Remember the DeFi frenzy of 2020? Back then, everyone was talking about liquidity mining and astronomical APYs. Now, the story of DEXs has become even more interesting — this time, it’s not just about the boom on Ethereum, but also the lively scenes on Solana, Arbitrum, Base, BNB Chain, and even Bitcoin.
By 2025, the total value locked (TVL) in the DeFi ecosystem has surpassed $100 billion. More importantly, this growth appears more mature and sustainable. Market demand for decentralized trading is no longer hype-driven but fueled by genuine trading needs.
Why Are More Traders Choosing DEX?
Unlike traditional centralized exchanges, DEXs give you full control. Your private key is your asset security—no risk of exchange hacks, runaways, or account freezes.
Imagine this: a centralized exchange is like a supermarket, where all products and transactions are controlled by the store owner; whereas a DEX is like a farmers’ market, where buyers and sellers trade directly without intermediaries. This sounds simple, but it fundamentally changes the rules of crypto trading:
Asset Security: Your funds always stay in your wallet; no middleman can misappropriate
Privacy Protection: Most DEXs don’t require KYC, making transactions more private
Trading Freedom: Trade new tokens and small-cap coins without approval processes
On-Chain Transparency: All transaction records are on the blockchain and tamper-proof
Censorship Resistance: No single entity can shut down the DEX or restrict your trading
The Most Worthy DEX Platforms to Watch in 2025
Choosing a suitable DEX isn’t just about data; it’s also about whether it fits your trading style. Let’s take a look at those truly worth your attention.
Uniswap: The Flagship Fleet of DEXs
Real-Time Data
Circulating Market Cap: $3.65B
24h Trading Volume: $4.29M
Since launching in 2018, Uniswap has revolutionized crypto trading. It introduced the concept of AMM (Automated Market Maker), allowing anyone to participate in trading markets by providing liquidity.
Why is Uniswap so strong? Because it’s simple, efficient, and open-source. No complicated fee structures, no token listing approvals—any ERC-20 token can be traded on Uniswap. This feature has attracted hundreds of thousands of new projects and made Uniswap a primary trading venue for new tokens.
By 2024, Uniswap’s ecosystem has integrated over 300 DeFi applications, and it has never experienced downtime since launch. Version 3 introduced concentrated liquidity, enabling liquidity providers to allocate funds more precisely.
PancakeSwap: The Trading King on BNB Chain
Real-Time Data
Circulating Market Cap: $605.89M
24h Trading Volume: $1.12M
If Uniswap dominates Ethereum, PancakeSwap is the most popular DEX on BNB Chain. Its advantage is simple: fast and cheap.
PancakeSwap isn’t limited to BNB Chain; it has expanded to Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Solana, and more. This “multi-chain” strategy makes it one of the most versatile DEXs across different chains. CAKE token holders can participate in farming, staking, and governance, with pretty good yields.
Curve: The Stablecoin Trading Expert
Real-Time Data
Circulating Market Cap: $568.60M
24h Trading Volume: $1.28M
Curve excels at one thing others don’t—focused stablecoin trading. USDC, USDT, DAI, and other stablecoins trade on Curve with incredibly low slippage and very cheap fees.
If you frequently switch between stablecoins or want to arbitrage stablecoins at low cost, Curve is your top choice. It’s deployed on Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche, Fantom, and other chains, with substantial market trading volume.
dYdX: Built for Derivatives Trading
Real-Time Data
Circulating Market Cap: $138.03M
24h Trading Volume: $306.03K
dYdX isn’t an ordinary DEX—it’s designed for professional traders. Here, you can leverage trade, short, and trade perpetual contracts, just like on centralized exchanges, but fully decentralized.
dYdX uses StarkWare’s Layer 2 technology to reduce costs and increase speed, making derivatives trading feasible. If you want advanced trading features on a DEX, dYdX is the most mature option.
Balancer: The Liquidity Multitasker
Real-Time Data
Circulating Market Cap: $38.59M
24h Trading Volume: $37.73K
Balancer’s innovation lies in its “Balancer Pools”—single liquidity pools that can contain 2 to 8 different tokens, unlike traditional token pair models. This allows for more complex liquidity configurations and automated portfolio management.
For users interested in liquidity mining and yield optimization, Balancer offers greater flexibility.
SushiSwap: Community-Driven DEX
Real-Time Data
Circulating Market Cap: $77.07M
24h Trading Volume: $48.09K
SushiSwap originated from an interesting community event—it forked from Uniswap but established its own features. SUSHI token holders earn a share of trading fees, creating a unique tokenomics model.
If you value community governance and profit-sharing participation, SushiSwap is worth your attention.
GMX: The Perpetual Contract Expert
Real-Time Data
Circulating Market Cap: $88.49M
24h Trading Volume: $27.73K
GMX is deployed on Arbitrum and Avalanche. Its key features include up to 30x leverage trading with low fees. For traders seeking high leverage on a decentralized platform, GMX is an excellent choice.
Aerodrome: The Rising Star on Base Chain
Real-Time Data
Circulating Market Cap: $438.57M
24h Trading Volume: $499.49K
Aerodrome is the most important DEX on Coinbase’s Layer 2 (Base). It draws inspiration from Velodrome on Optimism but operates independently. Since launch, it has attracted over $190 million in TVL, indicating strong liquidity demand within the Base ecosystem.
AERO tokens can be staked into veAERO NFTs, granting governance rights and fee earnings. If you’re optimistic about the Base ecosystem, Aerodrome is the core DEX.
Raydium: The Liquidity Hub of Solana
Real-Time Data
Circulating Market Cap: $240.00M
24h Trading Volume: $281.43K
Raydium is the largest AMM DEX on Solana. Its innovation lies in deep integration with Serum DEX, allowing liquidity to flow between the two platforms and improving trading efficiency.
Known for high speed and low fees, Solana trading on Raydium has virtually no slippage risk. If you’re trading within the Solana ecosystem, Raydium is almost a must.
VVS Finance: User-Friendly DEX on Cronos
Real-Time Data
Circulating Market Cap: $78.59M
24h Trading Volume: $38.63K
VVS’s name says it all—“Very Very Simple.” Its goal is to make DeFi friendly for ordinary users with low fees, fast transactions, and a clean interface.
Bancor: The Inventor of AMM
Real-Time Data
Circulating Market Cap: $43.69M
24h Trading Volume: $12.91K
Bancor invented AMM back in 2017, marking a significant milestone in DeFi history. Although its market share has been overtaken by platforms like Uniswap, it still holds unique advantages in cross-chain liquidity and single-sided liquidity provision.
Camelot: The Trading Engine of Arbitrum Ecosystem
Real-Time Data
Circulating Market Cap: Data to be referenced
Camelot is the native DEX on Arbitrum, known for low fees and efficient trading. Its Nitro Pools and spNFTs mechanisms offer liquidity providers more earning options.
How to Choose the Most Suitable Best DEX for You?
With so many options, how do you pick? It depends on several key factors:
1. Which chain do you mainly trade on?
Ethereum → Uniswap
BNB Chain → PancakeSwap
Arbitrum → GMX / Camelot
Solana → Raydium
Base → Aerodrome
2. What type of trading do you mainly do?
Spot trading → Uniswap / PancakeSwap
Stablecoin trading → Curve
Derivatives / Leverage → dYdX / GMX
Liquidity mining → Balancer / SushiSwap
3. What key metrics should you look at?
Liquidity depth: Can it execute your orders quickly? Check TVL and trading volume
Trading fees: Different DEXs have varying fee structures
Security audits: Has the code been audited? Any history of hacks?
User interface: User-friendliness is crucial for beginners
4. Risk prevention
Smart contract risk: New DEXs may have bugs; prefer audited projects
Insufficient liquidity: Small tokens on small DEXs can have high slippage; check trading volume
Impermanent loss: Understand this if providing liquidity
User errors: No customer service on DEXs; wrong address transfers are forever lost
Conclusion
The future of DEX is taking shape. By 2025, it won’t be a choice between DEX and CEX but a coexistence and integration of both. Choosing the best DEX isn’t just about picking a platform—it’s about adopting a trading philosophy: controlling your assets and participating in decentralized finance.
Whether you’re a beginner or an expert, you can find a suitable way to trade on these DEXs. The key is to understand each platform’s features and select based on your needs and risk tolerance. Get active and explore the world of DeFi!
This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.
The 2025 Most Worthy Attention Best DEX Platform Guide: Find the Right One for Beginners to Experts
The Spring of DEX Has Truly Arrived
Remember the DeFi frenzy of 2020? Back then, everyone was talking about liquidity mining and astronomical APYs. Now, the story of DEXs has become even more interesting — this time, it’s not just about the boom on Ethereum, but also the lively scenes on Solana, Arbitrum, Base, BNB Chain, and even Bitcoin.
By 2025, the total value locked (TVL) in the DeFi ecosystem has surpassed $100 billion. More importantly, this growth appears more mature and sustainable. Market demand for decentralized trading is no longer hype-driven but fueled by genuine trading needs.
Why Are More Traders Choosing DEX?
Unlike traditional centralized exchanges, DEXs give you full control. Your private key is your asset security—no risk of exchange hacks, runaways, or account freezes.
Imagine this: a centralized exchange is like a supermarket, where all products and transactions are controlled by the store owner; whereas a DEX is like a farmers’ market, where buyers and sellers trade directly without intermediaries. This sounds simple, but it fundamentally changes the rules of crypto trading:
The Most Worthy DEX Platforms to Watch in 2025
Choosing a suitable DEX isn’t just about data; it’s also about whether it fits your trading style. Let’s take a look at those truly worth your attention.
Uniswap: The Flagship Fleet of DEXs
Real-Time Data
Since launching in 2018, Uniswap has revolutionized crypto trading. It introduced the concept of AMM (Automated Market Maker), allowing anyone to participate in trading markets by providing liquidity.
Why is Uniswap so strong? Because it’s simple, efficient, and open-source. No complicated fee structures, no token listing approvals—any ERC-20 token can be traded on Uniswap. This feature has attracted hundreds of thousands of new projects and made Uniswap a primary trading venue for new tokens.
By 2024, Uniswap’s ecosystem has integrated over 300 DeFi applications, and it has never experienced downtime since launch. Version 3 introduced concentrated liquidity, enabling liquidity providers to allocate funds more precisely.
PancakeSwap: The Trading King on BNB Chain
Real-Time Data
If Uniswap dominates Ethereum, PancakeSwap is the most popular DEX on BNB Chain. Its advantage is simple: fast and cheap.
PancakeSwap isn’t limited to BNB Chain; it has expanded to Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Solana, and more. This “multi-chain” strategy makes it one of the most versatile DEXs across different chains. CAKE token holders can participate in farming, staking, and governance, with pretty good yields.
Curve: The Stablecoin Trading Expert
Real-Time Data
Curve excels at one thing others don’t—focused stablecoin trading. USDC, USDT, DAI, and other stablecoins trade on Curve with incredibly low slippage and very cheap fees.
If you frequently switch between stablecoins or want to arbitrage stablecoins at low cost, Curve is your top choice. It’s deployed on Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche, Fantom, and other chains, with substantial market trading volume.
dYdX: Built for Derivatives Trading
Real-Time Data
dYdX isn’t an ordinary DEX—it’s designed for professional traders. Here, you can leverage trade, short, and trade perpetual contracts, just like on centralized exchanges, but fully decentralized.
dYdX uses StarkWare’s Layer 2 technology to reduce costs and increase speed, making derivatives trading feasible. If you want advanced trading features on a DEX, dYdX is the most mature option.
Balancer: The Liquidity Multitasker
Real-Time Data
Balancer’s innovation lies in its “Balancer Pools”—single liquidity pools that can contain 2 to 8 different tokens, unlike traditional token pair models. This allows for more complex liquidity configurations and automated portfolio management.
For users interested in liquidity mining and yield optimization, Balancer offers greater flexibility.
SushiSwap: Community-Driven DEX
Real-Time Data
SushiSwap originated from an interesting community event—it forked from Uniswap but established its own features. SUSHI token holders earn a share of trading fees, creating a unique tokenomics model.
If you value community governance and profit-sharing participation, SushiSwap is worth your attention.
GMX: The Perpetual Contract Expert
Real-Time Data
GMX is deployed on Arbitrum and Avalanche. Its key features include up to 30x leverage trading with low fees. For traders seeking high leverage on a decentralized platform, GMX is an excellent choice.
Aerodrome: The Rising Star on Base Chain
Real-Time Data
Aerodrome is the most important DEX on Coinbase’s Layer 2 (Base). It draws inspiration from Velodrome on Optimism but operates independently. Since launch, it has attracted over $190 million in TVL, indicating strong liquidity demand within the Base ecosystem.
AERO tokens can be staked into veAERO NFTs, granting governance rights and fee earnings. If you’re optimistic about the Base ecosystem, Aerodrome is the core DEX.
Raydium: The Liquidity Hub of Solana
Real-Time Data
Raydium is the largest AMM DEX on Solana. Its innovation lies in deep integration with Serum DEX, allowing liquidity to flow between the two platforms and improving trading efficiency.
Known for high speed and low fees, Solana trading on Raydium has virtually no slippage risk. If you’re trading within the Solana ecosystem, Raydium is almost a must.
VVS Finance: User-Friendly DEX on Cronos
Real-Time Data
VVS’s name says it all—“Very Very Simple.” Its goal is to make DeFi friendly for ordinary users with low fees, fast transactions, and a clean interface.
Bancor: The Inventor of AMM
Real-Time Data
Bancor invented AMM back in 2017, marking a significant milestone in DeFi history. Although its market share has been overtaken by platforms like Uniswap, it still holds unique advantages in cross-chain liquidity and single-sided liquidity provision.
Camelot: The Trading Engine of Arbitrum Ecosystem
Real-Time Data
Camelot is the native DEX on Arbitrum, known for low fees and efficient trading. Its Nitro Pools and spNFTs mechanisms offer liquidity providers more earning options.
How to Choose the Most Suitable Best DEX for You?
With so many options, how do you pick? It depends on several key factors:
1. Which chain do you mainly trade on?
2. What type of trading do you mainly do?
3. What key metrics should you look at?
4. Risk prevention
Conclusion
The future of DEX is taking shape. By 2025, it won’t be a choice between DEX and CEX but a coexistence and integration of both. Choosing the best DEX isn’t just about picking a platform—it’s about adopting a trading philosophy: controlling your assets and participating in decentralized finance.
Whether you’re a beginner or an expert, you can find a suitable way to trade on these DEXs. The key is to understand each platform’s features and select based on your needs and risk tolerance. Get active and explore the world of DeFi!