# What is a DEX? ## What is Serum Dex? [Serum](https://projectserum.com/) is a decentralised cryptocurrency exchange (DEX). They are run by the Serum Foundation, made up of people with vast experiences in DeFi, cryptocurrencies, and virtual currency trading. The project was born to address issues inherent to decentralised finance (DeFi) such as centralization, speed, usability, and multi-chain support. **Based on this, DexLab operates the Dex Exchange.** ## Key advantages of Serum #### **Cross-chain swaps** In the decentralized currency landscape, trusted parties have to be employed to facilitate swaps. However, for Serum, the swaps are done trustlessly between decentralized projects. #### **SRM Token** SRM is the native token on the Serum network. SRM token holders benefit via discounted fees on the platform, among other advantages. #### **SerumUSD/BTC** SerumBTC is a model used on the platform to create tokens using Ethereum’s ERC-20 standards. The model is also ideal for tokenizing Bitcoin (BTC) on the parent blockchain, Solana. SerumUSD, on the other hand, is a model for creating blockchain-based stablecoins. #### **Physically settled cross-chain contract** To power the derivatives market, the contracts are used to power margin positions for DeFi lovers. With support from a leading derivatives platform, Serum is a platform with basic and advanced margin trading options to cater to new and experienced traders. #### **A decentralized Order Book** Away from automated market-making (AMM), the protocol has a decentralized order book. This will allow orders to be automatically matched on-chain. This gives traders full control over their trades. A key hindrance of a distributed order book by other DeFi-focused protocols is because they are based on Ethereum, which has low speeds leading to congestion and increased fees.Are there any transaction fees? Serum is said to have highly competitive trading fees, and with the Serum Token (SRM), you can get 60% discount on fees. \* Holding SRM or MSRM makes you eligible for fee discounts --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.dexlab.space/products/getting-started/dexlab-dex.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.