  Cryptocurrency has been extensively studied as a decentralized financial
technology built on blockchain. However, there is a lack of understanding of
user experience with cryptocurrency exchanges, the main means for novice users
to interact with cryptocurrency. We conduct a qualitative study to provide a
panoramic view of user experience and security perception of exchanges. All 15
Chinese participants mainly use centralized exchanges (CEX) instead of
decentralized exchanges (DEX) to trade decentralized cryptocurrency, which is
paradoxical. A closer examination reveals that CEXes provide better usability
and charge lower transaction fee than DEXes. Country-specific security
perceptions are observed. Though DEXes provide better anonymity and privacy
protection, and are free of governmental regulation, these are not necessary
features for many participants. Based on the findings, we propose design
implications to make cryptocurrency trading more decentralized.
