Recently, there has been a lot of debating and speculating regarding the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, Binance, as well as the road the exchange is planning on taking. More precisely, the exchange’s decision to launch its own decentralized version — Binance DEX — and what such a move might mean for the crypto world.

A bit about Binance

As mentioned, Binance is currently the largest and most popular exchange in the crypto space. It was launched back in mid-2017, just as the bull run started attracting investors and traders from all corners of the world. The launch was rather well-timed, and the exchange quickly started growing in all aspects, including trading volume, number of users, and alike.

After achieving massive success due to the crypto market growth, Binance was easily able not only to survive the following crypto winter, but even to make a profit while most other crypto businesses struggled to even survive harsh conditions. As the year progressed, Binance started announcing some big projects, such as its crypto-fiat exchange targeting European markets — Binance Jersey — as well as its own blockchain, Binance Chain.

However, one project that the exchange announced took the world by surprise, and that is Binance DEX — a decentralized exchange which has the potential to disrupt Binance’s own business.

Why is Binance DEX such a big deal?

The crypto space was developed with decentralization in mind. Its very purpose was to take power away from centralized institutions and eliminate the need for third parties. This is what both, blockchain and crypto have been focused on ever since Bitcoin itself was launched.

However, one big aspect of the crypto experience still remains heavily centralized, and that is the crypto exchange. Most of the popular platforms today are heavily centralized, Binance included. They run the show, they hold investors’ funds (while within the exchange), and have the power to freeze those funds, or simply take them. Not that they would, but they do have the power to do so.

This was seen as a big problem, not only because it defeats the purpose of crypto, but also because they can be hacked by skilled enough individuals who might then take off with investors’ money. It has happened before, just think of Mt. Gox, CoinCheck, or Cryptopia.

To change the investors’ and traders’ dependence on these exchanges, developers came up with decentralized exchanges, which would act just like the blockchain, with community members running them and no single individual or entity would be in charge. Now, Binance is doing the same itself.

While many are skeptical of this, wondering how ‘decentralized’ the exchange can be if a centralized company is launching it, there are also many who are quite excited about the project.

Most DEXes out there have a long way to go until they perfect their platforms and ensure that their users will have a safe, smooth experience. The lack of funding is definitely one cause for slow development, which is something that Binance does not have to worry about. Further, it already has millions of users who are likely prepared to move to the DEX as soon as it goes live.

Next, the exchange will have a legitimate background, considering that a trusted (even though centralized) entity is the one developing it. It will also be run by the community on Binance Chain, and it will use Binance Coin (BNB) as its native currency. The DEX sounds too good to be true, and many see that as proof that it is not true.

However, it might as well be, as Binance seems to be aware of what its users want and need. The launch of a DEX would make Binance a community, more than a simple exchange, and it would guarantee its relevance in the future of crypto. It will also impact BNB heavily, increasing its utility, as well as price. It is an excellent idea, in concept, and while it still remains to be seen what it will be like in reality, the company continues to push with its development, and the DEX’s testnet is already out, being tested and gathering data for future changes and improvements.

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Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Global Coin Report and/or its affiliates, employees, writers, and subcontractors are cryptocurrency investors and from time to time may or may not have holdings in some of the coins or tokens they cover. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency and read our full disclaimer.

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