NEAR’s Polosukhin Predicts Diminishing Role for Centralized Exchanges

NEAR Protocol co-founder Illia Polosukhin has argued that the expanding suite of onchain tools is reducing the necessity for centralized exchanges (CEXs) for many crypto activities.

Speaking to The Block, Polosukhin stated that users no longer need CEXs for “a lot” of crypto-related actions. He pointed to the maturation of decentralized exchanges (DEXs), cross-chain bridges, and onramp services as key drivers enabling users to operate primarily within decentralized ecosystems.

The executive’s comments reflect a broader industry narrative that technological advancements in Web3 infrastructure are gradually shifting the center of gravity away from traditional, custodial trading platforms. This trend is seen as central to the vision of a more user-sovereign financial system.

While centralized exchanges remain dominant for fiat onramps and high-volume spot trading, Polosukhin’s perspective highlights the competitive pressure from decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. The evolution of user-friendly interfaces and aggregated liquidity across chains is a focal point in this ongoing shift.