What Is GRVT | An Exchange Combining CEX Speed with DEX Self-Custody

On most decentralized exchanges, anyone's positions sit in full view on the order book as trades fill. GRVT (pronounced "gravity") flips this around: it's a hybrid crypto exchange that lets you trade on an order book—proving only the validity of your trades without exposing their contents to the blockchain—while keeping your assets in your own hands. $GRVT has not been issued yet; for now, the stage is to earn points in Season 2 and receive a pro-rata token distribution right after the deadline.

👉 Check the latest terms on the official GRVT site

GRVT is an exchange that lets you trade perpetual futures (perps) while keeping self-custody, running on a dedicated chain built with zkSync's ZK Stack[1]. Your assets always stay on your side; matching is handled off-chain at high speed, and only settlement and balance verification happen on-chain. The company is based in Singapore[2].

Up to 50x leverage, isolated and cross margin, order features like TP/SL, and gasless trading are all standard fare for this space. The foundations are essentially in place, so the focus of judgment shifts to the confidentiality design layered on top and the expected value of the airdrop.

GRVT's design philosophy runs continuously from the backgrounds of its three founders. Co-founder and CEO Hong Gyu Yea spent about a decade as a trader at Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs, watching from the outside as strategies and tools that only institutional investors could touch—what he calls "institutional silos"—stayed walled off[13][14]. "I saw excellent tools and strategies that never reached beyond the institutional silos. Meanwhile, DeFi lacked the risk management, performance, and compliance needed to scale. I realized that combining the two could open finance up to everyone," he recalls[13].

The trigger to act came in 2022. "At a crypto conference in Barcelona, I met industry experts and noticed a market gap where traditional-finance expertise was missing," he says[12]. The collapse of FTX that November crystallized his concern: "FTX crystallized our thesis. A centralized counterparty is a single point of failure for the entire system," he states[13]. GRVT's core idea—trading on an order book without depositing your assets—comes from this conviction. CTO Aaron Ong is an engineer who led data-privacy infrastructure at Meta, and the Validium design that keeps trade contents hidden dovetails with that background, while COO Matthew Quek led blockchain initiatives at Singapore's DBS[14].

What the team sets out to do is recreate on-chain the prime brokerage (institutional-grade capital-efficiency tools) that only top hedge funds could use, building a platform where "ordinary people can trade and invest transparently alongside the world's top professionals and grow their wealth"[14]. Some media outlets have called this a "blockchain version of Goldman Sachs," but that is the outlets' framing rather than his own words, and the origin of the name GRVT (gravity) has not been made public.

Whether it can hinges on whether validity alone can be proven without publishing the data. GRVT's core is running, as a dedicated chain, a Validium-type L2 that does not publish trade data to the blockchain[3]. On an ordinary decentralized exchange where positions and balances are public, anyone can read other people's positions, so institutional investors dislike front-running and having their hand exposed—yet a fast centralized exchange requires you to hand over custody of your assets. Satisfying all three at once—speed, self-custody, and not exposing trade contents—is technically hard, caught in a tight bind between data availability, verifiability, and confidentiality.

GRVT keeps trade details off-chain and verifies each batch on Ethereum with zero-knowledge proofs (ZK proofs), borrowing L1's security while keeping balances and the trade contents themselves out of public view. Because it separates asset custody from trading functions, assets always remain on the user's side. A design that keeps confidentiality and self-custody without slowing down order-book trading is already a meaningful differentiator for institutional users today, but whether it turns into a tangible benefit for ordinary users depends on whether trading volume and order-book depth grow—for now it remains a potential strength.

Beyond being a mere exchange, GRVT offers ONE Balance, which connects idle collateral to Aave-linked yield, and Vaults (Strategies) run by vetted operators, expanding toward completing trading, investing, and yield within a single balance. Its moves over the past six months have centered more on this asset-management and yield side than on the exchange functions themselves, and it has disclosed that since the start of Season 2, TVL grew from $11.3M to $107.1M and open interest from $11.6M to $484.1M[5].

Total supply is fixed at 1 billion, with no additional issuance. $GRVT itself has not been issued yet; the token generation event (TGE) is planned for after Season 2 ends (June 30, 2026), and reports variously say "right after June 30" or "Q3 2026"[4][5]. The specific distribution date, conversion rate, and listing venues await the latest official announcement.

The community allocation was raised from the previous 22% to 28%, with the largest share allotted to Season 2 participants[5]. The fixed supply and generous community share can be read positively, but the ratios for the investor, team, and future-distribution buckets remain report-based, and the lockups for each bucket and the initial circulating supply at TGE are officially undecided[9]. Because price can swing widely depending on how much circulates early and the release schedule, don't take comfort in the allocation figures alone—official confirmation is required.

There is a premise that you'll receive one, but how much you'll get is not fixed. GRVT officially promotes an airdrop: $GRVT is distributed at TGE in proportion to the Grvt Points earned during Rewards Season 2.0 (March 13 – June 30, 2026)[6]. Points are scored weekly at 50% for trading volume, 20% for referrals, 15% for maintaining open positions, and 5% each for deposited TVL, liquidity provision, and liquidations—a system that splits a fixed weekly pool according to activity. Trading altcoins other than BTC, ETH, and SOL earns double points, but the allocation is strictly proportional to points, so your share is not determined in advance.

Joining takes just a few steps from account registration, and points accrue according to your activity.

1. Register an account on the official GRVT site. It supports wallet login (EIP-712 signature), and entering a referral code at registration gives you 10% off trading fees.
2. Deposit collateral such as USDT. You can trade while keeping assets in a self-custody wallet, and idle funds can earn Aave-linked yield through ONE Balance.
3. Build up weekly points through activity such as trading, maintaining positions, referrals, and liquidity provision. Altcoin trading counts double.
4. Season 2.0 ends on June 30, and the subsequent TGE distributes tokens in proportion to your accumulated points.

Even among perp DEXes, GRVT differs greatly from the largest players in both design philosophy and scale. Viewed along the structural axes of where trades are matched, how much of the trade contents is public, and asset custody, the differences in character become clear; viewed by trading volume, the gap in scale shows plainly. The figures below use CoinGecko's derivatives-exchange data, with all columns aligned to the same definitions (as of June 29, 2026)[10].

By the numbers, GRVT's 24-hour volume is about a quarter of the largest player, Hyperliquid, and its number of listed pairs is less than half. On the other hand, it exceeds the volume of the similarly later-arriving edgeX and offers nearly double the pairs. In contrast to Hyperliquid, which sells transparency, and edgeX, which runs an on-chain order book, GRVT's design leans toward "not exposing trade contents," placing it close to Paradex in its confidentiality orientation. How far it can win over institutional users will be the key to its growth.

The heaviest is price uncertainty from being unlisted. $GRVT has not been issued yet, and the circulating supply, listing venues, and opening price at TGE are all undecided. The Season 2.0 deadline was June 30, 2026, and it has already closed, so the final value you'll receive from the points you've accumulated is unreadable until TGE. If you go chasing an unreasonable amount of trading volume as though front-running the conversion rate before the distribution details are known, your costs and losses could exceed the expected value of the points.

Next is the danger of high-leverage trading itself. At up to 50x, a small adverse move can breach your margin maintenance ratio and lead to forced settlement (liquidation). Overreaching positions on thinly traded pairs or aimed at the altcoin 2x multiplier tend to lose more than expected due to fill-price gaps (slippage) and slippage during sharp moves, so oversized positions for the sake of points defeat the purpose.

Finally, the design and regulatory premises. Because a Validium keeps trade data off-chain, a dependence remains on the parties that store and provide the data (operators or a data availability committee), and if that stalls it could affect withdrawals and verification—unlike an ordinary on-chain DEX. The company is said to be based in Singapore, but its regulatory treatment under MAS and others, eligible regions, whether Japan residents can use it, and tax treatment cannot be stated definitively, so always confirm the official Terms and the latest campaign conditions before using it.

👉 Check the Season 2 terms and eligible regions on the official GRVT site

The gap between the sharpness of the design and its scale and uncertainty shows up directly in our assessment. We see the sharpness of GRVT's design—"self-custody order-book trading that doesn't expose trade contents"—as genuine. It tackles head-on, without slowing down, the front-running and hand-exposure that institutions dislike, and the fact that it is actually building up the asset-management side with Aave, Centrifuge, and Plume backs this up. This is the number-one reason to use it. On the don't-use side, the heaviest issue is scale: volume still lags the largest player by a wide margin, and the confidentiality advantage will only turn into something ordinary users can feel once liquidity grows. The next thing to watch is token uncertainty—since it's unissued, neither the distribution amount nor the opening price can be read. The point to quit is clear: if the TGE gets dragged out and postponed after Season 2 ends, or if recent volume and open interest stall, either one means the effort of chasing the airdrop no longer pays. The conclusion changes by audience. Experienced traders who value order-book speed and confidentiality will find it worth testing the fill and order-book quality with a small amount; those chasing the airdrop are at a point of waiting for the results of Season 2.0 (June 30 deadline) and the TGE terms, and since individual amounts can't be read, we don't recommend cranking up turnover with excessive leverage even to target the next opportunity. Those who want to buy $GRVT as an asset can't buy it now while it's unissued, and there's no harm in deciding after TGE, once listing terms and circulating supply are visible.

When will I get the GRVT airdrop?

Season 2.0 ends on June 30, 2026, and the plan is to distribute tokens in proportion to accumulated points at the subsequent TGE (reports say anywhere from right after June 30 to Q3 2026). The distribution date, conversion rate, and listing venues are not fixed values, so check the latest official announcement.

How much can I buy $GRVT for now?

You can't buy it because it hasn't been issued yet. The price and listing venues are set to be decided at TGE, so treat any price information circulating now as unofficial.

Can I use it from Japan? What's the minimum to start?

The company is said to be based in Singapore, but its regulatory status under MAS and others and whether Japan residents can use it need to be confirmed in the official Terms (we can't state it definitively). There is no clear minimum-amount rule, but given liquidation risk, it's safest to start small with spare funds.

Any tips for earning points efficiently?

By the scoring, trading volume is the largest at 50%, and altcoin trading counts double. But since fees and liquidation risk eat into profits, not cranking up turnover just for points is ultimately the shortcut.

👉 Enter a GRVT referral code and get 10% off fees

GRVT is an institution-oriented on-chain exchange that bets on "not showing the contents of trades" while preserving order-book speed and self-custody. The read is simple: it comes down to which you weigh more heavily—the strength of its distinctive design or the weakness of its volume and token uncertainty. Using the June 30 deadline as a marker, deciding whether you're a "speed-and-confidentiality user" or an "airdrop chaser" before you move is, though it looks like a detour, the sure path.

Sources

1. The Block (2025) — https://www.theblock.co/post/371347/zksync-based-hybrid-dex-grvt-raises-19-million-series-a
2. CoinDesk (2025) — https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/09/19/grvt-raises-usd19m-to-bring-privacy-and-scale-to-on-chain-finance
3. GRVT Blog (2025) — https://grvt.io/blog/why-zksyncs-zk-stack-series-part-2-trustless-and-privacy-with-validium/
4. zyCrypto (2026) — https://zycrypto.com/grvt-sets-grvt-token-launch-for-q3-2026-expands-community-airdrop-to-28/
5. The Block (2026) — https://www.theblock.co/post/393389/hybrid-crypto-exchange-grvt-targets-post-june-token-launch-raises-community-allocation-to-28
6. GRVT Help (2026) — https://help.grvt.io/en/articles/12332040-rewards-season-2-0
7. Invezz (2026) — https://invezz.com/news/2026/05/14/grvt-expands-wealth-platform-with-centrifuge-yield-integration/
8. Invezz (2026) — https://invezz.com/news/2026/02/26/grvt-integrates-aave-yield-into-perp-dex-collateral-on-zksync-stack/
9. Cryptopolitan (2026) — https://www.cryptopolitan.com/grvt-boosts-community-token-allocation-to-28-ahead-of-grvt-token-launch/
10. CoinGecko (2026) — https://www.coingecko.com/en/exchanges/grvt_futures
11. FinanceFeeds (2026) — https://financefeeds.com/grvt-taps-plume-to-bring-rwa-yield-products-onchain/
12. DLNews (2025) — https://www.dlnews.com/research/internal/a-conversation-with-hong-yea-co-founder-and-ceo-of-grvt/
13. Bitget News (2026) — https://www.bitget.com/news/detail/12560604745982
14. GlobeNewswire (2025) — https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/09/19/3153051/0/en/Grvt-raises-19m-to-pioneer-privacy-first-onchain-finance-and-unlock-trillion-dollar-markets.html