# 0x Labs Financial Model

0x Labs builds open exchange infrastructure (protocol, API, consumer app) for on-chain token trading across multiple blockchains.

- Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/0x-labs
- Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/0x-labs.xlsx
- Category: Crypto/Web3
- Model type: SaaS ARR / Valuation
- Funding round: Series B
- Funding: $70M
- Founded: 2022
- Geography: Global / multi-chain (Ethereum, Polygon, BSC, Avalanche, Fantom, Celo, Optimism).
- Customer: B2B2C

## About the company

0x Labs operates a three-layer exchange stack: the open 0x Protocol settles ERC20, ERC721, and ERC1155 transactions; 0x API supplies liquidity aggregation to wallets and app builders; and Matcha is its retail trading interface. The routing layer combines DEX liquidity with RFQ market makers and considers gas costs across seven chains.

The split matters because its customers and evidence differ. Matcha had processed $34 billion cumulatively by December 2021, while 0x API served more than 60 integrators, including MetaMask and Coinbase Wallet. API unique addresses reached 669,860 in December after a 20x year-on-year volume increase.

A useful model separates Matcha and API routed volume by chain, then applies their own basis-point monetisation assumptions. Keep the ZRX-governed $14.38 million community treasury outside operating revenue, and make volume growth, take rate, headcount, and cloud costs the key scenario variables.

## What's included

- 5-year monthly revenue build with stage-appropriate growth assumptions
- Full P&L, headcount plan, and operating-expense schedule
- Cash-flow statement, runway, and burn-rate tracking
- Valuation via exit multiple with a DCF cross-check
- Returns analysis with MOIC and IRR
- Unit economics including CAC, LTV, payback, and cohort retention

## Product & value proposition

Three-layer stack, each with a distinct user:

| Layer | Product | Customer | Value prop |
| -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Settlement | 0x Protocol | Developers / dApps | Open, composable smart-contract settlement for ERC20, ERC721, ERC1155; upgradeable via ZRX governance |
| Aggregation | 0x API | App builders / wallets | Liquidity aggregation across 95+ DEX sources + professional market makers (RFQ); smart order routing with gas cost factoring; multi-hop and multi-source routing |
| Consumer | Matcha | Retail traders | Token search engine / DEX aggregator UI; live on 7 blockchains; 100+ liquidity sources |

Core thesis: all value will be tokenized and settle on-chain; fragmentation across chains and protocols creates a need for unified infrastructure.

## Market

Context provided: deck argues that derivatives, collectibles, stablecoins, art, yield/liquidity, and governance tokens will all move on-chain, implying a multi-trillion-dollar eventual addressable market - but no numbers are cited.

## Revenue model

- 0x API: likely a fee on routed volume (basis-point take rate) paid by integrators - standard for DEX aggregator APIs.
- Matcha: likely a protocol fee embedded in swap pricing.
- 0x Protocol: historically zero protocol fee; ZRX staking/governance token captures potential future value.
- Community Treasury holds $14.38M in assets (MATIC, ZRX, wCELO) governed by ZRX holders.

No take-rate figures, pricing tiers, or revenue line items disclosed.

## Traction & metrics



### Matcha

- Launched: March 2020
- Cumulative trade volume since launch: **$34 billion**
- 2021 YoY growth (Dec 2020 → Dec 2021):
  - Volume $: **14.6x**
  - Transactions: **7.9x**
  - Traders: **3.5x**
- Monthly volume data points (from stacked bar chart, slide 8):
  - Dec '20: ~$500M (approx, chart scale)
  - Peaked ~Nov '21 and Oct '21 at highest bars
  - Monthly users (slide 8 chart): 16,883 (Dec '20) → 102,902 (Nov '21) → 80,771 (Dec '21)
- Blockchains: 7 (Ethereum, Optimism, Avalanche, Polygon, BSC, Celo, Fantom)
- Liquidity sources: 100+

### 0x API

- Integrators: 60+ (including MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, Zapper, dYdX, ShapeShift, Rainbow)
- 2021 YoY growth (Dec 2020 → Dec 2021):
  - Traders: **15.3x**
  - Volume: **20x**
  - Transactions: **50.5x**
- Unique addresses (0x API, slide 13): 41,838 (Dec '20) → peak 847,587 (Oct '21) → 669,860 (Dec '21)
- Monthly volume (0x API, slide 13): growing from ~$1B range (Dec '20) to ~$7–9B peaks (Oct–Dec '21); Ethereum dominant but Polygon/BSC material
- Liquidity sources: 95+ across 7+ blockchains

### 0x Protocol

- Ecosystem: NFT marketplaces (OpenSea, Coinbase NFT, trader.xyz), data infra (Dune Analytics, TheGraph, Bitquery)
- Governance: ZRX token; 3 historical treasury allocations totalling ~$2.77M USD equivalent
- Community Treasury: **$14.38M** total (MATIC $9.06M | ZRX $4.01M | wCELO $2.74M)

## Competition / moat

Not explicitly addressed in a dedicated slide. Implied moats:
- Protocol-level: open-source settlement standard with developer ecosystem lock-in; ERC721 and EIP-712 co-authorship
- API-level: 95+ liquidity sources, professional MM RFQ system, multi-chain routing - network effect as integrators grow
- Consumer: brand + best-price routing for retail

No direct competitor comparison slide.

## Team & funding ask / use of funds

- Co-founders: Will Warren (Co-CEO, ex-Los Alamos National Laboratory) and Amir Bandeali (Co-CEO, ex-DRW)
- Team size: 52 members
- Team alumni: Coinbase, Citi, Bitso, Google, Microsoft, Airtable, Funding Circle
- Founded: ~2016–2017 (deck says "betting on mass tokenization since 2016")

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## Recommended financial model

**Archetype:** Usage-based / volume-take-rate model (DEX aggregator / crypto infrastructure) - closest analogue is a marketplace GMV model where the monetisable unit is trading volume and revenue = volume × take rate.

**Why:** The business has three layers but all economic value flows through transaction volume. Matcha and 0x API both route trades; the revenue lever is a basis-point fee on that volume. The protocol layer (ZRX) is treasury/governance, not a P&L line. The model should be volume-first, not ARR/SaaS.

**Forecast horizon & granularity:**
- Monthly for Year 1 (2022), quarterly for Years 2–3 (2023–2024)
- Separate volume build for Matcha (consumer) and 0x API (B2B); consolidate at revenue line

**Key drivers & assumptions:**

| Driver | Seed value |
| -- | -- |
| Matcha monthly volume Dec 2021 | ~$7B implied (14.6x of ~$480M Dec 2020 est.) |
| 0x API monthly volume Dec 2021 | ~$7–9B (chart range) |
| 0x API unique addresses Dec 2021 | 669,860 |
| Matcha monthly users Dec 2021 | 80,771 |
| Number of integrators | 60+ |
| Number of supported chains | 7 |
| Matcha volume growth rate 2022 | 50% YoY (severe DeFi market correction vs 2021 bull run) |
| 0x API volume growth rate 2022 | 40% YoY |
| Take rate on routed volume (Matcha) | 0.05–0.10 bps |
| Take rate on routed volume (0x API) | 0–0.05 bps or flat subscription |
| Gross margin | 70–80% |
| Headcount (Dec 2021) | 52 |
| Headcount growth | +20–30% pa |
| Avg. salary + benefits fully-loaded | $180K–$220K pa |
| Cloud + infrastructure costs | 15–20% of revenue |
| ZRX Treasury (non-P&L) | $14.38M |

**Scenarios (which variables flex):**

| Scenario | Volume growth | Take rate | Headcount growth |
| -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Bull | +80% YoY (crypto recovery) | 0.10 bps | +35% |
| Base | +40% YoY | 0.06 bps | +25% |
| Bear | Flat / −20% YoY (bear market) | 0.03 bps | +10% |

Primary flex variable: crypto market volume (highly correlated to BTC/ETH price cycle). Secondary: monetization go-live timing - deck does not confirm active fee charging.

**Required sheets / outputs:**
1. `Assumptions` - all drivers, scenarios, switches
2. `Volume Build` - Matcha and 0x API monthly volume by chain, rolled to quarterly
3. `Income Statement` - revenue (volume × take rate), COGS, gross profit, OpEx (R&D, S&M, G&A), EBITDA, net income
4. `Headcount` - by department, with cost roll-up
5. `Balance Sheet` - simplified; key item is treasury/cash runway
6. `Cash Flow` - operating CF; burn rate; runway months
7. `KPI Dashboard` - monthly volume, unique addresses, integrators, gross margin %, burn rate

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the 0x Labs financial model free?

Yes. The 0x Labs model is a free Excel download with live formulas.

### Can I change the assumptions?

Yes. The workbook is editable and its live formulas recalculate when assumptions change.