DEX Usage Rises as CEX Spot Volume Hits Low

The spot volume on centralized exchanges has hit a 9-month low, with June 2025 seeing a 30% decrease in activity. In contrast, decentralized exchanges are capturing a record 28.4% of spot trading volume, signaling a major market shift.

Leading platforms in the shift include PancakeSwap, Uniswap, and Raydium. Meanwhile, the largest centralized exchange, Binance, has also reported an 18% decline in spot trading volume, reflecting user migration to DEX platforms.

The drop in centralized exchange volumes has prompted increased liquidity inflows to decentralized platforms. As investors pivot toward DEXs, the Total Value Locked (TVL) in DeFi surpassed $322 billion, indicating a robust market transformation.

Historically, analysts note that regulatory pressures on centralized exchanges are part of the driving forces behind this migration. This shift exemplifies renewed market activity as emphasized by industry experts like Neal Wen of Kronos Research:

“The surge in DEX and CEX volumes reflects renewed activity across the crypto market, driven by recent increases in volatility, growing trust in DeFi ecosystems, and improved liquidity and trading tools on centralized exchanges.” – Neal Wen, Head of Research, Kronos Research

Similar trends were seen during the 2020 DeFi Summer, where centralized exchanges experienced declines amid a rapid DEX rise. Record high DeFi TVLs support such shifts, underscoring a cyclical market behavior often correlated with bull runs.

Expert insights from Kanalcoin suggest that evolving DEX infrastructures and regulatory dynamics will continue to influence market participation strategies, potentially leading to more decentralized market dominance in the future.