Solrise Finance and Civic Technologies Launch First Permissioned DEX on Solana

The first on-chain decentralized exchange on Solana with permissioned access based on digital identity, Solrise DEX Pro, launches today.

LONDON and SAN FRANCISCO (Sept. 23, 2021) — Solrise Finance, a Solana-based decentralized investment platform, and Civic Technologies, a leading innovator in digital identity solutions, have partnered to launch the first on-chain decentralized exchange on Solana with permissioned access based on digital identity. With growing regulatory scrutiny, a permissioned DEX sets the stage for more checks and balances within the DeFi ecosystem.

“This is our way of bridging the world of institutions to DeFi without resorting to centralization, thanks to Civic,” said Filip Dragoslavic, Co-Founder of Solrise. “With Solana already being the most familiar DeFi ecosystem for traditional finance, we expect to become one of the primary hubs for institutions that wish to jump into the ecosystem.”

The new DEX, named Solrise DEX Pro, is built on Project Serum, an on-chain decentralized exchange that utilizes Solana’s throughput to offer a traditional order book experience. Civic Pass, Civic’s identity verification for DeFi or any dApp, and Solrise DEX Pro together create a permissioned environment that is more suitable for institutional players. Solrise DEX Pro will receive support from one of the largest digital asset firms in the space, Alameda Research, a key investor in the Solana ecosystem. The firm will be providing initial liquidity for the DEX as well as ongoing support.

Though permissionless access is considered a core principle of DeFi, the concept is often at odds with the goals of large capital allocators. These institutional investors would like to participate in the DeFi ecosystem, but must meet specific regulatory requirements in order to do so. The introduction of Solrise DEX Pro allows the Civic and Solrise teams to create a parallel ecosystem for institutional players, which are able to tap into the larger ecosystem of Solana on-chain liquidity, while staying in a familiar and permissioned environment. The platform is designed to complement existing permissionless DeFi structures rather than to replace them.

“A permissioned DEX paves the way for more participants in the DeFi ecosystem, including institutional investment,” said Chris Hart, CEO of Civic. “We’re building technology that thoughtfully protects individuals, their digital identities and our new financial systems. In Solrise, we’ve found a partner that shares our values and is working with us to set a higher standard that will ultimately benefit the broader industry.”

Civic provides a KYC solution, through Civic Pass, that a dApp provider can use as an input to their compliance program. Solrise DEX Pro uses Civic Pass to determine which participants meet their rigorous standards for verification prior to allowing them the ability to trade. From Solrise DEX Pro, users are guided to use Civic’s identity verification technology solution. Once the user has completed the Civic Pass screening process, Solrise DEX Pro will use the results of the screening to allow trades on the DEX.

Investors may use Solrise DEX Pro immediately and also watch a demo. The DEX is available to qualified users, which excludes users in the United States and sanctioned countries.