On Thursday, May 23rd, Nash released its quarterly report covering Q1 milestones, progress, and additional details about its MVP development. During Q1, the Nash team focused mainly on user experience and acquisition but also claims to have made significant backend progress.

Nash was founded in 2017 as Neon Exchange (NEX), but underwent rebranding to Nash in early 2019. Nash aims to make decentralized finance accessible to everybody by “combining revolutionary technology with simple, intuitive interfaces.”

The FinTech company’s initial product will be a decentralized exchange (DEX) which is intended to compete with the functionality and speed of centralized services. Nash claims it will later accompany its DEX with fund management tools and a payment platform, in order to form a fully non-custodial, integrated financial services platform.

Frontend, DevOps, and Security

Many key development goals were reported to have been met in Q1. Nash was able to begin user beta testing after integrating its frontend systems with the live exchange backend. Feedback collected through the user testing process allowed Nash’s Frontend division to finalize its MVP user interface specification, which also led to improved testing procedures and feedback loops.

The final beta testing phase saw the opening of the Equilibrium beta platform to all members of the Nash Community, allowing members to provide feedback and suggestions on the implementations. Additionally, Nash reported that its Mobile division had finalized the first version of its mobile app designs and made progress on its Quality Assurance testing procedures.

Other related accomplishments include:

  • Implementation of a blockchain signing protocol on the exchange using WebAssembly
  • Implementation and iteration of charts, trading interfaces, the order book, and fund management interfaces
  • Design and development of a secure production deployment pipeline
  • Development of local production mirrors via Tilt
  • Infrastructure security testing and monitoring
  • Finalized token listing procedure

Backend Matching Engine

Nash claims to have completed a matching engine that features functionality that has yet to be seen on a non-custodial exchange, such as time enforcement orders (stop-market etc) and fully non-custodial cross-chain settlement between the Ethereum and NEO blockchains. A roadmap for further optimization of the matching engine has also been established.

With key features already in place, the Backend team reportedly spent most of the quarter refining the system, making performance improvements, and preparing for restore scenarios.

Blockchain-Fiat Integrations

Nash also reported the completion of its “Nash signature,” a protocol enabling users to have full custody over their Bitcoin while securely trading it in a “performant fashion” on the Nash exchange. On the topic of competing with centralized services, the team stated: “This protocol represents the technological innovation to which Nash is committed and will offer significant security advantages over present centralized solutions.”

Nash plans to implement this feature shortly after the official exchange launch with support for Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and other related chains following rapidly. The Integrations team reported to have also finished integrating with the first fiat provider, began working with other providers to support new regions, and completed its API libraries and accompanying documentation. These client API libraries will initially be available in Python, TypeScript, and Golang.

Furthermore, the report also mentioned Nash approached numerous businesses regarding its payment solution, Nash Pay.

Marketing

The Marketing team initiated the first phase of its launch strategy with a new website and referral program, which yielded 32,000 new pre-registered users at a cost of just $0.33 per user. Combined with token sale participants, the company now claims to have 200,000 potential customers “already familiar with and interested in using the platform at launch.”

As the official launch approaches, the Marketing team aims to continue expanding relations with traditional media while formulating a post-launch media roadmap. Lastly, Nash noted it will soon add a dedicated support division to handle its expected userbase growth over the coming months.

The full report can be found at the below link:
https://medium.com/nashsocial/user-experience-quarterly-report-q1-2019-121fb49e86b2

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