Most centralized crypto exchanges (like Binance, Coinbase, etc.) do not move crypto on the blockchain for each trade. Instead, they manage trades internally.

What Happens During a Trade

Let’s say:

You have ETH and want to trade it for ZETH.

Another person wants to trade ZETH for ETH.

When your trade is matched:

The exchange updates your balances in its internal system.

You get ZETH in your exchange account, and the other person gets ETH.

No actual blockchain transaction happens during this trade.

How the Exchange Takes a Cut

The exchange charges a trading fee (usually a small percentage like 0.1% or 0.2%).

For example:

If you trade 1 ETH and the fee is 0.2%, the exchange takes 0.002 ETH as a fee.

You receive the equivalent value of 0.998 ETH in ZETH.

This fee is deducted automatically during the internal balance update.