DEX Trading Surges 25% as Traders Shift from CEXs

Cryptocurrency traders have been increasingly shifting their activities from centralized exchanges (CEXs) to decentralized exchanges (DEXs), resulting in a new all-time high for the DEX-to-CEX ratio. This trend is evident in the second quarter of 2025, where spot trading volume on DEXs surged by at least 25% compared to the previous quarter. In contrast, CEXs experienced a significant decline in volume, plummeting almost 28%. This shift has driven the DEX-to-CEX ratio to a record high, rising from 0.13 in the previous quarter to 0.23.

Despite the growing ratio, the spot DEX market remains considerably smaller than the CEX market. The top 10 decentralized trading platforms reported a combined volume of $877 billion in the second quarter, while CEXs handled $3.9 trillion in volume during the same period. This disparity highlights the dominance of centralized exchanges in the overall crypto trading landscape.

PancakeSwap, a DEX built on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC), has emerged as a significant player in this shift. Its volume grew by an impressive 539%, reaching $392.6 billion in the second quarter from $61.4 billion in the first quarter. This surge has positioned PancakeSwap as the largest DEX globally, accounting for 45% of all trades in the second quarter. The launch of Binance Alpha in May, which routes trades through PancakeSwap, has been a key factor in this momentum. Consequently, BSC has become the most popular chain for DEX trading, surpassing other chains like Ethereum, Base, and Solana.

The surge in DEX trading is not limited to spot markets. Decentralized perpetual futures (perp) trading has also reached a significant milestone. Perpetual trading volume on DEXs hit a new all-time high in the second quarter, reaching $898 billion for the first time. In the perp markets, Hyperliquid, a decentralized perpetual exchange built on its own layer 1 blockchain, continued to dominate, recording a $653 billion trading volume with a 73% market share. Other top perp DEXs, such as Aster, RabbitX, and EdgeX, also posted volume growth. However, dYdX, once a popular perp DEX, saw its volume decline, recording $5.3 billion in average monthly volume compared to more than $10 billion in January 2025.

While derivatives trading on DEXs continued to set new highs, the market performed somewhat weaker on centralized alternatives. CEXs experienced a slight 3.6% dip in derivatives trading quarter-over-quarter. This trend suggests that traders are increasingly favoring decentralized platforms for their trading activities, driven by factors such as enhanced privacy, security, and control over their assets. The shift towards DEXs reflects a broader trend in the crypto community towards decentralization, as traders seek to avoid the risks and limitations associated with centralized exchanges.