what's Vega Protocol?

Vega Protocol is a decentralized exchange platform designed for trading futures and perpetuals on-chain. It enables the creation and trading of markets with fully on-chain order books, liquidity provision, and risk management through mechanisms like automated market makers and insurance pools. The protocol uses a proof-of-stake consensus with validators and permissionless market creation, supporting Ethereum oracles for price feeds to enhance decentralization and scalability. Built on its own layer-1 blockchain, Vega emphasizes composability in DeFi by allowing traders to leverage collateral across markets while maintaining self-custody. Participants earn rewards through staking VEGA tokens, providing liquidity, or running nodes, fostering a sustainable ecosystem for derivatives trading without intermediaries.