Hello Crypto Academy community. It is my pleasure to be a part of this contest. I will be reviewing centralized exchanges.

Discuss Briefly Centralized exchange and its benefits to crypto users

Centralized exchanges are exchanges that are controlled by a central company. They handle cryptocurrency trading in a centralized manner. Centralized exchanges keep track of what is called an order book, which is a collection of buy and sell orders of various traders. In centralized exchanges, the central company has some control over users account and they coordinate trading on the platform, thereby acting as a middle man.
Below are the benefits of centralized exchanges to crypto users

• Centralized exchanges can ensure that users don't lose their accounts. With centralized exchanges, users who lose or forget their login details can recover it and be logged in once again.

• In centralized exchanges, there is regulation and control. Malicious individuals who try to commit fraudulent acts can be fished out and punished. This is in sharp contrast to the decentralized exchanges where there is no control, thereby enabling unscrupulous individuals to commit malicious acts.

• Centralized exchanges offer extra security. Users can trade with more confidence and peace of mind because the centralized exchanges are safer and reliable.

• Centralized exchanges are also easy to use and user friendly. Users can easily navigate and make use of these platforms without much difficulty.

What do you look out for when choosing an exchange to trade your crypto assest?

• I consider their transaction charges. The transaction charges of some exchanges are costlier than some others. I go for the exchanges with the lower charges so that I can maximize my profit.

• I also look at how reliable it is. It's necessary to be sure that an exchange has the reliability and a good reputation.

• I check their security measures. Security is paramount because finance is involved. The security has to be top notch

• I check for the amount of different cryptocurrencies listed by the exchange. The more cryptocurrencies listed, the better. Choosing an exchange that listed fewer cryptocurrencies can be limiting as it may not have the cryptocurrency you want to trade.

Review your favorite centralized exchange and explain its unique features

My favorite centralized exchange is Binance. It was founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao. It is one of the biggest exchanges in the world.

Here are it's unique features:

Home

This the first page you see. You can access your notifications, profile and other shortcuts through here.
You can also find the menu at the bottom of the page.

Markets

Here you can see the different cryptocurrencies and their current prices. You can see whether the prices are going up or down. You can also find out about several project from here.

Wallet

You can see the amount of cryptocurrencies you have. You can also make deposits, withdrawals and tranfers. You can also carry out peer-to-peer trading through this channel. You can access your wallet address here too.

Trades

Here, you can do spot trading. You can also convert one cryptocurrency to another as well as carry out peer-to-peer trading.

Settings

This is where you can choose the currency of your choice, language and color preference.

Is there anything about your favorite exchange you will like to be changed? Discuss.

In binance, your investment has to be up to $10 before you can do something meaningful with it. I would like them to change that policy of theirs because it can be a disadvantage to those who may not have enough funds at a particular moment.

Furthermore, I would like them to improve their peer-to-peer process. Better information about the traders should be provided.

What shortcomings do you see on the centralized exchanges and how do you think users funds can be protected since we don't have access to our wallet private keys?

Shortcomings

• Centralized exchanges are usually victims of hacking and theft. People lose their hard earned money due to this.

• In order to protect their reputation, they usually implement strict regulations. These regulations can be so harsh and restricting to the users.

• They do not list a lot of cryptocurrencies. They only list the currencies that are well known because they are trying to be careful. A user might want to trade a particular currency but won't be able to do so because the currency isn't available.

How users funds can be protected

Extra layers of security should be introduced. Security is very essential when it comes to finance, hence, it's only logical that security is beefed up.

Users should be given access to their wallet keys. This way, customers would have more trust in them.

Conclusion

Centralized exchanges are nice. They are more popular and they are used a lot. But there are changes and improvements that need to be done for them to get better.