Basis Markets: 2024 review

As we begin a new year, it's time to reflect on the progress and development from the previous one. For both Basis Markets and the macro environment in general, 2024 was marked by substantial technological advancements, community growth, and market opportunities. A lot has happened, so let's dive into its key highlights.

The market in a nutshell

There was plenty of market action in 2024, specifically:

Increased volatility: Market fluctuations have created favorable conditions for basis trading and funding rate arbitrage.

Growing DeFi ecosystem: Solana DeFi, in particular, has seen significant growth, with total value locked reaching new highs.

Institutional interest: The approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in the beginning of the year has brought new liquidity and trading volumes to the market.

The beauty of basis trading is that as traders, we're not so reliant on the ups and downs of the market, because the BTX and its delta neutral trades allows us a safe haven under different market conditions.

Market Overview

Traditional Finance

2024 was a year of unexpected resilience in global financial markets. Despite initial fears of recession, many developed market indices saw gains of over 25%, driven by tech, AI, and large-cap growth stocks.

Inflation more than halved in most developed countries, leading to discussions of potential rate cuts from Central Banks, which did happen later in the year. Even with moderate inflation and stable markets, geopolitical uncertainty remains with conflicts involving Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Hamas, as well as tensions with China/Taiwan.

Donald Trump won office for his second time on Nov. 5, 2024. which did help the markets turn green, with the S&P 500's earnings growing 13% over the year, from $5,783 to $6,001.

U.S. securities went up. Bitcoin went up. On election day Bitcoin was sitting at $69,122. A day after, it had risen to $74,446. A few months later and it crossed the mythical $100,000 barrier, reaching its all time high of $106,142 on Dec. 17, 2024. Not surprisingly, given that with Trump, the U.S. has its first pro-crypro president, bringing with him key staff friendly to crypto as well.

Regardless of price direction, basis trading can generate yield from funding rates, which is why we created Basis Markets and the Basis Trade eXecutioner (BTX), which we'll get to shortly.

Crypto

The crypto market experienced a resurgence, with Bitcoin reaching new all-time highs and the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the beginning of 2024, bringing increased institutional interest. The 4th Bitcoin Halving took place, and the crypto market continued its rally when news of spot Ethereum ETF approval in May heated things up further.

Institutional investors helped crypto become more mainstream, with firms and financial advisors recommending crypto to be part of investiment portfolios. By mid-year, big guns like BlackRock and Fidelity already owned half a million BTC (worth $32 billion at the time) for their spot Bitcoin ETFs.

These conditions have created favorable opportunities for delta-neutral trading strategies, which our Basis Trade eXecutioner (BTX) is well-positioned to capitalize on. Imagine a 700% APR like this Long Short across two exchanges. This a position opened via the BTX with the click of a button:

If you're not yet using the BTX, you can access it with the Basis Markets NFT. With it, you can access the BTX and the DAO, with its members-only channels on Discord. Join the discord here and head over to our official-links channel, or buy the NFT from Tensor, Solsea, or Magic Eden.

Moving on, 2024 also had a resurgence of activity in DeFi with decentralized exchanges (DEX) setting a record high of $462 billion on Dec. 30, 2024, the highest ever monthly volume in DEX.

A lot of this activity was caused by a return of Airdrop & Meme culture, with thousands of memes being created on pump.fun, the favourite meme creation DYU platform. The majority of these memecoins were launched on Solana, which has been at the forefront of crypto market action and was without a doubt the top blockchain for 2024.

Product Development

There was a lot going on this year for Basis Markets and the Basis Trade eXecutor (BTX), as well as the Basis Trade Engine (BTE) — more on that later.

Throughout 2024, we live streamed updates and new features added to the BTX, such as this one in Q1, announcing multi-exchange integration, which allowed users to execute cross-exchange, opening the door to a wide range of basis arbitrage opportunities.

If you don't know how to take advantage of basis trades and the BTX, this is a good starting point:

In Q2 we streamed another live townhall, showcasing new UI and UX updates that allowed users to enhance trading efficiency, improve user experience and providing real-time updates on positions, fees, and orders.

By the way, if you'd like to find out more about basis trading and how it can optimise this for you, check out the project docs and join the discord.

In Q3 we hosted a Discord month in review town hall, summarized in this X thread. We continued to release new versions, that even being small versions, had several changes, which we published in our discord server in a dedicated channel.

Basis Trade eXecutor (BTX)

The BTX is our flagship product and it has seen significant enhancements throughout 2024. The current version of the BTX has gone through multiple alpha and beta releases. Dozens of changes and feedback from our NFT holder community were incorporated into the product to make the BTX a superior trading platform.

Multi-exchange enablement: The platform now supports seamless cross-exchange operations, integrating major exchanges like Binance, Bitget, Bybit, KuCoin and WOO X.

UI/UX Overhaul: A comprehensive redesign has improved user experience, providing more intuitive interfaces and better insights into opportunities and execution.

Real-time updates: The system offers live updates on position status, fees, and orders, enhancing transparency and user control.

Error management: A sophisticated error management system has been implemented, allowing for detailed insights into partial trades and easier monitoring.

Performance improvements: Significant backend optimizations have led to faster loading times and more efficient data handling.

Basis Trade Engine (BTE)

The BTE is the original product that started Basis Markets, providing data in real time, with insights and analysis that would support users with their delta-neutral trading. The BTE is under maintenance, however, the following is on our pipleline:

Re-launch as BTE 2.0: Integrated with BTX technology for improved efficiency and functionality.

Enhanced data pipeline: A new infrastructure allows for rapid integration of new exchanges and more comprehensive market analysis.

UI/UX improvements: Redesigned dashboards align with the updated BTX front-end, providing a cohesive user experience across platforms.

Community and DAO Initiatives

There is no product without users. The community plays their role as the glue to which new users get onboarded and stick around. Those here since the beginning have tested the product in beta, giving feedback and contributing to what Basis Markets is today.

We have listened to you throughout 2024 with:

Regular updates: townhalls and frequent development updates have kept the community informed and engaged.

Beta testing: The community has played a crucial role in testing and providing feedback on new features, contributing to the platform's stability and usability.

Governance: The DAO has been active in shaping the project's direction, with several key proposals passed, including the implementation of referral and ambassador programs.

Challenges and Solutions

The year was filled with solutions for hard problems, adaptating to user requests as it pertained to features in the user interface and functionality of the BTX, as well as welcoming community suggestions for different areas such as onboarding new users, marketing, and platform technicalities (trading platform fees, buy back mechanisms, etc).

Among the challenges and solutions, we've had:

Market adaptations: Rapid changes in the crypto market required quick adjustments to the platform's capabilities and strategies.

Community support: During periods of platform updates or downtime, the community's patience and feedback were invaluable in improving the system.

Technical hurdles: The team faced and overcame several technical challenges, including database infrastructure issues and exchange integration complexities.

Looking Ahead: The Basis Launch Trajectory

As we move towards the public launch of the BTX, the team has outlined a three-stage approach:

NFT Full Launch: Limited to NFT holders, this stage will introduce committed $BASIS smart contracts, transaction fees, and the buy-and-burn mechanism.

Invite Launch: NFT holders will be able to invite others via referral links, expanding the user base while maintaining controlled growth.

Public Launch: The final stage will open the platform to anyone with a Solana wallet and exchange connectivity.

This phased approach aims to ensure a smooth transition to full public access while maintaining system stability and incorporating user feedback at each stage.

Conclusion

2024 has been a transformative year for Basis Markets. We have made significant strides in product development, community engagement, and market positioning. As we look towards the public launch and beyond, we're well-positioned to become the leading platform for delta-neutral trading.

The team extends its gratitude to the community for their continued support, feedback, and patience throughout this journey. With the full, public lanch of the BTX and our foundations firmly in place, 2025 promises to be an exciting year of growth and opportunity, with you on our side.