DEX’s Are Having Their ‘App Store Moment’

TL;DR

• In Feb, DEXs were responsible for 4.6% of all crypto trading volume — today, it has risen to 7% (marking a 52% increase) — all thanks to improvements in UI, price, and optionality.

Full Story

In the long and winding list of ‘bad takes’ throughout tech history, Steve Ballmer’s reaction to the launch of the iPhone has gotta be top 10.

(And we will die on this hill).

“$500 fully subsidized with a plan?? I said that is the most expensive phone in the world!

…and it doesn’t appeal to business customers because it doesn’t have a keyboard.“

As we all now know — none of that mattered.

The iPhone’s touchscreen keyboard worked well enough for email, the user interface was second to none, and its app library was world class.

And now we’re starting to see a similar shift in users between centralized exchanges (CEXs) and decentralized exchanges (DEXs)

For the longest time, DEXs really only had two things going for them:

1. They were permissionless (no having to upload your ID, address, and phone number to some unknown server that will outlast humanity)

2. Self custody came as standard (you held custody of your crypto instead of the exchange)

Outside of that, they were ridiculously hard to navigate for first-time users, and their fees were not competitive.

But of late, that’s started to change across the board — and DEXs are not only competing on ease-of-use and price, but…

They’re also having their ‘App Store moment.’

CEXs can’t/won’t list the majority of new tokens and memecoins right out of the gate because of regulatory restrictions.

So all of the hottest new low-cap coins/tokens that you hear folks making life changing money on, across X (Twitter)? That’s all happening on DEXs.

(Just like all the app development was happening on iPhone circa 2009).

As a result, we’re seeing a massive uptick in DEX usage.

In Feb, DEXs were responsible for 4.6% of all crypto trading volume. Today, it’s 7% — marking a 52% increase.

And sure, a jump from 4.6% to 7% might not feel like a lot…

But neither did the iPhone’s move from 3.5% of smartphone market share, to 5.4% (back in ‘07 / ‘08).

The takeaway:

DEXs are quickly becoming seen as the better option across the board.