According to data provided by DefiLlama, in the recently concluded December, decentralized exchanges (DEX) achieved remarkable monthly trading volume highs in both the spot and derivatives markets. Notably, protocols based on Solana dominated, becoming a key force in the market.
Let's focus on the spot market. As of December 30, the on-chain spot trading volume surged to as high as $451.5 billion. This figure represents a significant growth of 19% compared to November and broke the previous monthly trading volume record of $379.5 billion, creating a new historical peak.
At the same time, the on-chain derivatives market is also performing well. In December, its trading volume soared to $325.3 billion, a month-on-month increase of as much as 25%. This achievement is more than $10 billion higher than the historical high level set in March, demonstrating a strong growth momentum.
Delving into the performance of different blockchains in the spot market, Solana shines like a dazzling star, sitting at the top of the spot trading volume for the third consecutive month. Its trading volume approaches $112 billion, significantly widening the gap with Binance Smart Chain (BSC), which ranks second in spot trading usage, by $15 billion. BSC's total trading volume in December was $96.2 billion, but it also achieved remarkable growth, with a substantial increase of 166% compared to last month.
Ethereum followed closely, as the third largest blockchain chosen by spot market traders, achieving a monthly trading volume of $86.6 billion in December, a 21.5% increase from November, also contributing to the market's prosperity.
However, even though Solana maintains a leading advantage in the spot market, it is not without challenges. Compared to last month, its trading volume this month has seen a decline of 15.7%, even lagging behind BSC and Ethereum. Industry insiders analyze that traders are likely rotating liquidity frequently to explore new cryptocurrency investment opportunities and chase emerging cryptocurrency narratives, which may be the key factor behind the decline in Solana's spot trading volume. After all, last month, the on-chain spot trading volume reached an astonishing peak of $132.3 billion, undoubtedly the highest level in the history of on-chain spot trading, and a certain degree of decline in trading volume this month is within market expectations given such a high base.
Now, turning our attention to the on-chain derivatives market, this year has undoubtedly been a year of vigorous growth, with particularly significant trading growth momentum. Looking back at the entire year of 2023, the trading volume of these DEXs reached approximately $73 billion. In stark contrast, the monthly trading volume of on-chain derivatives hit its lowest point in October, with a volume of $138.3 billion.
Just as Solana dominates the spot market, Hyperliquid also leads the on-chain derivatives trading market, having maintained its dominant position for the fourth consecutive month. The trading volume of specific application blockchains has also shown a steady upward trend, reaching a historical peak of $152.4 billion on December 30, more than doubling the previous record amount from last month, with a growth rate of 101%.
In addition to Hyperliquid's outstanding performance, Solana has also firmly maintained its second position in the on-chain derivatives trading market since October. Although Solana's derivatives trading volume has declined by 21% since November, its monthly trading volume as of December 30 still reached a substantial $34.1 billion, demonstrating its strength.
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