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As often as members in the crypto-community tout “decentralization,” there is still one truth: centralized cryptocurrency exchanges are kingmakers in this ecosystem.

Centralized crypto-exchanges hold tremendous power, choosing to be the picks and shovels in a space where everyone is looking for gold (or fools gold). And with this choice, they are generously rewarded. Recent estimates show that centralized crypto-exchanges generate millions of dollars in revenue through exchange trading fees. Furthermore, these exchanges often change ICO project listing fees that can reach $1M per token.

Unsurprisingly, the control of these exchanges has stimulated the development of decentralized alternatives in the form of decentralized exchanges (DEX). In fact, there are close to 250 projects attempting to build DEXs.