Solana shines amid record-breaking DEX trading volumes in December

DEXs registered new monthly trading volume records in December on spot and derivatives markets, with Solana-based protocols dominating the sector, according to DefiLlama.

As of Dec. 30, on-chain spot trading volumes reached $451.5 billion, a 19% increase from November, which held the previous record of monthly trading volume at $379.5 billion.

Meanwhile, on-chain derivatives moved $325.3 billion in the same period, a 25% monthly increase and over $10 billion over the previous all-time high registered in March.

Solana maintained its dominance in spot volumes for the third consecutive month, registering nearly $112 billion. This is $15 billion more than Binance Smart Chain (BSC), the second-most used chain for spot trading, with a total volume of $96.2 billion. This is a 166% increase from last month.

Ethereum was the third most used blockchain by spot market traders, with a monthly volume of $86.6 billion, a 21.5% increase from November.

Despite keeping the lead on the spot market, Solana lost ground to BSC and Ethereum, as its volumes slid 15.7% this month.

Traders rotating liquidity in search of new crypto narratives could be the reason behind Solana’s decrease in spot trading volume. The chain peaked at $132.3 billion last month, the absolute all-time high for on-chain spot trading, so a slight decline in trading volume is expected.

Rise of on-chain derivatives

The trading of derivatives on-chain has grown particularly this year. In 2023, these DEXs registered roughly $73 billion in transactions. In comparison, the lowest monthly trading volume for on-chain derivatives this year was $138.3 billion in October.

Like Solana’s spot market dominance, Hyperliquid has held the crown on the on-chain derivatives trading market for the fourth consecutive month.

The application-specific blockchain registered steady growth in volume, peaking at $152.4 billion on Dec. 30. This volume is 101% larger than the amount registered last month.

In addition to Hyperliquid’s stellar performance in the on-chain derivatives trading, Solana has kept second place since October.

Although Solana’s derivatives trading volume has dropped 21% since November, it still registered $34.1 billion in monthly trading volume as of Dec. 30.