* Centralized Exchange (CEX) Recovery: CEX spot trading volume grew significantly in 2025, with Q4 2024 monthly average exceeding $2.25 trillion, primarily driven by ETF and macroeconomic tailwinds.

* Decentralized Exchange (DEX) Growth is Faster: DEX spot volume grew from $133 billion in January 2024 to $540 billion in October 2025, with market share rising from ~10% in 2024 to nearly 20%.

* Perpetuals Drive DEX Activity: On-chain perpetuals trading volume surged, exceeding $1.13 trillion in October 2025 and capturing 14.3% of global futures volume. Open Interest grew over 6.5x in two years.

* DEX Advantages: Offer composability, anonymity, and self-custody. Improved user experience (e.g., lower gas fees, tighter spreads) narrows the gap with CEXs.

* Future Trend: While CEXs remain liquidity hubs, DEXs are becoming new risk hubs. Traders increasingly choose platforms based on added features, not just trust.

Summary

Expand

Article Author: Prathik Desai

Compiled by: Block Unicorn

Preface

The past year has been volatile for both Centralized Exchanges (CEXs) and Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs). Over the last 12-18 months, participants in the cryptocurrency space have witnessed a shift in trading momentum and liquidity from CEXs, which rely on trust and compliance, towards DEXs, which promise user transparency, composability, and self-custody.

Although media reports proclaim a strong comeback for centralized trading, a deeper analysis of the data reveals a much more complex reality.

In this quantitative analysis, I will delve into data from DEXs and CEXs to better understand the evolution of spot and leveraged liquidity in cryptocurrency trading.

The CEX-DEX Battle

In the long term, 2025 appears to be a year of strong recovery for Centralized Exchanges (CEXs) after nearly two years of declining confidence and shrinking liquidity. Between January 2021 and May 2022, the monthly average trading volume for CEXs far exceeded $1.5 trillion. However, from June 2022 until November 2023, monthly volume only surpassed the $1 trillion mark once.

Trading volume on CEXs surged over the past two years. Benefiting from ETF and macroeconomic tailwinds, volumes repeatedly hit new highs. By December 2024, this figure had climbed to $2.94 trillion.

The fourth quarter of 2024 was a turning point for volume growth. CEX spot volume skyrocketed from $1.14 trillion in October to $2.94 trillion in December, bringing the quarterly monthly average to over $2.25 trillion.

This growth coincided with a rise in market risk appetite following the re-election of US President Donald Trump and progress in negotiations for pro-cryptocurrency regulation.

[Chart: CEX vs DEX Spot Trading Volume]

The first quarter of 2025 continued this growth momentum, with a monthly average volume of nearly $1.8 trillion, but it declined by about 30% in Q2 to $1.3 trillion. However, in Q3 2025, volume rebounded sharply, with the monthly average exceeding $1.8 trillion.

While Centralized Exchanges (CEXs) were experiencing a strong recovery, Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs) were not standing still. In fact, their growth rates consistently outpaced those of CEXs.

In January 2024, DEX spot volume was approximately $133 billion. Just 18 months later, this figure quadrupled, exceeding $540 billion.

In Q1 2025, the monthly average DEX volume was $395 billion, and $332 billion in Q2. By Q3 2025, the monthly average volume grew by 50% to $480 billion. October volume had already surpassed $540 billion.

Year-to-date, Decentralized Exchange (DEX) spot volume accounts for nearly 20% of all spot trading volume, up from just over 10% in 2024. Although Centralized Exchanges (CEXs) still dominate the market due to the advantage of fiat on-ramps, DEXs have become the preferred choice for users seeking speed, composability, anonymity, and self-custody.

The improved user experience, lower gas fees, and tighter spreads offered by protocols like Uniswap v4, Hyperliquid L1, and Raydium have narrowed the experience gap between the two ecosystems.

[Chart: DEX Market Share of Spot Volume]

The Driver: Derivatives

If asked what the most critical factor driving DEX activity is, I would unhesitatingly choose perpetuals. Before 2024, on-chain perpetuals remained a niche product, with monthly volumes in the hundreds of billions. This was concentrated on protocols like dYdX, GMX, and a few other Arbitrum-based DEXs. However, by the end of 2025, the scale of these platforms began to rival the entire Decentralized Exchange (DEX) spot market.

[Chart: Perpetual DEXs Trading Volume]

In January 2024, the monthly trading volume for perpetual DEXs was $127 billion. By December 2024, this figure almost tripled to $345 billion.

But 2025 changed this trend. The monthly average trading volume for perpetuals more than doubled, growing from $332 billion in Q1 to $688 billion in Q3. In October alone, their volume exceeded $1.13 trillion, marking the first time monthly on-chain derivatives volume broke the $1 trillion mark—more than double the size of the DEX spot market.

This data indicates not only that more traders are entering the on-chain space but also that the trading activity per trader has increased. On-chain DEXs offering perpetuals now replicate some functions of Centralized Exchanges (CEXs), such as isolated margin, deep order books, and cross-chain collateral. Furthermore, they offer a high degree of composability that CEXs cannot provide. These advantages are sufficient to retain numerous high-value traders on-chain.

This trend is reflected in the steady rise of the Decentralized Exchange (DEX) to Centralized Exchange (CEX) ratio in derivatives trading.

In 2024, DEXs handled less than 5% of global futures volume. By mid-2025, this figure doubled to 10%, and by October, it reached 14.3%, setting a new record for the share of on-chain derivatives relative to CEXs.

[Chart: DEX Share of Futures Volume]

Compared to the scale of Binance, this number is still small, but it indicates the direction of future development. While derivatives volume on CEXs has largely been range-bound this year, volume on DEXs has grown every quarter since mid-2023.

Volume tells part of the story, but Open Interest (OI) provides more nuanced information. As of January 1, 2024, open interest on on-chain exchanges accounted for only 1.5% of global derivatives volume. By December 31, 2024, this proportion doubled to 3.7%, reaching 5.9% by June 30, 2025. And by September 30, 2025, it reached 9.8%. This represents growth of over 6.5 times in less than two years.

[Chart: DEX Share of Open Interest]

Collectively, these changes indicate that although Centralized Exchanges (CEXs) remain the hubs of liquidity, Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs) are quickly becoming the new hubs of risk. Where traders choose to execute their trades depends not only on trust but also on the added features of the platform.

The growth of DEXs in the spot, derivatives, and perpetuals sectors shows that they offer features that CEXs cannot replicate, at least not yet. The absolute number of on-chain traders may still be a minority, but their intent and the features they demand send a clear message to cryptocurrency developers about what should be prioritized when building crypto exchanges.

* Centralized Exchange (CEX) Recovery: CEX spot trading volume grew significantly in 2025, with Q4 2024 monthly average exceeding $2.25 trillion, primarily driven by ETF and macroeconomic tailwinds.

* Decentralized Exchange (DEX) Growth is Faster: DEX spot volume grew from $133 billion in January 2024 to $540 billion in October 2025, with market share rising from ~10% in 2024 to nearly 20%.

* Perpetuals Drive DEX Activity: On-chain perpetuals trading volume surged, exceeding $1.13 trillion in October 2025 and capturing 14.3% of global futures volume. Open Interest grew over 6.5x in two years.

* DEX Advantages: Offer composability, anonymity, and self-custody. Improved user experience (e.g., lower gas fees, tighter spreads) narrows the gap with CEXs.

* Future Trend: While CEXs remain liquidity hubs, DEXs are becoming new risk hubs. Traders increasingly choose platforms based on added features, not just trust.

Summary

Expand

Article Author: Prathik Desai

Compiled by: Block Unicorn

Preface

The past year has been volatile for both Centralized Exchanges (CEXs) and Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs). Over the last 12-18 months, participants in the cryptocurrency space have witnessed a shift in trading momentum and liquidity from CEXs, which rely on trust and compliance, towards DEXs, which promise user transparency, composability, and self-custody.

Although media reports proclaim a strong comeback for centralized trading, a deeper analysis of the data reveals a much more complex reality.

In this quantitative analysis, I will delve into data from DEXs and CEXs to better understand the evolution of spot and leveraged liquidity in cryptocurrency trading.

The CEX-DEX Battle

In the long term, 2025 appears to be a year of strong recovery for Centralized Exchanges (CEXs) after nearly two years of declining confidence and shrinking liquidity. Between January 2021 and May 2022, the monthly average trading volume for CEXs far exceeded $1.5 trillion. However, from June 2022 until November 2023, monthly volume only surpassed the $1 trillion mark once.

Trading volume on CEXs surged over the past two years. Benefiting from ETF and macroeconomic tailwinds, volumes repeatedly hit new highs. By December 2024, this figure had climbed to $2.94 trillion.

The fourth quarter of 2024 was a turning point for volume growth. CEX spot volume skyrocketed from $1.14 trillion in October to $2.94 trillion in December, bringing the quarterly monthly average to over $2.25 trillion.

This growth coincided with a rise in market risk appetite following the re-election of US President Donald Trump and progress in negotiations for pro-cryptocurrency regulation.

[Chart: CEX vs DEX Spot Trading Volume]

The first quarter of 2025 continued this growth momentum, with a monthly average volume of nearly $1.8 trillion, but it declined by about 30% in Q2 to $1.3 trillion. However, in Q3 2025, volume rebounded sharply, with the monthly average exceeding $1.8 trillion.

While Centralized Exchanges (CEXs) were experiencing a strong recovery, Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs) were not standing still. In fact, their growth rates consistently outpaced those of CEXs.

In January 2024, DEX spot volume was approximately $133 billion. Just 18 months later, this figure quadrupled, exceeding $540 billion.

In Q1 2025, the monthly average DEX volume was $395 billion, and $332 billion in Q2. By Q3 2025, the monthly average volume grew by 50% to $480 billion. October volume had already surpassed $540 billion.

Year-to-date, Decentralized Exchange (DEX) spot volume accounts for nearly 20% of all spot trading volume, up from just over 10% in 2024. Although Centralized Exchanges (CEXs) still dominate the market due to the advantage of fiat on-ramps, DEXs have become the preferred choice for users seeking speed, composability, anonymity, and self-custody.

The improved user experience, lower gas fees, and tighter spreads offered by protocols like Uniswap v4, Hyperliquid L1, and Raydium have narrowed the experience gap between the two ecosystems.

[Chart: DEX Market Share of Spot Volume]

The Driver: Derivatives

If asked what the most critical factor driving DEX activity is, I would unhesitatingly choose perpetuals. Before 2024, on-chain perpetuals remained a niche product, with monthly volumes in the hundreds of billions. This was concentrated on protocols like dYdX, GMX, and a few other Arbitrum-based DEXs. However, by the end of 2025, the scale of these platforms began to rival the entire Decentralized Exchange (DEX) spot market.

[Chart: Perpetual DEXs Trading Volume]

In January 2024, the monthly trading volume for perpetual DEXs was $127 billion. By December 2024, this figure almost tripled to $345 billion.

But 2025 changed this trend. The monthly average trading volume for perpetuals more than doubled, growing from $332 billion in Q1 to $688 billion in Q3. In October alone, their volume exceeded $1.13 trillion, marking the first time monthly on-chain derivatives volume broke the $1 trillion mark—more than double the size of the DEX spot market.

This data indicates not only that more traders are entering the on-chain space but also that the trading activity per trader has increased. On-chain DEXs offering perpetuals now replicate some functions of Centralized Exchanges (CEXs), such as isolated margin, deep order books, and cross-chain collateral. Furthermore, they offer a high degree of composability that CEXs cannot provide. These advantages are sufficient to retain numerous high-value traders on-chain.

This trend is reflected in the steady rise of the Decentralized Exchange (DEX) to Centralized Exchange (CEX) ratio in derivatives trading.

In 2024, DEXs handled less than 5% of global futures volume. By mid-2025, this figure doubled to 10%, and by October, it reached 14.3%, setting a new record for the share of on-chain derivatives relative to CEXs.

[Chart: DEX Share of Futures Volume]

Compared to the scale of Binance, this number is still small, but it indicates the direction of future development. While derivatives volume on CEXs has largely been range-bound this year, volume on DEXs has grown every quarter since mid-2023.

Volume tells part of the story, but Open Interest (OI) provides more nuanced information. As of January 1, 2024, open interest on on-chain exchanges accounted for only 1.5% of global derivatives volume. By December 31, 2024, this proportion doubled to 3.7%, reaching 5.9% by June 30, 2025. And by September 30, 2025, it reached 9.8%. This represents growth of over 6.5 times in less than two years.

[Chart: DEX Share of Open Interest]

Collectively, these changes indicate that although Centralized Exchanges (CEXs) remain the hubs of liquidity, Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs) are quickly becoming the new hubs of risk. Where traders choose to execute their trades depends not only on trust but also on the added features of the platform.

The growth of DEXs in the spot, derivatives, and perpetuals sectors shows that they offer features that CEXs cannot replicate, at least not yet. The absolute number of on-chain traders may still be a minority, but their intent and the features they demand send a clear message to cryptocurrency developers about what should be prioritized when building crypto exchanges.