DEX Activity Hits New Heights as Solana Tops $117B in Monthly Volume

The decentralized exchange (DEX) marketplace is growing exponentially and billions of dollars in trade volume are stored on different blockchains. 

The rate of adoption is increasing, and more traders are willing to utilize decentralized exchanges instead of the traditional centralized ones; therefore, major blockchains have become increasingly competitive.

Solana Outpaces All Rivals in Trading Volume

Based on new data released by Phoenix Group, Solana is now the top blockchain by monthly decentralized exchange (DEX) volume. 

Solana has an astonishing 117.8 billion in trading activity. Having 52.8 million active addresses and total value locked (TVL) of 24.1 billion, the control of Solana is indicative of its robust ecosystem development due to the low charge of transactions and rich liquidity reserves.

Ethereum Retains Its Influence With High TVL

Although Ethereum is second with a trading volume of $86.6 billion, it remains unchallenged in terms of total value locked. It has shot to the top in TVL with a figure of 159.3 billion that is several times that of any other blockchain. 

Ethereum has 9.7 million active addresses, and it attracts institutional and retail DeFi activity, with support from its comprehensive protocols ecosystem. Although Solana is the most active in trading, Ethereum TVL highlights its role as the pillar of decentralized finance.

BNB Chain and Base Push Into Top DEX Rankings

BNB Chain ranked 3rd with a monthly DEX volume of $75.2 billion. It also claimed of 46.2 million active addresses and TVL of $9.5 billion.

Right behind it, the Coinbase Base blockchain recorded a DEX activity of 41.7 billion and 23.1 million active addresses. Its 4.8 billion TVL reflects its quick adoption, with Base being among the fastest-growing Layer 2 entrants.

Arbitrum, Hyperliquid, and Unichain Expand Market Share

Arbitrum emerged as the top scaling solution to Ethereum, having 3.9 million active addresses, including $20.6 billion in monthly volume and $3.2 billion TVL, which cemented its leadership. 

Hyperliquid, being a newcomer, took in $16.9 billion volumes and $4.5 billion TVL, and this is strong considering it has only the mere address data active. Unichain, meanwhile, claimed $14.8 billion trades, 156,400 active addresses, and $518.6 million TVL, demonstrating the interest of traders in alternative ecosystems.

Sui, Avalanche, and Aptos See Notable Growth

The high level of retail participation is marked by Sui recording 25.1 million active addresses, trading volume of $14.4 billion and TVL of $2.7 billion. Avalanche had a volume of $7.8 billion and 615,000 active addresses, as well as $2.4 billion TVL.

Aptos trailed behind with its trades of $5.8 billion, 10.5 million active addresses, and $1 billion TVL, which reflects steady growth in the emerging Layer 1 platforms that seek to disrupt incumbents.

Polygon, Tron, Near, Sonic, and Sei Round Out the List

Polygon has made 7.1 million addresses and a small $1.1 billion TVL, recording $4 billion volume in DEX despite the high competition. Tron traded $3.7 billion and held a solid 15 million active addresses, and with a solid TVL of $6.3 billion. Near Protocol showed impressive spread of adoption by registering $1.7 billion trades, 51.2 million addresses, and $338 million TVL. 

Sonic, a smaller player, had captured $1.7 billion in monthly volume, 159.5K addresses, and $513.8 million TVL. Sei, reporting a trading of 1.4 billion and a TVL of $615 million, lacked any address data, though its high presence demonstrates its niche status as a high-performance trading chain.

Conclusion

The 2025 rankings show a competitive DeFi environment with Solana at the front in raw trading activity, Ethereum leading in locked capital and newer entrants like Base, Hyperliquid and Sei making their mark.

The decentralized trading (DEX) segment with billions in volume distributed across a number of blockchains is not declining in speed, thus predetermining an even more competitive race in the last quarter of the year.