-knowledge proofs sent to Data Availability Layer through light node bridges
5- Data Availability Layer, sequence the transaction proofs with its own consensus
6- Data, sent to the Sequencer Network
7- Sequencer Network
7.1.- Reads the Data Availability Layer
7.2.- Aggregates the proofs
7.3.- Create a proof for the changes on Data Availability Layer
8- Proofs are settled to Mina blockchain through light node bridges
9- After locktime, finalization occurred

- **Vision:** As we show the problems and how we achieve we want to be a: Tantalus DEX, which is based our infrastructure, decentralized, own-sequenced and incentivized-sequenced, with user-driven proof creation, solving the MEV, and aggregate liquidity and chains with interoperable solutions.

- **Production Timeline :**


## Budget & Milestones

This section should detail the deliverables at the end of the funding period, mid-point milestones, timeline and the budget requested. It should explain how the budget will be spent.

- **Deliverables:**
- Sequencer - making proof aggregation and generating proofs which is requierd for claiming ETH
- DEX UI, including Celestia DA Web Node

- **Mid-Point Milestones:**
- Sequencer, interacting with Celestia DA
- Research about Mina - ETH proof translation
- Mina Smart Contracts for DEX
- Dashboard UI - without implementation

- **Project Timeline:** 3 Months
- **Budget Requested:** 80,000 MINA
- **Budget Breakdown:**
- 5000 MINA per month per team member - 75.000 MINA
- 5000 MINA system cost - Cloud Computing, domain, UI kit etc.

- **Wallet Address:** B62qrTUMFUQ47cSasxDgaSrw3rZRBCEPsaVnyRrcgNMRkarj3RSx3Th

## Team Info

- **Proposer Github:** [Github](https://github.com/yigityektin)
- **Proposer Experience:** Yiğit Yektin is a student of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Marmara University. He previously worked as a researcher at Inverter Network and is currently working as a researcher at Pharus. He is also a member of the ITU Blockchain Research Committee. He is responsible for researching the architecture of Tantalus.
[ETHCC7 - Ways of Scaling Ethereum: Off-chain and On-chain](https://ethcc.io/archive/Ways-of-Scaling-Ethereum-Offchain-and-Onchain)

- **Team Members:**
- **Feyyaz Numan Cavlak:** Feyyaz serves as the Head of Developers at ITU Blockchain. Previously, he worked as a Front-End Developer at Choz within the Mina Navigators program. He also held the position of Software Team Lead at the carpool start-up, Pooly. He will be working on the decentralized sequencer network structure for Tantalus.
[Github](https://github.com/feyyum)
- **Beyza Oral:** Beyza serves as the President at ITU Blockchain. She has participated in numerous hackathons over the years. Her areas of special interest include Solidity and EVM. For Tantalus, she will be writing contracts that manage liquidity on the Ethereum network.
[Github](https://github.com/0xbeyza)
- **Ömer Furkan Yürük:** Ömer is a student of Artificial Intelligence and Data Engineering at ITU. He was previously responsible for writing smart contracts with o1.js at Kimlik DAO, which was funded by ZK Ignite. He will also be writing smart contracts with o1.js for a DEX at Tantalus.
[Github](https://github.com/oemerfurkan)
- **Buse Dinç:** Buse serves as the General Secretary at ITU Blockchain. Although she has experience in Ethereum development, she will be responsible for the Front-End of Tantalus.
[Github](https://github.com/busec4)

- **Achievements:** Tantalus, was created at the Lambda Hack Week 2 at Brussels during ETH CC 7. Won two prize from Mina and ZKsync.

## Risks & Migitations
- **Adoption and Liquidity Challenges:**
- As the first DEX on Mina Protocol, there may be challenges in attracting users, liquidity providers, and achieving sufficient trading volumes to sustain the platform.
We will execute a compherensive marketing and community engagement strategy to raise awareness about Tantalus DEX. Incentive programs, such as liquidity mining and reward distributions, will be implemented to attract early adopters and liquidity providers. Partnerships with other projects and integration with wallets and services will enhance accessibility. And we collabrate with Mina Foundation to achieve success.