Paradex is moving its sequencer to a Karnot-run open-source stack, a shift built on two years of shipping the SuperDEX. This custom infrastructure stack lets Paradex deliver a bespoke trading UX not possible on today’s L1s or L2s, all while retaining Ethereum security. This piece unpacks why the move matters, how it works under the hood, and what it unlocks next.
https://x.com/tradeparadex/status/1938570326990008443
Paradex is partnering with Karnot to run its own Madara sequencer on an entirely open-source SN Stack. This custom infrastructure turbocharges Paradex’s roadmap, potentially enabling:
(i) custom functionality built into the Paradex chain;
(ii) masked positions at the RPC layer; and
(iii) $DIME as the native gas token.
When Paradex debuted in 2023, it was celebrated as the first Starknet app-chain: a DEX running on a StarkWare-operated sequencer with ETH DA. That setup proved purpose-built chains can match centralised exchanges in throughput and latency while staying fully on-chain.
Today, the team is pursuing a fuller vision: the SuperDEX.
Achieving that “better-than-CEX” UX now hinges on freedoms a generic L1 or L2 can’t grant: RPC-level privacy, total control over every layer of infrastructure, and chain-level protocol upgrades.
With this new partnership, StarkWare continues to run SHARP (the shared proving service), while Karnot takes over sequencing, scaling and more. The result: every performance dial sits in Paradex’s hands, with zero compromise.
Madara is the open-source Starknet sequencer that turns the SN Stack into modular bricks. Together with Paradex, we can integrate custom opcodes, swap DA layers, or migrate state between sequencers. Karnot’s engineers co-maintain Madara, bringing battle-tested familiarity that cuts upgrade risk.
What a self-owned stack unlocks:
Full Position Privacy. RPC masking can hide order and position data.
Native Gas in $DIME. Paradex can make $DIME the chain’s gas token.
Modular DA Paths. Pluggable DA lets Paradex drive costs even lower.
Karnot, along with the Kasar Labs team, contributes code, reviews, and actively develops Madara. That hands-on familiarity gives us full control over new features, release timelines, and infrastructure resilience. The same team that ships the sequencer also runs it.
Karnot operates the second-largest Starknet validator, overseeing roughly 44 million STRK with perfect uptime. The same operational promise now backs Paradex.
We’ve partnered with projects like Kakarot and Pragma, and our accelerator supports app-chains building AI marketplaces, RWA platforms, and stablecoin gateways. Furthermore, Karnot collaborates with Finternet, an open protocol layer aiming to connect global financial systems, using our experience running production-grade infrastructure to help build the world's financial rails.
Migrating the SuperDEX to a Karnot-run Madara stack turns infrastructure into leverage. Let's both teams double down on their specialities, trading logic for Paradex, zero-downtime chains for Karnot and set the stage for a new class of high-throughput, privacy-preserving protocols.