# ReDeFining DeFi, 301010 *Decentralised Exchanges* By [Coin Kotei](https://paragraph.com/@coinkotei) · 2024-12-14 defi, dex --- Let's kick off the series with one of the busiest sub-sectors of DeFi, decentralised exchanges. **_301010, Decentralised Exchanges _Definition**: Protocols enabling peer-to-peer asset exchanges using automated market-making or order book models. The combined sub-sector Market Cap stands at $23,300m as of 14/12/2024, up c. 83% from $12,747m as of 01/01/2024, compared to c. 120% growth in the total crypto Market Cap over the course of 2024. Below is the proposed composition of the 301010 sub-sector, from largest to smallest by market cap, having reviewed 250+ projects over the course of the past week from both the context-of-use and exchange accessibility perspectives: 1. **$UNI** The largest DEX on Ethereum, the largest on-chain marketplace, clearly defines this sub-sector **Market Cap:** $10,462m **YTD:** +92% 2. **$RUNE** A decentralised liquidity network for cross-chain token swaps with a focus on interoperability **Market Cap:** $2,220m **YTD:** +44% 3. **$RAY** Provides an order book AMM for low slippage trading on Solana **Market Cap:** $1,541m **YTD:** +394% 4. **$JUP** Solana's leading DEX aggregator, optimising token swaps across multiple DEXs **Market Cap:** $1,513m **YTD:** +68% 5. **$AERO** A DEX that focuses on providing liquidity solutions on Base **Market Cap:** $1,502m **YTD:** +18,211% 6. **$CRV** Focuses on stablecoin swaps via liquidity pools using bonding curves **Market Cap:** $1,423m **YTD:** +123% 7. **$CAKE** The largest DEX on Binance Smart Chain and a handful of others **Market Cap:** $1,002m **YTD:** +18% 8. **$1INCH** An on-chain DEX aggregator that splits orders across multiple platforms **Market Cap:** $707m **YTD:** +47% 9. **$OSMO** Cosmos' native DEX, facilitating inter-chain trading **Market Cap:** $459m **YTD:** -52% 10. **$SUSHI** A DEX and yield farming platform, originally a fork of Uniswap **Market Cap:** $422m **YTD:** +75% 11. **$ORCA** A key AMM and DEX on the Solana blockchain **Market Cap:** $272m **YTD:** +4% 12. **$CETUS** The leading DEX and liquidity protocol on Sui **Market Cap:** $263m **YTD:** +3,606% 13. **$BAL** A leading AMM and custom liquidity pool protocol, widely recognised as a DEX **Market Cap:** $217m **YTD:** -6% 14. **$JOE** The leading DEX on Avalanche and Arbitrum **Market Cap:** $206m **YTD:** -1% 15. **$COW** Combines an AMM, DEX and a DEX liquidity aggregation protocol **Market Cap:** $189m **YTD:** +357% 16. **$HFT** A DEX aggregator that blends on-chain settlement with off-chain price discovery **Market Cap:** $142m **YTD:** +117% 17. **$DODO** A DEX with a unique proactive market-making algorithm **Market Cap:** $140m **YTD:** +14% 18. **$SDEX** Offers a hybrid DEX model with both order book and AMM features **Market Cap:** $110m **YTD:** -11% 19. **$BNT** A DEX with an auto-compounding concentrated liquidity model **Market Cap:** $106m **YTD:** +8% 20. **$THE** A DEX on Arbitrum which uses a ve(3,3) model for governance and revenue sharing **Market Cap:** $98m **YTD:** +1,427% 21. **$PNG** The leading DEX on the Avalanche network and a handful of other chains **Market Cap:** $80m **YTD:** +308% 22. **$IDEX** An Ethereum-based omni-chain perpetuals DEX known for its hybrid order book **Market Cap:** $63m **YTD:** +31% 23. **$QUICK** A leading DEX on the Polygon network, offering an Uniswap-like interface **Market Cap:** $44m **YTD:** +23% 24. **$PSP** An aggregator that splits swaps across multiple DEXs and protocols to find the best rates **Market Cap:** $41m **YTD:** +34% 25. **$GRAIL** A DEX and a liquidity network on Arbitrum **Market Cap:** $37m **YTD:** +22% 26. **$AST** A DEX focused on peer-to-peer trading with limited counter-party risk **Market Cap:** $27m **YTD:** +19% 27. **$SBR** Curve-style stable swap AMM on Solana **Market Cap:** $7m **YTD:** +7% 28. **$OOE** Leading DEX liquidity aggregator **Market Cap:** $7m **YTD:** -23% Let us also explore what the composition of the sub-sector looks like as of today as we prepare for a longer-form analysis of the 2024 performance for this and the other DeFi sub-sectors in search of fundamental indicators of outperformance and underperformance alike. ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/2c3138762be0d7f6c0d74b72f6618710.png) 301010 Decentralised Exchanges as of 14/12/2024 There have been notable changes and movements since the start of this year, particularly for newcomers $AERO, $CETUS and $THE. $UNI comfortably maintains its dominance of the sub-sector. Curious drop in relevance for $OSMO, which was the third largest in January, and a surprisingly flat year for most others. We will explore various possible reasons for such outcomes in the YTD 2024 DeFi Report. Now, onto the next sub-sector classification, rather close to this one, but more focused – 301020 Derivatives Trading, which is now firmly gripped by $HYPE. * * * Sources: * [https://coinmetrics.io/datonomy/](https://coinmetrics.io/datonomy/) * [https://coinmetrics.substack.com/p/state-of-the-network-issue-180](https://coinmetrics.substack.com/p/state-of-the-network-issue-180) * [https://coinmetrics.io/special-insights/trusted-exchange-framework/](https://coinmetrics.io/special-insights/trusted-exchange-framework/) * [https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories/decentralized-exchange](https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories/decentralized-exchange) * Coin Kotei Analysis --- *Originally published on [Coin Kotei](https://paragraph.com/@coinkotei/redefining-defi-301010)*