Polkadex is a decentralized peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency exchange for the DeFi ecosystem. The DEX was created on Substrate and is based on an order book (list of trade orders). Substrate refers to a blockchain technology, particularly, a framework for creating customized blockchains. Thus, the Polkadex orderbook is a hybrid crypto-exchange supported by Web3 (internet version). The entire trading platform operates on the Substrate framework and combines the Automated Market Maker (AMM) model common in several DEXs, with an orderbook model utilized by centralized exchanges. Automated market makers (AMM) are part of decentralized exchanges introduced for removing any intermediaries while trading cryptocurrencies.

The mission of Polkadex is to merge the characteristics of cryptocurrency exchanges and user experience with the benefits of decentralized safety and security. Polkadex was created for attaining this mission with innovative ideas focusing on key areas such as liquidity, custody of assets, the execution speed of trades, and customer areas.

Further, Polkadex aims towards developing a decentralized network utilizing the Substrate framework, focusing on resolving the interface issue by introducing a centralized trading experience. The Substrate framework supports the development of composable, interoperable, and application-specific blockchains without any complexities related to block consensus (transaction verification) and production.

Moreover, to resolve the issue of low liquidity, Polkadex links AMMs to the trading engine directly. The auto market makers operate as on-chain market-making bots. Bots are implemented by traders to facilitate trade automatically in the cryptocurrency markets. If any trade is unable to match against the Polkadex orderbook, the engine instructs on-chain trading bots to try matching the order. The trades are executed successfully only when on-chain bots provide a better price.

Polkadex was launched on September 29, 2021 by a team of many developers and the CEO of Polkadex, Gautham J. The team started migrating the PDEX tokens based on ERC-20 from Ethereum to Polkadex soon after its launch.