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dYdX’s acquisition of Pocket Protector marks a bold move into social trading and community-driven finance.
This is the decentralized exchange’s first external acquisition since launching in 2017, and it’s making waves.
The deal, finalized a month after talks began in March, strengthens dYdX’s product roadmap. Pocket Protector brings in top talent and an engineering team known for building social-first trading tools. Co-founders Eddie Zhang and Kaiser Kinbote now take on leadership roles as president and head of growth, respectively.
Pocket Protector’s Telegram bot enabled users to mirror trades, follow popular traders, and share strategies. Its private iOS beta hinted at strong user engagement, growing to 50,000 users in under a year. Despite the product being shelved post-acquisition, its core team and tech now power dYdX’s future vision.
Social features at the core of dYdX’s future
dYdX’s acquisition of Pocket Protector reveals a sharp pivot to social functionality. As the crypto market matures, user behavior mimics traditional trading apps, with community and transparency driving adoption. With Zhang’s experience from Meta and Eventbrite, and Kinbote’s decade in crypto tokenomics and growth, dYdX is poised to redefine crypto trading dynamics.
The acquisition arrives after a lean restructuring at dYdX. The firm recently consolidated operations, pulling marketing and business development back in-house and creating a new international subsidiary. The move cuts fat and doubles down on product.
This leaner structure makes it easier to integrate social mechanics like follower-based trading, community signals, and influencer-led portfolios. In today’s fast-evolving crypto gaming and trading world, such features may prove vital for user retention and growth.
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dYdX’s strategic momentum grows stronger
dYdX’s acquisition of Pocket Protector also shows that mergers and acquisitions are heating up across the crypto space. Other notable deals this year include Coinbase’s $2.9 billion Deribit purchase and Robinhood’s $200 million Bitstamp buy.
Pocket Protector had raised $7 million and achieved $1 billion in annualized trading volume before the acquisition. For dYdX, that’s not just a tech grab—it’s user acquisition, leadership evolution, and market positioning rolled into one.
With over $1 trillion in cumulative volume since launch, dYdX now scales beyond a typical derivatives exchange. It becomes a player in crypto’s next phase, where social meets strategy, and communities drive liquidity.
Social trading could define the next phase of crypto
dYdX’s acquisition of Pocket Protector could kick off a wider trend. More platforms may adopt social-driven strategies to capture younger and more engaged audiences. As crypto blends with gaming, communities, and influencer culture, exchanges that innovate socially will lead the charge.
This is more than an acquisition—it’s a strategic rewrite of dYdX’s future.
