A centralized exchange (CEX) is a crypto trading platform run by a single company that holds customer funds and matches buy and sell orders on its own servers. It works much like a traditional brokerage.
A decentralized exchange (DEX) is a trading venue built from smart contracts, where users swap tokens directly from their own wallets. No company takes custody of funds, and trades settle on chain.
A hybrid exchange is a trading platform that combines parts of centralised and decentralised exchanges. It typically matches orders off chain for speed while settling trades or holding funds on chain.
KYC/AML means the Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering controls regulated firms use to verify customers and detect suspicious money flows. They apply to banks, payment firms and, in many countries, crypto exchanges.
An order book is the live list of buy and sell orders for an asset, organised by price. A matching engine pairs compatible orders to produce trades.
An automated market maker (AMM) is a type of decentralized exchange that prices trades with a formula over a pool of tokens. It replaces order matching, so anyone can trade against the pool at any time.
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