Centralized Exchange Activity Drops Sharply
Monthly spot trading volume on centralized crypto exchanges fell to $1.59 trillion in November, marking the lowest level since June. The decline represents a 26.7% drop from October’s $2.17 trillion, according to data from The Block.
Binance remained the industry’s dominant platform with $599.34 billion in spot volume for the month. However, this figure was significantly lower than the $810.44 billion recorded in October, reflecting a broad market cooldown. Bybit ranked second with $105.8 billion, followed by Gate.io at $96.75 billion and Coinbase at $93.41 billion.
Vincent Liu, CIO of Kronos Research, told The Block, “Centralized exchange spot volumes slid as the market moved from October’s frenzy to November’s flatness, with volatility vanishing and momentum mellowing. Most of the drop came from post-rally profit taking and compressed conditions, a classic case of traders cooling after a crowded climb.”
DEX Volumes Fall to Lowest Levels Since June
Trading activity on decentralized exchanges also weakened. DEX volume fell to $397.78 billion in November, compared with $568.43 billion in October, according to DefiLlama. This marks the lowest monthly total for DEXs since June.
Uniswap led all decentralized platforms with $79.98 billion in November, down from $123.88 billion the previous month. PancakeSwap followed with $70.57 billion, a decline from $102.02 billion in October.
The DEX-to-CEX volume ratio also narrowed, dropping to 15.73% in November, down from 17.56% in October, highlighting a shift in trading activity back toward centralized venues.
Liu added, “The drop in the DEX-to-CEX ratio was driven less by sentiment and more by structure. November’s thinner trading ranges favored CEXs, where deeper liquidity and tighter spreads made execution more efficient. Meanwhile, shrinking speculative flows and softer DeFi incentives slowed DEX turnover, reinforcing the rotation.”
Market Downturn Pressures Trading Activity
The broader crypto market faced persistent selling pressure throughout November. Bitcoin declined from nearly $110,000at the start of the month to around $81,000 on November 21. As of 11:20 p.m. ET on Sunday, Bitcoin was trading near $86,500, down 4.6% in the past 24 hours, according to The Block’s price data.
Spot bitcoin ETFs also saw a notable shift. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs posted $3.48 billion in net outflows during November—reversing October’s $3.42 billion in net inflows, based on data from SoSoValue. This was the largest monthly outflow since February.
