Binance, the number one cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, is set to launch a public beta of its decentralized exchange (DEX) by the first quarter of next year. The decentralized exchange was initially announced earlier this year.

According to the exchange’s CEO Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ in the community, there was recently a “productive meeting” regarding the DEX. He revealed the company’s Binance Coin (BNB), which has been bucking the bearish trend, is set to be used as the platform’s native gas, and that it won’t control users’ funds

During an interview with CryptoGlobe at the Consensus Singapore 2016 conference, CZ revealed he believes “decentralized exchanges are the future,” but that it’s going to take us “a few years to get there.”

Per his words, for the foreseeable future he doesn’t believe trading volumes on DEXs will be as high as they are on Binance’s centralized platform – which will coexist with its decentralized one. According to DAppRadar, the top decentralized exchanges on Ethereum are currently IDEX and Fork Delta, with 1,180 and 800 users respectively.

Per the source, IDEX saw over 2,400 ETH (about $562,000) change hands in the last 24-hour period, while ForkDelta saw nearly 430 ETH (about $100,000) be traded in the same period. In comparison, Binance’s 24-hour trading volume was of over $1 billion.

The company’s DEX, as covered, was announced back in March. At the time, the cryptocurrency exchange revealed its Binance Chain DEX would “mainly focus on the transfer and trading of blockchain assets, as well as provide new possibilities for the future of blockchain assets.”

Later on, in August, CZ showed the cryptocurrency community a small preview of the decentralized exchange through a video on Twitter.

The company has notably been investing in the future of cryptocurrencies. As CZ has in the past stated, he believes a 1,000x grow in the price of most cryptocurrencies is “definitely possible.”

During his interview with CryptoGlobe, he further noted he thinks that “at any minute the bull market will return, and historically, October to December are the good months.” A seasonality chart of BTC’s prices throughout the past few years shows that In 2015, 2016, and 2017 there were a total of 14 days where it dropped in the fourth quarter.