Overview
Dexalot is a decentralized exchange built as a dedicated Avalanche subnet, implementing a central limit order book (CLOB) directly on-chain. Unlike AMM-based DEXs, Dexalot provides a traditional trading experience with limit orders, market orders, and a visible order book — all executed on its own subnet with sub-second finality.
The Avalanche subnet architecture gives Dexalot dedicated blockspace and customizable gas mechanics, avoiding the congestion issues that plague DEXs on shared chains. The CLOB model is theoretically more capital-efficient than AMMs for professional traders, providing tighter spreads and less slippage.
However, on-chain order books face a chicken-and-egg problem: they need market makers for liquidity, and market makers need volume. Dexalot has struggled to attract sufficient liquidity and trading volume to compete with established DEXs. The Avalanche subnet ecosystem itself has been quieter than expected.
Risk Factors
- Very thin liquidity — insufficient market maker participation
- On-chain CLOB model has repeatedly struggled vs AMMs in DeFi
- Avalanche subnet ecosystem has underperformed expectations
- Competes with centralized exchanges for the order book experience
Conclusion
Dexalot demonstrates that on-chain order books are technically feasible on dedicated subnets, but hasn't solved the fundamental liquidity bootstrapping challenge. The 2.5 score recognizes solid engineering against disappointing real-world traction.