Decentralized exchanges (DEX) have become a practical standard for anyone who wants to swap cryptocurrency without relying on an intermediary. Within the TON blockchain ecosystem, Tegro Finance is one such platform: a non-custodial exchange where users retain full control of their assets at every step.
DEX vs CEX: Understanding the Core Difference
A centralized exchange (CEX) is a company-run intermediary. You deposit funds into its custody, trade within its internal ledger, and trust it to secure your assets. A DEX works differently: smart contracts on the blockchain execute trades directly between wallets, with no single operator in the middle.
| Parameter | CEX (Centralized Exchange) | DEX (Decentralized Exchange) |
|---|---|---|
| Asset custody | Held by the exchange | Held in the user's wallet |
| KYC verification | Required | Not required |
| Platform hack risk | High (centralized target) | Limited to smart contract code |
| Token listing speed | Lengthy approval process | Any TON network token |
| Platform fee | Fixed exchange fee | Pool fee + network gas |
How Liquidity Pools Work
Most DEX platforms are built on the automated market maker (AMM) model. Instead of an order book, trades are executed against liquidity pools: pairs of tokens deposited into a smart contract by liquidity providers, who in turn earn a share of every swap fee generated by the pool.
The price is determined algorithmically, most commonly by the formula x × y = k, where the product of the two token reserves remains constant. The deeper the pool, the less impact any single trade has on the price.
A liquidity pool is not an order book. Prices are set automatically by the ratio of reserves in the pool, not by matching buy and sell orders from individual traders.
Slippage: What It Is and Why It Matters
Slippage is the difference between the price you expect when you submit a transaction and the price at which it actually executes. The smaller the pool and the larger the trade, the higher the potential slippage. Most DEX interfaces let you set a maximum slippage tolerance manually: if the market moves beyond that threshold before your transaction confirms, it will revert — protecting you from an unfavorable fill.
Step-by-Step: Swapping Tokens on Tegro Finance
Before you start, you need a TON-compatible wallet that supports DeFi connections — for example, TON Wallet.
- Go to Tegro Finance and click the connect wallet button.
- Select the token you want to sell and the token you want to receive.
- Enter the amount. The interface will display the estimated output, the current rate, and the estimated network gas fee.
- Review the slippage setting. The default is typically 0.5–1%; for more volatile pairs, consider increasing it slightly.
- Confirm the transaction in your wallet. The smart contract will execute the swap atomically — it either completes in full or reverts entirely.
Once the blockchain confirms the transaction, the tokens land directly in your wallet. The platform holds no funds in between.
Fees and the Real Cost of a Swap
The total cost of a swap consists of two components:
- Pool fee — a small percentage of the trade amount distributed to liquidity providers.
- TON network gas — the fee for executing the transaction on-chain; generally low compared to networks like Ethereum, due to TON's asynchronous transaction architecture.
For most routine swaps, the combined cost tends to be modest. Always check the fee breakdown shown in the interface before confirming.
DeFi Risks: What You Should Know
Non-custodial means full user responsibility. The main risks to understand before using any DEX include:
- Impermanent loss for liquidity providers — occurs when the price ratio of the two tokens in a pool shifts significantly after deposit.
- Smart contract risk — bugs or vulnerabilities in contract code could theoretically be exploited.
- Front-running — automated bots can detect pending transactions in the mempool and insert their own ahead of yours, worsening your effective rate.
- Private key responsibility — if your key is lost or compromised, there is no recovery mechanism.
These risks are not unique to any single platform — they are structural characteristics of DeFi as a whole. Understanding them is a prerequisite for using any decentralized protocol responsibly.
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