Without centralized exchanges, do you think crypto would ever really have become a thing? I like to think it would, and that we don't need exchanges, because I too have a strong dislike for exchanges (if not a hatred), but I'm a fairly technical user and even for me it's not exactly easy to be deep into crypto without exchanges. Particularly when it comes to exchanging dollars for coins.
In (my preferable) alternative universe, there would have been no speculation and to buy crypto you would have to buy in smaller amounts in cash or at local shops. It would have displaced PayPal and been used primarily for e-commerce and local small dollar value transactions to allow small businesses to escape ACH fees. The largest movers would have been international travelers and migrant workers.
Good point, although can an exchange really exist that is decentralized? What would that look like? Basically just a neutral broker between two individuals? That is a very interesting idea
A decentralized exchange is called a DEX and there are a lot of them. The biggest one is UniSwap as far as I know. They operate via the blockchain's smart contract system. Unfortunately there's no way for them to handle exchanges with offline assets and currencies so I don't think they can exist in a world without CEX.
Yes anyone with bitcoin can "exchange" bitcoin directly, but when most people say "exchange" they mean some sort of trusted third party that executes and coordinates trades on somebody's behalf. With most crypto currencies there are significant risk and trust issues when going directly unless you trust the other party. It can also be very difficult to find somebody who wants to buy or sell the amount of coin that you are looking to buy/sell, so there's considerable utility in the match making.
