Hyperliquid News Today: Structural Shifts, Not Sentiment, Drive DEXs' Long-Term Crypto Dominance

The crypto market's structural shift toward decentralized exchanges (DEXs) continued in 2025, with DEX-to-CEX volume ratios reaching record highs in the second quarter before moderating in November amid sector-wide pullbacks. According to data from The Block and CoinDesk, DEXs accounted for 23% of spot trading volume in Q2, a historic peak driven by platforms like PancakeSwap and Hyperliquid. However, by November, the ratio had dipped to 15.73%, reflecting a temporary reversion to centralized exchanges (CEXs) as market volatility waned and liquidity conditions shifted.

The Block's November report highlighted a 26.7% decline in CEX spot volume to $1.59 trillion, with Binance retaining its dominance at $599.34 billion. DEX volume also fell to $397.78 billion, a 29.7% drop from October, as platforms like Uniswap and PancakeSwap saw their monthly trading totals contract. Vincent Liu of Kronos Research attributed the shift to "structure over sentiment", noting that CEXs offered deeper liquidity and tighter spreads during November's flat price environment, while DEX activity slowed due to reduced speculative flows and weaker DeFi incentives.

In contrast, Q2 data painted a more bullish picture for DEXs. CoinDesk's report revealed that DEXs surged to $876.3 billion in spot volume, up 25% from Q1, as PancakeSwap's integration with Binance Alpha boosted its market share. The DEX-to-CEX ratio climbed to 0.23, signaling growing demand for on-chain trading. Hyperliquid, a decentralized perpetuals platform, further underscored this trend by capturing 70–80% of the market via aggressive fee cuts and institutional partnerships with BlackRock and Stripe.

Despite November's dip, the long-term trajectory for DEXs remains robust. Strategic developments, such as Gleec's $23.5 million acquisition of Komodo's cross-chain DeFi stack, highlight efforts to enhance DEX infrastructure and institutional adoption. Meanwhile, platforms like Lighter have maintained strong 24-hour volumes, though Hyperliquid's recent 56.9% weekly decline underscores the sector's volatility. Analysts suggest that while CEXs may regain short-term traction in low-volatility environments, DEXs are poised to reclaim momentum as on-chain innovation and regulatory clarity advance.