The ratio of spot trading volumes on DEX and CEX has increased from 6% in 2021 to 21.2% by 2025, according to a CoinGecko study.
Are traders slowly shifting to DEXes?
Our latest study shows that the DEX to CEX spot trading ratio has more than tripled in five years, rising from 6.0% in 2021 to 21.2% in 2025.
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— CoinGecko (@coingecko) November 28, 2025
Analysts noted that the growth trajectory was non-linear: after reaching 14.6% at the start of 2022, the figure declined to a low of 5.4% and fluctuated within this range until the end of 2024.
The collapse of crypto exchange FTX did not have an immediate impact on the DEX to CEX ratio. It only recovered to 10% in March 2024 amid tighter regulations in the US.
A breakthrough occurred in January 2025 amid a frenzy over meme coins on the Solana network. During that month, spot trading volumes on decentralized exchanges surged to $413.75 billion, surpassing the previous record of $344.99 billion.
On Raydium alone, monthly turnover doubled to $88.5 billion, nearly matching Uniswap‘s $88.9 billion.
In June, the ratio rose again, reaching a historic high of 37.4%. The main driver was a surge in activity on PancakeSwap following its integration with Binance Alpha.
Over the past five months, the DEX share has consistently held around 20%, indicating a new market structure is taking hold.
Spot trading volumes on decentralized exchanges also remain higher than in previous years. In October, the figure reached a record $419.76 billion, despite a correction.
“This underscores a gradual yet steady shift in preference towards on-chain trading,” experts commented.
Perpetual Contracts
One of the main trends in the second half of 2025 has been trading in perpetual contracts (perps). The ratio of futures trading volumes on DEX to CEX increased from 2.1% in January 2023 to 11.7% in November 2025.
“Similar to the spot trading scenario, decentralized exchanges have begun to significantly increase perps volumes, narrowing the gap with centralized platforms this year. November 2025 marked the 14th consecutive month of consistent monthly growth in DEX’s share of total perps turnover,” CoinGecko noted.
Platforms like Hyperliquid, Aster, and Lighter stood out in this context. In October, their trading volumes reached $903.56 billion—nine times higher than the same period last year.
Since the beginning of the year, Hyperliquid’s turnover has amounted to $2.74 trillion, comparable to Coinbase’s figures.
“However, it remains unclear whether perps trading volumes on DEX will maintain current levels after the end of mass incentive programs,” experts concluded.
In October, trading volumes on perp-DEX reached a record $1.3 trillion—nearly double that of September.