Welcome

Strike Finance is a perpetuals exchange built on a dedicated execution layer with cross-chain settlement.

From V1 to V2

Strike V1 launched in May 2025 as the first perpetuals platform on Cardano. It followed the GMX model — a shared liquidity pool where LPs took the opposite side of every trade. While functional, this design introduced constraints around capital efficiency, slippage, and the range of order types that could be supported.

Strike V2 moves to a Central Limit Order Book architecture with a dedicated execution layer. All trading activity — order matching, position updates, liquidations, funding — runs on the Strike Node, while asset custody and settlement are handled by on-chain locker contracts.

The Strike Node

The Strike Node is a deterministic execution layer where every inbound message is assigned a nonce and processed in strict sequential order. The entire history of the exchange can be audited by replaying messages through the node. Any discrepancy between the operator's published state and the replayed result is provable.

Decentralization

This property is what makes decentralization viable. The roadmap includes open-sourcing the node software so that independent operators can run their own instances of the Strike Node as validators. Validators already play a role in the current system — they sign deposit quotes, verify on-chain confirmations, and co-sign withdrawal transactions.

Settlement & Custody

Settlement and custody remain fully on-chain. Assets are held in locker contracts deployed on each supported chain. Deposits follow a quote-validate-settle lifecycle: validators issue a cryptographically signed quote, the user sends assets to the locker contract, validators reach consensus on confirmation, and the USD-equivalent balance is credited on the execution layer. Withdrawals reverse this flow with wallet-signature authorization and margin validation before validators release funds on-chain. For volatile assets like ADA or ETH, an integrated exchanger automatically swaps them into stablecoins through native DEX aggregators before they enter the locker, ensuring all platform balances maintain 1:1 USD backing.

Trading

The CLOB provides a full-featured trading environment with support for advanced order types, cross and isolated margin modes, and a graduated liquidation engine backed by an insurance fund. The specifics of each are covered in their respective sections of this documentation.

Platform Access

Beyond the core exchange, Strike V2 is designed to be accessible from multiple entry points. A mobile app offers a simplified interface for trading on the go. A complete API is available for programmatic access — enabling custom trading bots, portfolio management integrations, and third-party tooling to build on top of the Strike infrastructure. Fiat on-ramp and off-ramp support allows users to move between traditional currencies and the platform without needing to acquire crypto separately, lowering the barrier to entry for traders coming from traditional finance.