A DEX is a Decentralized Exchange. This means that traders can place buy and sell orders without storing their coins on an exchange. Instead, each user stores their own coins on their own wallet. Then, they create buy and sell orders on the decentralized exchange. When the orders are filled, they sign off on the transactions and each user's wallet sends the coins.

BarterDEX is one such decentralized exchange. It was created by the Komodo project which uses their associated token called KMD.

BarterDEX is open source software using a technique called atomic swaps. An atomic swap is a method of trading between two blockchain networks. When you trade via atomic swaps, you don’t need to keep relying on the use of a third party intermediary such as a traditional exchange. 

Komodo developers tried to put in a new system that is similar to full relay nodes plus a node that doesn’t relay. This means that all buys and sells are displayed for traders and updates are pushed throughout the network fairly often.

If you choose to use BarterDEX, rest assured there is a wide variety of cryptocurrencies. Nevertheless, some coins have less volume than others and trading these coins will produce slow results if you don’t market buy.

Also remember that if you use the Barterdex app then write down the twelve-word mnemonic phrase you’re given. After that you’ll see your portfolio data, trade history, a debug menu, and a settings section where you can change the theme and language and other settings.