Crypto exchanges are divided into **CEX (centralized)** and **DEX (decentralized)**.
**CEX** (Binance) operate like banks: custody, order book, KYC, and support. Advantages: deep liquidity, very low fees, and fast execution. Risks: requires trust in the company; if withdrawals are frozen, your balance gets stuck.
**DEX** (Uniswap, PancakeSwap) run on smart contracts. You trade directly from your wallet, without custody. Advantages: privacy and control over funds. Disadvantages: network fees, variable liquidity, and risk of bugs in the contract.
Conclusion: use CEX for active trading and DEX to maintain autonomy or access newly launched tokens. Diversifying reduces regulatory and technological risks.
