ZK3

Future of DEX: Why ZK + CLOB Is Emerging as the Next Market Standard

Alan Hung

Alan Hung

— 3 min read
Future of DEX: Why ZK + CLOB Is Emerging as the Next Market Standard

On 18 December, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the ZK Trinity Summit convened builders, investors, and ecosystem leaders to discuss one of the most important shifts happening in crypto infrastructure today.

The first panel discussion of the summit focused on a single, high-conviction topic:

The Future of DEX — and why ZK + CLOB is structurally ahead of the curve.

The session was moderated by Alan Hung, Chief Business Officer of KalqiX, and featured senior representatives from major chains, a Tier-1 venture capital firm, and founders building next-generation decentralized exchanges powered by ZK3.

Chain Perspective: Why Base & KUB Are Prioritizing ZK + CLOB

From the infrastructure layer, the panel featured:

  • Nick, APAC Lead at Base Chain
  • Simon Pornpavit, Business Development at KUB Chain

Both speakers aligned on a reality that is still underappreciated in the broader market:

CLOB-based DEXs are already extremely rare today.
ZK + CLOB is an even smaller subset — one that very few teams globally can execute well.

Because of this scarcity, Base and KUB Chain are actively selective in supporting DEX projects. For whitelabel DEXs powered by ZK3, this support is concrete and operational, including:

  • Ecosystem grants
  • Chain-level co-branding
  • Internal ecosystem marketing and distribution support

This signals a broader shift: L1s and L2s are no longer waiting passively for DEX innovation — they are proactively enabling high-quality CLOB deployments that can scale users and volume.

VC Insight: Why CLOB Perp DEX Is a 2026 Investment Thesis

From the investment perspective, the panel included:

  • Calvin, Partner at Plutus VC

Calvin shared a clear and forward-looking view:

CLOB Perpetual DEXs are shaping up to be one of the most investable on-chain business models heading into 2026.

Several macro trends are converging:

  • A gradual but sustained shift of users from CEX to DEX
  • Infrastructure maturity around matching engines, latency, and UX
  • Growing preference for non-custodial trading architecture

On ZK + CLOB, Calvin noted that meaningful commentary is still limited — not because the model lacks potential, but because it is so rare that few market participants have deep hands-on experience with it yet.

Historically, that lack of understanding often precedes the strongest opportunities.

Founder Perspective: Solving the Cold-Start Problem

New DEX founders and representatives on the panel addressed one of the most difficult challenges in DeFi: initial liquidity and user onboarding.

Rather than relying solely on DeFi-native growth, their strategy is execution-driven:

  • Onboarding former senior BD leaders from top global centralized exchanges
  • Applying proven CEX growth and distribution playbooks
  • Preparing for a CEX → DEX migration wave as infrastructure and UX converge

This hybrid approach reflects a more mature phase of DEX evolution — combining institutional operating experience with decentralized, non-custodial infrastructure.

What the Panel Clearly Signaled

Across chains, investors, and builders, one message stood out from the first panel of the ZK Trinity Summit:

  • CLOB DEXs are scarce
  • ZK + CLOB is even scarcer
  • Ecosystem alignment is happening before the broader market narrative fully catches up

As discussed in Kuala Lumpur on 18 December, this represents a potential one-cycle-early window for teams building the right infrastructure today.

Closing: KalqiX & ZK3 — Powering the Next Generation of DEXs

As highlighted throughout the panel, the evolution of DEX infrastructure is no longer theoretical — it is already underway.

KalqiX, powered by ZK3, is focused on enabling this transition by offering DEX-as-a-Service for serious founders, ecosystems, and institutions.

KalqiX supports:

  • Whitelabel CLOB Perp DEXs powered by ZK3
  • Upgrading legacy AMM-based DEX engines into next-generation ZK + CLOB architecture
  • End-to-end support covering infrastructure, go-to-market strategy, and ecosystem integration

Our mission is to help builders move one cycle ahead — without needing to rebuild the full technical or operational stack from scratch.

Enquiries & Partnerships
📩 alan.h@kalqix.com
Alan Hung
Chief Business Officer, KalqiX