Monthly exchange trading volume on decentralized exchanges reaches a new high of $463 billion
In a remarkable turn of events, the total trading volume on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) reached an all-time high of $463 billion in December 2021. This significant milestone was not isolated, as leading Over-The-Counter (OTC) platforms also reported elevated trading volumes, approaching 2021 levels.
The surge in trading volumes was primarily driven by a combination of extreme market volatility, institutional interest, macro and regulatory events, and renewed activity in key ecosystems like Ethereum and DeFi.
One of the key contributing factors was the volatile crypto price swings in late 2021. These swings created significant trading opportunities, triggering both panic selling and aggressive buying, leading to peak trading volumes on both centralized and decentralized platforms.
Another significant factor was the surge in Ethereum activity, which dominates DeFi and many DEXs. The increased activity drove record on-chain volumes in December 2021, supported by institutional accumulation and shrinking ETH supply on exchanges, fueling demand and trading activity.
Institutional interest and treasury expansions also played a crucial role in boosting the trading volumes on centralized exchanges. Whales and derivative traders were heavily active, especially in ETH perpetual futures, contributing to high volumes in adjacent periods, including 2025.
Macroeconomic and geopolitical pressures, such as tariff announcements and major crypto hacks, caused panic exits and reactive trading spikes around this time.
The explosive growth and activity in DeFi protocols on Ethereum, which power many decentralized exchanges, also boosted DEX volume. This reflected a "DeFi renaissance" despite competition from newer blockchains.
Exchange-specific dynamics, like Binance’s record volumes driven by BNB token strength and derivative markets, also played important roles in elevating centralized exchange trading volumes.
Neil Wen from Kronos Research attributed the increase in DEX and CEX volumes to renewed market activity, growing trust in DeFi ecosystems, and enhanced liquidity and trading tools on centralized exchanges.
Uniswap had the highest trading volume among decentralized exchanges with $106.4 billion, followed closely by Pancake Swap with $96.4 billion. Approximately $950 billion of the centralized exchange trading volume was attributed to Binance. According to The Block, the spot trading volume on centralized exchanges during the same period hit a three-year high of $2.78 trillion. Raydium had a trading volume of $58 billion on decentralized exchanges in December.
In essence, the all-time and three-year highs in trading volume were driven by a convergence of market turbulence, growing institutional participation, thriving Ethereum-centered DeFi activity, and significant event-driven trading behavior around the end of 2021 and continuing impacts seen in 2025.
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