DEX versus CEX

What is a cryptocurrency exchange?

Digital assets are constantly evolving (as are the exchanges they trade on), having initially been unregulated and used to cater for cryptos in the ICO boom; they now offer investors greater choice. There are some digital asset exchanges that are regulated, such as Archax in the UK or Six in Switzerland, but many still remain unregulated. Cryptocurrency exchange platforms have grown over time since the Bitcoinmarket crypto exchange in 2017 which was a CEX and now single entity has control over the newer ones.

CEX (centralised exchange)

The so-called "first-generation exchanges" were the initial places on which investors could buy, sell or trade their crypto assets. As their names suggest, these exchanges are centralised meaning that one entity controls the whole platform, the information about users and the assets they own. Binance, CEX.io, Kraken, Coinbase Exchange, and OKEx are all centralised exchanges with their order books. The order book keeps tra…