As centralized exchanges (CEX) frequently face crises, the cryptocurrency market is undergoing a significant paradigm shift. The continuous decline in user trust is driving the rapid rise of decentralized exchanges (DEX).

The catalyst for this transformation can be traced back to several notable events. The sudden collapse of FTX in 2022 shocked the entire industry, proving that even top exchanges can go bankrupt overnight, resulting in the freezing of user assets. Even more concerning is that over the past decade, CEX has suffered from as many as 118 hacking incidents, with total losses exceeding $11 billion, a figure that far surpasses the losses caused by on-chain attacks.

Every time an exchange suspends withdrawals or freezes assets, it silently reminds users that there are inherent risks in entrusting assets to third-party platforms. This heightened awareness of risk, combined with the continuous improvement of payment infrastructure, is changing user behavior patterns. Many users are beginning to realize that in the future, they may no longer need to rely on fiat currency withdrawal channels.

Data shows that the number of self-custody wallet users surged by 47% in 2024, with active addresses surpassing 400 million. Following this, in January 2025, the trading volume of DEX reached a historic high. These figures clearly reflect that users are expressing their choices through practical actions – shifting towards asset self-custody and on-chain transactions.

Looking back at the original intention of blockchain technology, we can easily find its core concepts: Decentralization, asset autonomy, and the absence of trust-based intermediaries. However, for quite a long time, many users have conveniently treated CEX as their cryptocurrency wallets, ignoring the fundamental principle that "not your keys, not your coins."

Today, this perception is undergoing a profound transformation. With the increasing maturity of blockchain infrastructure and the continuous growth of on-chain opportunities, self-custody has become not only a means to ensure asset security but also an important entry point for participating in early projects and obtaining high returns.

This trend marks the return of the cryptocurrency ecosystem to its decentralized nature, while also reflecting users' awakening to asset autonomy. With the continuous development and improvement of DEX, we can foresee that future cryptocurrency trading will be more in line with the original intention of blockchain technology, providing users with safer and more autonomous asset management methods.