#CEXvsDEX101
🏢 CEX (Centralized Exchange)
Examples: Binance, Coinbase, Kraken
✅ Pros:
User-friendly: Easy for beginners with intuitive interfaces.
High liquidity: Faster trades and better prices.
Customer support: Can recover passwords or funds (to some extent).
Advanced tools: Trading charts, margin trading, stop-loss, etc.
❌ Cons:
Custodial: Exchange holds your private keys.
Hacks & outages: Targets for cyberattacks.
Regulatory risk: Subject to government regulations and freezes.
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🌐 DEX (Decentralized Exchange)
Examples: Uniswap, PancakeSwap, dYdX
✅ Pros:
Non-custodial: You control your funds and keys.
Privacy: No KYC in most cases.
Global access: Anyone with internet and a wallet can trade.
❌ Cons:
Less user-friendly: Requires Web3 knowledge.
Lower liquidity (varies by DEX and token).
Slippage & front-running: Especially on busy networks.
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🔑 Key Differences:
Feature CEX DEX
Custody Held by exchange Held by user
KYC Required Yes (usually) No (mostly)
Speed Fast Varies (depends on network)
Control Limited (centralized) Full (decentralized)
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🧠 TL;DR
Use a CEX if you're new to crypto or need high liquidity.
Use a DEX if you value privacy, decentralization, and control.
