> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.prigeex.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# What Is a DEX?

A **DEX** (decentralized exchange) is a place to trade tokens directly from your own
wallet, without handing your money to a company. PrigeeX is a DEX.

## DEX vs. a regular exchange

On a **centralized exchange** (like Coinbase or Binance), you deposit your money with the
company. They hold it, they run the order book, and you trust them to let you withdraw. If
they freeze your account or run into trouble, your funds can be stuck.

On a **DEX** like PrigeeX:

* **You keep custody.** Your tokens stay in your wallet until the moment you trade.
* **There's no account.** Your wallet *is* your account. No sign-up, no KYC to start.
* **It runs on code, not a company.** Trades are executed by public **smart contracts**,
  programs on the blockchain that anyone can inspect, not by a private company's servers.

The trade-off: with self-custody comes self-responsibility. There's no "forgot password"
button, so keeping your wallet safe is on you. See [Security & Safety](security-and-safety).

## How does a DEX have prices without a company setting them?

Traditional exchanges match buyers with sellers. Most DEXes, including PrigeeX, use a
simpler idea called an **Automated Market Maker (AMM)**.

Instead of matching individuals, an AMM uses **liquidity pools**, shared pots of two
tokens that people deposit into. When you trade, you trade *against the pool*: you add one
token and take out the other. A formula automatically sets the price based on the ratio of
the two tokens in the pool. The more you buy of one, the pricier it gets, which keeps the
pool balanced.

The people who fill those pools are **liquidity providers**, and they earn a fee on every
trade. That's the opportunity described in [Provide Liquidity](../guides/liquidity-v2-vs-v3).

## The pieces of PrigeeX, in plain terms

* **Swapping**: trading one token for another against a pool. See [Swap Tokens](../guides/swap-tokens).
* **Providing liquidity**: depositing token pairs into pools to earn fees. See
  [Provide Liquidity](../guides/liquidity-v2-vs-v3).
* **Staking**: locking up PGX to earn a share of the platform's revenue. See
  [Stake PGX](../guides/stake-pgx).
* **PGX**: the PrigeeX token that ties it together. See [PGX Tokenomics](../investors/pgx-tokenomics).

## Why "on Arbitrum"?

Doing all of this directly on the main Ethereum network can be slow and expensive.
PrigeeX runs on **Arbitrum**, a faster, cheaper network built on top of Ethereum, so
trades settle in seconds for a few cents. See
[Get Funds on Arbitrum](../getting-started/get-funds-on-arbitrum).

## Related

* [Glossary](../reference/glossary): every term defined in one place
* [Security & Safety](security-and-safety)