Crypto Exchange Volume Doubles in Five Days as ETF, DEX Growth Limits Recovery

Trading volume on centralized crypto exchanges doubled in five days as digital-asset prices surged, but the rebound remains limited compared with past bull markets as demand is spread across spot exchange-traded funds and decentralized exchanges.

The Block reported on Aug. 24 that weekly trading volume on centralized crypto exchanges rebounded sharply from this year's low to more than $37 billion. Even so, that was still about one-third of the $105 billion high recorded over the past 12 months, set just after large-scale liquidations on Oct. 10, 2025.

A similar trend is visible in monthly trading. So far in August, about $490 billion has traded on centralized exchanges, below the $670 billion recorded in July. In the current market cycle, the arrival of spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs has diverted spot investment demand that was once concentrated on centralized exchanges.

The growth of digital asset treasury companies, or DATs, could also affect volume on centralized exchanges. ETFs and DATs allow investors to gain crypto exposure within traditional financial infrastructure and use a variety of investment strategies, including derivatives.

Demand for altcoin trading, however, is expected to remain largely on centralized exchanges. CEXs retain advantages that ETFs and DATs cannot easily replace because they can list small- and mid-cap tokens quickly and offer a wider range of trading pairs and tools. With Bitcoin and Ether rising more than 23% and 30%, respectively, last week, the market capitalization of cryptocurrencies excluding BTC and ETH also climbed about 13%.

The rapid growth of DEXs is also fragmenting volume away from centralized exchanges. As decentralized trading platforms such as Hyperliquid and lighter attract more users, this cycle could make the split in crypto investment demand across CEXs, ETFs, DATs and DEXs even more pronounced.