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CEX vs DEX: who holds the keys?
| Aspect | CEX | DEX |
|---|---|---|
| Custody | Exchange holds your funds | You keep your own keys |
| KYC | Usually required | Usually not |
| Order matching | Order book (like a stock exchange) | Liquidity pools / AMMs |
| Fiat on/off-ramp | Yes (cards, bank) | Usually no (crypto-to-crypto) |
| Failure risk | Exchange can fail / be hacked | Smart-contract bugs can be exploited |
| Recovery | Customer support exists | No support — code is final |
Order types: market vs. limit, in plain English
- Market order — buy/sell immediately at the best available price. Fast, but you may pay the spread.
- Limit order — set a price; the order fills only if the market reaches it.
- Stop-loss — auto-sell if the price falls to a level you set (common on CEXs).
Liquidity, slippage & spread: why your price slips
Liquidity is how easily you can trade without moving the price. A liquid market has tight spreads and small slippage; a thin market can move a lot on a single trade. Slippage is the gap between the price you expect and the price you actually get — common on DEXes for large trades.
The same buy, deep and thin