DEX
A DEX, or decentralized exchange, is a trading venue where you swap tokens from your own wallet through smart contracts instead of depositing funds with a company. You keep custody while you trade, but you also carry the wallet, fee and contract risks yourself.
How a DEX works
Ethereum.org describes decentralized exchanges as places where you can swap tokens at any time, with markets running 24/7, while you keep control of your assets instead of depositing them with a platform first. Its DeFi overview says DEXs can also offer limit orders, perpetuals and margin trading, and that trades draw on liquidity pools, which are pools of funds supplied by other users.
In practice you connect a wallet, approve a swap, and sign the transaction. The venue never holds your balance, so there is no account to freeze and no support desk that can reverse a mistake.
DEX vs CEX
Ethereum.org contrasts this with centralized exchanges, where you deposit assets and trust the company with custody. It notes that deposited assets are exposed because centralized exchanges are attractive targets for hackers, and that if an exchange runs into financial trouble your funds can be at risk.
The trade-off flips on a DEX. You are not exposed to the exchange's solvency, but a wrong address, a malicious token or a bad approval is your problem.
What to check before your first swap
Compare the all-in cost, not just the headline fee. That means the venue or aggregator fee, the network fee, and the price impact of your size against the pool. Keep the amount small for a first test trade, and read our slippage and price impact explainers before you widen any limits.
Common mistakes
Treating a DEX like a bank is the biggest one. Ethereum.org's point that you keep control of your assets also means there is no one to call when you send funds to the wrong place or approve something you did not read. Slow down on the first few trades, double-check the token you are swapping into, and remember that anyone can create a token with any name.
Also remember that being decentralized says nothing about whether a listed token is legitimate. A DEX lists what users create, and it is your job to research each token. Never treat a token or a venue as safe just because it appears on a popular interface.
Where this shows up
- Uniswap — Traders and liquidity providers who want direct access to Uniswap pools across many EVM chains without an interface fee.
- Jupiter — Solana traders who want aggregated routing across DEXes with low or zero fees on major and stable pairs.
- Raydium — Solana traders and LPs who want direct access to Raydium pools, and token creators launching through LaunchLab.
- PancakeSwap — BNB Chain traders and LPs who want deep v2/v3 liquidity and lower fee tiers than a 0.30% default.
- 1inch — EVM and Solana traders who want aggregated routing and gasless intent-based swaps without an interface fee.
- Matcha — EVM traders who want gasless aggregated swaps and limit orders, and stablecoin swappers who pay no swap fee.
Sources
Last checked . Fees and terms change often; the venue's own page wins if it disagrees with ours.
- Decentralized finance (DeFi) (ethereum.org) — checked 2026-10-17