10 Best Decentralized Exchange (DEX) Platforms For Crypto Trading

One of the first steps to start cryptocurrency trading is choosing a crypto exchange that can enable you to do so. Many beginners start off with centralized exchanges or CEXs like Binance or Coinbase, before moving onto decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges or DEXs that offer greater privacy, security and opportunities to profit from lesser known, newer cryptocurrencies.

While decentralized exchanges offer several benefits to cryptocurrency traders, there are hundreds of them available on the market. To save you the time of researching the best decentralized exchange, we have prepared a list of the top 10 decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges of 2024.

Best Decentralized Cryptocurrency Exchanges in 2024

Based on our detailed research, below are the top 10 decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges of 2024 in terms of features and functionalities, security measures, trading fees, customer support, etc.

Top Decentralized Exchanges of 2024: Reviewed – Full List

We have reviewed a wide range of decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges across various important parameters and here are the top 10 DEX platforms based on our evaluation.

PancakeSwap – Specialized DEX for New-Age Cryptocurrencies

PancakeSwap is one of the most sought-after decentralized exchanges for transacting Binance Smart Chain (BSC) tokens. More importantly, it is the go-to platform for trading emerging cryptocurrencies, if you are looking to make early investments in potentially promising BSC tokens.

The platform has an extremely simple user-friendly interface, along with a streamlined process of purchasing, selling, and swapping tokens. All you need to do is connect to a compatible wallet, select the tokens for the transaction, and enjoy an instant transaction. PancakeSwap charges a 0.25% fee from both the purchasing and selling parties.

The platform boasts to have served close to a million users in the last 30 days, having completed more than 10 million trades. The platform also offers staking and yield farming features that can fetch APYs of up to 43.5%.

However, you must note that PancakeSwap caters exclusively to BSC tokens. If you are keen to trade non-BSC tokens, you would need to explore other decentralized exchanges.

SushiSwap – Best DEX for ERC-20 Tokens

SushiSwap, introduced in 2020, is a well-known decentralized exchange built on the Ethereum protocol. It supports a vast array of ERC-20 tokens and has cross-chain capabilities that allow interfacing with other blockchain systems like Arbitrum, Polygon, Fantom, Binance Smart, and Optimism. Similar to Uniswap, SushiSwap also charges a flat 0.3% trading fee. However, the platform doesn’t offer Bitcoin support.

Apart from a streamlined token-swapping interface, SushiSwap also offers decentralized earning avenues, such as its yield farming pools. These pools enable users to accrue interest on supported pairs on the DEX, with some prominent ones being USDC/ETH, WBTC/ETH, and ETH/USDT.

dYdX – Best DEX to Trade Crypto Derivatives

dYdX stands out as a top-notch decentralized exchange specifically tailored for crypto derivative trading. It is particularly specialized in perpetual contracts. The platform empowers traders to forecast crypto trends without direct asset ownership.

One of its most interesting offerings is the potential 20x leverage, which is lucrative for traders with a high-risk appetite. You can access dYdX through desktop browsers or its dedicated iOS app, while the Android variant is yet to be released.

The dYdX exchange caters to an expansive range of cryptocurrencies including but not limited to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Bitcoin Cash, and Dogecoin, among others. Additionally, features like advanced charting tools and intricate technical indicators on dYdX offer added value to crypto investors.

Finally, dYdX offers an interesting fee structure to its users. The platform does not charge any commission for a monthly trading volume of up to $100,000. Beyond this bracket, it levies a 0.05% commission, which further diminishes as trade volumes rise.

Having said this, dYdX might not be a very user-friendly platform for beginners as it offers a wide range of advanced features through a complex user interface, which is more suited to veteran traders.

QuickSwap – Best DEX for Trading Polygon Assets

QuickSwap has established itself as a go-to DEX for Polygon-based assets. It lets traders exchange ERC-20 assets on Polygon’s lightning-fast layer-2 blockchain, ensuring swift transactions and negligible gas fees.

The platform offers both standard swaps as well as limit orders, thus providing enough flexibility for users while they trade. QuickSwap holds a staggering $700 million worth of assets in liquidity and boasts of a daily trading volume of $50 to $100 million.

Apart from trading, QuickSwap also offers ways to earn more tokens through an assortment of yield farms. several pairs linked to MATIC offer a dual mining incentive, enabling users to earn both MATIC and QUICK tokens as rewards. The platform further leverages the high-speed Polygon network to deliver an exceptionally high standard of transaction speed.

Raydium – The Best DEX for the Solana Ecosystem

Raydium is an automated market maker and trading platform built for Solana. It pulls funds from its pools and its DEX partner Serum’s books. This helps users get top prices when trading. Since starting a year ago, Raydium has recorded a massive $42 billion in trades and has already become a key player in the Solana world.

The platform’s key offerings to the users are trading farming, and staking. Apart from these, it also has a launchpad named AcceleRaytor that has backed big Solana projects like Star Atlas and Genopets.

Raydium charges a flat 0.25% trading fee and does not mandate any KYC requirement for users to start trading on the platform. All you need to do is connect a Solana-compatible wallet to the platform and fund it with some SOL tokens to pay the trading fees.

DeFi Swap – Best DEX for Staking

Built on the Binance Smart Chain, DeFi Swap has emerged as one of the most promising decentralized exchanges that enables users to swap between a selection of over 50 cryptocurrencies, including various altcoins and stablecoins. The platform has an intuitive interface that helps even first-timers can navigate with ease.

Given that DeFi Swap operates on a decentralized model, there are no intermediaries involved. It also does not mandate any KYC process. Users can dive right into trading without the need to register or verify accounts. Starting with DeFi Swap is straightforward.

Simply visit their site, connect your preferred cryptocurrency wallet, and you’re set to go. For users’ convenience, DeFi Swap has integrated compatibility with leading crypto wallets like Metamask and WalletConnect. Once connected, swapping between cryptocurrencies is a breeze, and transactions get processed in mere seconds with a nominal 0.3% swap fee.

Additionally, the platform’s native token, DEFC, offers a host of benefits. Users can enjoy passive income generation simply by holding onto the coin. DeFi Swap has also carved a niche with its yield farming and staking prospects. Users can tap into rewards by contributing their tokens to its liquidity pools or locking them in for fixed durations.

Curve: The Best DEX for Cross-Chain Swapping

With the rapid growth of the decentralized finance space, Curve has established its niche as a specialized DEX, facilitating both token swaps and lucrative liquidity pools. The platform operates on the automated market maker (AMM) model, ensuring that users can swap tokens smoothly without dependency on a corresponding seller.

Curve supports a myriad of 11 blockchain networks, showcasing renowned names such as Ethereum, Polygon, Kava, Fantom, and Avalanche. Additionally, Curve also offers a low fees model, with an attractive average of just 0.04% on token swaps.

Furthermore, Curve presents multiple passive earning opportunities for its users by exposing them to liquidity pools that offer high APYs.

Best Wallet (Best DEX) – The Most Efficient All-Integrated DEX Of 2024

Best Wallet is an all-encompassing platform that presents a wide range of offerings starting from a multi-chain crypto wallet to Best DEX, a high-performing decentralized exchange for all your trading requirements.

The exchange is a state-of-the-art, self-custody platform that allows users to oversee their complete asset collection and make informed trading choices. Additionally, it offers a first look at the latest trending token releases.

One of its most promising offerings is Best DEX, which is a decentralized trading platform designed to offer you the most cost-effective transactions by pairing with optimal liquidity pools. It allows you to elevate your trading strategy with added market intelligence featuring live charts and news, detailed token data, and insights like security reviews and community sentiment ratings.

Moreover, by staking BEST tokens, you can enjoy zero gas fees, early-bird access to upcoming projects, unique voting privileges within the Best Ecosystem, exclusive airdrops, and more.

OKX – The Most Versatile DEX for all Trader Classes

OKX is the world’s seventh-largest cryptocurrency exchange by market cap and has established itself as a trusted name in the crypto world. Located in Seychelles, the platform consciously chose not to cater to the U.S. market. However, for traders across other geographies, OKX remains a favorite, primarily due to its competitive exchange fees.

Since its inception in 2017, OKX has continually evolved and it supports over 500 trading pairs, spanning from top-tier tokens like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP to emerging ones still in their early stages.

While OKX provides a well-rounded trading experience catering to both novices and seasoned traders, some features are tailored specifically for crypto experts. These include margin and spot trading functionalities. It also has a mobile app offering three distinct modes: Lite, Web 3, and Pro. The Lite mode simplifies crypto purchases, with a minimum buy-in of just $5. The Web 3 mode ventures beyond cryptos, and it supports features like NFTs, DEX, Launchpad, NFT marketplace, and staking. For those seeking more advanced trading capabilities, the Pro mode comes into play, enabling derivatives and margin trades.

The platform also offers multiple ‘Earn’ programs, such as savings, staking, dual investment, DeFi, fixed income, and flash deals. Moreover, it provides financial support to those in need through the OKX lending service, offering up to 20 loanable assets with a flexible repayment structure.

OKX has a multi-tier fee structure with maker fees ranging between 0.080% and 0.060% and taker fees oscillating between 0.1% and 0.080%. These rates are influenced by the amount of OKB tokens – OKX’s native cryptocurrency, held by the users.

Uniswap – Best DEX for Yeild Farming

Uniswap ranks among the top-tier decentralized exchanges in terms of the trading volume. Since its launch, Uniswap has processed more than $1.5 trillion worth of crypto transactions on its platform.

Initially, Uniswap catered solely to ERC-20 tokens, becoming a popular choice for emerging ERC-20 tokens seeking their first exchange listing. However, Uniswap has now expanded its reach by integrating multiple blockchain networks such as Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, Celo, Optimism, and Arbitrum. This has positioned Uniswap as a one-stop solution for cross-chain cryptocurrency swaps.

Uniswap does not mandate any KYC procedure and users can start trading directly by connecting their wallet. All crypto transactions on the platform are managed by smart contracts, ensuring users’ assets remain untouched and trades are conducted securely.

Furthermore, Uniswap offers opportunities for investors to contribute liquidity to its platform. As a top contender in the yield farming arena, contributors earn a portion of the trading fees gathered from the offered liquidity. Some prominent liquidity pools include pairs like USDC/ETH, DAI/USDC, and WBTC/ETH.

Uniswap charges a flat 0.3% trading fee as a commission from the users, which is, slightly higher than some other decentralized exchange platforms. Also see our guide to the best Uniswap coins to buy.

What are Decentralized Cryptocurrency Exchanges?

Decentralized crypto exchanges (DEXs) are apps on the blockchain that allow people to buy crypto without the involvement of middlemen or third parties. They use automated systems like smart contracts, for example, to connect buyers and sellers who are interested in executing trades on the platform. Moreover, DEX platforms let people trade directly with each other without conceding any control to other parties including the exchange itself.

Apart from trading, these platforms offer more ways for people to earn passive income. For example, instead of a regular order book, DEXs use “liquidity pools” where people can dump their crypto, thus getting an opportunity to earn money from the transaction fees charged for each trade made by other users.

Check out our guide on the best crypto sectors that you can consider this year.

How We Reviewed the Best Decentralized Exchanges – Things You Need to Consider

Our evaluation of the best decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges is based on several factors that traders, especially the amateur ones might often overlook.

These include security features, trading fees, transaction fees, ease of use, regulatory compliance, the list of supported assets, trading features, the availability of advanced trading mechanisms and algorithms, the level of automation, and available payment methods.

We have listed the top 10 decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges by diligently considering the ones that display a healthy balance of all these parameters.

Conclusion

Choosing the right decentralized cryptocurrency exchange is crucial for successful trading. Since your capital is on the line when trading cryptocurrencies, it’s vital to opt for a reliable, cost-efficient, and feature-rich platform. In our comprehensive guide, we’ve evaluated the top ten cryptocurrency exchanges, with Best Wallet’s Best DEX standing out as our top recommendation for the best decentralized exchange of 2024.

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