Cross-Chain Usage Climbs to Five-Month High as DEXs Enhance Bridge Integrations

Cross-chain infrastructure is gaining traction as decentralized exchanges (DEXs), stablecoins, and new integrations drive increased usage.

In May, total bridge volume reached $17.3 billion, a nearly 30% increase from April, according to data from Artemis Terminal, a blockchain analytics platform. This also marked the highest monthly total since January. The majority of May’s volume was facilitated by four protocols: Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP), Stargate Finance, Arbitrum’s native bridge and Across.

The rise in volume, which underscores user demand for easier asset movement between blockchains, comes as DEXs race to improve cross-chain functionality through bridge protocol integrations.

PancakeSwap Integrates Across

Earlier today, PancakeSwap – BNB Chain’s largest DEX with $2 billion in total value locked (TVL) – announced a partnership with Across Protocol to enable one-click cross-chain swaps.

The new feature removes the need for external apps or technical expertise, according to a press release viewed by The Defiant. The tool allows users to swap tokens between BNB Chain, Arbitrum, and Base directly from the PancakeSwap interface, all in a single transaction.

“We’re seeing applications realize that bridging is critical to their growth path,” Hart Lambur, the co-founder of Across, told The Defiant in an interview. “PancakeSwap doesn’t just want to service users on Binance Smart Chain (BSC)—they want to let users on any chain come and use PancakeSwap with no friction and no need to go ‘bridge’. “

He explained that Across enables this by offering a “2-second” bridge experience that is so seamless, users don’t even realize they just bridged. “We think this is the future for how Ethereum and its L2s will feel united,” Lambur added.

“There’s a clear shift underway – DEXs are increasingly integrating cross-chain protocols,” echoed Prabal Banerjee, founder of Avail. “It’s no longer just a feature upgrade; it’s a necessity as liquidity is fragmented across chains and users are frustrated by convoluted flows and poor user experience (UX).”

‘Stablecoin Summer’

While much of the demand still comes from DeFi users chasing yield, Lambur noted that a new trend is emerging: stablecoin activity. The stablecoin market has experienced a significant surge over the past 18 months, driven by growing institutional interest, and currently boasts a market capitalization of $251 billion, according to DeFiLlama.

“It is very clear that this is ‘stablecoin summer’ and I expect the second half of 2025 to be something of a stablecoin bonanza,” he said. “Institutions, [traditional finance], and folks like Stripe are really embracing stablecoins as a better set of rails to move money. We only expect this trend to continue.”