# Understanding Exchange Pairs
**Please note BTC exchange pairs are BTCpay transactions and their tutorial** [**can be read here**](/freewallet.io-user-manual/exploring-balances-history-exchange-and-dispensers/understanding-btcpay-and-btc-token-on-the-dex.md)**.**
This section will go over using the “Exchange” tab to put up buy and sell orders for Counterparty assets specifically also known as the Decentralized Counterparty Exchange or DEx
**Important: ****Before you begin, please be aware this exchange inside Freewallet is actually an interface to the Bitcoin network. This means that all tokens, buy, and sell orders are all actually individual Bitcoin transactions. These transactions are then order matched by the protocol.**
This means that:
All buy and sell orders are automatically escrowed in the Bitcoin blockchain itself until they are completed. The Counterparty exchange is decentralized and peer-to-peer. This means that there is never a third party or middleman (such as a server administrator, traditional exchange, clearing house, or bank).
**Disclaimer: ****All Freewallet (and therefore Counterparty) actions are Bitcoin transactions. And because anyone can make a Bitcoin transaction, anyone can create a decentralized token. If this concept seems confusing, consider that Bitcoin functions entirely without a central bank. This is an identical 'free-for-all' scenario. It is fundamentally impossible to have an 'owner' and or 'admins' at such an exchange. Escrowed funds are provably inaccessible until peer-to-peer orders are successfully matched, and all completed orders are irreversible.**
Counterparty (the open-source Bitcoin toolkit for financial instruments and markets) itself cannot distinguish whether tokens are legitimate, so please ensure due diligence before trading. Always research the official website of the token you are trading and all details of its page on Tokenscan.
To view all XCP and Counterparty token markets simply click the Exchange tab at the top of Freewallet
You will see the tabs at the top indicating the Tokens BITCRYSTALS, PEPECASH and WILLCOIN as the default markets shown. You can also specify custom tokens to add to the ‘pinned tokens’ by clicking the gear icon to the left of the search bar in the upper right
Here you can use “Add Market” to pin any Asset market in Freewallet the Exchange homepage. Most tokens are primarily traded against XCP, but you can trade absolutely any token against any token. For instance, you pin the token BACON to the Exchange homepage and be able to quickly access all markets associated with BACON.
With this dropdown you can also Refresh the Market data as well as determine “View Options” for specific tokens you are looking to buy and sell such as Named, Subasset and Numeric tokens.
If you search for a specific asset only in the search box, Freewallet will show you all the markets that have any history of orders with that specific Token. For example here let’s search BREITBARTPEP
This example above is the Markets shown for the token: BREITBARTPEP.
If trading this token against PEPECASH or XCP is what you are looking for, then simply click the link of the token on the left side to take you to the pair.\
\
Any token on the Counterparty DEx can be traded for any other token. Despite this token having only two pairs with active or historical trades, other tokens like PEPECASH for instance will have many pairs due to its popularity.
PEPECASH trades against 2057 different market pairs!
To learn more about viewing specific pairs and creating Counterparty DEx orders, move forward to the [Buying and Selling XCP and Tokens on the DEx](https://app.gitbook.com/o/hhkra761ccJQPV4LgzfZ/s/IHOAdveIkUtULHe7q3v2/~/changes/89/exploring-balances-history-exchange-and-dispensers/buying-and-selling-xcp-and-tokens-on-the-dex).
If theoretically you wanted to start a new market pair that has no sales history yet (for instance: BREITBARTPEP/RAREPEPE) you can start a new order in a new market pair by checking out [Starting an Exchange Pair that has no orders up yet on the DEx](/freewallet.io-user-manual/freewallet-functions/starting-an-exchange-pair-that-has-no-orders-up-yet-on-the-dex.md).\
\ Some Freewallet features may be restricted due to regulatory uncertainty in certain countries. This does not mean that they are disabled in the decentralized exchange. These features are simply hidden from the user interface by default to avoid legal issues. Like Bitcoin, Counterparty exists without international borders. So, it is absolutely possible to use any of the features in any country by running your own copy of Freewallet, Counterwallet or Counterparty-cli, but please make 100% sure you are operating within the law before attempting this.
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