Binance, Kucoin, Upbit and several other major central exchanges recorded significant declines at the same time, drawing a contrasting picture of the cryptocurrency market in the summer of 2025.
This may be just a temporary adjustment, but it reflects a more cautious investment environment with changing modern crypto users’ behavior.
CEXS is gradually losing its spotlight
Amidst a volatile crypto market shaped by liquidity concerns and changing investor sentiment, a recent report from WU Blockchain reveals a worrying trend. Intensive Exchange (CEXS) trading volume fell sharply in June 2025.
June CEX volume. Source: wublockchain
Most major centralized exchanges experienced a significant decline in trading volume last month, according to the report. The three platforms with the steepest drop were MEXC (-44%), Kucoin (-42%) and Upbit (-39%).
These exchanges are widely used by Asian retail users, especially in Korea and Southeast Asia. This trend may indicate a decline in speculative capital in these regions.
At the other end of the spectrum, three exchanges with a more moderate reduction were HTX (-15%), Kraken (-16%), and Binance (-22%). Binance is one of the largest platforms by market capitalization and consistently leads in liquidity, but when trading volumes drop by more than 20%, investors are increasing attention.
The widespread decline in trading volume in June could be attributed to several factors.
First, after a strong growth phase in early 2025, the crypto market has entered a revision period. The absence of strong catalysts such as Spot Bitcoin ETFs has significantly reduced market participation.
Second, ongoing geopolitical disputes put pressure on risky assets like cryptocurrencies. Investors are increasingly withdrawing money from the market in search of safer measures such as bonds, certificates of deposits and gold.
Changes in user behavior?
Another notable factor is the increased capital shift towards decentralized exchange (DEX). Defillama’s chart shows that DEX trading volume reached approximately $391 billion in June 2025. It recorded a slight decline compared to May ($40.2 billion), but also showed impressive growth compared to 2024.
Dex volume. Source: Defilama
Furthermore, the characteristics of DEXS also show many benefits for users who love privacy in transactions. As proposed by CZ, the dark pool model of permanent futures contracts is expected to rebuild DEXS’ confidentiality and security.
However, it is important to emphasize that a decline in trading volume does not necessarily signal the start of “crypto winter” as in 2022. Instead, this could be a psychological and anticipatory reset period that professional investors have been looking forward to seeing more clearer macroeconomic signals before they can re-enter the market.
Additionally, many traders prefer decentralized trading platforms such as high lipids.
The final month and the beginning of the third quarter are important, especially as the token unlock events, layer 2 projects updates and policy development in the US and Europe are gradually focused.
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