Spot trading volume on decentralized exchanges rose to approximately 24% of the volume recorded by selected centralized exchanges in July 2026, according to The Block’s current DEX-to-CEX data series.
The figure was the highest shown in the platform’s current dataset and continued a broader increase in decentralized exchange market share that began in 2024.
However, the 24% figure does not mean decentralized exchanges handled 24% of total combined spot trading.
The Block calculates the ratio by dividing monthly DEX trading volume by the volume recorded across a selected group of centralized exchanges. Its dashboard includes data from the 30 largest decentralized exchanges tracked by DefiLlama.
In simple terms, DEX trading activity in July was equal to about 24% of the trading volume handled by the centralized exchanges included in the calculation.
DEX market share continues to grow
The DEX-to-CEX ratio remained below 10% for much of 2024 but began rising more quickly in 2025.
One reason for this growth is that traders have increasingly turned to permissionless platforms to trade memecoins, newly launched tokens and other assets that are not available on major centralized exchanges.
However, the July increase also happened during a period of weaker activity on centralized platforms.
Talos reported that total centralized exchange spot volume fell by 28% quarter over quarter to $2.32 trillion during the second quarter of 2026.
A decline in centralized exchange activity can increase the DEX-to-CEX ratio, even when decentralized exchange volume does not reach a new record in absolute terms.
Trading activity remains spread across several networks
DefiLlama’s trailing 30-day data on Aug. 2 showed that decentralized exchange activity was distributed across several major blockchain networks.
Solana recorded approximately $49.86 billion in spot DEX volume, followed by BNB Chain with $31.04 billion, Ethereum with $28.84 billion and Base with $22.38 billion.
Robinhood Chain contributed an additional $14.48 billion during the same period.
New networks and wider token access support DEX growth
Robinhood Chain was one of the main new sources of decentralized exchange activity in July.
Uniswap Labs launched Uniswap v2, v3, v4 and UniswapX on the network on July 2, one day after Robinhood Chain’s public mainnet launch.
The integration allowed users to trade crypto assets and Robinhood Stock Tokens through Uniswap’s web application, wallet and API.
CoinDesk Data later estimated that Robinhood Chain recorded an average of about $690 million in daily DEX and aggregator volume over a seven-day period.
Daily activity peaked at $943.6 million on July 11. Uniswap accounted for approximately 99.5% of the network’s DEX volume during that seven-day period.
Robinhood Stock Tokens were made available in more than 120 countries, although they were not offered to users in the United States.
Early trading activity was not limited to tokenized stocks and other real-world assets. Memecoins also contributed to the network’s volume.
Robinhood Chain passed $1 billion in cumulative swap volume during its first 10 days and helped drive a sharp increase in Uniswap activity.
However, because speculative tokens played a major role in the early growth, the network’s long-term performance will depend on whether trading activity remains strong after the launch period.
Other blockchain ecosystems entered July with more established onchain liquidity. Solana, for example, recorded more than $800 billion in DEX volume during the first part of 2025, while Jupiter remained an important platform for routing trades across the network.
The record claim requires some clarification
The description of July’s figure as the highest level since tracking began in 2019 should be treated carefully.
The Block’s current chart supports the reported July 2026 reading. However, earlier reports from the same publisher mentioned higher ratios under previous versions of its data.
In June 2025, The Block reported that DEX volume had reached 25% of centralized exchange spot volume in May. A month later, it reported a ratio of 29% for June.
Both figures were higher than the approximately 24% recorded in July 2026.
The difference may be the result of revised historical data, changes in the exchanges included in the calculation or updates to volume-filtering methods.
The public description of the current dashboard does not clearly explain why the historical figures differ from those published in earlier reports.
A separate CoinGecko study, which used a different group of exchanges, estimated that DEX spot market share reached 24.5% in June 2025. It later fell to around 13% to 14% by January 2026.
CoinGecko partly linked the earlier increase to Binance Alpha 2.0, which routed trades through PancakeSwap.
Because CoinGecko and The Block use different exchange groups and calculation methods, their figures cannot be compared directly.
For this reason, July 2026 can reasonably be described as the highest reading in The Block’s current data series. Describing it as an undisputed record for the entire crypto market would go beyond the information currently available.
What to watch next
The August data will help show whether the DEX-to-CEX ratio can remain close to one-quarter of covered centralized exchange volume after July’s new network launches begin to settle.
Market participants will also watch whether Robinhood Chain can maintain its early trading activity and whether Solana, BNB Chain, Ethereum and Base continue recording strong volumes.
Absolute trading volume will be just as important as market share.
A rising ratio caused mainly by falling centralized exchange activity would suggest a different market trend from one driven by stronger DEX liquidity, more users and deeper trading pools.
Future changes to the exchanges and protocols included in the calculation could also lead to revisions in historical results.
There is currently no verified evidence that any specific token-price movement was caused solely by July’s DEX-to-CEX ratio.
The data shows where spot trading took place, but it does not explain why individual cryptocurrency prices rose or fell.
The next completed monthly datasets should provide a clearer picture of whether July represented a lasting change in crypto trading behaviour or a temporary increase linked to new products and blockchain launches.