In the second quarter of 2025, decentralized exchanges (DEX) achieved a record trading volume ratio compared to centralized platforms (CEX) of 0.23, the highest figure ever recorded. The total trading volume on DEX exceeded $876 billion, while CEX volumes decreased by 27.7% to $3.9 trillion.
This is reported by Business • Media
Growing Popularity of DEX and New Market Leaders
The platform PancakeSwap played a significant role in the decentralized segment, surpassing blockchains like Ethereum and Solana thanks to its integration with Binance Alpha. Trading volume on PancakeSwap surged by 539.2%, reaching $392.6 billion. Meanwhile, in the derivatives market, DEX Hyperliquid solidified its position as a leader, controlling 72.7% of the market with a quarterly volume of $653.2 billion. This allowed the platform to enter the top 8 derivatives exchanges globally among both centralized and decentralized platforms.
According to analysts, despite rising cryptocurrency prices, spot trading volumes on centralized exchanges have declined for the second consecutive quarter. This indicates a growing interest in DEX, which offer greater flexibility, transparency, and control over assets for traders. In particular, in May 2025, DEX achieved a record market share, reaching 25% of the total global spot trading volume compared to CEX.
Crypto Market: New Bitcoin Highs, Ethereum Dynamics, and Circle IPO
Bitcoin remained in the spotlight, setting a new all-time high by surpassing $100,000 for the first time. Its market share rose to 62.1%, while most altcoins, including Ethereum, failed to recover their initial yearly figures. Overall, the market capitalization of cryptocurrencies increased by 24% in Q2, reaching $3.5 trillion, recovering the previously lost $663.6 billion.
According to CoinGecko, although Ethereum rose from $1805 to $2488 during the quarter, this figure remained below the January level ($3337). Meanwhile, the number of transactions on the Ethereum network increased, and the average gas price decreased to 3.5 Gwei.
“Although Ethereum rose from $1805 to $2488 in Q2, it still remained below the January level of $3337,” analysts noted.
A true breakthrough of the quarter was the IPO of Circle, which was oversubscribed by 25 times, with shares increasing in price by 864.5% to $299. This sparked a wave of optimism among other crypto companies preparing to go public, including Kraken, Gemini, and Grayscale.
Additionally, in July 2025, spot Ethereum ETFs recorded a record influx of investments, and the asset itself surpassed the $3400 mark for the first time in a year, ranking 26th in the global asset capitalization rankings.