Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) are popular alternatives to regular crypto trading platforms, as they allow users to buy, sell, trade, and invest solely in cryptocurrencies without third parties, making them faster and cheaper than centralized exchanges (CEXs).
Interestingly, many DEXs have utility tokens that power their ecosystems. These tokens are called DEX coins, and they support various activities. However, with various DEX tokens on the market, we’ll be reviewing the top options by market capitalization in this article.
What Are DEX Tokens/Coins?
As the name suggests, DEX tokens and coins are cryptocurrencies affiliated with decentralized exchanges. They allow users to own a share of the crypto project and give them benefits like voting on future changes and developments.
Besides participating in governance for the crypto project, DEXs offer various decentralized finance (DeFi) possibilities that token holders can access. For instance, they can lock up their assets for periodic staking rewards, earn rewards for providing liquidity to their exchanges through DeFi loans, and enjoy discounted transaction fees.
The peculiar thing that sets DEX tokens apart from other cryptocurrencies is that they operate a completely decentralized system. The token platforms allow peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions that require no middleman. That’s why their asset exchanges are often faster and cheaper than you’ll find on traditional cryptocurrency exchanges.
As of this writing, DEX tokens have a market cap of $26.07 billion and a trading volume of $1.79 billion.
Best DEX Coins to Watch in 2025
Now, let’s see the top-rated DEX coins worth considering in 2025. We ranked these tokens based on their market cap values as of the time of writing.
Stellar (XLM)
Stellar supports fast, scalable, real-time and low-cost cross-border payments via its decentralized exchange. The project’s goal is to be the platform that allows people to send and receive money anywhere in the world. It also allows users to trade crypto directly on the platform, leveraging its on-chain swap feature.
Through strategic partnership with other global heavyweights like MasterCard or Paxos, Stellar enhances blockchain adoption, investment and growth. It also offers developers a tool suite to advance their smart-contract capabilities.
The XLM token serves various purposes within the Stellar ecosystem. It secures the network by preventing double-spending and also acts as a payment token for transactions or fees. However, Stellar doesn’t support direct staking opportunities. This can only be done using secondary Stellar staking providers.
At the time of writing, the XLM token is valued at approximately $0.29, with a massive 128.40% increase in the past year. It has a market cap of $8.77 billion and a trading volume of $387.03 million.
Hyperliquid (HYPE)
Hyperliquid is a Layer 1 (L1) blockchain that optimizes performance and scalability of DeFi applications. It leverages its proprietary consensus mechanism, HyperBFT, to ensure fast, secure and low-cost transactions.
An autonomous initiative, Hyperliquid’s architecture utilizes a fully on-chain order book for transparency and efficiency for facilitating perpetual futures trading. This positions Hyperliquid as a promising player in the blockchain ecosystem.
Its native token is HYPE, priced at $14.60, with a market cap of $4.87 billion and a trading volume of $134.05.
Uniswap (UNI)
The biggest DEX on the Ethereum blockchain, Uniswap is a decentralized trading protocol that facilitates automated trading of DeFi tokens. It also integrates other top solutions to reduce trading pool costs, enhance security, enable efficiency and increase network activity.
Besides its popularity, its native token, UNI supports the exchange’s automated trading system that allows the exchange of thousands of ERC-20 tokens, serving different purposes, including transaction fee payments, network governance, liquidity incentives, etc.
The UNI token is trading at around $6.76, with a market cap of $4.06 billion and a trading volume of $288.28 million.
Jupiter (JUP)
Built on the Solana blockchain, the Jupiter Network is another decentralized platform where users can access DeFi opportunities. The platform is primarily for getting an overview of all the product offerings in the DeFi space – such as Bridge Comparator, Perpetuals Trading – making it easy for users to trade.
Jupiter aims to integrate DeFi more in TradFi by providing users a seamless way to utilize their digital assets in everyday transactions. Some of which include token swapping, liquidity aggregation, limit orders, or cross-chain transfers.
JUP is the network’s utility token, used for governance and trading. It has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a trading volume of $72.3 million and is trading for around $0.53 at the time of writing.
PancakeSwap (CAKE)
PancakeSwap is a DEX built on different blockchains like BNB Chain and Ethereum, offering trading, staking and yield farming services, alongside different products like an NFT market, trading pool, yield farm, exchange, amongst others.
An open-source platform, it utilizes automated market makers (AMM) to facilitate direct crypto trading from their wallets. PancakeSwap also incorporates other features like perpetual trading and cross-chain functionality.
PancakeSwap has a governance token used for rewards and powering other platforms called CAKE. It is priced at $2.42, with a market cap of $710.25 and a trading volume of $443.36 million.
Curve DAO Token (CRV)
Curve DAO is a DEX that facilitates trading between similar assets (such as stablecoins) in a cost-effective and efficient way. It uses swap pools to maintain price stability while trading and an automated market maker (AMM) to manage liquidity.
One of the largest DeFi protocols, Curve DAO has billions in total value locked (TVL) across multiple blockchains and a platform for borrowing or lending crvUSD against other assets at interest.
Its native token CRV has a value of $0.44, with a market cap of $570.36 and a trading volume of $90.65 million.
Raydium (RAY)
Raydium is another DeFi platform on Solana. The network functions as an automated market maker (AMM) that connects with the Serum Exchange for deeper liquidity and faster transactions on Solana.
The RAY token is Raydium’s utility coin, which can be staked for rewards, used for network participation, and liquidity mining. The DEX coin is trading for about $1.85, with a market cap of nearly $538.19 million and a trading volume of $120.67 million.
Conclusion
Decentralized Exchange (DEX) tokens offer traders and investors total control over their crypto funds, allowing access to various DeFi opportunities, including trading, staking, DeFi loans, and liquidity provision.
With the DeFi market poised to make massive moves in 2025, it may be a good time to lock in some DEX tokens. However, remember to do due diligence before opting for any coin.
Secure Your DEX Coins With the Zypto DeFi Wallet
The Zypto DeFi Wallet is a revolutionary crypto wallet that can be used to store thousands of assets, including DeFi and DEX tokens. You can use the crypto wallet to securely trade and manage your coins using the Zypto App, the all in one crypto experience.
With the crypto market experiencing a bullish trend, which DEX coins will you be stacking up? Tell us your top picks in the comment section below.
FAQs
What is DEX in crypto?
DEX stands for decentralized exchange. It describes a P2P platform that allows direct asset transfers between traders.
Which crypto DEX is the best?
Each DEX crypto has unique features and benefits. The top-ranked options include Uniswap, Stellar, and Jupiter, to name a few.
Can you make money from DEX?
DEXs work like regular blockchains, allowing users to trade cryptocurrencies for profits. Moreover, they have different DeFi earning opportunities, including staking and liquidity provision.
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