I think it depends. Sometimes exchanges are not important , like here in this forum p2p is ok. But sometimes they are important.

A few years ago, in 2017 when I joined the crypto space, it was very hard to buy bitcoin in Brazil, even in exchanges.

Peer to peer was nearly impossible: price was much higher, not the same security, lots of scammers...

I believe exchanges were important and they still are. Many implementations such as ATM exists due to partnerships with exchanges because they provide the necessary volume for those services to operate.

Since bitcoin is still far from achieving its goal of being a widely and freely accepted means of payment, then yes (personally speaking) exchanges are important for the time being. We've been screaming for years about decentralization, privacy, not your keys not your coins and so on. But the fact is that people prefer bitcoin volatility and pursue it even at the expense of more vitality.

The existence of Bitcoin depends mainly on its network, its hashrates, full nodes. They are core factors for the survival and existence of Bitcoin. Exchanges are only one of ways people use their Bitcoin, for trading, for profit taking, for gambling with leverage and future trading.

Fortunately, you should know Bitcoin has so many use cases and we can use it at merchants, stores that accept Bitcoin. We don't must bind to use exchanges that are not unique places to use our bitcoins.

Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer electronic cash and we can trade it peer-to-peer, not have to rely on exchanges. You can use Bitcoin to buy pizza, cake, honey pot, etc. and you can use it to bet on casinos too. A lot more use cases for Bitcoin like donation, charity and more. It its network is running, you can use your Bitcoin.

I agree that exchanges give trading volume and the higher trading volume is, the more comfortable people feel and be ready to join the party.

Exchanges are not a barrier to people knowing bitcoin but they serve as a causative agent against people investing with bitcoin for altcoins, they fight inbthe interest to bring many into investing on other currencies after using bitcoin as a cover for attraction, except for those who has the intention of investing in bitcoin right from start will not be canvas to altcoins dince exchanges are not theirajor harvest through which they got to know about bitcoin, we need to be careful because this exchanges have a kind of way they package other cryptocurrencies so they can sell and make their own profits.

The majority of Bitcoin transactions currently are executed through centralized exchange platforms. They make Bitcoin transactions so organized and attractive that people prefer to use them. They sometimes make trade or exchange transactions very easy and they can easily be used for business transactions. Regardless of the disadvantages of these exchanges, there are some persons that would always prefer their services to decentralized platforms.

These platforms spend millions of dollars on advertisement and promotion of cryptocurrencies. Most P2P providers don't have the kind of money these exchange firms have, hence they are not able to promote Bitcoin extensively. Some of these exchanges also lobby governments of nations to pave way for Bitcoin acceptance and operations.

Therefore, it would not be wrong to state that these exchanges are really key players in facilitating the popularity of Bitcoin. Although exchanges might not be the ideal means of engaging in Bitcoin operations they are also spreading the good news about Bitcoin    

Exchanges are generally very important in a market. But since the Bitcoin market is more complicated than others, let's draw a line between centralized exchanges (CEX) and decentralized exchanges (DEX). Whether CEX or DEX, exchanges are needed to trade national currencies and cryptocurrencies.

CEX are important, given that the user doesn't value himself, and trusts some CEO more than he trusts himself. In that case, he should choose a CEX.

DEX are important, because they're exchanges with no intermediaries, via the internet. People who might hate each other can exchange cryptocurrencies for cryptocurrencies with zero trust, and their national currencies for cryptocurrencies with minimum trust.

Sometimes, the former might attract more users due to lower fees as well.

Yes, exchanges are a very important factor for adopters to have access to bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general. Without them, most people couldn't invest in bitcoin, because they don't have other adopters around them to trade person to person. Exchanges also guarantee a protection for investors when dealing with crypto, as by operating at a legit platform you won't be scammed when selling or buying crypto. The history of your negotiations is stored there and you have access to real time market prices. On the other hand, when you trade person to person with strangers you are under risk of not receiving your money or being exploited by them, that is, when they don't pay the fair price for your coins or don't respect the real time quotation of bitcoin price. Exchanges are a great didactic introduction to crypto universe, without any doubts.

I completely agree.

Simply put, I believe that exchanges are very important for the role of adoption. One way or another everyone has an option of how securely they want to buy their Bitcoin. We have the people who want an easy user experience so they go for exchanges. That makes sense and is one of the cheapest alternatives (unless you plan on withdrawing to a different wallet in which case you will pay a small fee). But you still trusted a third party to hold your money for you.

People who distrust those third parties (as they should) can buy Bitcoin without having to go to an exchange. P2P and cash are always options.

But like 99% of people don't seem to care about that, even though they support a decentralized concept like Bitcoin.

It is the Exchanges that made buying and selling easier. It is the place that also contribute to the growth of bitcoin. If there is no exchange, it'll be used for transactions and the growth could've never been this high.

It is the pathway through which people were able to learn about trading. During those days, exchanges were prone to hacks. Those incidents serve to be a way of market manipulation. These days exchanges are highly secure. Initially exchanges came into existence for bitcoin. Now every exchange itself have its own blockchain and cryptocurrency. The importance keeps counting.