Solana DEX volume tops Binance and Coinbase in milestone shift

Solana's decentralized exchange ecosystem surpassed the spot trading volume of Binance and Coinbase combined, marking a turning point in the battle between on-chain and centralized trading infrastructure.

Solana's aggregate decentralized exchange spot trading volume exceeded the combined spot volume of major centralized exchanges including Binance and Coinbase as of June 29, according to data from DefiLlama and CoinGecko. The milestone reflects a structural shift in how traders execute spot transactions, with on-chain venues capturing market share from incumbent platforms that have dominated crypto trading for nearly a decade.

"Decentralized exchanges on Solana now process more spot volume than the largest centralized exchanges, which is something the industry has talked about for years but never actually seen," Jason Wu, an on-chain analyst and former validator node operator, said. "The speed and cost advantages of Solana's infrastructure are finally translating into real trading behavior rather than just theoretical throughput numbers."

Solana's DEX ecosystem processed over $3.2 billion in daily spot volume during the Asian trading session on June 29, outpacing Binance's spot volume of approximately $2.8 billion and Coinbase's $1.1 billion, per CoinGecko data. The network's total value locked across DeFi protocols stood at $8.7 billion, up 34% month-to-date, according to DefiLlama. SOL, the network's native token, traded at $142.80 as of 14:30 UTC, up 1.10% in the past 24 hours, bucking a broader market decline that saw Bitcoin fall 1.15% to $59,359 and the total crypto market cap slip to $2.06 trillion.

The milestone pressures centralized exchange revenue models at a time when regulatory headwinds are intensifying. Binance faces service restrictions in the European Union after failing to secure a Markets in Crypto-Assets license before the July 1 deadline, with the exchange recording over $400 million in net outflows in the past week. Spain's securities regulator said it will not extend the MiCA transition period, requiring unlicensed platforms to cease operations after July 1. Meanwhile, Loopring DEX announced it would shut down all trading services, citing a lack of adoption and technology that had been "surpassed by modern zkEVMs" — a reminder that not all decentralized platforms are winning.

On-chain activity fuels the shift

The surge in Solana DEX volume coincides with a broader revival in on-chain speculative activity. The Solana ecosystem meme coin ANSEM briefly surpassed a $100 million market cap on June 29, recording an intraday gain of over 19,000%, according to GMGN market data. Hyperliquid's HYPE token reached a new all-time high, with the platform capturing 43% of the crypto market's weekly fees, per DefiLlama. Santiment said the hype around tokenized stocks could help Solana lead the broader crypto market.

Prediction markets are also driving first-time crypto users on-chain. About 60% of users who placed their first World Cup bets on Polymarket had never interacted with blockchain protocols before, according to a 90-day Bitget Wallet study tracking 857,000 active Polymarket users. Alvin Kan, chief operating officer at Bitget Wallet, said prediction markets shifted the onboarding dynamic because "users show up because they have a view on something happening in the world" rather than needing to learn how crypto works first.

What the CEX-DEX flip means for the market

The volume crossover carries implications beyond Solana's ecosystem. If decentralized exchanges continue capturing spot volume from centralized platforms, the revenue models of publicly traded exchanges like Coinbase face structural pressure. Coinbase's stock has already declined 8.7% in the past week, according to market data. The shift also raises questions about how regulators will treat decentralized trading infrastructure that operates without a central intermediary — a challenge that frameworks like MiCA and the US CLARITY Act have yet to fully address.

The next catalyst for Solana DeFi is the expected launch of tokenized real-world asset products on the network, which Santiment identified as a potential driver for continued volume growth. For now, the data shows a clear trajectory: traders are moving execution on-chain, and Solana's infrastructure is capturing that flow at the expense of centralized incumbents.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.