Data from DefiLlama and
The Block
show that decentralized exchanges (DEXs) reached a record-breaking $613.3 billion in trading volume in October, up 22.7% from September’s $500 billion. This milestone highlights a significant shift in the cryptocurrency landscape, as more traders turn to non-custodial platforms in response to market turbulence and tighter regulations.
Uniswap
was at the forefront, handling $170.9 billion in trades—an increase from $106.5 billion in September—while
PancakeSwap
followed with $101.9 billion, marking a 27.7% rise from the previous month.
This spike in DEX activity happened alongside a broader downturn in the market, including Bitcoin’s sharp fall to $104,600 on October 17. Many traders moved to DEXs for liquidity mining, yield opportunities, and self-custody options, especially amid worries about centralized exchange (CEX) failures. For example,
dYdX
came under fire after proposing a $462,000 compensation plan for users affected by an eight-hour network outage during the October 10 market crash, according to
Cointelegraph
. Meanwhile, Binance maintained its lead among CEXs, recording $810.4 billion in trading volume in October, up from $636.5 billion in September. Still, DEXs now represent 19.84% of all exchange volume, as reported by
Yahoo Finance
.
Ethereum’s stablecoin sector also experienced rapid expansion, with transaction volume hitting $2.82 trillion in October—a 45% increase over September.
USDC
and
USDT
were the main drivers, contributing $1.62 trillion and $895.5 billion, respectively. Stablecoin protocols accounted for 65–70% of daily crypto protocol revenues, surpassing lending services and DEXs, according to
Bitcoin.com
.
New DEX initiatives are taking advantage of this momentum. Terminal Finance, a yield-oriented DEX developed by
Ethena
, attracted $280 million in pre-launch liquidity, reflecting strong interest in yield-generating stablecoin trades. CEO Sam Benyakoub pointed out DEXs’ inherent strengths, such as predictable smart contract execution and the elimination of custodial risks. In other news, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) acquired $2 million worth of
ASTER
tokens, causing the DEX token’s price to jump 20% despite a recent 11% decline.
The increase in the DEX-to-CEX trading volume ratio to 19.84% signals rising confidence in decentralized platforms, especially as on-chain activity slows. In October, Ethereum’s daily active addresses dropped by 24% to 363,000, and its MVRV ratio fell to 1.50, suggesting a cooling market. Analysts told Yahoo Finance that renewed volatility from global events or geopolitical issues could further drive DEX usage.
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