What a CEX has to do that a DEX does not — custody, matching, identity and an operations desk — and what running one looks like day to day.
A centralized exchange takes on four responsibilities a decentralized one does not: it holds customer funds, it matches orders itself, it knows who its users are, and someone has to operate it.
Each of those is a system, and each is where a CEX build overruns. This page is about what those four demand, and how they are handled here.
Custody
You hold other people's money. Everything else on this page is downstream of that.
- Per-user wallet generation across every connected network
- Smart deposit detection with per-chain confirmation
- Withdrawal approval, review queues and per-asset limits
- Master wallet sweep into a treasury, with cold storage for reserves
Matching
A CEX matches internally, which means the engine and its health are yours to run.
- Market, limit and stop-limit orders
- Real-time order book and recent trades per market
- Stop and take-profit processing as a monitored background service
- Live health and start/stop control for every service
Identity
Knowing your users is not optional for a centralized venue.
- Tiered KYC with selfie and ID verification
- A document workflow for review, approval and audit
- Role-based admin access, so reviewers are not administrators
- Account suspension and account-level restrictions
Operations
The part that is invisible in a demo and constant in production.
- Users, wallets, transactions and markets from one panel
- Assets, trading pairs and fee tiers
- Liquidity and price-feed configuration
- Reports across wallets, money flow, trading and earnings
Questions you might have
Should we build a CEX or a DEX?
Different businesses. A CEX carries custody and compliance obligations and can offer fiat, depth and support. A DEX avoids custody and most of the operations desk with it.
How many people does it take to operate?
Fewer than teams expect, because the panel covers users, markets, fees and approvals. The compliance function is usually the first dedicated hire.
Can we start centralized and add decentralized later?
Yes. They are separate products, and holding the source means neither decision is final.
See the stack before you shortlist
A private demo walks the platform with someone who deploys it. It is the fastest way to find out whether this is the right shape for your business.