Binance, KuCoin, Upbit, and several rather about a significant centralized exchanges simultaneously recorded critical declines, characterize a contrasting image of the cryptocurrency market in the summertime of 2025.
Although this would possibly handiest be a non eternal adjustment, it additionally displays a extra cautious funding panorama, accompanied by shifts in the behavior of neatly-liked crypto customers.
CEXs Are Steadily Losing Highlight
Amid a volatile crypto market formed by liquidity considerations and inspiring investor sentiment, a fresh yarn from Wu Blockchain unearths a being concerned vogue. Buying and selling volumes on centralized exchanges (CEXs) dropped sharply in June 2025.
In accordance to the yarn, most vital centralized exchanges skilled a critical decline in procuring and selling volumes closing month. The three platforms with the steepest drops were MEXC (-44%), KuCoin (-42%), and Upbit (-39%).
These exchanges are widely frail by retail customers in Asia, particularly in South Korea and Southeast Asia. This vogue would possibly mask waning speculative capital in these areas.
On the rather about a stop of the spectrum, the three exchanges with extra life like declines were HTX (-15%), Kraken (-16%), and Binance (-22%). Although Binance remains one of the biggest platforms by market capitalization and consistently leads in liquidity, the larger than 20% fall in procuring and selling volume suggests increasing investor warning.
The titanic-primarily primarily primarily based procuring and selling volume decline in June would possibly even be attributed to several factors.
First, after the solid convey fragment in early 2025, the crypto market has entered a correction length. The absence of solid catalysts such as build Bitcoin ETFs has additionally resulted in a noticeable decline in market participation.
Second, ongoing geopolitical conflicts exert force on risk sources like cryptocurrencies. Investors are extra and extra pulling funds out of the market seeking safer instruments such as bonds, certificates of deposit, or gold.
A Shift in User Behavior?
One other extraordinary ingredient is the increasing capital shift toward decentralized exchanges (DEXs). A chart from DefilLama reveals that DEX procuring and selling volume in June 2025 reached approximately $391 billion. Although it recorded a puny decline in comparison with Could ($402 billion), it additionally showed spectacular convey in comparison with 2024.
As well to, DEXs’ characteristics additionally level to many advantages for customers who like privateness in transactions. As proposed by CZ, the darkish pool mannequin for perpetual futures contracts is anticipated to reshape the confidentiality and safety of DEXs.
On the opposite hand, it is miles excessive to emphasise that the decline in procuring and selling volume doesn’t essentially signal the onset of a “crypto chilly climate” like in 2022. As a substitute, this would possibly even be a psychological and expectation reset length the build knowledgeable merchants gape and wait for clearer macroeconomic signals earlier than re-entering the market.
Moreover, a immense chunk of merchants desire decentralized procuring and selling platforms such as Hyperliquid.
The final months of Q3 and the initiating of Q4 will possible be excessive, particularly as token liberate events, Layer-2 project updates, and protection traits from the U.S. and Europe progressively attain into focal level.
