Bitcoins can exist without exchanges, but would you support the argument that the existence of exchanges are among the factors facilitating the popularity and accessibility that people have to bitcoins?
Yes of course, I think exchanges are indeed one of the prominent factors for the popularity and accessibility of Bitcoin.
Currently more and more people are interested in just finding out and even adopting Bitocin.
One of them is due to the massive advertising from several exchange platforms.
Indeed, there are still many deficiencies in the type of exchange platform whether it is a decentralized exchange (DEX) or a centralized exchange (CEX),
But apart from that, in my opinion, the exchange platform makes it easier for someone to transact and start adopting Bitcoin.