Decentralized exchange dYdX has completed its first external acquisition by purchasing social trading platform Pocket Protector, aiming to integrate Telegram-native group trading features into its core products. The deal, finalized in Q2 2025 after March negotiations, brings Pocket Protector's leadership team—including co-founders Eddie Zhang (appointed President) and Kaiser Kinbote (Head of Growth)—and four engineers into dYdX's core development units.
Pocket Protector achieved 50,000 users and $1 billion in annualized trading volume within a year by enabling real-time trader following and group-chat executions via Telegram. Its Solana spot trading capabilities will be discontinued, while key social features will embed directly into dYdX's platform, starting with Telegram bot integration. The acquisition, funded through cash and DYDX tokens, accelerates dYdX's pivot toward social-led growth amid declining market share—June volumes fell to $4.7B as competitors like Hyperliquid and GMX gained traction.
CEO Antonio Juliano emphasized this marks dYdX's evolution from startup to growth-focused entity, following internal restructuring including team consolidation and layoffs. Pocket Protector's viral traction and expertise in social product design (Zhang previously led Meta's Messenger) aim to enhance dYdX's user engagement and retention, historically lagging behind centralized rivals.