Digital Currency Exchange Trend Exacerbates: DEX Trading Volume Reaches Record High
Cryptocurrency traders increasingly favor decentralized exchanges (DEXs), pushing the DEX-to-CEX trading volume ratio to an all-time high according to the latest CoinGecko report.
The Q2 2025 data highlights a significant shift, with spot trading volumes on DEXs surging by 25% compared to the previous quarter, while centralized exchanges (CEXs) saw volumes plummet almost 28%.
Consequently, the ratio of DEX to CEX trading has soared to a record 0.23, up from 0.13 in the prior quarter.
Although decentralized platforms are gaining ground, the total spot DEX market remains substantially smaller than its centralized counterpart. While the top 10 DEXs tallied $877 billion in Q2 volume, CEXs collectively achieved $3.9 trillion.
PancakeSwap and BSC Spearhead DEX Growth
“In turn, this has also made BSC the most popular chain for DEX trading, overtaking the likes of Ethereum, Base and Solana.”
With its base on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC), PancakeSwap led the charge, reporting a 539% increase in volume to a remarkable $392.6 billion in Q2. This positions PancakeSwap as the world’s largest DEX by trading volume with a commanding 45% share of the Q2 market.
CoinGecko attributes this surge, partly, to the launch of Binance Alpha in May, a service designed to route trades through PancakeSwap.
Perpetual Trading Milestone on DEXs
Decentralized crypto trading achieved another significant milestone beyond spot volumes: perpetual futures trading volume on DEXs hit an all-time high of $898 billion.
The lion’s share came from Hyperliquid, a decentralized perpetual exchange built on its own layer-1 blockchain, recording $653 billion in volume – constituting a 73% market share.
Amidst overall gains in DEX perpetual trading, KeyFindings regarding volume growth include:
- Hyperliquid surges to 73% market share
- Aster (formerly APX) sees notable boost
- RabbitX and EdgeX achieve volume expansion
However, some major players lagged: dYdX, a once-dominant force, registered a sharp decline, bringing its average monthly volume down to $5.3 billion.
Counterbalancing this DEX momentum, centralized platforms showed minimal change in their derivatives trading volumes.
Further context is provided in the linked pieces: “BNB Chain targets 5,000 DEX swaps per second in 2025” and “Will Robinhood’s tokenized stocks REALLY take over the world? Pros and cons”.
