Original Article Title: Where is Onchain Volume Rotating? (Jan24-Mar25)
Original Article Author: @stacy_muur, CuratedCrypt0 Member
Original Article Translation: Dynamics 小 Deep

Editor's Note: From January 2024 to March 2025, DeFi on-chain transaction volume experienced a surge and subsequent decline. DEX transaction volume peaked in January 2025 at $380 billion and then dropped by 35%. Solana's native DEX emerged, holding 5 out of the top 10 positions, with Hyperliquid occupying over 60% of the perpetual contract market share. Leading DEXs such as Uniswap and PancakeSwap dominated around 40% of the transaction volume. Chain-level market shares fluctuated significantly, with Solana, Ethereum, and Base showing varying degrees of resilience, while CEXs still accounted for nearly 80% of spot trading. The future of DeFi depends on which chain can solidify user habits rather than just hype.

Below is the original content (slightly reorganized for better understanding):

Over the past 15 months, the landscape of DeFi liquidity has been redrawn among chains, moving away from hype-driven outliers and quietly concentrating on fundamentals over noise.

TL;DR

· DEX transaction volume hit a historical peak of $380 billion in January 2025, followed by a 35% decrease over the next two months, indicating a possible short-term top.

· The top 10 DEXs now account for nearly 80% of the activity volume, with Uniswap and PancakeSwap alone representing about 40%.

· Solana's native DEX quietly took the lead, with 5 out of the top 10 positions, and its share expanded due to meme-driven trading volume growth.

· Hyperliquid disrupted the perpetual contract landscape, rising from a newcomer to commanding over 60% of the dominant share by March 2025.

All insights are based on public data. Special thanks to DefiLlama for consistently providing high-quality statistical data.

A Cycle Defined by Surges and Slowdowns

In early 2024, DEX transaction volume showed strength in March and May, followed by a slowdown in the middle of the year.

The situation took a sharp turn in the fourth quarter, with a significant surge in trading volume in November and December, continuing into January 2025, reaching an explosive peak of $380 billion.

However, this upward trend was short-lived. By February, the trading volume dropped to $245 billion, a 35% decrease, ending the three-month vertical climb. This decline set the tone for a more cautious second quarter.

DEX Dominance: Top-heavy Control

The DEX landscape remains highly concentrated. The top 10 protocols now hold 79.5% of daily trading volume, with just the top 5 controlling 59.1%.

Uniswap and PancakeSwap represent approximately 40% of all DEX trading volume, being the only two protocols with a cumulative trading volume exceeding a trillion dollars. Their dominance is built on first-mover advantage, multi-chain coverage, and deep liquidity.

Uniswap Labs has also launched Unichain, a dedicated Ethereum L2 based on the Optimism Superchain, aiming to provide fast, low-cost transactions with native multi-chain interoperability.

Solana's Quiet Rise

Solana's rise has been remarkable. Five out of the top 10 DEXs are Solana-native: @orca_so, @MeteoraAG, @RaydiumProtocol, @Lifinity_IO, @pumpdotfun.

Only Orca (8.02%) and Meteora (6.70%) contribute approximately 15% of global DEX activity.

This rise is driven by low fees, fast block times, and the sticky traffic of Solana's meme coin culture. Pump.fun entering the top 10 clearly reflects this energy.

Emerging Protocols: Fluid and Aerodrome

@0xfluid (7.09%) is the most capital-efficient DEX in the top 5. Active on Ethereum, with monthly trading volumes exceeding $10 billion. Its launch on Arbitrum saw trading volume increase from $426 million in February to $1.6 billion in March, demonstrating rapid adoption.

@AerodromeFi, based on Base, reflects the growth of liquidity on the Base L2.

While Hyperliquid doesn't rank high in spot trading, it dominates the perpetual contracts market with over 60% market share.

Chain-Specific DEX Market Share: Momentum Easy Come, Retention Rare

The past 15 months have shown that while most chains can attract attention, few can retain users. From January 2024 to March 2025, the chain-level DEX market share shifted rapidly, with only a few maintaining real traction.

Solana stood out the most. It steadily rose in 2024, reaching a peak of 45.8% in January 2025 during the $TRUMP and $MELANIA meme coin craze. However, by March, its share halved to 21.5%. Nevertheless, its average share of 25.1% remains the highest across all chains.

Ethereum, on the other hand, exhibited the opposite trend. It held about 32% share at the beginning of 2024, dropped to 15.3% in January 2025, and rebounded to 26.4% by March, proving its persistence even after losing momentum.

Base saw the most stable ascent. Starting from 3% in March 2024, it grew to 12% in December, stabilizing at 7.4% in March 2025, averaging 6.6% during this period. No hype, just slow, sticky growth.

The BNB chain maintained an average share of 14.7%, remaining stable throughout, without any surges or collapses, sustained only by retail flow, with no breakthrough moments.

Arbitrum started strong, holding 16%, but failed to take off. By January 2025, it slipped to 4.8%, surpassed by Base and Solana.

Blast peaked at 42.3% in June 2024, only to vanish the following month—a typical incentive-driven trading volume scenario lacking any retention.

Conclusion: Chain-level DEX dominance is highly volatile. Solana surged, Ethereum recovered, Base slowly gained ground, and hype cycles quickly fizzled out. The chains that persevered were not the loudest but the most utilized.

CEX Still Dominates Spot Trading Volume

Despite the DEX explosion in early 2025, centralized exchanges (CEX) continue to dominate the spot market. Even at the peak of DEX in January, CEX still held nearly 80% of the total trading volume.

While the CEX dominance dropped from 90% in early 2024 to a low of 79%, the overall trend is clear: DEX is growing, but CEX remains the default venue for the majority of traders.

Perpetual Contract Protocol Market Share

In 2024, the on-chain perpetual contract landscape saw a reversal.

After dYdX's two-plus-year reign at the top, Hyperliquid emerged, redefining the dominance. It took the lead for the first time in February, briefly lost to @SynFuturesDefi mid-year, reclaimed the top spot in August, and has held it since. By March 2025, Hyperliquid commanded nearly 59% of the perpetual contract trading volume, establishing itself as the preferred venue for professional traders.

This rise to prominence was fueled by a product offering close to the CEX experience, garnering attention. In contrast, dYdX rapidly declined. Its share plummeted from 13.2% at the beginning of 2024 to 2.7% in March 2025 as users gravitated towards faster, sleeker, and more modern alternatives.

@JupiterExchange took a different path in perpetual contracts, leveraging Solana-native liquidity and on-chain DEX funnel to rise to second place with an 8.8% share. It expanded rapidly but has since stabilized after Hyperliquid. Others like SynFutures, @Vertex_Protocol, and @ParadexApp briefly showed traction.

Perpetual Contract Chains: The Execution Layer Rewritten in One Cycle

The most significant shift in perpetual contract infrastructure over the past year was not which protocol users preferred but which chain they trusted for execution.

In January 2024, Ethereum and Arbitrum controlled over 65% of the perpetual contract trading volume. However, by March 2025, this had dropped to just 11.8%, replaced by updated, faster execution layers.

Leading this shift was Hyperliquid's custom chain, which grew from 13.6% to 58.9% share during the same period. In less than a year, it became the default perpetual contract execution environment, replacing the L1 and L2 layers that had formerly defined this category. It not only offers speed but also provides the high reliability and low latency required by professional traders.

Solana also performed well, rising to nearly 16% by the end of 2024 with Jupiter and Phoenix, but eventually stabilizing at 10-11%, failing to maintain its breakout momentum. Base and ZKsync showed vitality, peaking at around 6-7%, but have not yet entered the top tier.

Meanwhile, Blast became a cautionary tale: achieving an 18.8% one-month miracle in June 2024, only to quickly fade away. In the realm driven by product quality and user retention, hype failed to last. The new execution stack is clear—performance-first chains have reset the standard, and traditional infrastructure is no longer the default choice.

The future of DeFi lies not in the number of chains, but in solidifying narratives into user habits.

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