"Trump Memecoin Surges on DEXs, Outpacing CEXs in 24 Hours"

In the fast-paced world of cryptocurrency trading, the speed and liquidity of decentralized exchanges (DEXs) are increasingly outshining their centralized counterparts (CEXs). This shift is particularly evident in the trading of memecoins, where fortunes can be made or lost in minutes. A recent example is the launch of $TRUMP, a memecoin tied to the newly re-elected U.S. president, which surged past a $14.5 billion peak market cap on DEXs like Raydium and Orca within little more than 24 hours, making it the second largest memecoin behind Dogecoin at one point.

By the time major CEXs listed $TRUMP a day or two later, the action was over. This incident highlights the advantages of DEXs for speculators: they are faster, more liquid, more volatile, and simply more fun. In a market where time is money, waiting for a CEX to catch up can be a missed opportunity.

Bobby Ong, co-founder of CoinGecko, an independent crypto data aggregator, echoed these sentiments. Ong, who has been in the crypto scene since 2013, noted that the experience with decentralized exchanges is superior to that of centralized exchanges, and people are increasingly gravitating towards DEXs.

This shift is reflected in the trading volumes. In 2020, CEXs accounted for 93% of the combined CEX and DEX trading volumes. However, by 2024, the top 10 spot DEXs had done $1.76 trillion in volume all on their own. Additionally, in Q4 of 2024, Solana overtook Ethereum for the first time as the dominant chain, reaching $219.2 billion in DEX trading volume, or over 30% of all DEX trades, compared to Ethereum’s $184.3 billion.

The user experience for mobile wallets has also improved significantly, which has enhanced the overall on-chain experience. This is particularly true with Solana, where wallets like Phantom and Jupiter are designed to be user-friendly for mobile trading. Ong noted that the user experience for mobile wallets has improved significantly, which in turn has enhanced the overall on-chain experience.

As DeFi becomes more user-friendly, Ong sees