CEX Vs DEX Risk

Custody

Centralized Exchanges (CEX) and Decentralized Exchanges (DEX) present fundamentally different risk profiles in relation to asset custody. A CEX maintains custody of user funds in an omnibus wallet, subjecting users to counterparty risk, which includes potential exchange insolvency, operational failure, or external hacks. Conversely, a DEX enables non-custodial trading, where users retain direct control of their assets in self-custody wallets, eliminating counterparty risk but increasing individual responsibility for key management and smart contract security.