Author: Yoyo
I. Trend Insight - The Blurring Boundaries Between CEX and DEX
If we rewind the clock five years, DeFi was still just an experimental playground for a few geeks, and Meme tokens were on the fringes of the mainstream narrative. But today, the wealth opportunities on-chain have become a new consensus in the crypto world. Against this backdrop, CEXs are starting to move on-chain, trying to emulate the DEX model to provide more flexible trading methods.
Recently, MEXC DEX+ and Binance Alpha 2.0 were launched on the same day, and the core idea of both is pointing in the same direction - to break the boundaries between CEX and DEX, allowing users to trade on-chain assets earlier and more conveniently.
Binance Alpha 2.0 allows users to directly purchase on-chain assets in the Alpha section on the Binance platform using their spot accounts, without the need to create an additional Web3 wallet or perform on-chain transfers, simplifying the threshold for on-chain trading and realizing the integration of CEX and DEX trading methods. However, there are still two major limitations:
- Limited number of tokens - the current coverage of Alpha assets is limited and cannot meet users' trading needs for more early on-chain assets.
- Lagging timeliness of asset inclusion in the Alpha section - updates are made irregularly, making it difficult to respond to market hotspots in a timely manner, causing users to still miss the earliest investment opportunities.
In comparison, MEXC DEX+ has adopted a more thorough strategy, allowing users to freely buy and sell on-chain assets through the CEX page and more direct on-chain trading methods, without the need for a Web3 wallet, as soon as the on-chain assets appear. This means:
- Broader asset coverage - DEX+ directly connects to on-chain liquidity pools, supporting more popular assets that have not yet been listed on CEXs.
- Faster trading timeliness - users can capture the dividends of new on-chain projects in a timely manner, without waiting for any listing announcements.
- The current version already supports Solana's pump.fun and Raydium, and will support BSC on March 26.
The simultaneous launch of MEXC DEX+ and Binance Alpha 2.0 may signify that CEXs are trying to find a new answer - how to allow users to enjoy the convenience of CEXs while also accessing the wealth opportunities on-chain in a timely manner?
The DEX+ product launched by MEXC this time is a typical representative of this trend. It not only inherits the convenient trading experience of CEXs, but also reduces the usage threshold of DEXs through technological innovation, providing users with a more efficient and user-friendly on-chain trading method. So, what are the advantages of MEXC DEX+ in the overall market landscape? Will the boundaries between CEX and DEX really disappear? How will MEXC DEX+ break through in this race for on-chain trading experience? This article will analyze in depth from multiple dimensions.
II. What Does "DEX+" Actually Add? Deconstructing MEXC's Potential Approach
The core of "+" in MEXC DEX+ is integration, not simply embedding DEX functions into the CEX. It is about perfectly blending the advantages of CEX and DEX to ultimately upgrade the trading experience. The DEX+ product has the following key highlights:
First, a smooth CEX-level on-chain trading experience. The starting point of MEXC DEX+ is to significantly reduce the complexity of on-chain interactions, or even directly shield users from it. Users only need to open the MEXC App, simply activate the DEX+ account, and then make a one-click transfer from their centralized wallet to the DEX+ account to quickly complete on-chain transactions on the platform. Users no longer need to deal with the complex smart contract signing and wallet address filling operations, and all interactions are completed "between the spot and DEX+ accounts". This design directly cuts out the tedious intermediate steps of traditional DEXs, and directly transplants the familiar convenience of CEXs into DEX trading.
Secondly, what else does DEX+ do? Efficient asset liquidity is crucial. In traditional on-chain trading, users have to face the thresholds of numerous DEXs and asset transfers between different chain ecosystems. Currently, MEXC DEX+ has launched support for the increasingly hot Solana network, with over 10,000 on-chain assets available in one stop, backed by the aggregation of multiple top Solana DEX pools such as Raydium and Pumpfun. Users on DEX+ can enjoy a trading experience similar to CEXs in terms of asset selection and depth. In the future, DEX+ will also gradually expand to more chain ecosystems, truly achieving one-stop trading needs for multiple chains. It is understood that support for BSC will be added on March 26. The two major on-chain asset explosion ecosystems are both supported by DEX+.
At the same time, DEX+ is also trying to solve users' concerns about the security of on-chain assets. One of the biggest risks faced by traditional DEX users is that assets are completely self-custodied, and a moment of carelessness can result in asset loss. DEX+ has the private keys centrally managed by MEXC, and has introduced the authoritative third-party security audit institution GoPlus to ensure the security detection of each trading pair, significantly reducing the possibility of assets being hacked. New users no longer need to worry about the risk of private key loss, further reducing security concerns.
So why is MEXC deploying DEX+ so decisively, even going all-in? The answer is actually hidden in MEXC's own development strategy.
Since 2024, MEXC has re-emerged with remarkable operations in the Meme token sector, launching over 240 high-quality Meme tokens in Q4. Its keen token selection strategy has created a batch of projects with astonishing gains: the top 5 best-performing Meme newcomers launched in 2024 had an average peak gain of over 8700%, with KEKIUS and FWOG even far exceeding this level. This phenomenon not only reflects MEXC's accurate capture of Meme sector trends, but also demonstrates its keen sense of on-chain traffic hotspots. This strategy has not only enhanced MEXC's own market competitiveness, but also created significant profit opportunities for platform users.
To some extent, MEXC's strategy of rapidly capturing and listing popular Meme tokens has become an important means to differentiate itself from other exchanges. The emergence of DEX+ is also, under the broader trend of CEX and DEX integration, providing users with a smoother and more secure on-chain trading experience - users no longer need to wait for MEXC's official announcement, but can immediately dive into the project and easily grab the first batch of "100x tokens".
Ultimately, MEXC DEX+'s deployment strategy is not simply a functional overlay, but an exploration of deep integration between CEX and DEX.
III. DEX Functional Product Comparison: Competitors Have Already Acted, What Are MEXC's Odds?
With the explosion of on-chain assets, various CEXs have already ventured into the on-chain trading field, trying to open up new territory with DEX as a new growth point; while DEXs are continuously optimizing their experience to attract more users. As MEXC launches DEX+ at this moment, what are its odds? Compared to the existing exchanges, what's different about DEX+? Where exactly lies its competitiveness? We can analyze it from the following key dimensions.
1. Trading Experience: The Core Competitiveness of DEX+
Trading experience is a key factor in determining user loyalty. Traditional DEX platforms like Uniswap, Raydium, and GMGN, which are fully decentralized exchanges, although have high asset freedom, the on-chain operations are complex and the threshold is high, often deterring new users.
Looking at traditional CEXs, apart from Binance Alpha directly using CEX accounts for trading, the web functions of Binance, OKX, Bybit, Bitget, and Gate still involve introducing Web3 wallets, which, although taking a step towards "decentralization", are essentially a "external wallet + exchange" integration model, where users need to perform additional actions such as Web3 wallet connection and signature authorization, resulting in a fragmented user experience.
However, MEXC DEX+ completely breaks out of this circle. It is the only DEX product that provides a CEX-level trading experience. The entire interactive experience is close to a CEX, but the trading essence is still on-chain. Users only need to transfer assets within their MEXC account to directly start trading on-chain assets. For novice users who want to quickly get into the Meme coin market but are not familiar with on-chain operations, this is a great benefit.
2. Liquidity: How to break through the bottleneck of the DEX model?
Liquidity determines the depth and stability of trading, and while the liquidity pool model adopted by traditional DEXs like Uniswap, Raydium, and GMGN has the advantage of decentralization, it still has significant limitations. When the market experiences violent fluctuations, liquidity can be depleted instantly, leading to a surge in slippage, making it difficult for users to trade at suitable prices.
In the CEX camp, MEXC DEX+, Binance web3, OKX web3, Bybit web3, and others have adopted the DEX aggregator model, improving liquidity by integrating multiple on-chain trading pools.In comparison, MEXC DEX+'s liquidity strategy is more differentiated, relying not only on the DEX aggregator, but also on the influence of its Meme track to form a unique liquidity ecosystem.The reason is that MEXC's previous rapid listing strategy in the Meme track has allowed it to accumulate a large number of traders focused on early on-chain assets. These users are not only the source of traffic for MEXC CEX, but also potential traders for DEX+. Therefore, MEXC can quickly bring early liquidity to DEX+ through its existing CEX trading ecosystem. Furthermore, unlike other exchanges, the launch of MEXC DEX+ directly targets the most active and explosive Meme trading market on-chain, and this user group match gives DEX+ greater growth potential in liquidity.
Of course, Dex+ will also connect to more Dexes and public chains in the future, forming more extensive liquidity and seamless multi-chain asset trading, which will greatly improve the user experience.
3. Account System & Deposit Method: No need for Web3 wallet, just transfer assets
Traditional DEXs like Uniswap, Raydium, and GMGN require users to connect their self-managed Web3 wallets, and users have to bear the responsibility of wallet security, with a relatively high learning threshold and risk management difficulty.
The Web3 wallet functions of Binance, OKX, Bybit, Bitget, and Gate also generally adopt the on-chain wallet connection method, and users still face the challenges of wallet management and private key loss risks.
However, MEXC DEX+ has completely changed this model. Users can directly participate in on-chain trading through an independent DEX+ account, without the need to connect an additional Web3 wallet or worry about private key management. At the same time, the DEX+ account is completely independent of the MEXC CEX account, and on-chain trading will not affect the assets in the CEX account, ensuring that users can enjoy a convenient experience while still having clear account isolation and security guarantees. In this way, MEXC has achieved truly user-friendly asset security and account convenience.
This also leads to differences in the deposit method. MEXC supports users directly transferring funds from their CEX account to their DEX+ account, while other exchanges require users to first deposit to their own Web3 wallet and then trade, which is a more complex process.
5. Security: Centralized Custody Combined with Third-Party Monitoring
Security is one of the core competitiveness of all trading platforms. Although traditional DEXs claim to be secure and free, since users manage their own private keys, if the seed phrase or private key is lost, the assets will be irrecoverable, posing great risks.
MEXC DEX+, on the other hand, adopts a centralized custody security model, where user private keys are custodied by the MEXC platform, avoiding the risk of private key loss. At the same time, it has introduced the third-party security agency GoPlus to provide real-time asset risk monitoring, offering more comprehensive and timely security assurance, giving users greater peace of mind in terms of asset safety.
Conclusion: The Unique Competitiveness of MEXC DEX+
Overall, the biggest advantage of MEXC DEX+ islowering the threshold for on-chain trading, allowing users to easily complete DEX transactions just like using a CEX. Compared to the exploration solutions of Binance, OKX and others, the experience of MEXC DEX+ is more seamless, reducing the complex on-chain interactions. And compared to DEXs like Uniswap, MEXC DEX+ also has a more user-friendly account system and trading fluency, making it easier for ordinary users to enter the on-chain market.
In the future where on-chain trading gradually becomes the market mainstream, MEXC's move may become a breakthrough path.
IV. From the User Perspective: How Does DEX+ Help Newcomers Easily Enter the On-Chain Wealth Track?
4.1 DEX is Tempting, but Why Is It Still Difficult to Get Started?
At the beginning of 2021, Dogecoin increased a thousandfold overnight, making countless people outside the crypto world envious and jealous. By 2025, the wealth code on-chain will become more direct and crazy, with various on-chain projects surging hundreds of times, and stories of getting rich will continue to circulate. But a very real problem is that the complex on-chain interaction processes directly stop the newcomers who want to get into the on-chain Meme coins.
In this environment, how to easily and seamlessly take the first step into on-chain trading has become the core demand of ordinary retail investors.MEXC DEX+ has precisely grasped this point, with a highly targeted product that directly addresses the pain points of the user experience, bringing "smooth Meme coin investment" one-stop solution to crypto newcomers.
4.2 One-Stop On-Chain Access, On-Chain Trading Threshold Reduced to the Minimum
MEXC's DEX+ has made unprecedented innovations and integrations in this regard. As mentioned earlier, users only need to simply register a MEXC account, without the need to download a Web3 wallet, remember a seed phrase, or deal with private key storage and risk assumption, and can directly experience on-chain asset trading. Just by easily completing account activation, they can immediately enter the on-chain trading world:
The specific operation is also extremely simple and clear:
- Step 1: On the web page, switch to "DEX+" (on the mobile app, open the MEXC App, go to the "Wallet" section at the bottom right, and select "DEX+"). When entering the system for the first time, it will automatically prompt "Activate my DEX+ account". Just click "Agree" to activate the DEX+ wallet with one click, skipping the cumbersome steps of creating a wallet and saving the seed phrase and private key.
- Step 2: After activation, just click "Receive", select the cryptocurrency you want to deposit, and enter the amount, then click confirm to transfer funds from the spot account. The entire process takes less than 30 seconds. No more complex on-chain deposits, no need to remember wallet addresses, and no need to worry about transfer address errors leading to asset loss.
The mobile version operation is as follows:
- Step 3: After the funds are deposited, enter the DEX+ trading page, where users can directly select the tokens they like to buy and sell, without the need for on-chain approve, sign, and other cumbersome interactions, just click to trade. MEXC DEX+ has built-in quick buy/sell orders and limit order functions. For novice users who want to quickly enter and exit Meme projects, the user experience is very smooth.
In terms of transaction fees, traditional DEX transactions, such as Uniswap and Raydium, require users to sign smart contract confirmations for each step of the operation, and even a slight mistake can result in the loss of Gas fees. In comparison, when users transfer assets to the MEXC DEX+ account, the required Gas fees are already included, and the system will automatically deduct a 1% service fee for each transaction or exchange. It is understood that in the future, users may be able to use MX to enjoy fee discounts, further reducing their costs. This fee model is clear and simple, avoiding the hassle of users calculating Gas fees, making transactions more user-friendly.Users can also check the estimated Gas fees in real-time on the settings page, and the Gas fees will be automatically deducted during the user's transfer process.
In addition to lowering the threshold, another important feature of MEXC DEX+ that truly impresses new users is the "Smart Money Tracking".
On the MEXC DEX+ trading interface, the addresses of "smart money" are directly marked. These addresses are generally large accounts on the chain, DeFi veterans, or OGs with an extremely high success rate of historical on-chain transactions. MEXC, through algorithmic screening, presents these smart money addresses to users in a straightforward manner, allowing users to track the operations of smart money in real-time, observe the buying and selling directions of smart money, and directly copy the trading strategies of on-chain experts, giving newcomers the same starting line as the on-chain smart money. Currently, this feature has not yet appeared in the Web3 wallets of other CEXs, and in the DEX space, only GMGN provides similar support.
Furthermore, the on-chain world where 100x coins and on-chain meme projects frequently emerge not only offers many opportunities but also carries significant risks. MEXC DEX+ is well aware that users' primary concern is actually the issue of security. The DEX+ product directly introduces a third-party authoritative institution (GoPlus) to conduct security audits and risk warnings on the on-chain token pairs. Ordinary users cannot individually identify whether the project's code is secure or if there are high-risk vulnerabilities in the contract, but MEXC DEX+ will automatically provide security warnings and risk reminders, allowing newcomers to feel more at ease when exploring 100x coin projects.
From registration, activation, fund transfer, smart money tracking, to the screening of 100x projects, MEXC DEX+ has considered every step of on-chain trading, striving to enable newcomers to seamlessly enter the on-chain world and unlock the wealth code.
As the boundaries between CEX and DEX become increasingly blurred, MEXC DEX+, with its seamless integration of CEX-level experience and the rich asset selection of DEX, allows ordinary people to easily obtain the "primary market entry ticket" to the on-chain world. In this regard, MEXC DEX+ has achieved: "You just charge ahead, and leave the rest to me!"
V. Conclusion: The Endgame of Exchanges is No Longer a Binary Choice
The future of exchanges should perhaps not be defined as a single choice between CEX or DEX. Integration is the beginning.
Both MEXC's newly launched DEX+ and Binance Alpha 2.0 are worth noting, as they have keenly captured user pain points and industry development trends, proposing a new solution of "CEX experience + on-chain assets". This represents a new starting point and trend: not only breaking down the barriers between centralization and decentralization, but more importantly, creating new possibilities for a low-threshold and comprehensive on-chain experience.
