In the world of cryptocurrency, decentralisation is the foundation of the value that these tokens create. But what is decentralisation? Why do we need it and what progress needs to be done to achieve this?

Decentralisation is a process whereby no individual authority controls all functions within a system eg. Bitcoin and Ethereum. All verification is completed via Proof of Work, Proof of Stake or a similar mechanism.

When looking at the existing buying and selling trends whether traditional stock exchange or currency exchange, there is always a single entity and/or corporations that hold billions worth of assets and personal data eg. Equifax, J.P morgan, Binance.

This leads one to ask why are there so many single entity exchanges we use to buy and sell cryptocurrency?

It’s an oxymoron, we’ve created a future that has idealised a decentralised ecosystem and in essence gravitated towards the centralised exchange model by trusting the traditional exchanges with our money. Essentially, losing the control and handing over authority to our own money. There are many examples of where this has ended badly and these exchanges have lost their user’s funds.

This is where the necessity for a decentralised exchange comes from, it stems from the need to take ownership of our own money and to move on from the notion of a central authority.