Share this article

Consensus 2017: Decentralized Exchange 0x Wins Proof-of-Work Startup Competition

0x took the top prize today in the second annual Proof of Work pitch competition at CoinDesk’s Consensus 2017 conference in New York.

Updated Sep 11, 2021, 1:23 p.m. Published May 23, 2017, 10:08 p.m.
Image uploaded from iOS (7)

0x (pronounced “zero-ex”) took the top prize today during the second annual Proof of Work pitch competition at CoinDesk’s Consensus 2017 conference in New York.

The startup is building a protocol to be used as a standard for the decentralized exchange of ERC20 tokens in the ethereum network. ERC20 tokens are a class of tokens that adhere to a set of standards dictating their implementation in ethereum-based smart contracts. As it stands today, virtually all tokens on the ethereum network now qualify as ERC20.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters

Will Warren, 0x's co-founder and CEO, made his pitch earlier this afternoon to Rumi Morales, the executive director CME Ventures; Dan Morehead, the CEO of Pantera; Brad Stephens, co-founder of Blockchain Capital; Matthew Roszak, co-founder of Bloq; and Lisa Cheng, a founder at Vanbex Group.

Decentralized token exchanges already exist on ethereum, but they are all incompatible with one another, Warren said during his pitch. The 0x protocol, he argued, is a building block that envisions a greater degree of interoperability between multiple applications.

0x's victory comes with a $10,000 check – along with the blessing of the panel of judges. The startup was one of six finalists to take part.

Image by Morgen Peck for CoinDesk

More For You

Protocol Research: GoPlus Security

GP Basic Image

What to know:

  • As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
  • GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
  • Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.

More For You

Eric Trump's American Bitcoin and Anthony Pompliano's ProCap Add to BTC Holdings

Eric Trump speaks at Consensus 2025 in Toronto (CoinDesk)

The shares of both bitcoin-related firms are posting modest early gains Wednesday, but remain sharply lower over the past several days.

What to know:

  • American Bitcoin (ABTC) added 416 bitcoin in the past week, raising its holdings to 4,783 coins.
  • ProCap Financial (BRR) — whose SPAC merger was completed last week — marginally lifted its holdings to 5,000 bitcoin.