Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) have become a critical piece of crypto infrastructure. Though they vary in format and execution, most are seeking to remove intermediaries and create a truly peer-to-peer platform to swap cryptocurrencies.
Their popularity within the crypto community—a speculative bunch to say the least—cannot be understated either.
Of the 3,090,721 total crypto addresses that have interacted with top DeFi projects, three of the top protocols are either DEXs or DEX aggregators.
For context, this figure represents a 160% rise since January 1 this year. At that time, there were just over 1 million users.
There have been four key protocols driving this growth. They include Uniswap (~2.5 million users), Compound (326,487 users), 1inch Exchange (276,254 users), and SushiSwap (198,618).
For the uninitiated, Compound is a popular lending and borrowing service for cryptocurrencies, 1inch Exchange is an aggregator of various crypto protocols (including SushiSwap and Uniswap) used to offer traders the best rates, and SushiSwap is a near-identical fork of Uniswap.
Uniswap takes the lead
Still, Uniswap clearly leads the pack, hosting more than 80% of all DeFi users.
And among all DEX platforms, it commands a market share of 63.8%. The nearest runner-up is SushiSwap, with a market share of 9.6%.
In terms of 24-hour volume, Uniswap is also on par with centralized competitors in FTX and Kraken at press time. In August 2020, the DEX even outpaced one of the leading exchanges, Coinbase Pro, for the same metric.
Though these values can shift quickly, the data paint an interesting picture regarding where crypto traders are doing most of their business.