The cryptocurrency market witnessed a major turning point this December as trading volume on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) hit a record high of $320.5 billion.
Decentralized Exchange Volume Breaks Record, Reaching $320 Billion in December
This marks the first time that DEX’s monthly volume has crossed the $300 billion threshold, eclipsing the previous all-time high of $299.6 billion set in November.
Uniswap Leads the Pack
Uniswap has solidified its position as the dominant player in the DEX space, topping the charts with over $103 billion in trading volume.
PancakeSwap follows with $72 billion, while Solana-based Raydium comes in third with $54.6 billion. Other notable participants include Aerodrome and Curve.
Min Jung, research analyst at Presto Research, attributed this increase to the growing appeal of decentralized platforms. “Many of the most in-demand cryptocurrencies today, such as AI agents, are listed only on DEXs,” Jung said. “Projects like Hyperliquid demonstrate a growing market perception that a centralized exchange (CEX) listing is no longer necessary to achieve significant market value.”
Central Stock Exchange Volume Also Rising
This momentum was not limited to DEXs. Spot trading volume on centralized exchanges (CEX) also reached $2.78 trillion in December, reaching its highest level since May 2021.
This represented a 137% jump from October to November, driven in part by renewed optimism following the re-election of pro-crypto candidate Donald Trump as US President.
Binance continued to dominate the centralized market with around $950 billion in trading volume. Other exchanges like Crypto.com, Upbit, Bybit and Coinbase also saw significant activity in December, trading hundreds of billions of dollars.
*This is not investment advice.
