John McAfee has launched the beta version of a decentralized exchange (DEX) running on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain. The privacy-focused DEX, McAfeedex, does not have any restrictions, “no name, no document, no document, no email, no bank info.” DEX will support any ERC-20 token and anybody can list their token on it.

This opens a whole new world of freedom for anybody trading any crypto, irrespective of identity, region, regulation. We at Altcoin Buzz will take you through a tour of DEX.

Log In

• Open https://mcafeedex.com/ in your browser.

• Immediately after you log in this pops up. Whitelisting enables you to trade on the platform without any fees.

Note: We have not tried the whitelisting procedure yet.

• Go to the top right and click on Select Account — New account

• Once you click on New account, you will receive your Ethereum Address and Private Key. Keep your private key somewhere safe. Do not share with others.

(There’s no crypto in this account for you to take. Sorry!)

• Once you click OK, you are logged in. See your Ethereum address on the Top Right Corner.

Security Set-Up

Before looking into other features, let’s check the security set up first.

• In case you accidentally log out, you can always import your account

• Use your Ethereum address and saved Private Key to import account.

• You can export your Private Key anytime and keep it safe

• You can also use your Ledger Nano S, to do transactions securely.

 DEX

• I can log in from 2 accounts and switch between them.

• Whitelist Checker

• The whitelist checker takes you to the SwitchDex platform where you can check if your Ethereum address is whitelisted.

• The Balance Tab

• Add Token – This option is for companies to add their coin for free in the DEX.

Trade

• The DEX has the following pairs: ETH, DAI, WBTC, TUSD

• When we checked recently, there was not much volume in the BTC/ ETH Pair

Reviewing the Orderbook

So, we moved to an Orderbook which has volume. We selected the ESH/ETH trading pair.

Let us look into a buy scenario

• The order price shows the last traded price and not the lowest sell price

• If I manually click on the lowest sale price, it takes the entire volume and the price. It does not actually insert the price in my buy box (like other exchanges)

• So, I will manually insert the lowest sale price (you can also decide your own buy price) and click on buy ESH.

No transfer from the main account to trading account needed (like on IDEX)

It should come up in the order.

• The actual amount will be shown in my balances. (In this example, we have not made an actual purchase, hence balance is zero)

• You can withdraw whenever needed.

Our Take:

Though  http://McAfeedex.com looks like his own website, it’s actually a portal of Switch Dex

• DEX Looks clean and easy to use;
• User Interface needs some sharpening – with the headers in the buy and sell orders not coming up;
• Page scroll function is not complete;
• DEX is slow and should pick up over time;
• BTC trading pair is not present’
• Not much volume right now. It should pick up with time;
• Backend security looks fine as it has overcome repeated DDOS attacks.

McAfee himself has commented that “This is just the Beta and we need to just play with it, things should be stable soon.”  We suggest you try your first taste of DEX with small amount of crypto, it might be worth it.