## What Is District0x (DNT)?

Billed as a "network of decentralized markets and communities," district0x is a platform that allows users to easily launch their own decentralized platforms which are governed by a decentralized autonomous organization ([DAO](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/decentralized-autonomous-organizations-dao)) structure. 

Each of these platforms is termed a “district” and can be launched free of charge on the district0x. The ecosystem is powered by the custom d0xINFRA framework, which provides a set of basic [smart contracts](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/smart-contract) and libraries users can use when building out their districts — enabling a wide array of potential use-cases. 

The native token of the district0x ecosystem is DNT — an ERC-20 utility token that is mostly used for community governance. 

The platform uses a combination of three main technologies: [Ethereum](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ethereum/), Aragon and the InterPlanetary File Transfer Protocol (IPFS). 

The Ethereum blockchain is used for hosting districts, whereas Aragon is used as the governance layer for the district0x network, allowing DNT stakers to benefit from governance rights and help shape the development and operation of their chosen districts. Lastly, IPFS is used for serving the district0x website source code and for user uploads within districts.


### Who Are the Founders of District0x?

District0x was founded in February 2017 by Joe Urgo and Matus Lestan.

Joe Urgo is a former professional poker player turned derivatives trader with an extensive history working as an advisor in the cryptocurrency space. He is also the founder and CEO of Sourcerers — a consulting firm specializing in tokenization and crowdsale services. 

Matus Lestan is a programmer and developer with close to a decade worth of experience working with web and mobile applications. He currently holds the position of lead developer at district0x. 

Besides the co-founders, much of the district0x team is not public facing. However, the district0x wages [transparency page](https://district0x.io/transparency/) indicates that there were at least five additional contractors working for the firm in early 2021.


#### What Makes District0x Unique?

District0x is built to tackle some of the inefficiencies that come with creating and operating distributed community marketplaces. 

It does this by providing a wide range of smart contracts and front-end libraries that developers can use to easily launch their own districts, while providing a simple platform for community governance. 

Unlike some other platforms which charge a fee for launching new applications, developers can create a district for free — though a refundable deposit will need to be paid to be added to the [District Registry](https://registry.district0x.io/). This easy access platform has already given rise to a range of successful districts, each of which have varying forms and functions. 

Some of the most popular districts include decentralized job market Ethlance, peer-to-peer ENS names marketplace Name Bazaar and Meme Factory — a district that provides a simple interface for the creation of rare digital assets.


#### Related Pages:

Check out [Rarible (RAR)](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/rarible/) — a creator-centric [NFT](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/non-fungible-token) marketplace.

Check out [Aragon (ANT)](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/aragon/) — a blockchain-based organization management solution.

[Learn about Decentralized Exchanges](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/what-are-decentralized-exchanges-dex) with CoinMarketCap Alexandria.

Want to stay on top of the market at a glance? Then follow the [CoinMarketCap blog](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/categories/blog)!


#### How Many district0x (DNT) Coins Are There in Circulation?

As of January 2021, at least 600 million DNT tokens were in circulation, representing 60% of the fixed maximum supply of 1 billion DNT.

All 600 million DNT were distributed to participants of the 2017 initial coin offering ([ICO](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/initial-coin-offering-ico)), in which district0x raised a total of $9 million. Beyond this, 180 million DNT are held in reserve for possible future fundraisers, 22 million DNT are reserved for advisors and community rewards, and the remaining 198 million DNT is held by the district0x founders—and subject to a two-year vesting schedule.

Of this, the 180 million DNT reserved for fundraisers remains to be released. The district0x team have indicated this may be burned at a later date. An undisclosed sum of team and other reserved tokens may also be out of circulation. 


### How Is the district0x Network Secured?

DNT is an ERC-20 token. As such, it is secured by the underlying [Ethereum](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ethereum/) [blockchain](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/blockchain). As of January 2021, this uses a proof-of-work ([PoW](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/proof-of-work-vs-proof-of-stake)) consensus mechanism to ensure the network is secured against attacks.

As Ethereum transitions to Ethereum 2.0, it will eventually be secured using a [proof-of-stake](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/proof-of-work-vs-proof-of-stake) (PoS) network instead — offering similar levels of protection against attacks at a lower energy cost. 


### Where Can You Buy District0x (DNT)?

The DNT token currently benefits from excellent liquidity and is available to trade on several popular exchange platforms, including;



*   [Coinbase Pro](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/coinbase-pro/)
*   [Binance](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/binance/)
*   Bittrex
*   [Uniswap](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/uniswap-v2/) (DEX)

The most popular trading pairs for DNT include: DNT/USDC, DNT/USDT, DNT/BTC and DNT/ETH. As of January 2021, there are no direct fiat trading pairs for DNT. But you may be able to [buy Bitcoin (BTC)](https://coinmarketcap.com/how-to-buy-bitcoin/) with fiat, and then exchange it for DNT. 


district0x

Trust Wallet

MetaMask

Ethereum

Shiba Inu

Chainlink

Pepe

Uniswap

KARRAT

Streamr

Sweat Economy

Artificial Liquid Intelligence

Bella Protocol

Star Atlas

Ultra

Alchemix

Sommelier

Gorilla In A Coupe

Balance AI

BMAX

OmniCat

Civic is a blockchain-based identity management solution that gives individuals and businesses the tools they need to control and protect personal identity information.

The platform is designed to change the way we think about identity verification by giving users more control over their personal data, while allowing them to access a wide range of services without needing to fork over excessive amounts of personal information.

Civic's identity verification solution uses distributed ledger technology to authorize identity usage in real time, and is used to sparingly share information with Civic partners after authorization by the user.

Unlike some other identity management services, Civic users store all their sensitive data on their mobile device. Users are able to authorize the sharing of specific personal data by providing a biometric signature through the Civic app.

The Civic ecosystem is enabled by a unique utility token known as the Civic token (CVC), which is used for the settlement of identity-related transactions between Civic participants — such as between a customer and service provider.

Users can earn CVC tokens for completing a variety of tasks, such as signing up for a service through the platform or introducing new users, while validators can earn CVCs for validating documents for service providers.

Civic was launched in 2018, following a sell-out initial coin offering (ICO) the year prior.

Civic

Orchid (OXT) is the native token of Orchid, a cryptocurrency-powered virtual private network (VPN).

Launched in December 2019, Orchid describes itself as the world’s first incentivized, peer-to-peer privacy network.

Its aim is to overcome internet freedom limitations by using cryptocurrency payments to allow anyone to purchase bandwidth from any participating provider. This is done using so-called probabilistic nanopayments, which occur using OXT, an ERC-20 standard token on Ethereum.

Regular payments to providers occur off-chain, allowing Orchid to avoid problems with congestion and gas fees on the Ethereum network.

The service is pay-per-use, meaning that users only have to contribute funds when they actually connect, instead of paying monthly or annual fees.

Orchid

Origin Protocol develops web3 technologies with the intention of bringing non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized finance (DeFi) to the masses. The protocol’s unique tooling and diverse partnerships help in realizing these goals. Origin Protocol has two flagship products: Origin Story (governed by OGN), and Origin Dollar (governed by OGV).

Origin Story is a white label NFT marketplace solution that works with disrupters in various sectors by leveraging non-fungible tokens. The platform hosts NFT marketplaces and tooling in various industries, including the real estate, profile picture, music, art and entertainment industries.

Some of Origin Story’s partners include Roofstock onChain, Pudgy Penguins, Sappy Seals, Paris Hilton, 3LAU, BT, Inspiration4, and The Doge Pound. Origin Story Marketplaces seek to cast a wide net in various industries being impacted by NFTs, rather than focusing on any one area in particular. Investors may see OGN as the ‘picks and shovels’ approach to investing in NFTs.

Origin Protocol

Hifi (formerly Mainframe) is a Lending Protocol that allows anyone to borrow against their crypto. Hifi uses a bond-like instrument, representing an on-chain obligation that settles on a specific future date. Buying and selling the tokenized debt enables fixed-rate, fixed term lending and borrowing — something much needed in decentralized finance today. It is anticipated that a ticker symbol change will occur alongside future iterations on the Hifi Lending Protocol.

Mainframe Token (MFT) is the native utility token that is used for:

Governance votes

Staking to ensure the safety of the protocol

Rewarding contributors to the ecosystem

What can you do with the Hifi Lending Protocol:

Borrow:  Lock collateral in a vault to mint fixed-rate, fixed-term debt tokens.  These debt tokens can be swapped for instant liquidity allowing users to leverage long, yield farm, or pursue other strategic trades without selling their collateral tokens.

Lend:  Buy fixed-rate, fixed-term debt tokens for a discount.  When the term expires they can be redeemed for face value, earning lenders a predictable return on their investment.

Provide Liquidity:  Earn trading fees by providing liquidity between debt tokens and stablecoins on an Automated Market Maker (AMM).

Mainframe

0x is an infrastructure protocol that allows users to easily trade ERC20 tokens and other assets on the many different blockchains (including Ethereum) without relying on centralized intermediaries. It is a protocol for decentralized exchange.

0x achieves this decentralized exchange functionality using a collection of open-source, publicly auditable smart contracts that work together to produce a flexible, low-friction trading protocol that developers can easily weave into their products.

The protocol is used by companies building web3 apps such as wallets, DEXes, portfolio trackes, and others. It is a used by hundreds of developers for their projects. The protocol has facilitates over $200B in trading volume since its inception. One can track its usage in its dedicated https://explorer.0x.org/.

The protocol is powered by an ERC20 governance token known as ZRX. ZRX holders can participate in protocol governance, having direct power over protocol changes and its community treasury.

0x Protocol

Storj, pronounced as “storage,” is an open-source cloud storage platform. Basically, it uses a decentralized network of nodes to host user data. The platform also secures hosted data using advanced encryption.

In a white paper published in December,2014, Storj was first introduced to the world as a concept. It was to be a decentralized peer-to-peer encrypted cloud storage platform.

Two years later, an updated white paper was published. Here, a decentralized network  — connecting users who need cloud storage space with those who have hard drive space to sell — was described. The platform was launched in late 2018.

People with hard drive space and good internet connectivity can participate in the network. They become a unit in the network, called a node. Space providers are rewarded by Storj tokens.

Storj

Ren (REN) is an open protocol built to provide interoperability and liquidity between different blockchain platforms.

To learn more about this project, check out our deep dive of Ren.

Formerly known as Republic Protocol, Ren launched RenVM, its virtual machine mainnet, in May 2020, having completed a $34 million initial coin offering (ICO) in 2018.

The protocol’s native token, REN, functions as a bond for those running nodes which power RenVM, known as Darknodes.

Ren aims to expand the interoperability, and hence accessibility, of decentralized finance (DeFi) by removing hurdles involved in liquidity between blockchains.

Bancor is an ecosystem of decentralized, open-source protocols that promote on-chain trading and liquidity.

Its main protocol, Carbon, is a decentralized trading protocol allowing users to perform automated trading strategies using custom on-chain limit orders and range orders, with the option of combining orders together to create automated buy low, sell high strategies.

By design, Carbon orders are irreversible on execution, easily adjustable directly on-chain, and resistant to MEV sandwich attacks. These capabilities give users an unprecedented level of control and automation to perform novel trading strategies on-chain.

Fast Lane, a separate open-source arbitrage protocol, allows any user to perform arbitrage between Bancor ecosystem protocols and external on-chain exchanges and redirect arbitrage profits back to the Bancor ecosystem.

All Bancor ecosystem protocols are governed by the BancorDAO via staked BNT.

Bancor

Band Protocol is a cross-chain data oracle platform that is able to take real-world data and supply it to on-chain applications, while also connecting APIs to smart-contracts to facilitate the exchange of information between on-chain and off-chain data sources.

By supplying reputable, verifiable real-world data to blockchains, Band Protocol unlocks a range of new use cases for developers to explore — since they can now use any type of real-world data as part of their decentralized application (DApp) logic, including sports, weather, random numbers, price feed data and more.

Band Protocol initially launched as an ERC-20 project on the Ethereum blockchain in September 2019, but transitioned to the Cosmos network in June 2020 with the release of Band Protocol 2.0. The new protocol is built on BandChain using the Cosmos SDK. Oracle nodes on BandChain not only relay data but are also involved in block production/validation, giving them a dual role.

BAND is the native token of the Band Protocol ecosystem and is used as collateral by validators involved in fulfilling data requests, as well as the main medium of exchange on BandChain — being used to paying for private data.

Band Protocol

Bluzelle is a decentralized storage network for the creator economy.

Bluzelle delivers high security, un-matched availability, and is censorship resistant. Whether you are an artist, musician, scientist, publisher, or developer, Bluzelle protects the intellectual property of all creators. Bluzelle is data storage, file storage, oracles, and more. Its is specific for NFTs and DeFi.

Bluzelle’s core products are all related to data and powered by its Tendermint Blockchain:

Bluzelle DB - a decentralized database for software developers to store information

Bluzelle Oracles - a truly decentralized pricing oracle that provides high speed and high security for Defi applications

Bluzelle Staking - where BLZ holders can currently stake their tokens and earn rewards for providing storage and pricing data.

Bluzelle

Augur

NKN (NKN), or New Kind of Network, is a network that focuses on creating a decentralized and open-source network protocol for public blockchain-based peer-to-peer (P2P) networks to share network bandwidth and internet connectivity. Its main objective is to address the challenges faced by today's internet, such as centralization, scalability issues and security concerns.

Loom Network is a platform as a service that is built on top of Ethereum and allows developers to run large-scale decentralized applications. This platform was released on October 1st, 2017.

The goal of this is to allow application developers to have smart contracts that can access much more computing power when it is required, or maintain the same power at lower costs for tasks such as trials for onboarding new users or applications that simply do not need the full security of blockchain to begin with.

In this system you have the ability to interact with APIs developed by third parties which are not on chain. Loom attempts to be the ultimate platform that allows smart contract developers to create applications without the need to switch to another programming language.

As such, they can easily integrate their applications with the outside world.

The Loom Network runs on Plasma, which is a scaling solution that allows for faster transactions throughout the network.

Loom Network

REQ is listed on Coinbase, Binance, crypto.com, KuCoin and many other exchanges.

The REQ token powers the Request Network open-source protocol via a few mechanisms: anti-spam; governance; staking; discounts; independency.

The Request (REQ) utility token, launched in 2017, ensures the performance and stability of the Request Network. The Request Network itself is an Ethereum-based decentralized payment system where anyone can request a payment and receive money through secure means. It removes the requirement for third parties in order to provide a cheaper, more secure payment solution that works with all global currencies.

The original whitepaper is available here.

When a user creates a request for payment, they define to which address the payment needs to be allocated and what the amount is. The user can also define the terms and conditions of the payment, upgrading a simple request into an invoice. Once this is completed, the user can share their request to be paid by their counterparty.

Every step is documented and stored on the Request Network, allowing everyone involved to easily keep track of all the invoices and payments for accounting purposes.

Request is also integrated with legislation across the world to remain compliant with the trade laws of each individual country.

Request

Ampleforth Governance Token

SKALE, described as a modular blockchain network, is designed to bring scalability to Ethereum. SKALE is the only blockchain network capable of running an unlimited number of fast, on-demand, pooled-security Blockchains with zero gas fees to end users. These individual chains are known as SKALE chains and can be dapp-specific or shared.

The project’s website says it wants to enable people to build and run DApps in a “decentralized modular cloud built for real-world needs and configured for your requirements.” This emphasis on decentralization isn’t at the expense of security.

According to SKALE, those who build on this platform can run Solidity smart contracts “thousands of times faster at a fraction of the mainnet cost” — with games and content streaming services among the projects that already take advantage of its infrastructure.

SKALE

Komodo

Idex claims to be the first hybrid liquidity DEX that combines an order book model with an automated market maker. It blends the performance and features of a traditional order book model with the security and liquidity of an AMM. Idex takes an innovative approach to decentralized exchanges by combining an off-chain trading engine with on-chain trade settlement. Users benefit from that in several ways.

First, this approach does away with failed trades and wasted money on gas fees, making the trading experience more pleasant and efficient. The instant trade execution means front-running or sandwich attacks are not possible and users can trade without waiting for previous trades to settle. As a result, more advanced order types and trading strategies can be executed since limit orders are possible, opening up arbitrage opportunities with other exchanges.

Idex follows an ambitious roadmap that envisions a multi-chain future for the exchange, which currently runs on Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain. For the remainder of 2021, it plans to launch on second layer solutions and Polkadot and implement a referral. For the future, Idex plans to implement leverage trading and launch on additional layer one and layer two blockchains.

IDEX

Founded in 2015, StormX is one of the first global cryptocurrency-based solutions to reach worldwide markets. As a mobile app and browser extension, StormX aims to bring users cashback in crypto for most of their online purchases. With enterprise partners like Samsung, Nike and Lego. StormX also allows users to stake the native STMX token to boost their rewards.

The company has already attracted investments from Blockfolio, Litecoin Foundation and Kyber Network. StormX has successfully developed its product and has become an industry leader in the crypto cashback community. The company is also catching users’ attention by offering cashback of up to 87.5% for some purchases.