DEX explodes to a record in July, but the race with CEX is still long

July 2025 was an impressive month for decentralized exchanges (#DEX ), especially in the perpetual futures segment. Platforms like Hyperliquid and Drift set new trading records, showcasing the robust vitality and innovation of DeFi.

Hyperliquid and Drift reach new heights

Hyperliquid achieved a trading volume of nearly 320 billion USD in July, an unprecedented high. This platform maintains an absolute leading position, accounting for over 75% of the market share in DEX perps.

#DRIFT , a DEX on Solana, made a spectacular leap with a trading volume of 14.83 billion USD, an increase of up to 336% compared to the previous month. This success stems from a commission-free trading strategy, attracting a large number of users.

Challenges lie ahead

Although the total DEX trading volume has exceeded 1 trillion USD in a month for the first time, the market share of DEX compared to centralized exchanges (CEX) remains unchanged. The trading ratio of DEX perpetual futures only accounts for about 7.77% compared to CEX. This indicates that, despite significant progress, DEX platforms still struggle to attract the main liquidity flows of the market.

In summary, July serves as a clear testament to the potential of DeFi. The explosion of #Hyperliquid and Drift are positive signals, but they also highlight that the path for DEX to compete fairly with CEX is still very long.