Crypto decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volumes have surged to a peak against their centralized counterparts, driven by a “memecoin speculation mania,” according to research from CoinGecko.
The ratio of spot crypto trading on DEXs compared to centralized exchanges (CEXs) has more than tripled in the past five years, reaching new highs in 2025. This trend was highlighted by Yuqian Lim, a research analyst at CoinGecko, in a recent report.
The DEX to CEX spot ratio achieved an all-time high of 37.4% in June. This surge was attributed to a significant increase in memecoin interest and a spike in PancakeSwap's volumes, which benefited from orders routed from the Binance Alpha platform launched in May. Historically, centralized exchanges like Binance and Coinbase have dominated spot crypto trading volumes due to their user-friendly features and ease of use. However, decentralized platforms have been enhancing their offerings to attract a broader range of traders.
DEX Trading Shows Signs of Stickiness
Following its June peak, the DEX to CEX spot ratio has settled to approximately 21% as of November. This marks the fifth consecutive month where the ratio has remained close to the 20% level. This sustained performance is significantly higher than the stagnant DEX to CEX spot ratios observed in previous years, suggesting a potential for increased stickiness in DEXs' growing market share of spot trading volume.
“This is well above the stagnant DEX to CEX spot ratios seen in previous years and potentially indicates stickiness in DEXs’ growing market share of spot trading volume.”
DEX spot volumes from May to October have also surpassed those of previous years, reaching an all-time high of $419 billion in October, even amidst a broad market correction. This trend further supports the idea of a gradual but steady shift in trader preferences towards on-chain trading.
DEX Futures Trading Records New High in November
Concurrently, the DEX to CEX futures trading ratio, which measures the proportion of all perpetual futures trading on both types of exchanges, has also been ascending. This ratio reached an all-time high of 11.7% in November 2025.
Perpetual DEXs have experienced a notable revival in 2025, with a tenfold year-on-year volume increase culminating in an all-time high of $903 billion in October. Similar to spot trading, perpetuals trading volumes on DEXs have only recently begun to narrow the gap with CEXs. In fact, November represents the 14th consecutive month of month-on-month growth in the DEX to CEX perps volume ratio.
The emergence of new perpetual DEX players such as Hyperliquid, Lighter, and edgeX has been identified as a key driver for this growth, with some platforms offering incentives to attract traders. Hyperliquid, in particular, has recorded $2.74 trillion in perps volume year-to-date, placing it on par with Coinbase and exceeding the combined volumes of other top perp DEXs. However, it remains to be determined whether DEX perps volumes will be sustained at current levels once widespread incentive programs conclude.