DEXs Surge 25% in Q2 2025 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), emerged as a significant player in this trend. 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 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, is cited as a key factor contributing to this momentum. Consequently, BSC has become the most popular chain for DEX trading, surpassing other prominent chains like Ethereum, Base, and Solana.

In addition to spot trading, decentralized crypto trading has also made significant strides in perpetual futures (perp) trading. This type of trading allows traders to speculate on price movements without owning the underlying assets. In the second quarter, perp trading volume on DEXs reached a new all-time high, hitting $898 billion for the first time. Hyperliquid, a decentralized perpetual exchange built on its own layer 1 blockchain, continued to dominate this market, recording a $653 billion trading volume with a 73% market share. Other notable perp DEXs that posted volume growth include Aster, RabbitX, and EdgeX. Conversely, dYdX, once a popular perp DEX, saw its volume decline, recording $5.3 billion in average monthly volume, down from over $10 billion in January 2025.

While derivatives trading on DEXs continued to set new highs in the second quarter, the market for derivatives on centralized exchanges showed a slight decline. CEXs experienced a 3.6% dip in derivatives trading quarter-over-quarter. This trend underscores the growing preference for decentralized trading platforms among crypto traders, who are increasingly seeking alternatives to centralized exchanges. The shift towards DEXs is driven by factors such as enhanced privacy, reduced counterparty risk, and greater control over funds. As the crypto market continues to evolve, the trend towards decentralization is likely to persist, with DEXs playing an increasingly important role in the ecosystem.