ForeX

ForeX - Smart Contracts Foreign Exchange on the XRPL

Exchange CBDCs on the XRPL

ForeX allows central banks to buy and sell CBDCs with just one click at the exact exchange rate they want, with no counterparty risk and almost no fees. But there is much more than just that. For example, they can set different prices for different central banks or exclude certain banks from trading altogether.

Inspiration

Today's foreign exchange market presents many problems for countries trying to buy or sell bigger amounts of foreign currency. In addition to counterparty risk (clearing house) and the natural exaggeration of markets that everyone faces, there are some country-specific issues such as low volume, high spreads, volatility and more. ForeX not only addresses these problems, but many more.

What it does

It uses smart contracts (Hooks) to allow central banks to trade their currencies with each other without intermediaries and also solves the following problems.

Counterparty risk
- Trades are settled directly on the XRPL within 3-4 seconds
- The contract code is publicly available, so both sides know exactly what they are getting
Volume
- The seller can specify exactly how much they are willing to sell to specific central banks
Volatility and Spreads
- The seller can set the exact price as well as a daily/monthly limit for specific central banks
Speculation bubbles
- Secondary forex markets - DEX - will stay close to the official price and this will take out the peaks and hence flatten volatility
Inclusion
- Developing countries are gaining access they currently do not have
Partnerships
- Certain countries may be offered better terms than others
Sanctions
- The seller can blacklist individual countries they don't want to do business with - the account will then reject all incoming transactions

How we built it

It uses Hooks, XRPL.js and Angular.

Challenges we ran into

Development on a blockchain in development brought with it a number of challenges. Ever-changing fundamentals, adding features for which workarounds have already been implemented, a whole new way of programming smart contracts and much more...

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Together with the XRPL and its outstanding technology, ForeX shows a possible path to a more financially connected world.

What we learned

A lot about Hooks, WASM, low-level C and NFT's on the XRPL. But most importantly, how important the key features of the XRPL – speed, low fees, scalability, … – are in order to provide such services to the masses.