Coinbase opens access to Solana DEX, blurring the line between CeFi and DeFi

Coinbase protocol specialist Andrew Allen said users will be able to trade any Solana token with sufficient liquidity, while developers will gain access to Coinbase’s millions of users without a formal listing. He added that native Solana assets will soon appear directly in the exchange interface.

The move extends Coinbase’s strategy launched in August, when the exchange first introduced DEX trading for Base network tokens. The company has since committed to bringing DEX support to additional blockchains, with Solana as the first expansion.

The integration comes amid accelerating growth in Solana’s DeFi ecosystem. On the same day, Ellipsis Labs launched a fully on-chain perpetual DEX on Solana, including its matching engine and risk management systems. The platform is currently in closed beta.

Infrastructure firm Redstone released its “Solana Lending Markets Report 2025,” noting that Solana’s DeFi strategies have reached institutional-grade maturity. The network has processed daily DEX volumes of up to $35.9 billion, and the next phase of growth is expected to be driven by real-world asset tokenization and institutional capital.

Coinbase’s integration underscores the broader shift toward CeFi–DeFi convergence. Major exchanges are increasingly serving as user-friendly frontends for on-chain protocols. Several industry voices, including 1inch co-founder Sergej Kunz, have suggested that centralized exchanges will ultimately operate as gateways to decentralized systems.

Other exchanges support this trend. OKX rolled out DEX functionality in November, while Binance introduced hybrid CEX–DEX trading in March across Ethereum, Solana, Base, and BNB Chain.

Rising DEX activity is reinforcing the transition. According to DefiLlama, DEX platforms processed nearly $12 billion in the past 24 hours — exceeding Coinbase’s spot volume and approaching Binance’s daily levels.