What is a crypto exchange—and what kind of platform are you using?

Why it matters

The platform category determines price formation, asset control, recourse, data quality and which failure can reach the user.

Centralized venues

A centralized exchange can maintain customer accounts, hold assets, operate an order book, match trades and manage deposits and withdrawals. The user depends on its solvency, controls, market surveillance, legal entity and withdrawal operations.

A broker may instead transact as principal or route to other venues. A simple interface does not reveal whether the user receives an asset, a contractual exposure or a derivative.

Decentralized exchange protocols

A DEX commonly uses smart contracts to execute swaps from user-controlled wallets, often against liquidity pools or signed orders. There may be no conventional customer account holding the asset before the trade.

Self-custody removes one platform custody relationship but adds contract, oracle, routing, approval, interface and network risks. A web interface can be centralized even when settlement contracts are not.

Examples explain categories, not quality

Coinbase and Kraken are examples of centralized exchange brands; Uniswap is an example of a contract-based exchange protocol; 1inch is an example of an aggregator. These names illustrate models only. GapLimit does not endorse, rank or verify their suitability here.

Availability, regulated status, legal entity, offered assets and protections differ by jurisdiction and can change. The official destination and current disclosures must be checked directly.

The six-question platform test

Ask: Who is the legal counterparty? Who controls the keys before and after execution? Where is the price formed? What asset or claim is delivered? What can pause or reverse access? What records and recourse exist if the operator fails?

Then inspect fees, spread, withdrawal rules, network support, market depth, data methodology, conflicts and security history. A polished interface is not evidence for any of them.