Binance loses ground to rivals, DEX’s on the rise: Report

Update Oct. 24, 9:54 am UTC: This article has been updated to remove inaccurate data related to Crypto.com.

Leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance is losing market share to smaller competitors, and decentralized exchanges (DEXs) are gaining momentum.

Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, saw a 13% year-over-year decline in spot trading volume from 52.5% in October 2023 to its current 39.5% market share.

Mirroring its declining spot trading, Binance’s crypto derivatives market share also shrunk 8.4% year-over-year, from 50.9% in October 2023 to 42.5% by October 2024, according to an 0XScope research report shared with Cointelegraph.

The report highlights that smaller exchanges, such as Bybit, Bitget and OKX, have capitalized on Binance’s declining market share:

“[Bybit] surged from the No. 7 spot last year with a 3.2% market share to just behind Binance at No. 2 with 8.51%, more than doubling its share. Meanwhile, OKX, now the third-biggest spot exchange, slightly climbed from 5.4% to 6.38%.”

Bitget’s growing market share, which rose from 7% to 10.28%, is due to a growing focus on educational initiatives, user-centric exchange development and recent strategic partnerships, according to Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget, who told Cointelegraph:

“Bitget’s collaboration with high-profile athletes like Lionel Messi and global sports teams such as Juventus helps build trust and recognition, driving new users to the platform.”

Cryptocurrencies, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Binance, Decentralized Exchange, Trading, DEX, Crypto.com — *Top crypto exchanges by trading volume. Source: CoinMarketCap*

Despite the declining market share, Binance remains the world’s largest centralized cryptocurrency exchange (CEX), with over $14.8 billion in trading volume and an average of 11.8 million weekly visits, CoinMarketCap data shows.

DEX trading on the rise

Decentralized exchanges are becoming a growing threat to CEXs.

Over the past year, DEX trading volumes grew “significantly larger,” surpassing the monthly $250 billion mark in March and June for the first time since December 2021.

As of Oct. 17, the DEX spot trading volume in relation to CEXs was at 13.6%, meaning that for every $1 billion traded on centralized exchanges, there is $136 million being traded on decentralized platforms.

CEX trading still dominates among crypto investors

Over the past year, the 22 largest centralized exchanges have processed a cumulative $54 trillion worth of trading volume.

Binance accounted for over $22.5 trillion of that trading volume despite its falling spot market share.

Binance is recovering after significant legal difficulties worldwide.

In June 2023, the SEC sued Coinbase and Binance Exchange for alleged securities violations. In the lawsuit against Binance, the SEC alleged that the company and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, had misappropriated billions of user funds.

Despite no evidence of user fund misappropriation, Binance was charged with violating Anti-Money Laundering laws and settled to pay one of the most significant criminal fines in history worth $4.3 billion.