Buying and selling exercise on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) surged to new highs in October, signaling the continued shift of world crypto markets towards on-chain finance.
Based on knowledge from DeFiLlama, perpetual DEXs processed greater than $1.36 trillion in buying and selling quantity final month, the best degree ever recorded. That determine surpassed August’s $759 billion peak, setting a brand new benchmark for on-chain buying and selling exercise.
Hyperliquid Leads as Onchain Perpetuals Acquire Traction
The sharp rise in quantity underscores rising investor confidence in on-chain platforms. Hyperliquid, a layer-1 blockchain that has dominated the perpetual DEX panorama, accounted for roughly $299 billion of October’s whole.
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Shut behind was Lighter, an Ethereum-based DEX that dealt with about $265.4 billion, whereas Binance-linked Aster processed round $259.9 billion.
The efficiency of newer gamers akin to Lighter and Aster exhibits that merchants are steadily migrating away from centralized exchanges (CEXs). They’re turning as a substitute to decentralized venues that supply larger transparency, decrease charges, and direct management over their belongings.
Certainly, DEX to CEX spot commerce quantity share has greater than doubled from below 10% final 12 months to greater than 20% in 2025
Notably, Hyperliquid has been each a driver and a beneficiary of that momentum.
Business analysts attribute this on-chain increase to a number of intertwined components. The rise of platforms providing improved interfaces and incentives, together with airdrops and factors packages, has drawn retail merchants in droves.
But the pattern additionally displays deeper structural shifts. Following repeated centralized trade scandals and growing regulatory scrutiny, many merchants now view DEXs as safer venues that preserve custody and supply earlier entry to new tokens.
Nonetheless, October’s document numbers weren’t purely natural.
The surge in quantity coincided with roughly $20 billion in compelled liquidations throughout leveraged positions early within the month. That wave was triggered after President Donald Trump acknowledged that the US may elevate tariffs in response to China’s new restrictions on rare-earth exports.
The remark sparked a broad sell-off in threat belongings, driving crypto costs decrease and prompting a document wave of buying and selling actions throughout platforms.
Certainly, CoinShares later reported that the ensuing market turbulence generated a document weekly buying and selling quantity of over $53 billion in regulated crypto funding merchandise, akin to ETFs.