Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) are witnessing a surge in adoption from retail traders and quantitative investors, even as institutional players continue to favor centralized exchanges (CEXs), according to Bitget Wallet’s chief marketing officer, Jamie Elkaleh.
Elkaleh told Cointelegraph that the strongest traction for DEX platforms such as Hyperliquid is currently coming from two groups: retail users who are attracted by airdrop incentives and loyalty point systems, and semi-professional quants who benefit from “low fees, fast execution, and programmable trading strategies.”
Institutions, however, still rely heavily on CEXs. “Large trading desks continue to depend on centralized platforms because of their fiat on-ramps, compliance frameworks, and prime brokerage services,” Elkaleh explained.
Yet, the gap in execution quality between decentralized and centralized platforms is narrowing rapidly. “Order-book based DEXs like Hyperliquid, dYdX v4, and GMX are now providing latency and liquidity depth once exclusive to CEXs,” Elkaleh said.
DEXs Aim to Match CEX Speed With Onchain Transparency
Hyperliquid, one of the most prominent perpetual DEXs, operates its own blockchain and features a fully onchain central limit order book. Elkaleh emphasized its hybrid strength: “Every order, cancellation, and fill is fully auditable onchain. It’s performance without compromising decentralization.”
By eliminating per-trade gas fees and offering sub-second transaction finality, Hyperliquid seeks to replicate the speed of centralized exchanges while maintaining the principles of self-custody and transparency.
However, competition among DEXs is intensifying. On BNB Chain, newcomer Aster has emerged as a serious challenger. Thanks to aggressive incentive programs, Aster’s daily perpetual trading volume has occasionally surpassed Hyperliquid. Data from DefiLlama shows that in the last 24 hours alone, Aster registered approximately $47 billion in trading volume—more than double Hyperliquid’s $17 billion.
This growth reflects a broader trend: perp protocols on BNB Chain regularly handle $60–70 billion in daily volume, while Solana-based platforms such as Drift and Jupiter Perps are steadily gaining market share. Their success, Elkaleh noted, stems from “fast settlement, smooth user onboarding, and generous trading incentives.”
Still, the road ahead for DEXs isn’t without hurdles. Elkaleh flagged risks such as validator centralization, unreliable oracles, upgrade key exploits, and the vulnerabilities of cross-chain bridges. He also highlighted the challenge of maintaining strong liquidation engines during periods of extreme market volatility.
Top 10 DEX perps. Source: DefiLlama
Just last week, Aster had to reimburse users after a bug in its Plasma (XPL) perpetual market triggered an artificial price spike to nearly $4, leading to unintended liquidations and trading fees.
CEXs and DEXs to Evolve Side by Side
Despite the accelerating growth of decentralized platforms, Elkaleh doesn’t believe they will fully replace their centralized counterparts.
“DEXs are undoubtedly the future of crypto-native trading rails,” he said. “But CEXs remain indispensable for fiat liquidity, compliance, and onboarding. Over the next decade, we’re more likely to see hybrid models that merge the strengths of both, building a balanced ecosystem where coexistence—not displacement—defines the next chapter of crypto markets.”