Asset exchange

From Nxtwiki
Jump to: navigation, search

Description

This page covers the decentralized Asset Exchange. Before jumping into the details, we can start with an example that shows one of the possible uses of this feature.


In the words of BCNext:

I want to run a business. I issue an asset (let's call it Krusty Krab tokens - KKT). I set quantity of KKT to 1000. I announce that I sell KKT for 20 NXT each and pay 5 NXT monthly interest within next 6 months. I create an ask order -- 1000 KKT for 20,000 NXT.

You create a transaction that sends me 500 NXT for 25 KKT. It's up to you what to do with your 25 KKT (you can place an ask order and sell them for 27 NXT) but each month I will check the blockchain to see who owns KKT. And I will send 5 NXT for each KKT to those who owns them.

Accessing the Asset Exchange

The first version of the Asset Exchange was enabled on the test network with the client version 0.8.4e.

The official release on the main network happened at the 135'000th block, 12 May 2014. In order to access the Asset Exchange, software version 0.9.9 or later is required, and updating to the latest software version is highly recommended. If you do not know how to install the Nxt client, check out the getting started page or the common problems and resolutions page in case you are having problems.

The Interface

With the server running, access the Nxt interface of your client by visiting http://localhost:7876/ (or https://localhost:7876/ if you have enabled SSL). On the sidebar, click the menu Asset Exchange, this will give you access to the following options:

AE menu.png
Asset Exchange: This tab gives you access to the Asset Exchange itself. To observe an asset click the "Add asset" button and enter either the Asset ID or ID of the issuing account. Assets of your interest will be listed on the left. By selecting an asset, further information is provided: a description, buy and sell orders, the quantity etc.
Trade History: This page will list all the assets traded by your account: both those bought by you and those you sold from the exchange.
Transfer History: This page will list all the assets transfered and receiving by your account.
Quantity Change History: This page will list the quantity change history of your assets.
My Assets: This page will list all the assets in your possession: both those issued by you and those you bought from the exchange.
Open Orders: Here is provided a list of all your orders, notably the assets you are either trying to sell or to buy. It also allows you to cancel them.
Approval Request: Approval request for transactions related to your assets
Issue Asset: A window will pop up allowing you to issue your own assets into the exchange.





Asset Exchange menu

By default, the Asset Exchange does not list any asset. You will have therefore to add the assets (using the Add Asset button) you are interested in, manually, yourself. For this purpose websites that rank the assets in meaningful ways (by volume, by number of trades etc) and that offer specific filters are starting to appear. In the future you will be able to load asset lists in bulk instead of having to load them one by one. If you find yourself in the page of an asset, a Bookmark this Asset button will appear that will allow you to keep track of it.

Here is a list you can consult to obtain the IDs of the assets. Keep in mind more will appear, so this list is not exhaustive.

Note: you can only add assets to the list if you are using the browser in normal mode. If you are in incognito (or equivalent) then any added list will disappear once you close the browser window. In the future, more portable systems will be implemented.


the Asset Exchange available within the client.
This is the main menu for the Asset Exchange, it is fundamentally organized in two areas.
  • a list with all the assets you are tracking.
  • an interface that allows to interact with these assets.
If you own tokens for an asset, it will appear in yellow on the side list.
By selecting an asset, the interface area will automatically display the corresponding information. This includes the amount of tokens that have been created ("quantity"), how divisible is the token ("asset decimals"), a brief description of the asset, who created the asset ("account") and the asset identifier ("asset ID"). These informations are crucial, in fact the asset names are non-unique. What this means is that there can be multiple assets that have the same name.
The cost of issuing an asset (1000 NXT) should discourage people from spamming the exchange with assets whose only purpose is confusion and abuse. Without entering this worst-case scenario, it is reasonable to assume that perfectly legit users may create assets of the same name. Therefore a good degree of vigilance before buying is always beneficial.
In order to buy an asset, follow these simple steps:
1. select the asset from the list.
2. quantity: define how many tokens you are interested in buying.
3. price: set how much you are willing to pay.
ATTENTION: "price" refers to the cost of a unit of tokens. So, by entering 10, you are willing to pay 10 NXT per token.
4. fee: define the fee, the minimum is 1 NXT.
5. press buy.
6. it will ask you for your passphrase and finally press buy asset.

My Assets menu

My assets.png

In this menu all your confirmed assets will be displayed, this includes the assets you issued and those you obtained through trading.

Assets are also transferable, the procedure is very simple:

  1. Under My Assets, find the asset you wish to transfer.
  2. Click transfer.
  3. Complete the fields as follows.
Transfer asset.png
RECIPIENT: the account you wish to transfer the assets to.
Constraints:
Mandatory: this field is mandatory.
COMMENT: you can attach a brief commentary to the transfer.
Constraints:
Optional: this field is optional.
Characters allowed: it can contain any Unicode characters but should be URL-encoded. Maximum length of 1000 characters.
QUANTITY: specify the amount of assets you wish to transfer.
Constraints:
Mandatory: this field is mandatory.
Limits: there is no upper limit, you can transfer all your assets. The minimum amount you can transfer depends on the nature of the asset. In particular it depends on what has been defined as decimals. For 0 decimals, the minimum would be 1 token. For 1 decimal, it would be 0.1 tokens and so on.
FEE: set the fee you are willing to pay for the transaction.
Constraints:
Mandatory: this field is mandatory.
Limits: there is no upper limit. However the minimum fee is 1 NXT.
DEADLINE: set how long you are willing to wait before the request gets automatically deleted.
Constraints:
Mandatory: this field is mandatory.
Expressed in hours
SECRET PASSPHRASE: enter your passphrase.
Constraints:
Mandatory: this field is mandatory.

Delete shares

The asset issuer can delete assets shares, the procedure is very simple:

  1. Under My Assets, find the asset you wish to delete shares.
  2. Click Delete Shares.
DeleteShares.png
QUANTITY: specify the amount of shares you wish to delete.
Constraints:
Mandatory: this field is mandatory.
COMMENT: you can attach a brief commentary to the transfer. when marking "Add a message"
Constraints:
Optional: this field is optional.
Characters allowed: it can contain any Unicode characters but should be URL-encoded. Maximum length of 1000 characters.
FEE: set the fee you are willing to pay for the transaction.
Constraints:
Mandatory: this field is mandatory.
Limits: there is no upper limit. However the minimum fee is 1 NXT.
SECRET PASSPHRASE: enter your passphrase.
Constraints:
Mandatory: this field is mandatory.

Increase shares

The asset issuer can increase assets shares, the procedure is very simple:

  1. Under My Assets, find the asset you wish to increase shares.
  2. Click Increase Shares.
  3. Complete the fields as follows.
IncreaseShares.png
QUANTITY: specify the amount of shares you wish to increase.
Constraints:
Mandatory: this field is mandatory.
COMMENT: you can attach a brief commentary to the transfer. when marking "Add a message"
Constraints:
Optional: this field is optional.
Characters allowed: it can contain any Unicode characters but should be URL-encoded. Maximum length of 1000 characters.
FEE: set the fee you are willing to pay for the transaction.
Constraints:
Mandatory: this field is mandatory.
Limits: there is no upper limit. However the minimum fee is 1 NXT.
SECRET PASSPHRASE: enter your passphrase.
Constraints:
Mandatory: this field is mandatory.

Open Orders menu

Under this menu you can see all your orders that are currently open.

Open orders menu.png

What to keep in mind:

  • You can cancel any order you made. However
    • The process is not instantaneous. Your cancel order is broadcasted to the network, it may happen that your order gets accepted before you can manage to cancel it.
    • The process of canceling an order is a transaction, meaning it involves a fee of 1 NXT.
    • An order in the process of being canceled will appear in red under your Open Orders menu.
  • In this image, the first and the third sell order appear to be very similar. The only difference seems to be the price at which I am willing to sell the shares (100 NXT and 20 NXT respectively). In reality, they refer to two very distinct assets.
    • The first KKT asset refers to an asset named KKT, whose ID is 9460893212365141148 and that it has been created by me. The third KKT asset refers to an asset also named KKT, still created by me but whose ID differs: 9469386423057978566. Therefore, before canceling an order make sure you are canceling the right item!

Issue Asset menu

Under this menu, you can issue assets yourself. These will be publicly available on the Asset Exchange where they can be traded for NXT and vice-versa.

The following window will pop up:

NOTE: as the warning mentions, when you issue your asset you will not be able to modify any of the fields, ever. Reason why it is imperative to make sure all the information entered is correct.

Issue asset.png
ASSET NAME: the name of the asset you intend to issue. This is also the name announced to other traders, allowing them to find this asset.
Constraints:
Mandatory: you cannot issue an unnamed asset.
Names are non-unique: multiple assets can be issued with the same name.
Note: for this reason, pay attention to what you are buying or selling!
Length: between 3 and 10 characters.
Characters allowed: uppercase letters, lowercase letters and numbers.
DESCRIPTION: in this field you can briefly describe the asset being issued.
Constraints:
Mandatory: this field is mandatory.
Characters allowed: it can contain any Unicode characters but should be URL-encoded. Maximum length of 1000 characters.
QUANTITY: specify how many tokens you intend to create.
Constraints:
Mandatory: this field is mandatory.
Must be a whole number
DECIMALS: this field defines the divisibility of the token. As an example, by defining 2 decimals, the minimum amount of tokens you can sell or buy is 0.01.
Constraints:
Mandatory: this field is mandatory.
Limits: you can set from 0 to, at most, 8 decimals. The latter corresponds to the minimum of 0.00000001 tokens.
FEE: define the fee related to issuing the asset. To avoid spam on the Asset Exchange, 1000 NXT are the minimum required to issue an asset.
Constraints:
Mandatory: this field is mandatory.
DEADLINE: how long you are willing to wait before the request gets automatically deleted.
Constraints:
Mandatory: this field is mandatory.
Expressed in hours
PASSPHRASE: the asset belongs to the person issuing it. Therefore it is required to enter your own passphrase. It will not be broadcasted.
Note: assets belong to the person that creates them, but they can be bought, sold and transfered.
Constraints:
Mandatory: this field is mandatory.

FAQ

See more:

External Links

Retrieved from "https://nxtdocs.jelurida.com/index.php?title=Asset_exchange&oldid=1469"