A decentralised crypto exchange, DEX for short, is a program on a blockchain that settles swaps itself, without a company holding customer funds in custody. Anyone using one pays two prices: a network fee to the blockchain and a fee to the liquidity pool the swap draws on. On Ethereum the network fee for a swap currently stands at three to five cents, which effectively removes it as an argument.
What remains is the question that fees cannot answer: who holds your coins, who is liable when something goes wrong, and who provides the records for the tax office. This article works out the costs of both routes against each other and shows where the difference really lies.
