A recent OKX report examined the state of decentralized exchanges (DEXs) in 2025, revealing Solana as a dominant force while Ethereum faces challenges to maintain its relevance.

The report highlighted how innovations across blockchains, technological advancements, and evolving user preferences have collectively reshaped the DEX sector.

Solana Leads the DEX Revolution

The Solana ecosystem is a key highlight in the OKX exchange’s report. It has emerged as a dominant force in decentralized finance (DeFi), commanding 48% of the total DEX volume. According to the State of DEXs in 2025, this growth can be attributed to its high-speed transaction capabilities, negligible fees, and developer-friendly infrastructure.

“By almost all measures of blockchain adoption, Solana blows every other chain out of the park. Network transaction fees generated, transaction count, active wallet addresses, DEX active users – Solana is truly the retail chain,” read an excerpt in the report.

Further, OKX cites Solana’s architectural advantages, which have also attracted traders and developers, creating a strong ecosystem for decentralized trading. A prime example of this success is Raydium, Solana’s flagship automated market maker (AMM). As BeInCrypto reported, Raydium recently dominated Solana DEX volume.

Raydium has established itself as a key player in Solana’s DeFi ecosystem by pioneering innovative liquidity provision models. The OKX report notes that Raydium’s efficient liquidity pooling has become a standard for DEX platforms, posing a direct challenge to Ethereum and its derivatives.

The report also highlights that users are increasingly gravitating toward Solana due to its lower transaction costs and faster speeds. This shift has pressured Ethereum to expedite the rollout of Ethereum 2.0 to remain competitive.

As Solana continues to gain momentum, OKX highlights Ethereum’s efforts to stay relevant with the launch of Ethereum 2.0. The upgrade aims to deliver reduced fees, improved scalability, and a smoother user experience. Additionally, innovations such as Uniswap’s v4, featuring modular “hooks” and a gas-efficient singleton architecture, have strengthened Ethereum’s competitive edge.

“The impact of Ethereum 2.0 on DEXs is two-fold. Firstly, Ethereum itself is now more optimal for DeFi applications. Secondly, L2s can now settle on Ethereum more cheaply with data blobs, allowing them to pass on significant cost savings to users, and making existing DEXs on L2s much cheaper to use,” OKX added.

Uniswap’s evolution illustrates Ethereum’s resilience in adapting to market demands. Introducing time-weighted average market makers (TWAMMs) and dynamic fees has improved liquidity management. These innovations, combined with reduced costs and performance improvements, position Ethereum as a critical player in the DEX ecosystem despite growing competition.

Decentralized Derivatives and AI Take the Spotlight

While spot trading remains central to DEX activity, the OKX report finds decentralized derivatives as the prospective next frontier in DeFi. Despite their potential, derivatives face liquidity fragmentation and regulatory challenges. Platforms like dYdX and Synthetix lead the charge, optimizing throughput, fees, and liquidity tools to create better trading environments.

A key innovation in this sector is comparing hard liquidity-backed models and synthetic approaches. The former relies on substantial liquidity pools to back derivatives, while the latter leverages algorithmic mechanisms to simulate liquidity. Both models have their trade-offs, but their continued development will likely shape the future of decentralized derivatives.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into crypto has progressed in unexpected ways. On-chain AI agents enhance trading strategies, while AI-powered tools stream operations across DEX platforms. Additionally, the rise of AI-driven meme coins has demonstrated how these technologies can engage new audiences, potentially driving adoption in the DeFi space.

“One of the biggest questions of the Crypto X AI intersection is why crypto is needed…The answer to that question lies in the ability of crypto to customize incentive mechanisms and have a blockchain as an immutable data record,” OKX said.

Asia Takes the Lead Amid Shifting Developer Dynamics

A noteworthy trend in OKX’s state of DEXs in 2025 is the shift in crypto development hubs. Per the report, Asia has overtaken North America as the epicenter of innovation in the DEX ecosystem. BeInCrypto recently reported that Singapore and Hong Kong are leading the blockchain revolution over the US.

According to the OKX report, regulatory flexibility, an active developer community, and increasing regional institutional interest drive this change. The implications of this shift are profound, as Asia’s leadership is likely to influence the direction of DEX development in the coming years.

Meanwhile, the report acknowledges that liquidity remains the lifeblood of any DEX. Attracting liquidity providers (LPs) and ensuring sufficient capital in liquidity pools are critical challenges for emerging platforms. Uniswap, for instance, set the standard for liquidity provisioning with its AMM design. Its v3 model introduced concentrated liquidity, significantly improving capital efficiency but adding complexity.

Incentives have proven crucial in overcoming the “bootstrap problem.” For example, SushiSwap’s liquidity mining programs forced Uniswap to reevaluate its approach. This competitive pressure highlights the importance of balancing incentives to attract LPs while maintaining economic sustainability.

The OKX report concludes that the future of DEXs depends on achieving a balance where all stakeholders — traders, liquidity providers (LPs), token holders, and developers — gain value. Larger liquidity pools enable low-slippage trades, attracting more users, while well-designed incentive structures ensure long-term participation from LPs. To succeed, platforms must carefully navigate trade-offs to build ecosystems that drive both growth and innovation.