What would it take for you to move from using a Centralized Exchange CEX to a Decentralized Exchange DEX?
CEX's have made purchasing and hodl'ing crypto extremely easy. They have simply mirrored what we are used to, banking and brokerage websites. Easy to use with all your fiat and crypto in one place, no need to worry about backing up wallet files, keys, paper wallets etc... BTC ETF's have piled on by offering simple BTC exposure.
As we have seen over the years, there are quite a few drawbacks as well. We simply do not know what is going on behind the scenes of a CEX. Are they front running with insider accounts and manipulating the market with stable coins? Are they planning an exit scam? Will the local government simply shut them down? What if a blockchain becomes labeled a security, will it become non transferable/worthless?
DEX's on the other hand solve many trust issues however none have made it simple for the general public to utilize. Where a CEX manages all custodial aspects, a DEX requires users to learn each blockchains wallet and how to securely store each crypto. This is a never ending learning curve with how many blockchains are available and frequently updated wallets.
Being able to convert from one crypto to another quickly will become inevitable IF crypto becomes more widely accepted as a form of currency.
Even one of the oldest DEX's, BitShares, is still difficult to use with low liquidity. Other's have tried to combine the CEX with DEX by utilizing multiple internal CEX accounts and offering a external DEX style appearance, however this creates another layer of trust issues.
Will 2024 become the year you self custody crypto and utilize a DEX to exchange or will history repeat itself and big data will always hold us hostage?