DEXs Command 29% Market Share as CEX Volumes Fall to Nine-Month Low

In June, centralized spot trading hit a rough patch: volume fell 30% to $1.07 trillion from $1.47 trillion in May, per The Block’s dashboard. The drop stems from waning margin and derivatives-linked spot orders on major platforms, extending the slide since December’s $2.94 trillion apex. DEXs weathered the storm better, drawing $390 billion and surging to a 29% market share high.

Institutional Bitcoin Focus vs Retail Participation

The monthly volume on decentralized exchanges grew in June to a record $390 billion, according to DefiLlama data. Following a local high in January, DEX volume contracted before beginning a recovery in May that extended into June. The DEX to CEX futures trade volume ratio also hit a new all-time high of 8% in June.

The current crypto market movement centers around institutional allocations into Bitcoin, with stablecoins, tokenized stocks and corporate treasuries playing secondary roles, while previous bull cycles were mostly retail-driven. The institutional focus contrasts sharply with retail traders who typically favor altcoins.

While Bitcoin has remained steady and not far from its all-time highs, the altcoin market has struggled, with most alts – including ETH – still down nearly 40% from their peaks. This points to a market largely driven by institutional buying of bitcoin, while retail participation – which typically favors altcoins – remains relatively subdued,

said Min Jung, research analyst at Presto Research.

Jung attributes the uptick in DEX usage to the success of Hyperliquid and a proliferation of new, user-friendly platforms, although he pointed out that airdrop hunters and rewards seekers account for a large share of the trading volume.

Vincent Liu of Kronos Research explained that eroding trust in centralized exchanges, coupled with cheaper fees, is steering traders toward DEXs. He stressed that decentralized venues are gaining traction for their real utility, such as unrestricted trading, self-custody, and early access, and that savvy traders are capitalizing on these advantages.

Futures and Perpetuals on Decentralized Platforms

Decentralized perpetual futures volumes hit new highs: Hyperliquid recorded $248 billion in May 2025 and $208 billion in June, outpacing the combined $140 billion on all other on-chain perp venues. That performance earned Hyperliquid 10.54% of Binance’s perpetual market share, up from 9.76% in April, marking a growing tilt toward on-chain derivatives.

Over the past year, Hyperliquid amassed $1.571 trillion in perp volume and generated $56 million in revenue in June alone, underscoring DEX perps’ rise as a core trading product. Built on a high-throughput Layer 1 with sub-second finality and 100,000+ orders per second, Hyperliquid bridges CEX-like speed with DeFi transparency, fueling its perpetual growth.

With CEX spot volumes near year-low levels, DEXs, backed by deep stablecoin pools, are poised to capture even more market share if volatility returns. Institutional flows into Bitcoin ETFs and the launch of on-chain perpetual products by major firms (e.g., Coinbase, Robinhood) may deepen DEX liquidity and reinforce on-chain trading as a core ecosystem pillar.