Share this article

Decentralized Exchange Volume Dropped 25% in October

A steeper decline was avoided by one record day for Uniswap and Curve.

Updated Mar 6, 2023, 3:29 p.m. Published Nov 2, 2020, 6:33 p.m.
Monthly decentralized exchange volume since Jan. 2019
Monthly decentralized exchange volume since Jan. 2019

Monthly volume on decentralized exchanges fell for the first time since April, dropping 25% after three consecutive months of doubling aggregate volume through Q3, according to Dune Analytics.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters

Aggregate trading volume on decentralized exchanges fell to $19.4 billion in October, down from $25.8 billion in September amid a respite for speculative interest in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and assets. Even highly anticipated new entrants like SushiSwap and Serum reported over 60% declines in volume last month.

The sector’s continued cooling is demonstrated by DeFi index futures trading on FTX, which have dropped 29% so far in Q4, currently trading at $1,556.

October’s drop in aggregate volume would have been larger if not for an anomalous record-setting day of trading on Oct. 26. Uniswap and Curve each reported over $2 billion in trading volume that day, an all-time daily record for both trading platforms and extraordinarily higher than the few hundred million dollars in volume per day through most of October.

The widespread drop in volume was simply an expected decline after “peak euphoria from DeFi and yield farming craze” of the past few months, according to Jack Purdy, decentralized finance analyst at Messari, who remains optimistic about the long-term potential for DeFi protocols and assets despite October’s performance.

Notably, last month’s volume decrease didn’t extend to 0x, which reported a 50% increase in trading volume. Purdy told CoinDesk, “0x didn't see the same parabolic growth as some of the other decentralized exchanges, so it never had the chance to correct to a more normal level.”

To Purdy, the trading platform’s outlier growth demonstrates that “0x traders are more committed long term to decentralized exchange trading as opposed to buying the newest governance token that was first listed on an automated market maker.”

Monthly growth in volume for decentralized exchanges since September 2020
Monthly growth in volume for decentralized exchanges since September 2020

More For You

Protocol Research: GoPlus Security

GP Basic Image

What to know:

  • As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
  • GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
  • Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.

More For You

Dogecoin Hovers Near Key Support as Fed Easing Fails to Spark Risk Rally

(CoinDesk Data)

Despite elevated trading activity, Dogecoin faces resistance near $0.1425, and its future movement is likely dependent on broader market sentiment.

What to know:

  • The Federal Reserve's 25-basis-point rate cut has led to mixed market reactions, with Dogecoin trading quietly within its established range.
  • Dogecoin's price remains stable between $0.13 and $0.15, with whale wallets accumulating significant amounts of the cryptocurrency.
  • Despite elevated trading activity, Dogecoin faces resistance near $0.1425, and its future movement is likely dependent on broader market sentiment.