Data from Dune Analytic shows that trading volume on decentralized exchanges (DEX) surpassed $11 billion in August.
Compared to July’s $4.4 billion, the approximately $11.24 billion in August trading volume is a 152% uptick month-over-month. This total is perhaps not surprising for a month that saw record-setting trade volumes that became an almost daily occurrence.
The historical popularity of DeFi has meant that, in August alone, the total value traded dwarfed the total for all of 2019.
This explosion’s primary vehicle is the Ethereum-based DEX Uniswap, which accounts for the majority of the activity. According to data published by Dune, Uniswap is the undisputed market-leader for DEX volumes – $2.5 billion for the past seven days and close to $700 million in the last 24 hours.
Uniswap also just hit another major milestone over the weekend. With over $450 million traded, the DEX managed to surpass COINBASE Pro’s daily volume for the first time. All told, Uniswap accounted for 58% of August’s volume, with Curve claiming second at 16%.
The response to surging DEX volume and the ongoing DeFi-mania that supports it has been mixed. Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin tweeted,
I personally am steering clear of the yield farming space completely until it settles down into something more sustainable. But I’m not particularly a “smart mind in DeFi” so.
Others were less reserved.
DeFi has grown from relative obscurity to over $7 billion in total value locked (TVL) in a relatively short period of time. The DEX ecosystem has seen $3.8 billion in volume in the last week alone – all welcome news for true believers in decentralization.
