Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) have dramatically increased their share of spot trading, as highlighted by a new CoinGecko report. The DEX-to-CEX (centralized exchange) trading ratio surged from 6.0% in January 2021 to an impressive 21.2% in November 2025.

The upward trajectory was not linear. The ratio saw a peak of 14.6% in early 2022, then fell to 5.4% by September before fluctuating until late 2024.

DEXs’ Market Share Surges

CoinGecko clarified that FTX’s collapse in November 2022 did not initially impact DEX traffic; the ratio crossed the 10.0% mark again in March 2023 amidst rising regulatory pressure in the US.

January 2025 witnessed a significant upsurge as the ratio reached 18.7%, driven by a boom in Solana-based meme coins, leading to DEX volumes reaching $413.75 billion, surpassing prior cycles. Notably, Solana’s Raydium reported trading volumes nearly matching that of Uniswap for the first time.

In June 2025, this ratio climbed again, achieving an all-time high of 37.4%, primarily attributed to PancakeSwap, which experienced spiking volumes after the launch of Binance Alpha in May, successfully routing many orders to the exchange.

The DEX ratio stabilized around 20% in November, a notable shift compared to earlier years. The total trading volume on DEXs reached $419.76 billion in October, even amidst market fluctuations.

DEX Perpetual Trading Growth

The DEX to CEX perpetual trading ratio drastically increased from 2.1% in January 2023 to 11.7% in November 2025.

Overall, DEX perpetual trading surged with volumes reaching a record $903.56 billion in October, more than tenfold from a year prior. New platforms like Hyperliquid, Lighter, and edgeX have significantly outperformed earlier DEX leaders, with Hyperliquid managing $2.74 trillion in perpetuals this year, surpassing all other major DEXs combined.