Monthly DEX Volume Soars Past $10 Billion

By Adriana Hamacher

Monthly trading volume on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) soared past $10 billion today, according to data from Dune Analytics—as pointed out by Unfolded.

Monthly DEX Volume By Project. Image: Dune Analytics

DEX trading volumes in August more than doubled July’s figures, capping off a bumper month for the rapidly emerging Decentralized Finance (DeFi) industry. 

With four months of 2020 still to go, the momentous pace of development and popularity of DeFi has meant that, in August alone, the total value traded almost quadrupled trading volumes for the whole of 2019 

The number of total DeFi users is approaching 400,000—and the dominant platform is Ethereum-based DEX Uniswap, which accounts for 57% of users. 

Total DeFi users over time. Image: Dune Analytics

Uniswap hit its highest daily trading volume ever over the weekend. Over $450 million was traded, and the DEX surpassed Coinbase Pro’s daily volume for the first time. 

Tapping on the door of traditional finance

Unlike their centralized counterparts, DEXs use smart contracts for transactions; they allow users to avoid hurdles like know-your-customer (KYC) verification and enable them to retain custody of their coins. 

Meanwhile, DEX “liquidity providers” are rewarded with transaction fees that would otherwise go to centralized exchanges.

These attractions have led to a surge in popularity for DeFi applications and tokens, together with the use of DEXs. 

Increasingly, users are “locking” crypto into DeFi applications, and using it to create liquidity or to gain a return, or yield, with the judicious application of DeFi tools. The amount of crypto locked in DeFi topped $8 billion over the weekend—doubling over the past month. 

BTC locked in DeFi. Image: DeFi Pulse.

The amount of Bitcoin dedicated to DeFi has also hit a new high, with over 55,500 BTC locked in.

And, as we hurtle towards an alternative, decentralized financial system, and economy, record-beating DEX trading volumes are becoming a daily occurrence. Hard to believe, then, that the DeFi token market cap is still only 4 percent of the entire crypto market. Clearly, this is just the beginning.

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