Hey – we are crypto – we breathe decentralization, we breathe trustless! Oops! Surprisingly, the majority of the exchanges we use on a daily basis are 100% centralized and expose us to a major risk. This is in complete contrast with the original vision of cryptocurrency which aimed at providing privacy and being decentralized. Despite their massive successes, centralized exchange remains vulnerable to security attacks and government regulation (see 1broker, see Mt.Gox, see dozens of hacked exchanges). It is somewhat embarrassing, that these really big issues with exchanges happen in the crypto space, which is waving the “Decentralize the world” flags all the time but seem to be not able to use our own tech we advertise, in a way it makes sense. True, there are some live DEX', but did you ever tried really using them? Don't bother. Let's check three upcoming decentralized exchanges, which are REALLY promising. Most investors and traders generally prefer to use decentralized exchanges (DEX) since they offer enhanced privacy and transparency. Besides privacy and transparency, DEX does not require third-party intermediaries. Hence the transactions should be DEX are much faster and less costly compared to a centralized exchange. This is not yet the case with the current offering of live DEX's.

The current state is, that decentralized exchanges come with a few drawbacks. First is that they are less user-friendly and require users to have a complex understanding of their processes and operations. Secondly, unlike centralized exchanges DEX often offer so little in terms of advanced features and functionalities such stop loss, stop profits and margin trading.

Below we look at some the upcoming Decentralized Exchange platforms that crypto-users can look up to in the future.

Altcoin.io

Altcoin.io is one of my favorite projects, which recently closed they fundraising (they did NOT want to do an ICO). The Altcoin.io DEX plans to leverage on atomic swaps to perform secure, affordable, fast and reliable transactions on payment platform powered by smart contracts. Atomic swaps allow the exchange of a coin for another without a third party. Although, the project was founded in 2017 its yet to be launched for use. Developments are still under-way to solve cross-chain interoperability and add advanced trading tools and interfaces.

The altcoin.io decentralized platform offers numerous security benefits to users. First and foremost, users are allowed to retain their coins while transacting hence even in case of an attack on the exchange platform users cannot lose their coins. Upon creating a wallet on the platform users are provided with a unique key. Users funds are locked and put into a blockchain only accessible by the users alone. Altcoin.io wallets will be locked with complex pass-phrases and added an extra layer of protection through encrypted passwords. Furthermore, they aim to be the first DEX that provides social trading features:

We’ve finished an early design concept for our social trading area: https://t.co/DW9g7ypj3l Preview it and let us know how we can make it better. Bear in mind there will be a few bugs, maybe some typos, and a lot of placeholder “traders” (we’re not cloning people, honest). pic.twitter.com/7LUhhUMvcG — Altcoin.io Exchange (@altcoin_io) 21. September 2018

According to its blueprint, Altcoin.io will aim at providing a user-friendly interface that users can easily interact with. The project also promises 24hrs customer support upon starting operations. Altcoin.io also promises to provide an instant exchange for a variety of coins and tokens. The platform we can see right now in the preview mode of the website looks pretty neat and I think we really can expect something good to come here.

Website: Altcoin.io

Launch Date: Q4 2018

Aphelion

Aphelion is a decentralized application protocol built on the NEO blockchain that allows a peer to peer transactions to happen directly on the blockchain network. Aphelion is powered by a Distributed Exchange Asset Ledger (DEAL). The platform is aimed at creating a collaborative and open source platform that enables decentralization and distribution of digital assets. APH tokens act as an escrow ensuring that the terms of the transaction are completed and verified.

Aphelion utilizes the NEO blockchain in order to leverage on its open source platform and fast transaction speeds. NEO supports a remarkable 10000 transactions per second compared to Ethereum’s 20 transactions per second and Bitcoins 3 transactions per second. Further, Aphelion allows the transfer of data using the Distributed Ledger Technology with no central administrator.

Aphelions aims to be the first Decentralized Exchanges that completely resides on a blockchain network as a decentralized application. To transact on the Aphelion platform one will only require an open source interface for controlling smart contracts and accessing data. They are about to launch very soon.

Website: https://aphelion.org/

Launch Date: 10/10/2018

Binance DEX

One of biggest cryptocurrency exchange platform by volume, Binance, has recently unveiled its own decentralized exchange. The company is yet to officially launch the DEX, however, they have revealed a demo version of the new platform, which could eventually take over from the current centralized system.

Binance DEX will be built on a public blockchain project called Binance chain. Binance chain will predominantly focus on trading and transferring digital assets and developing new ways of distributing blockchain assets. Overall Binance chain aims at launching highly powerful and dynamic platform that is both liquid and simple to use while being able to support all trading activities on Binance. Currently the Binance coin is an ERC20 token, however, it is highly likely that it will eventually transition to a token on its own blockchain.

Website: binance.com

Launch Date: Q4 2018 / Q1 2019

Conclusion

Over and above the current presence of centralized cryptocurrencies exchanges is a paradox given the fundamental principles underlying the foundation of cryptocurrencies. While in the last one year the crypto-world has attempted to move into DEX most of the current platforms are grossly inefficient and difficult to use. Platforms like Altcoin.io, Binance DEX and Aphelion promise to revolutionize the stage. It remains to be seen whether they will achieve their lofty ambitions or this is just another over-hyped trend.