Crypto Exchanges Record Lowest Trading Volume Since September 2024

December was a rough month for crypto exchanges. These platforms handled about $1.13 trillion in trades—down 32% from November and almost half of what we saw in October.

This is the weakest monthly performance since September 2024, according to The Block in a recent report.

Binance processed the most volume at $367.35 billion, with ByBit, HTX, Gate, and Coinbase rounding out the top five. But even these major players couldn’t avoid the slowdown.

Speaking to The Block, Vincent Liu from Kronos Research explains that several things lined up to create this drop.

Markets typically cool off during the holidays. Prices weren’t moving much, which kept traders on the sidelines. And many people were closing out positions before the new year instead of opening new ones.

Decentralized Platforms Gain Ground on Traditional Crypto Exchanges

Something interesting happened despite the overall decline. Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) actually grew their market share.

They processed $245 billion in December, which sounds like a drop from previous months. But here’s the thing—DEXs now account for nearly 18% of all trading activity, up from just over 10% a year ago.

Why does this matter? Traders are choosing platforms where they control their own assets. They’re getting better prices on-chain than they used to. Plus, new DEX platforms are offering token airdrops to attract users, which pulls volume away from centralized exchanges.

What Traders Should Watch Right Now

Bitcoin is hovering around $89,000—about 30% below where it peaked in October. The whole market feels stuck. There’s no major catalyst pushing prices higher, so most coins are just drifting sideways or down.

But Liu notes that long-term holders are using these lower prices to buy more. And certain sectors are holding up better than others. Tokens related to AI and real-world assets are seeing more interest than random altcoins.

If you’re trading right now, pay attention to where volume is actually happening. The shift toward DEXs isn’t reversing anytime soon. Understanding how market structure is changing will matter more than trying to time the next big price move.