Which Blockchain Has The Most Trading Volume?
Ethereum was the blockchain with the most trading volume, with 37.1% of all trading volume in March 2024. Its trading volume hit $69.67 billion in March 2024, representing a 92.4% month-on-month (MoM) climb, having recorded $36.22 billion in February 2024.
Solana was the second-largest blockchain by trading volume, with a 21.3% market share in March 2024. It climbed an impressive 244.8% MoM, with trading volume hitting $40.05 billion in March, up from $11.61 billion in February.
BNB Chain (BSC) was the third largest, accounting for 15.1% of all decentralized exchanges (DEX) trading volume. BSC had $28.47 billion in trading volume in March 2024, up 161.1% from February, when it had $10.90 billion.
The remaining top 10 blockchains hold less than 10% market share each, with Arbitrum at 8.4%, THORChain at 5.9%, Polygon at 4.7%, Avalanche at 3.1%, Base at 2.4%, Optimism at 1.4%, and zkSync at 0.6%.
Ethereum’s Share of DEX Trading Volume Plummeted
Ethereum, maintained its lead in DEX trading volume, with a 33.4% market share in 2024 Q1. It had $144.20 billion in trades throughout the quarter, up from $98.20 billion in 2023 Q4. Nearly half of Ethereum’s Q1 volume came in March, where it recorded $69.67 billion in trading volume. However, Ethereum’s dominance is at an all-time low, having fallen below 40% in Q1.
While Ethereum’s trading volume increased by 46.8% in Q1, Solana and Arbitrum continued to chip away at Ethereum’s market share. In 2023 Q4, Ethereum’s market share stood at 46.8%. In January and February 2024, Arbitrum briefly overtook Ethereum’s dominance. Ethereum had a 31.2% and 30.1% market share in January and March, while Arbitrum stood at 39.1% and 39.7% during the same period.
Solana Continued To Surge Upwards
Solana ended 2024 Q1 accounting for 14.4% of all DEX trading volume, for a total of $62.31 billion. Its quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) growth was 242.7% from 2023 Q4, when its volume stood at $18.18 billion. Meanwhile, its market share in the same quarter was 8.7%, ranking fourth, behind BSC.
Trading volume on Solana greatly benefited from the doubling in price of Solana (SOL), large airdrops from Jito (JTO) and Jupiter (JUP), and a surge in memecoins on the network. Book of Memes (BOME) was launched in March, and managed to hit a $1 billion market cap within two days, as well as getting listed on prominent exchanges such as Binance and Bybit.
Arbitrum Surpassed Ethereum Trading Volume
DEX trading activity flourished on Arbitrum at the start of 2024, accounting for 39.1% ($48.07 billion) and 39.7% ($47.78 billion) of all DEX trading volume in January and February. During the same period, it exceeded Ethereum’s trading volume.
This was largely due to its STIP incentive program aimed at bolstering activity on the network. All major DEXes on Arbitrum, such as Uniswap, PancakeSwap, Trader Joe, and Camelot saw heightened activity. Unfortunately, activity tapered off almost immediately after incentives ended, resulting in a much more subdued March, where it had a 8.4% ($15.79 billion) market share.
Base Was Q1’s Best Performer
Base was the best performer in 2024 Q1, chalking an impressive 434.8% QoQ growth. It ended the quarter with a 1.3% market share, up from 0.5% in 2023 Q4. Meanwhile, its trading volume was $5.75 billion in Q1 versus $1.08 billion in Q4.
The majority of trades on Base were done in March, where it had $4.47 billion in volume, accounting for 77.8% of all trades done on the chain in Q1. This can be attributed to meme season picking up steam on the network, with hype surrounding the Degen (DEGEN) token.
Top 10 Blockchains by Decentralized Crypto Exchanges Trading Volume (March 2024)
The market share of the top 10 blockchains by DEX trading volume, as of March 2024:
| Rank | Blockchain | Market Share (%) |
| 1 | Ethereum | 37.1 |
| 2 | Solana | 21.3 |
| 3 | BSC | 15.1 |
| 4 | Arbitrum | 8.4 |
| 5 | THORChain | 5.9 |
| 6 | Polygon | 4.7 |
| 7 | Avalanche | 3.1 |
| 8 | Base | 2.4 |
| 9 | Optimism | 1.4 |
| 10 | zkSync | 0.6 |
Methodology
The study examined the top 10 blockchains by decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume, using CoinGecko data from October 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024. The top 10 blockchains are: Ethereum, Solana, BSC, Arbitrum, THORChain, Polygon, Avalanche, Base, Optimism, and zkSync.
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Shaun Paul Lee
Shaun is a Research Analyst at CoinGecko, who has lived and breathed crypto since 2017. Previously a community manager for Synthetix and RedFOX, he dived down the crypto rabbit hole to grasp a better understanding of the industry.
He now spends copious amounts of time on Crypto Twitter and Telegram, searching for the next idea for CoinGecko Research.
Follow the author on Twitter @ShaunPaulLee
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