tl;dr
In summer 2025, major centralized cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance, KuCoin, and Upbit experienced significant declines in trading volumes, particularly affecting retail investors in Asia, with drops ranging from 15% to 44%. This reflects a cautious investment climate and market correction follo...
In the summer of 2025, leading centralized exchanges like Binance, KuCoin, and Upbit experienced notable declines in trading volumes, signaling a shift in the cryptocurrency market. This downturn, tracked in June 2025, reflects a more cautious investment climate and evolving behavior among crypto users rather than a prolonged market freeze.
According to recent data, centralized exchanges (CEXs) such as MEXC, KuCoin, and Upbit saw the sharpest drops in trading activity, ranging from 39% to 44%, particularly impacting retail investors in Asia. Meanwhile, platforms like HTX, Kraken, and Binance faced moderate declines of 15% to 22%, despite Binance’s status as a leading exchange in terms of liquidity and market capitalization. These reductions align with a broader market correction that followed strong growth earlier in the year, compounded by the lack of powerful catalysts like spot Bitcoin ETFs and geopolitical tensions driving investors toward safer assets such as bonds and gold.
A significant trend emerging alongside this decline is the increasing shift of capital toward decentralized exchanges (DEXs). In June 2025, DEX trading volumes remained robust around $391 billion, showcasing substantial growth compared to the previous year, despite a slight dip from May’s figures. DEXs offer enhanced privacy and security features favored by many users, and innovations such as the proposed dark pool model for perpetual futures are expected to further enhance their appeal.
It is crucial to understand that this drop in centralized exchange volumes is not necessarily a harbinger of another 'crypto winter.' Instead, it represents a period of adjustment and cautious observation, with professional investors waiting for clearer macroeconomic signals. The final part of 2025 holds significance as key events—including token unlocks, Layer-2 project updates, and evolving regulatory policies in the U.S. and Europe—are set to influence market trajectories and investor decisions.