For most retail crypto investors, centralized digital marketplaces like Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, and many more have been the preferred gateway to the world of cryptocurrency trading. However, as leaked customer data like the recent Gemini case and misappropriated funds like the FTX debacle continue to plague the space, crypto investors have been looking into alternatives. According to a Delphi Digital analysis following the FTX crash, DEX tokens saw a 24% uptick, and CEX tokens saw a 2% decline.
The lack of transparency in how CEX operations are run has become a major driver for this trend shift. What’s more, a lot of platforms claim complete decentralization when in fact, there’s a centralized element to them. But do DEXs have what it takes to take over the crypto exchange space?
The centralized control over customer funds that companies running CEXs have combined with a lack of transparency of what goes on behind the scenes at these businesses is the most concerning aspect of centralized trading at the moment. This centralization, unfortunately, allows for the misappropriation of customer funds to happen, as was the case with FTX.
The surge of automated market makers (AMMs) was led by Uniswap, showing the crypto world the potential of DEXs. Order book DEXs such as dYdX that use zk-rollups to implement order books off-chain introduced an alternative solution to replace centralized exchanges. The uprise in DEXs is just the beginning.
While offering users more convenience when transferring or swapping tokens, centralized exchange wallets are decidedly less secure than non-custodial storage solutions. DEXs offer their users flexibility when it comes to storing their crypto tokens and do not rely on their user’s crypto
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