A quick look at some of the numbers available online reveals that the total value locked (TVL) across various DeFi smart contracts witnessed an extraordinary surge over the last couple of years — tripling to $107 billion between October 2023 and May 2024, before climbing further to surpass $138 billion by mid-December 2024.
Similarly, the number of users operating within this space seems to have grown exponentially too, with the number of unique DeFi customers worldwide reaching 17.49 million earlier this year. Looking ahead, this trajectory shows no signs of slowing down, with DeFi-related payments/transactions projected to grow at a remarkable CAGR of 50% between 2025 and 2032.
At the heart of this growth lie decentralized exchanges (DEXs), which have emerged as undeniable cornerstones of the DeFi revolution. To elaborate, during 2024 alone, DEXs collectively processed an astounding $1.76 trillion in spot trading volume, representing a significant increase from previous years.
The growing dominance of DEXs in comparison to CEXs (source: Kucoin)
Moreover, by Jan 2025, these DEXs had captured over 20% of global crypto trading volume, more than doubling their market share from the 7-10% recorded at the beginning of 2024. This remarkable growth in trading activity has been matched by substantial increases in liquidity, with the cumulative total value locked across DEXs reaching approximately $18.5 billion (late last year).
Here are the top 5 leading DEXs transforming the market today
GRVT
GRVT (pronounced Gravity) has rapidly distinguished itself within the competitive DEX fray by pioneering a hybrid approach that elegantly bridges the divide between centralized and decentralized finance. At its core, GRVT operates on a private L2 leveraging zkSync’s Hyperchain technology, which helps offer users the perfect level of transparency and confidentiality.
This private app chain operates within a secure cloud environment, where a sophisticated system of smart contracts enforces all on-chain aspects of the exchange, including account management, settlements, permissions, and transfers.
That said, GRVT’s core differentiator lies in its innovative approach to transaction processing. The platform batches transactions on its private appchain and generates Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) for each batch. These cryptographic proofs verify the validity of transactions without revealing their specific details, thereby preserving the privacy and confidentiality of sensitive trading data.
Furthermore, GRVT’s approach toward regulatory compliance has positioned it at the forefront of the emerging “CeDeFi” paradigm — a model that combines the best elements of centralized and decentralized finance. By designing its platform with compliance in mind from inception, GRVT provides institutional participants the confidence that they need to access DeFi markets within a secure, regulation-friendly framework.
Curve
Curve Finance has established itself as a specialized DEX excelling in facilitating efficient swaps between assets with similar values. Its primary focus on stablecoins and wrapped versions of the same underlying asset (such as different tokenized Bitcoin variants) has made it an essential component of the DeFi ecosystem.
Additionally, thanks to its sophisticated Automated Market Maker (AMM) algorithm, Curve delivers remarkably low slippage and minimal fees for these specific types of trades, addressing a critical need within the cryptocurrency trading landscape for capital-efficient stablecoin exchanges.
Lastly, the platform’s unique bonding curve mathematics minimizes price volatility within liquidity pools, creating an environment where liquidity providers can earn consistent fees while experiencing reduced impermanent loss compared to traditional AMMs.
dYdX
dYdX represents the vanguard of decentralized derivatives trading, offering a sophisticated platform that closely mirrors the functionality of traditional financial markets. Unlike many AMM-based exchanges, dYdX employs an order book model with a matching engine that enables advanced trading features familiar to experienced traders, including limit orders, stop losses, and take-profit mechanisms.
Also, by enabling sophisticated trading strategies within a decentralized framework, dYdX has captured a significant market share among professional traders who value both advanced functionality and asset security. The protocol’s governance is facilitated through its native $DYDX token, which grants holders voting rights on crucial aspects of the platform’s development (including fee structures to protocol upgrades)
Balancer
Balancer has pioneered a fundamentally different approach to DEX architectures through its innovative multi-asset pools. Unlike traditional AMMs that typically support only two tokens per pool, Balancer allows for up to eight different assets within a single liquidity pool, enabling unprecedented flexibility and customization — effectively transforming liquidity pools into self-balancing index funds, where the act of trading automatically rebalances the pool according to predefined weight parameters.
This means traders essentially pay fees to rebalance these portfolios, creating a revenue stream for liquidity providers that complements traditional swap fees. The platform’s versatility extends to its configuration options, allowing liquidity providers to create pools tailored to specific risk profiles and investment strategies. By emphasizing composability and customization, Balancer continues to attract both retail and institutional participants looking for differentiated strategies within decentralized finance.
PancakeSwap
By leveraging the speed and cost advantages of its underlying blockchain (i.e. Binance’s BNB network), PancakeSwap has consistently been able to process hundreds of millions of dollars in daily trading volume with transaction fees. Furthermore, the platform’s intuitive interface, combined with gamified elements like Syrup Pools and lottery features, has helped devise an engaging user experience for both newcomers and experienced traders alike.
