In October, cumulative trading volume on decentralised exchanges (DEX) reached an all-time high of $613.3bn, according to DeFi Llama.
The previous record was set in January, when the metric first reached $560.2bn.
In October, Uniswap led with $165bn in monthly volume. PancakeSwap and HumidiFi followed with $96bn and $35bn, respectively.
Trading in perpetual contracts on perp-DEX reached $1.3trn—an all-time high. Hyperliquid led with $285bn. Aster ($281bn) and Lighter ($266bn) completed the top three.
Centralised exchanges (CEX) posted a 2025 record of $2.17trn, the highest since January. Binance led with $810.4bn.
The DEX/CEX volume ratio rose from 18.8% in September to 19.8% in October.
Min Jun of Presto Research linked the surge in exchange activity to the 11 October market sell-off.
“The crash caused significant instability and spurred trading as portfolios were rebalanced. Activity may persist if new drivers of volatility emerge, such as news about US–China trade relations or macro data,” he said in a comment to The Block.
Kronos Research’s chief investment officer, Vincent Liu, added that hype around meme coins on BNB Chain and anonymous cryptocurrencies also boosted volumes. He said the trend could continue in November.
Another record
The Ethereum network set a new record. In October, monthly transactions with stablecoins in the ecosystem reached $2.8trn.
It was up 45% from September’s $1.94trn.
The leader was USDC from Circle, at $1.6trn. Transactions in USDT from Tether exceeded $895bn. The third “stable coin” was DAI from Sky (formerly MakerDAO), at $136bn.
“Stablecoins have become one of the most dynamic sectors after Circle’s IPO and the passage of the GENIUS Act. The highest activity has been in yield farming; new “stable coins” with innovative concepts are attracting users,” Min stressed.
The sector’s market capitalisation reached $307bn. Around 60% of the market is accounted for by USDT.
Earlier, Tether International’s net profit for the first nine months of 2025 exceeded $10bn.