Decentralized Venues Pulled Share From CEXs in a Risk-Off Quarter, ARK Invest Finds

Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) are eating into centralized exchanges’ market share, with the DEX-to-CEX spot ratio climbing to around 27.4% in Q1 2026.

The share gain came even as absolute volume fell 26% to $832 billion, per ARK Invest’s DeFi Quarterly report.

A Risk-Off Quarter for Crypto

The first quarter of 2026 was a rough stretch for digital assets. Crypto prices slid sharply between mid-January and early February before staging a modest recovery in March. 

Even so, the quarter closed in the red as risk-off sentiment and fear gripped the market. According to CoinGlass data, Bitcoin (BTC) shed 22% over the period, losing several key support levels along the way. The pullback also weighed heavily on trading activity.

DEX spot trading volume tumbled around 26% quarter-over-quarter to roughly $832 billion, snapping a five-quarter streak above the $1 trillion mark, per ARK Invest data. The drop was broad-based, hitting nearly every trading category. 

Meme coins slumped 32% to $199 billion, and project tokens collapsed 58% to $37 billion. Native stablecoin pairs slipped 28% to $319 billion but still held their place as the largest single category.

“Stablecoin swap volume was the only category to increase (+0.7%) quarter-over-quarter to ~$185 billion), while tokenized asset swaps surged ~83% to ~$4.6 billion, thanks in part to increased onchain trading of tokenized gold and equities,” the report read.

DEX Share Rose to 27.4% in Q1 2026 Even as Volume Dropped

Yet the picture wasn’t all bearish for DEXs. ARK reported that the quarterly DEX-to-CEX spot volume ratio rose 270 basis points.

“The rebound suggests that decentralized venues are gaining share of spot trading, even as absolute volumes declined,” the report added.

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ARK Invest credited DeFi’s improving user experience and growing roster of tradable assets. Uniswap (UNI) returned to the top of the DEX rankings with $231 billion in spot volume. The protocol overtook PancakeSwap (CAKE), which recorded $138 billion in volume.

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