Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has told attendees at the Deconomy conference in Korea that the Binance decentralized exchange, Binance DEX, will be ready towards the end of April, less than a year after plans were first announced. The testnet has been available since the end of February, and only five weeks later it seems that all the pieces have fallen into place quickly enough for Zhao to announce an approximate launch date.
Binance Chain Powers DEX
Binance DEX has been lauded for its design and its speed, both of which are often drawbacks of decentralized systems. This is due to the use of Binance’s own blockchain Binance Chain, which underpins the functionality of the DEX. When announcing the testnet, Zhao emphasized the benefits of using Binance Chain over other blockchains:
Binance Chain has near-instant transaction finality, with one-second block times. This is faster than other blockchains today. With the core Binance Chain technology, Binance DEX can handle the same trading volume as Binance.com is handling today. This solves the issues many other decentralized exchanges face with speed and power.
How Decentralized is Binance DEX?
Critics have said that the reason why the Binance DEX can be faster than other DEXs is because of Binance Chain, and therefore the DEX itself, is not 100% decentralized. The testnet is currently operating with 11 nodes for validation purposes, which is indeed a far cry from the ‘anyone’s welcome’ attitude that a 100% decentralized exchange operates, although Binance has said that it will decrease its influence as the chain expands and improves.
To everyone who feels confused : The chain will run on a dBFT consensus mechanism. Meaning that X amount of block producers/validators will run the network.
If the consensus is not open to anyone, that makes it either centralized or semi-centralized.
Decentralized != Distributed— RandomPanda (@BlooDh3xx) February 20, 2019
Boost for BNB Holders Expected
Despite doubts over its decentralization, it’s likely that the Binance DEX will be extremely popular when it launches, and with the BNB token being the oil that will grease the wheels of the exchange, and the Binance Chain itself, a boost in token price can be expected as we get closer to launch date.
