DeFi vs. CEX? CZ Says the Winner Is Clear – and It’s Not Centralization

At the recent BNBDay event in Tokyo, Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said decentralized exchanges (DEXs) will eventually surpass their centralized counterparts (CEXs) in trading volume.

CZ noted that while CEXs currently dominate the market due to their liquidity and user-friendly experience, the momentum is shifting toward decentralized finance (DeFi). He also added that a truly private, efficient, and user-centric DEX would have the potential to reshape the industry.

The DEX Appeal

The former executive expressed that if he were 20 years younger, he would focus on building both an AI-powered trading agent and a privacy-preserving perpetual DEX, as he sees the biggest opportunities for innovation.

While acknowledging regulatory and liquidity hurdles, particularly in areas like real-world assets (RWA), CZ maintained that the DeFi ecosystem represents the future of finance.

In the second quarter of 2025, DEXs achieved their highest-ever market share in spot trading volumes, according to a report shared by CoinGecko. While CEXs remain dominant, the report highlighted clear signs of weakening momentum. Binance, the largest CEX by market share, still led the field but saw its quarterly spot trading volume decline sharply to $1.47 trillion, down from over $2 trillion previously.

Other major CEXs fared even worse. For instance, Crypto.com endured a whopping 61% drop, and Coinbase also experienced lower volumes, in a wider slowdown across centralized platforms amid growing trader migration to decentralized venues.

The surge in DEX activity was driven largely by PancakeSwap, which emerged as the standout performer of the quarter. The platform’s trading volume grew more than fivefold compared to Q1, which catapulted it to the top of the decentralized exchange rankings. This growth signals increasing trader preference for non-custodial platforms that prioritize privacy, control, and flexibility over centralized infrastructure.

Emergence of Hybrid CeDeFi

A key factor behind the surge in DEX activity is the rise of hybrid CeDeFi platforms, which blend the strengths of centralized and decentralized models. As recently reported by Binance Research, major exchanges are increasingly channeling liquidity toward these systems, which offer users low-slippage trades, MEV protection, and faster execution while retaining the transparency of on-chain settlement.

Binance Research noted that such innovations are making DEXs more scalable and competitive, effectively narrowing the gap with traditional CEXs. Meanwhile, DeFi’s flexible regulatory environment has enabled rapid experimentation and feature rollouts, which have fueled steady growth in on-chain volumes.

The same cannot be said for CEXs whose spot trading remains heavily influenced by retail sentiment, macroeconomic headwinds, and volatility.

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