CRYPTO GLOSSARY

DEX

Also called: decentralised exchange

An exchange that is a set of smart contracts, not a company. You trade from your own wallet with a pool of tokens.

DEX in more detail

On a decentralised exchange, or DEX, you do not trade with another person. You trade with a pool of tokens held by a smart contract.

Lesson 12 described the order book: a list of buyers and sellers that a centralised exchange matches. Most DEXs work differently. They use an automated market maker.

A DEX lets you set a slippage tolerance. If the price moves against you by more than that, the swap fails instead of going through at a bad price. A failed swap still costs gas.

FROM LESSON 42 · 5 MIN READDEXs and liquidity pools: how swapping worksA decentralised exchange swaps tokens against a pool, not an order book. Learn how a liquidity pool sets its price, what price impact and slippage are, and how to swap without overpaying.Read the lesson

All 128 terms · Checked against the lesson's sources on 10 October 2026.

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