DEXs now account for one-fifth of all spot trading, according to CoinGecko.
Decentralized exchanges have significantly expanded their share of spot trading activity over the past five years. A new report by CoinGecko found that the DEX-to-CEX spot ratio rose from 6.0% in January 2021 to 21.2% in November 2025.
According to the data, this growth has not followed a straight upward path. After reaching 14.6% in early 2022, the ratio slid to a low of 5.4% by September of that year and then moved within a similar band through the end of 2024.
DEXs’ Market Share Soars
CoinGecko explained that the collapse of FTX in November 2022 did not have an immediate effect on DEX usage relative to centralized platforms, as the ratio only crossed back above 10.0% in March 2023 during a period marked by intensified US regulatory pressure.
A decisive shift appeared at the start of 2025, when the ratio climbed to 18.7% in January. This increase was fueled by a surge in Solana-based meme coin frenzy that pushed overall DEX spot volume to $413.75 billion, thereby overtaking the previous cycle’s peak. During the same month, Raydium’s trading volume doubled to $88.56 billion, which put it nearly level with Uniswap’s $88.92 billion for the first time.
The upward trend accelerated again in June 2025, when the ratio reached a new all-time high of 37.4%. CoinGecko attributes this jump largely to PancakeSwap, which saw volumes spike following the launch of Binance Alpha in May, a platform that routed a significant share of orders to the exchange.
Since then, the ratio has settled into a steadier range, and November was the fifth consecutive month in which decentralized platforms held roughly 20% of total spot trading activity, a level that is far higher than the relatively flat ratios recorded in earlier years. The report added that DEX volumes from May through October remained high compared to historical levels and led to an all-time high of $419.76 billion in October despite broader market corrections.
DEX Perps Expansion
Decentralized exchanges have rapidly gained ground in perpetual trading as well. The DEX to CEX perps volume ratio surged from 2.1% in January 2023 to a fresh peak of 11.7% in November 2025.
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Interestingly, November also marked the 14th consecutive month of month-on-month growth in DEX perps volumes. Overall DEX perps trading hit a record $903.56 billion in October, more than ten times the level seen a year earlier. Growth has been driven by new entrants such as Hyperliquid, Lighter, and edgeX, which have outpaced earlier DEX incumbents.
Hyperliquid has handled $2.74 trillion in perpetuals this year, matching Coinbase and beating all other top DEXs combined.
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