Updated September 28, 2026
What is Exchange type?
In short
Whether a crypto platform holds your funds itself or settles trades straight between wallets.
Exchange type says how a crypto platform settles trades. A centralised exchange holds your balance for you and you rely on the operator. A decentralised exchange trades straight between wallets from smart contracts, so no operator holds the funds. 1inch and Aerodrome Finance are decentralised. 2gether, abarai and ActivTrades are centralised, which suits a reader who prefers a single account and support line. The trade-off is custody against counterparty risk.
Sources
- 1inch.com, checked September 26, 2026
- cryptotips.eu, checked September 26, 2026
- abarai.ro, checked September 26, 2026
- activtrades.com, checked September 26, 2026
- coingecko.com, checked September 26, 2026