Traders flocking back to centralized exchanges amid bitcoin rally

As the memecoin frenzy gave way to spot exchange-trade fund exhuberance in the crypto market, traders increasingly flocked from decentralized trading venues to centralized ones, The Block's Data Dashboard data shows. 

Monthly decentralized exchange volumes relative to their centralized counterparts declined sharply between May and June, declining from 22% 16.8%. Four days into July, the ratio has dropped further, falling to just under 14%. 

The surge in popularity of DEXes in May was well-documented, with The Block previously reporting that traders flocked to decentralized venues to punt memecoins. Volumes on Ethereum-based DEXes for trading of the memecoin Pepe surged above $600 million on May 5. 

The newfound interest in large caps like Bitcoin and Ethereum, kicked off by BlackRock's surprise spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund filing on June 15, appears to have lured institutional investors to the market's centralized venues. Bitcoin is up more than 20% since BlackRock's filing. 

Institutional interest in crypto

Devin Ryan of equity research shop JMP attributed the recent increase in trading volumes to institutions entering the space.

"We believe the uptick in trading volume during the week ended 6/24, which was accompanied by a 12% W/W appreciation in total crypto market cap, can likely be attributed to some momentum in the space after BlackRock (BLK, NC) filed an application with the SEC for a spot Bitcoin ETF," he said, referring to the asset manager's June 15 filing. 

In the wake of BlackRock's filing on June 15, a wide range of companies from WisdomTree to Invesco to Bitwise have refiled their own applications for funds to track the price of the largest cryptocurrency.