DEX platforms continue to gain popularity and strengthen their position in the market
Date: 2025-06-05 Author: Oliver Abernathy Categories: BLOCKCHAIN
In May 2025, the share of decentralized trading platforms (DEX) in global spot crypto trading reached 25%, which was an all-time high, according to the latest data from analytics company IntoTheBlock. The previous peak was recorded in January of the same year, when the figure was just over 20%.
Simon Kim, the head of the venture crypto firm Hashed, told The Block that this is not just a statistical mark, but a reflection of a fundamental shift - from centralized, trust-based platforms to autonomous and software-driven systems.
The total volume of transactions on DEX in May amounted to $410.2 billion. PancakeSwap was the leader of the month, with $171.6 billion. Uniswap came in second with about $92 billion, and Raydium closed the top three with about $28 billion.
Despite its record share in the market structure, May took second place in absolute trading volume on DEX. January remains the leader, when with a smaller share of 20% the total volume reached $496 billion. April turned out to be the least active month: at this time, the minimum volumes were recorded - about $196 billion.
Interestingly, the surges in activity in January and May coincided with Bitcoin surges. In January, its price reached $110,000 for the first time, and in May it approached $112,000. On the contrary, the April price drop below $75,000 coincided with a drop in trading volume.
Simon Kim attributed the growth of interest in DEX exchanges to the surge in popularity of memecoins in 2024. Many of these tokens began trading on decentralized platforms, only later moving to centralized ones. In addition, improvements in the interfaces of crypto wallets, as well as a general decrease in trust in centralized platforms, also contributed to the growth. According to Kim, the trend will continue in the coming years: by 2028, DEX will be able to overtake centralized exchanges in trading volumes, and by 2030, they will occupy a dominant position in the market. He emphasized that DEX is more in line with the spirit of the blockchain industry, unlike CEX, which still partially retains the features of traditional finance.
