Top 10 Decentralised Cryptocurrency Exchanges
Explore some of the key features of top decentralised exchange platforms.
Decentralised exchange (DEX) is a way of exchanging cryptocurrencies or other blockchain-based assets without a centralised agency or intermediary. The key features of the open platforms that facilitate such exchange include censorship resistance, no KYC, immutable data and high security. To understand how trustless exchange or decentralised exchange is facilitated by free software and public blockchains, you can read our introduction to DeFi.
Now for our Top 10 DEX list (in no particular order):
Uniswap is a protocol for exchanging ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum. It is one of the most-used crypto trading platforms with more than $20B traded since inception. Through Uniswap Mining via CoinList, users are able to earn the new UNI governance token by committing funds to Uniswap liquidity pools. Check out our Uniswap case study.
Curve is a decentralized exchange built on Ethereum. It is specifically designed to provide efficient trading between cryptocurrencies of the same value and provide high annual interest returns on cryptocurrency funds deposited into Curve Finance by liquidity providers. It aims to create deep on-chain liquidity using advanced bonding curves. Read our review of Curve.
Tokenlon is a collection of currency exchange functions in imToken 2.0. It leverages smart contract technology utilizing the 0x DEX protocol, to achieve rapid exchange of tokens, making asset transactions more convenient.
Founded in 2016, 0x is an open protocol that enables the peer-to-peer exchange of assets on the Ethereum blockchain.
Compound is a protocol on the Ethereum blockchain that establishes money markets. Suppliers and borrowers of an asset interact directly with the protocol, earning and paying a floating interest rate. Users can swap Compound, be Compound Liquidity Providers to earn fees and boost their yield by up to 20x when staking CRO. Read our in-depth Compound review here.
JustSwap is the first decentralized token exchange protocol on the TRON platform, allowing users to exchange any TRC20 tokens at the system price instantly. JustSwap also allows users to earn transaction fees by being a liquidity provider, even getting commission-free on the protocol. In addition to exchanging TRC20 tokens, JustSwap users have the ability to earn transaction fees and mining rewards.
PancakeSwap is a decentralized exchange for swapping BEP20 tokens on Binance Smart Chain. PancakeSwap uses an automated market maker (AMM) model where users trade against a liquidity pool. Such pools are filled with users’ funds. They deposit them into the pool, receiving liquidity provider (or LP) tokens in return. They can use those tokens to reclaim their share, plus a portion of the trading fees.
Balancer is an automated market maker, decentralized exchange and liquidity pool protocol built on Ethereum that allows users to provide liquidity for multiple assets simultaneously. Find out more about Balancer.
Kyber is an on-chain liquidity protocol that can be integrated into any application to enable the exchange of tokens without the need for an intermediary.
Launched in March of 2019, 1inch is a DeFi aggregator and a decentralized exchange with smart routing. The core protocol connects a large number of decentralized and centralized platforms in order to minimize price slippage and find the optimal trade for the users. Users can trade via limit orders, deposit funds into lending protocols and move coins between different liquidity pools.