Top 3 Decentralized Exchanges You Need to Know in 2023
Learn about Curve, Uniswap, and Pancakeswap.
A Decentralized Exchange (DEX) is a cryptocurrency exchange that enables users to directly swap / trade crypto with each other without needing to provide any personal information or KYC data.
DEXes use smart contracts to execute trades directly between users' wallets.
Some of the advantages of DEXes over centralized exchanges (CEX) are:
DEXes offer higher security since users' assets are not held in a centralized location. In a CEX, your assets are controlled by a third party and the FTX exchange scam has shown how dangerous that can be.
DEXes are more transparent as all trades are recorded on the blockchain, making them publicly accessible. The holdings & transactions of CEXes are opaque. Again, the FTX exchange scam has shown how dangerous that can be.
DEXes are more resistant to censorship & government regulations since they operate on a decentralized network.
The world's first successful DEX was EtherDelta, launched in 2017. Since then, the popularity of DEXes has exploded. The top 3 DEXes and their TVL (Total Value Locked) are:
Curve (TVL $4 billion)
Uniswap (TVL $3.5 billion)
Pancakeswap (TVL $2.5 billion)
1. Curve
Curve is specially designed for extremely efficient, low-slippage stablecoin trading. Curve operates on 12 blockchains but 94% of its TVL is on Ethereum.
CRV is the native token of Curve and is used for governance.
Note: Slippage is the difference between the expected price of a trade and the price at which the trade is executed.
The core metrics of CRV are:
Price: $ 0.91
Market Cap: $ 678 million
Volume: $ 120 million
2. Uniswap
Uniswap started off on Ethereum, but now also runs on Arbitrum, Polygon, Optimism, BSC & Celo. 92% of its TVL is on Ethereum.
UNI is the native token of Uniswap and is used for governance.
The core metrics of CRV are:
Price: $ 5.95
Market Cap: $ 4.5 billion
Volume: $ 109 million
3. PancakeSwap
PancakeSwap started with the Binance Smart Chain, but now also runs on Aptos & Ethereum. 98% of its TVL is on Binance. PancakeSwap also features yield farming, staking & lotteries.
CAKE is the native token of PancakeSwap and is used for governance.
The core metrics of CRV are:
Price: $ 3.8
Market Cap: $ 684 million
Volume: $ 48 million
Figures are as on 16 March 2023 from CoinMarketCap and may be rounded off.