Decentralised exchanges (DEXs) have seen the fastest growth among cryptocurrency exchanges, according to a Chainalysis report.
Exchanges are classified into six groups based on their business models and technical infrastructure in the study. DEXs, centralised exchanges (CEXs), over-the-counter (OTC) brokers, derivatives platforms, and high-risk exchanges with limited know-your-customer (KYC) procedures are all examples of these.
DEXs and OTC brokers have increased the most since 2019, with derivatives exchanges having seen mild growth, according to the statistics. However, following initial surges, CEXs and higher-risk exchanges suffered from a decline in numbers.
The number of DEXs has expanded by more than 100% since the Q1 of 2019, to around 205 as of June. During that time, the number of OTC brokers expanded significantly, rising by around 50% to 150 by Q3 2021. The derivatives exchanges have been stable after climbing to over 125 in 2019.
Meanwhile, the number of active CEXs climbed from around 100 to 120 within the same time period, before decreasing back to around 100. However, the number of high-risk exchanges peaked at roughly 150 in 2020, before plummeting to less than 100 by Q3 2021.
Each of these groups was also classified as small or large based on a £7.46 million threshold in the analysis. A distinction was also drawn between C2C (crypto-to-crypto) and C2F (crypto-to-fiat) exchanges. Large DEXs again took the lead, with other large exchanges, including high-risk exchanges, seeing the most growth. According to the report, the numbers for all three groups tripled.
Furthermore, the research looked at increase in terms of value received. Transaction volume increased the greatest for big DEXs, CEXs, and OTC brokers throughout the time period analysed. “Derivatives exchanges grew the most by far in value received at 686%,” according to the research. Almost all minor exchange categories, on the other hand, reported a drop in the amount of cryptocurrency they received.