Since the creation of bitcoin and the hundreds of other cryptocurrencies in existence individuals have been trading their assets for profit or for other coins. A great majority of people use centralized exchanges, even though many of them require strict identification policies or have lost funds due to hackers infiltrating their platforms. Over the past couple of years, there has been a proliferation of decentralized exchanges (Dex) that allow digital currency trading without relying on a third party to hold a user’s funds. Unfortunately, people might not be aware that there have been over 200 Dex platforms launched over the past few years, and a Github repository called ‘Index’ allows people to get a comprehensive overview of each decentralized exchange.
Also Read: Testing Cryptocurrency Atomic Swaps With Barterdex
A List of Decentralized Exchanges of Cryptographic Assets, and Their Protocols
When people think about trading cryptocurrencies they often think about exchanges like Gemini, Coinbase, Bitstamp, and others. These exchanges are deemed centralized because they hold a customer’s funds and the data associated with the person’s account. A decentralized exchange, otherwise known as a ‘Dex,’ the protocol is basically a ‘trustless system’ because it doesn’t hold a user’s funds or require any data. There are a lot of popular Dex platforms that people have been hearing about more recently, and now there’s also a Github repository that gives an in-depth look at all 200+ trading platforms. The repository called ‘Index’ was created by the software developers Hanni Abu, Steven Hatzakis, Manfred Karrer and Elio Osés.
“This is a list of decentralized exchanges of cryptographic assets (cryptocurrencies, tokens, derivatives, futures) and their protocols, without a central entity,” explains the repository.
The architecture of these and their protocols can be quite different from one another. In some cases, they are built projects entirely open source — In other cases, they are closed in some aspects, but still implemented open or decentralized tools or mechanisms like smart contracts that are publicly verifiable. Other projects have chosen to create their own distributed ledger technology (DTL) in order to build a protocol for exchange.
The Benefits of Dex Platforms Are Great But These Projects Have a Limited User Base and Weak Liquidity
Dex platforms listed on the Index repository include Airswap, Altcoin Exchange, Atomicdex, Bisq, Bancor, Barterdex, Hodl Hodl, Counterparty Dex, Etherdelta, Localcoinswap, Raiden, QTUM Dex, and many more. The list also tells whether or not the Dex is operational, whether the platform has issues, and other types of characteristics.
For instance, the Index list features exchanges that offer accountless registration, a decentralized DNS, trustless order matching, and many more methods of decentralization. Out of the 200+ Dex platforms, there are a bunch that are either in their very early beta stages, or some that have been defunct or “dead” for quite some time. There’s still a good handful of “fully” decentralized projects, and Index also details their specific protocol layers and the type of cryptocurrency assets used.
The advantages of using a Dex are profound and allow people to trade in a trustless fashion. The chances of losing your money due to an exchange hack is slim to none and you don’t have to reveal your identity which makes your transactions far more private. The disadvantage to Dex platforms right now is mostly lack of traders, and liquidity is also slim to none even on the most popular and fully operational exchanges. However, as more lose money to fallen exchanges and theft, people are slowly starting to migrate to Dex platforms that offer decentralized features.
It’s likely centralized exchanges will never go away but a lot of cryptocurrency proponents hope the majority of crypto-trades will take place on these trustless platforms. Lastly, if decentralized exchanges do dominate the way we trade value, then the technology will surely revolutionize our current monetary systems — And it’s a nice day for a revolution.
What do you think of the Github repository Index that features a great variety of Dex platforms? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comment section below.
Images via Pixabay, ARTS1840, the Index list, and Github.
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