Assalaamu Alaykum.

Hi steemians,
My name is @bibsonhabib and in this post i will be writing about centralized and decentralized exchanges, a homework task assigned by professor @yousafharoonkhan.

My appreciation to all the crypto academy professors for their educative contents.

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WHAT ARE CENTRALIZED AND DECENTRALIZED EXCHANGES?

Centralized Exchange (CEX):

Centralized exchanges are exchanges that require a central authority or a government in its day-to-day activities.

Users on these exchanges do not have direct access to their funds as the funds are controlled by the the central authority for example; a bank. Users of these platforms are to also follow strictly some laid down rules and regulations.

Security on centralized exchanges are very low, hence its users would suffer great loses if the central authority is hacked. Therefore users on centralized exchanges trade at their own risk.
Examples of centralized exchanges include; binance and coinbase.

Decentralized Exchange (DEX):

A decentralized exchange is a peer-to-peer (P2P) market place which connects traders dealing in cryptocurrencies i.e buyers and sellers.

In decentralised exchanges transactions between users take place online and are very secured and does not required any intermediary.

Decentralized exchanges are not controlled or govern by a central authority, hence users have direct access to their funds and transactions on these exchanges are very fast and reliable. Decentralized exchanges perform millions of transactions in just a single day.

Decentralized exchanges are run on a blockchain with smart contracts. Examples of decentralized exchanges include; Uniswap and MDEX 1.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CENTRALIZED AND DECENTRALIZED EXCHANGES

Firstly fees charged for transactions on centralized exchanged are much higher than that of decentralized exchanges. Decentralized exchanges tend to charge lower fees.

Also centralized exchanges have high trading volumes whiles decentralized exchanges have low trading volumes.

Furthermore, centralized exchanges are run and controlled by a central governing body or authority whiles decentralized exchanges run on a blockchain.

Moreover security on centralized exchanges are very low and are susceptible to hack attacks whiles security on decentralized are very high and are therefore not easily hacked.

Lastly, centralized exchanges require Know Your Customer (KYC) verification process whiles centralized exchanges do not require KYC verification.

2 Best Centralized Exchanges of 2021

BINANCE
Binance is the by far the largest centralized crypto exchange on the world with an exchange score of 9.8, a 24-hour volume of $37,961,586,543, average liquid of 685, 1205 markets and 358 coins to choose from. It is indisputably the largest centralized exchange.

My dashboard on binance

COINBASE

Coinbase comes in second place after binance with an exchange score of 8.8, a 24-hour volume of $3,756,746,029, an average liquidity of 548, 186 markets and 58 coin alternatives for you to choose and invest in. It is one of the most widely used centralized exchanges with 5,263,535 weekly visits.
My portfolio on coinbase.

METAMASK

Metamask is a cryptocurrency that helps a user to interact with decentralized apps (Dapps) with the help of a compatible web browser or mobile app. It allows users to store and manage account keys, process transactions, send and receive ethereum tokens and also ethereum based cryptocurrencies.

The following are steps to install metamask on your mobile phone;

1. Open play store on your phone

2. Search metamask in the search box.

3. Tap on install.

4. Which a good Internet connection, metamask will be installed on your device.

5. Click to open.

6. Set up your account. Create your username and password and get started on metamask.

Below are some screenshots for aid.

What is UNISWAP?

Uniswap is a decentralized financial exchange used for cryptocurrency exchanges. Its protocol facilitates automated transactions between cryptocurrency tokens on the ethereum blockchain through the use of smart contracts.
With 200 markets, a 24-hour volume of $1,013,578,791 and 25 listed cryptocurrencies, Uniswap is the third largest decentralized crypto exchange.

How to swap/sell a token Uniswap

1. Visit app.uniswap.org

2. The default coin is ethereum, therefore select the token you want to swap to.

3. Click on connect wallet to connect uniswap to your mobile wallet. A number of wallets would display, so you would choose from. Since i had metamask installed, i clicked on metamask.

4. Enter the amount of ethereum you want to swap to the selected token and then proceed.

In my pratical example i chose to swap from ethereum to USDT, but i didn't have sufficient account balance to complete the transaction . Below are the screenshots.

In conclusion, both centralized and decentralized exchanges are good platforms to invest and is therefore up to the investor to choose the one that best suits him.

Thank you for your time.

My special regards to professor @yousafharoonkhan and all the SteemitCryptoAcademy professors.

Your comments and suggestions are highly appreciated.