OTC trading and its marketplace usually sound complicated but they’re not. Many people hear the term and assume it’s risky. Others think it’s only for rich investors or big crypto whales. In all honesty, OTC trading and its marketplace are just ways to trade assets privately, without using regular exchanges. As this part of the crypto space grows, so do the stories around it. So before introducing Chadswap, a project building a new OTC experience on Cardano. We need to clear the air about OTC trading and its marketplace. Let’s take a look at what really matters.
1. Is OTC Just for Rich People Or Big Institutions
This is one of the most common misunderstandings. Many assume that OTC trading and its marketplace are only for wealthy traders or companies moving millions in crypto. But that’s not true anymore. While big players still use OTC to avoid slippage on exchanges, new tools and platforms are opening it up to everyday traders. Peer to peer options which people also called P2P, simple interfaces and trust layers now allow smaller trades. As Web3 grows further, OTC trading and its marketplace are becoming more inclusive. Anyone who wants privacy, better rates or less exposure can now access OTC tools without needing to be a big investor.
2. Is OTC Trading Less Safe Since It’s Off Exchange
Safety is a concern and rightly so. If you’re trading without an exchange in the middle, who do you trust. This is where smart OTC platforms come in. They help reduce risk by offering secure trade flows, escrow services and identity checks when needed. The idea that OTC trading and its marketplace are unsafe comes from older systems that lacked structure. Today, especially with blockchain integration, you can verify every step. And new projects are building even stronger trust layers. So while there’s always some risk in crypto, OTC trading and its marketplace have come a long way in safety and reliability.
3. Why Not Just Use Regular Exchanges
Exchanges are great for fast trades and easy access. But they also come with problems of price slippage, front running and public exposure. You can agree on a price privately. You don’t have to rush or worry about bots changing prices. And your activity stays off public charts. That’s a big advantage for traders who want control. OTC is a direct trade, no noise and no middlemen setting your terms. As crypto use cases expand, OTC trading will keep playing a key role in giving traders more freedom over how and when they trade.
Chadswap: OTC Trading Done Right on Cardano
Let’s take a step back and look at how peer to peer OTC should really work. Picture two traders, neither wants to mess with DEX slippage, inflated prices or bots front running their order. One holds a sizable bag of tokens and wants to exit silently. The other wants to buy in at a fair rate without triggering a market move. They both want the same thing. Privacy, control and no middlemen. That’s exactly what Chadswap can do for you.
Chadswap is a P2P OTC trading platform native to Cardano and its beyond the usual platform. Instead of layering on complexity, it strips it away. You don’t need to trust someone in a Telegram group or pay extra just to move large positions. On Chadswap trades are direct, transparent and secure. One of the struggles DeFi trader encounter is low liquidity on dApps they want to use. Most traders can’t execute large orders without affecting token prices. Chadswap fixes this with an OTC model that allows price negotiation, large orders and deal customization.
Let’s say you’re holding a big position in a small cap Cardano token. You want out but selling it on a DEX would crash the price. Chadswap lets you create a private offer and wait for a willing buyer. You set the price, the terms and even allow partial fills. The platform is live and already integrating with DEX aggregators to give your offers more visibility. And that brings us to their recent partnership with DexHunter.
The DexHunter Partnership: More Eyes, More Liquidity
On the first of July, Chadswap partnered with DexHunter, one of the most widely used DEX aggregators in the Cardano ecosystem. This matters because it brings OTC deals out of the shadows. Instead of being locked in a single interface, Chadswap orders can now reach more eyes, increasing the chance of faster matching.
For traders and investors, this means better access to deals that may be under market price, more trading options, and increased liquidity without relying solely on traditional exchanges. For Cardano as a whole, it creates a stronger link between the OTC and DEX. The partnership is a signal that OTC trading is maturing, and platforms like Chadswap are working to make it mainstream.
Features Built for Real Use
Chadswap is designed to be simple but flexible. You can create buy or sell orders, set your own prices and even auto cancel deals if the market moves too much. There’s a built in system for fee transparency. Makers pay just 0.25% and takers pay zero platform fees. That’s one of the lowest cost models in the Cardano space.
They’re also working on future features like crosschain OTC where you could trade ADA for assets like ETH, BTC, SOL, all while staying on Cardano. A privacy layer via Midnight is also on the table. This is about giving real users more control over how they enter and exit the market.
How to Use Chadswap
How to Create an Order:
- Pick the correct option to get started. Choose Buy or Sell.
- Choose which Cardano native token you want to trade. The dropdown list will show all supported tokens.
- Enter how many tokens you want to buy or sell. This is your total order size.
- You can either match the current market rate or enter your own custom price. If you want to negotiate or trade below/above market, set your own rate.
- If you don’t want your order sitting there forever, you can set how long your order stays active. And if you want it open indefinitely, that’s an option too.
- Review and confirm the transaction in your wallet.
How to Accept an Order:
- Each listing shows whether it’s a Buy or Sell offer, the price per token, how many tokens are involved and whether partial fills are allowed.
- Chadswap displays the current DEX price next to the OTC offer. This helps you quickly spot whether the deal is fair, below market or overpriced.
- You’ll see exactly what you need to provide, either in ADA or tokens to complete the trade. And for partial fill orders, you can choose how much you want to take.
- If the terms work for you, simply accept the order and sign the transaction in your wallet. The trade will be executed via smart contract.
Final Thoughts
OTC trading has long been misunderstood and seen as something reserved for whales or secret deals but in reality, it offers a clean, direct way to trade without slippage, exposure or reliance on centralized platforms. Chadswap brings that clarity to Cardano with a peer to peer OTC marketplace that’s simple, secure and built for real traders and investors. From large holders to everyday traders and even projects managing community distributions, Chadswap gives everyone a way to trade on their own terms. And with features like DexHunter integration, low fees, smart contract security and upcoming crosschain support, it quietly upgrades how value moves in Cardano.
