Decentralized exchanges (DEX) are becoming more and more important to the decentralized world as it represents an important component within Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem.
As such, it is interesting to see how the category is evolving and in this report, we will cover the top 7 DEX dapps running on Ethereum.
With DappRadar’s OpenData product we are able to track the trading volume and trader count of Uniswap, IDEX, 0x, Kyber, Oasis, Bancor, and Airswap over the last 30 days.
Key takeaways
- The top 7 DEX already achieved 2019 trading volume within the first 5 months of 2020 (2.5B USD)
- On average, trader count has increased by 38% in May 2020
- Uniswap holds the leadership position with a 30% market share
- Despite the decline in the trading volume of IDEX within the first months of 2020, IDEX reclaimed 2nd position in May with more than 100M USD of the trading volume
- HEX is still the most traded token on Uniswap accounting for 40% of the total trading volume over the last 30 days
- USDC is the number 1 token on Kyber holding 20% of the total trading volume in the last 30 days
- UBT with 29% of the trading volume for the last 30 days claims the number one position on IDEX
Top 7 DEX already generated $2.5B volume in 2020
When looking into the first five months of 2020, decentralized exchanges have generated a total of 2.5B USD trading volume. Whereas during the first five months of 2019 a total of 7.04M USD was generated – which tells us that there has been tremendous growth of 262% YoY.
If to compare May 2020 to May 2019, we observed a growth of 144% YoY.
After the Black Thursday events occurring in March 2020. We observed the DEX trading volume increase in May by 42% and an increased trader count of 38% on average by the month-end of May when compared to April.
Overall if we look at the growth of DEX in 2020. Trading volume has grown by 177% and trader count by 72% in May when compared to January.
Trader count of top 7 DEX
On average, the trader count within the top 7 DEX dapps has increased by 38% in May when compared to April. Trending dapps like IDEX and Bancor witnessed surges of 75%, and 43% respectively. Whereas Uniswap and Kyber increased by 49% and 16% respectively in May.
However, dapps like 0x, Oasis, and Airswap have seen a decrease in their trader count on average by 24%, 18%, and 35% respectively.
Uniswap holds a 30% market share
In 2019 the leading DEX dapp was IDEX with a market share of 39.93%. In 2020 so far, Uniswap holds the number 1 position with a market share of 31.29%. This shows the diversification and entry of new players into the space during 2020.
Most traded assets on Uniswap
As discussed, Uniswap is currently in the leadership position a with 31.29% market share. Uniswap’s journey from holding 17.44% to a 31.29% market share during 2019/20 has been tremendous and shows there dominance within the DEX world.
In recent reports, we discussed Uniswap’s most traded pairs and how the top most traded tokens contribute to the total volume. On that basis, we will now closely view the traded tokens on Uniswap data over the last 30 days
The total trading volume observed is 144M USD and the top 3 traded coins are HEX, USDC, and DAI with 40%, 18%, and 13% respectively.
Most traded assets on IDEX
Even though IDEX lost its position to Uniswap in 2020 it’s growing steadily when compared to January 2020. Seeing increased trading volume in May.
During the last 30 days, the most traded tokens on IDEX are UBT, ESH, and QNT. The total trading volume in the last 30 days on IDEX is 104M contributing 29%, 19%, and 7% respectively.
Most traded assets Kyber
During 2019 and early 2020 Kyber has been developing and has made its way from 15.36% to a 23.18% market share. Currently holding a 2nd position in the DEX world.
In the last 30 days, Kyber has generated a trading volume of 66M with the top 3 trading coins on Kyber being USDC, USDT, and DAI which contribute 20%, 19%, and 17% respectively.
Conclusions
Looking at the growth of the DEX category year-on-year it is evident that DEX’s are making their mark upon the decentralized world.
The main three dapps; Uniswap, Kyber, and, IDEX have contributed 64% growth to the total volume within the DEX category.
Although Bancor has only been operating within the market since January 2020, we are witnessing steady growth. Whereas Airswap and Oasis have declined in trading volume during 2020.
We can already conclude that June is shaping up to be the biggest month for the DEXs to date. And overall, 2020 is going to be the year for decentralized exchanges.
Limitations and data sources
- Within this DEX overview, we are covering the top 7 DEX dapps on Ethereum as ranked by DappRadar.
- Data sources: DappRadar OpenData and Dune analytics.
We will continue watching this space.
