A centralised exchange — a company that holds customer funds and matches orders on its own internal books.
Last verified 13 September 2026 · written by the DexLadder team
What it means
A centralised exchange — a company that holds customer funds and matches orders on its own internal books.
Why it matters when you trade
A CEX gives you depth, speed, fiat access and recourse, in exchange for custody. Your balance there is a claim on a company, not an asset you hold, which is the meaning of "not your keys, not your coins" and the lesson of every exchange failure. For active trading the liquidity is usually worth it; for storage the trade is much worse.
Worked example
Withdrawals paused during stress turn a tradable balance into an unsecured claim, while on-chain positions stay movable.
See it on live markets
DexLadder runs cex against live market and pool data, with simulated capital, so you can watch it act on an order instead of reading about it — no account, no wallet, nothing installed.