Crypto exchanges record $1.6 trillion in November trading volume

Spot trading volume on centralized exchanges fell to $1.59 trillion in November, down from $2.17 trillion in October. It marks a five-month low and a sharp drop in activity after the autumn surge.

Binance led with $599.3 billion in volume, though this was well below October’s $810.4 billion. Bybit ranked second with $105.8 billion, followed by Gate.io at $96.75 billion and Coinbase at $93.41 billion. The slowdown reflects a broader cooling of the market after a period of elevated volatility.

The pullback was expected as the market shifted from October’s frenzy to November’s flat trading environment. The decline in volume was driven by profit-taking after the rally and tighter trading ranges that left fewer opportunities for active strategies.

November was weak for decentralized platforms as well. DEX volume dropped to $397.78 billion from $568.43 billion in October, the lowest level since June. Uniswap remained the leading DEX with $79.98 billion, down from more than $123.8 billion a month earlier. PancakeSwap recorded $70.57 billion, down from $102 billion.

The DEX-to-CEX volume ratio fell from 17.56% to 15.73%. The change reflects market structure rather than sentiment: when volatility is low, centralized venues with deeper liquidity and tighter spreads become the preferred execution route. At the same time, reduced incentives across DeFi platforms lowered activity on DEX.

Market weakness also weighed on bitcoin. BTC fell from $110,000 to $81,000 in November, though it traded near $86,500 at month’s end. Spot bitcoin ETFs recorded $3.48 billion in net outflows – the first major reversal after a similarly sized inflow in October.