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Decentralized exchanges (DEX) for cryptocurrency traders have been called the future of crypto. This is for good reason, as they have several benefits, the most important of which are privacy, security, zero counter-party risk, automated market-making, extremely low fees, and peer to peer exchange of assets. Decentralized exchanges make it impossible to impose regulations, government taxation, confiscation or surveillance. For this reason, they are seen as the way forward to route around any state-level actors and their attempts to restrict or control cryptocurrency usage by the free market. Over the next few years, we will see hundreds of DEXs launch, with even centralized exchanges planning to launch decentralized options.
Let’s take a look at the most popular DEXs available for traders to utilize today.
Decentralized exchange list
1. Bisq
- Supports 126 cryptocurrencies
- Fully decentralized
- Supports fiat payment options
- No AML/KYC
- Uses TOR for privacy & security
- Windows, Mac, Linux
2. IDEX
- Deals exclusively in Ethereum & ERC-20 tokens
- Hundreds of trading pairs
- Fully decentralized
- More volume than Etherdelta
- Uses smart contract for trades and managing user keys
- Hardware wallet integration with Ledger Nano for more security
- No AML/KYC
3. Waves DEX
- Supports any Waves token
- Supports many popular large market cap cryptocurrencies
- Allows any user to launch a token on Waves blockchain
- Allows users to lend Waves tokens for passive income
- No AML/KYC
- Supports fiat payment options
- Uses centralized order matching for faster trades
4. BarterDEX
- Fully decentralized
- Uses Atomic swaps to facilitate trades
- Works across different blockchains
- Has privacy features to protect users
- Allows users to manage their own private keys
- No AML/KYC
- Over 80 trading pairs
5. EtherDelta
- Deals exclusively in Ethereum & ERC-20 tokens
- Hundreds of trading pairs
- Fully decentralized
- Uses smart contract for trades and managing user keys
- NO AML/KYC
- Utilizes Metamask Ethereum wallet
6. OpenLedger
- Fully decentralized
- 125 trading pairs
- No AML/KYC
- Supports fiat payment options
- Utilizes Bitshares technology
- Offers trading of market-pegged assets (tokenized versions of commodities or other assets)
- ICOO crowdfunding platform
- Game development platform
- Blockchain-based ads platform
- Blockchain-based freelancing platform
7. Switcheo
- Deals exclusively in NEO & NEP-5 tokens (NEP-5 is the token standard for the NEO blockchain, similar to ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum)
- Trade all currently available Nep-5 tokens
- Uses centralized order matching for faster trades
- Low Trading Fees, No Withdrawal Fees
- Trade directly from user’s wallet, no deposit times, instant trades
- No AML/KYC
8. Cryptobridge
- Fully decentralized
- No AML/KYC
- Most popular cryptocurrency trading pairs
- Utilizes Bitshares technology
- 50 percent of fees are paid to BCO token holders in a profit sharing model
- Uses multi-signature federated gateway
- No single point of failure
- Supports fiat payment options
9. Bitshares
- Fully decentralized
- No AML/KYC
- Capable of processing 100,000 transactions per second (tps)
- Dynamic account permissions allow users to implement a hierarchy to access funds across multiple users
- Offers trading of market-pegged assets via “smartcoins”
- Supports fiat payment options
- Users can create their own tokens via “User-issued assets”
10. Kyber Network
- Fully decentralized
- Claims high liquidity due to token reserves
- Allows for instant trades
- Most popular cryptocurrency trading pairs
- Allows for proxy payments, pay anyone in any token and Kyber will swap it into the token they want to receive
- Cross-chain swaps
- Allows for derivatives trading
11. Airswap
- Fully decentralized
- Deals exclusively in Ethereum & ERC-20 tokens
- Uses smart contract for trades and managing user keys
- Airswap tokens will provide users with voting privileges in regards to the governance of the platform
- Tokens are used to broadcast trades, not as the exchange’s medium of exchange
12. Counterparty
- Fully decentralized
- Built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain
- Allows for user-issued digital tokens
- Offers trading of market-pegged assets
- Offers trading of advanced financial instruments
- Will be Lightning Network compatible
- No AML/KYC
13. Bancor Network
- Most popular cryptocurrency trading pairs
- Backwards compatibility with any token on Ethereum
- Bancor Network Tokens are compatible with ERC20 and EIP228
- Continuous liquidity for swapping tokens via smart contract & reserves
- No spread on trades placed on the Bancor Network
- Safe and secure due to smart contract, zero counterparty risk
- Reserves of tokens also ensure less volatility in trades
14. 0x Protocol
- 0x is not an exchange but a decentralized token swapping protocol used by many dapps and exchanges (relays)
- 17 current Dapps are incorporating the 0x protocol
- 17 Relays (DEXs) are also incporporating the 0x protocol
- Developers want to use 0x as the center protocol of a whole web stack of dapps, relays and platforms
- 0x has seen heavy investement from crypto hedge funds such as Pantera Capital & Polychain
15. Coinffeine
- Deals exclusively in Bitcoin
- Fully decentralized
- Supports fiat payment options
- No AML/KYC
- Supports Okpay and Paypal
- First Bitcoin desktop wallet that allows the users to buy and sell BTC automatically
- Supports over 70 countries
16. Hodl Hodl
- Fully decentralized
- No AML/KYC
- Supports fiat payment options
- Multi-sig escrow account to protect user funds
- Maximum fees of 0.6% per trade
- Segwit support
- Lightning Network support is planned
17. Blocknet
- Most popular cryptocurrency trading pairs
- No AML/KYC
- Blocknet users to obtain liquidity via BIP65 atomic swaps with centralized exchanges
- Partnered with 0x protocol
- Available on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems
18. Fork Delta
- Fork Delta is a user forked, open source, community run, version of the EtherDelta DEX
- Still uses EtherDelta’s APIs and contract
- Deals exclusively in Ethereum & ERC-20 tokens
- Fully decentralized
- Hundreds of trading pairs
- Uses smart contract for trades and managing user keys
- NO AML/KYC
- Utilizes Metamask Ethereum wallet
19. Ethfinex
- Ethfinex is a hybrid DEX with an option for centralized style trading through the Bitfinex API
- Offers Margin trading, Limit orders, stops, and other features
- Same parent company as Bitfinex, and USD Tether
- Support fiat payment options
- Utilizes Bitshares technology
- Deals exclusively in Ethereum & ERC-20 tokens
- Uses Bitfinex user interface
- Has 24/7 customer support team
20. Radar Relay
- The first Relay for the 0x protocol
- Deals exclusively in Ethereum & ERC-20 tokens
- Hardware wallet integration with Ledger Nano for more security
- No AML/KYC
- Currently in Beta
21. Stellar DEX
- Most popular cryptocurrency trading pairs
- No AML/KYC
- Fully decentralized
- Supports fiat payment options
- Deposit 20 Stellar Lumens (XLM) to begin trading
- Longest running DEX
- Has good trading volume & liquidity
In conclusion
There are many, many more DEXs coming to the market in the next 12-18 months that will drastically change the face of the cryptocurrency trading landscape. We shall see them grow in volume, and user base, and may even see DEXs rival centralized exchanges as far as features and liquidity. Let me know your favorites and which ones you like to use to trade your coins without a middleman.
