Have you had an occasion where you made a transfer of funds and a message popped up indicating the process of your transfer? Some of the transfers could be immediate, while others would take almost forever to be completed. At times, you may not be able to determine if your transaction was successful or not. The transaction could even show failed or loading, whereas your account has been debited. This is common with banks, which serve as custodians of our monies and help facilitate the sending or receiving of funds between two parties. This is the idea of centralized exchange (CEX), meaning there is a custodian of your funds, and when there is a need to make a transaction, they help you facilitate it.
Almost everyone has had a bitter experience with banks. In fact, I have two first bank accounts, which resulted from a challenge I had with my first account, which was eventually rectified. You can have money and not have it under your control. In fact, your transactions can be limited to certain amounts in a day. Also, I have received many calls from scammers who had access to my details in one way or another, making frantic efforts to compromise the little money I have in my account.
Basically, everyone wants his assets to be accessible as well as secure. In CEX, you may have no idea what goes on in your account. Banks may encourage you to save your money and grant you peanut interest, giving you limited choices and terms to access your funds. Banks would rather ask you to save your money than help you invest. The banks, like CEX, want to have control of your funds and determine when and how much should be released at some point.
Decentralized exchange (DEX), on the other hand, gives the liberty of the transaction to the two parties without the need for intermediaries or influences, thus making your transaction direct between the two parties, here as a peer-to-peer marketplace. DEX thus eliminates the need for intermediaries such as banks, payment processors, and even brokers.
As opposed to CEX, DEX funds do not pass through third-party cryptocurrency wallets, thereby reducing third-party risk. DEX gives a transparent overview of your transactions. DEX facilitates trades through smart contracts, as opposed to CEX, where the transaction is under the control of the exchange. CEX gives you limited control of your assets and could help you override some steps where your account looks compromised. I would rather say this is an interference than an intervention by CEX. DEX, on the other hand, gives you control of your funds through your key phrases and passwords, and the disadvantage of this is that the loss of such may mean the complete loss of your assets. DEX transactions are built on blockchain smart contracts and are quite fast and secure.
As an individual, I would love to have control of my assets, be free from interference or limitations by third parties, have limited risks, and have access to them at any time. Thus, my preference for DEX transactions over CEX transactions
This is my entry to the #hivelearners weekly prompt.
Thank you for reading. I would love to have your comments and contributions