The Best DEX Platforms For High-Volume Traders

Professional cryptocurrency traders are flocking to decentralized exchanges so they can maintain self-custody of their digital assets and avoid falling victim to another FTX-style meltdown. Compared to centralized exchanges, DEXs are considered to be much safer because there’s no need to deposit funds with a third party. 

All is well and good, but which DEX is best? Traders should consider a number of factors before deciding to trade on a specific platform. If you’re a high volume trader, one of the most important considerations is the available liquidity that the platform has, so it can accommodate larger swaps with minimal slippage. Other factors include the fees charged by the platform and the range of assets available to trade. 

Bearing these things in mind, here’s our list of the best six DEX platforms for professional traders. 

1. Uniswap

Uniswap is the world’s biggest DEX by trading volume for a reason. It’s one of the most comprehensive decentralized trading platforms around. Uniswap is an EVM-based exchange that’s available on multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Polygon, Celo and Optimism. With it, traders can seamlessly swap over a thousand different ERC-20 tokens with low fees. 

Due to its popularity, the Uniswap platform boasts one of the highest levels of liquidity of any DEX. Another benefit is that it’s one of the few DEXs to offer an integrated NFT marketplace, meaning users can trade non-fungible tokens from OpenSea and other popular platforms. Other advanced features including concentrated liquidity with Uniswap V3, liquidity pools and flash swaps. 

2. StormGain DEX

As one of the top CEX platforms in Europe, StormGain is a familiar name. With StormGain DEX, it now offers a choice of centralized or decentralized trading, and its new platform is as good as it gets, with literally hundreds of tokens available to trade. 

The biggest advantage of StormGain DEX is that, while users trade directly with one another through smart contracts, the platform is able to tap the incredibly deep liquidity of StormGain’s CEX. As a result, it can facilitate very large trades in seconds with minimal slippage, while offering traders an extremely competitive 500% leverage. With its no-deposit requirement, users maintain full control over their funds. They can also earn free crypto by participating in StormGain’s cloud mining feature, with greater rewards for higher volume traders. StormGain DEX is one of the best-rated exchanges on our list, with a 4.3 Trustpilot rating. 

3. GMX

GMX makes it simple to trade crypto derivatives like futures and perpetual contracts with leverage of up to 50x. It’s one of the largest DEX futures trading platforms by volume, with hundreds of millions traded daily across a list of more than 30 different assets. 

To date, GMX has launched on Avalanche and Arbitrum and has plans to launch on BNB Chain too. Other standout features include GMX Earn, where users can stake $GMX tokens to earn protocol fees, and the ability to long or short more than 30 crypto assets. 

4. DeFiLama DEX

DeFiLama is actually a DEX aggregator that gives traders a way to swap tokens across multiple popular DEX platforms through a single interface. It absorbs liquidity from Uniswap, Kyber Network, SushiSwap and other DEXs. 

There are some interesting unique features too, including an automated portfolio builder for those who need to diversify, an NFT marketplace aggregator for buying digital art, and on-chain analytics. DeFiLama DEX is available on Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon and other networks. 

5. Osmosis

Osmosis is considered to be the leading DEX platform within the Cosmos blockchain ecosystem, giving users access to deep liquidity, advanced trading features such as derivatives and margin trading, and low fees. 

The platform derives its deep liquidity from the Osmosis cross-chain AMM and a DEX aggregator, and also offers passive income for traders through staking rewards. It’s accessible through Cosmos Hub and BNB Chain. 

6. dYdX

dYdX is considered to be one of the best platforms for crypto derivatives and margin trading. The platform raised $87 million in funding in 2017, allowing the dYdX development team to be at the forefront of innovation in decentralized trading tools. 

For instance, it was the first crypto derivatives exchange that crowdsourced its liquidity. With this, users can deposit collateral to open a leveraged trading position, borrowing funds from a liquidity pool that’s made up entirely of assets deposited by other users. 

Which DEX Is Right For Me?

DEXs have enjoyed surging popularity in recent months because they provide users with greater security and more anonymity when trading crypto. They have all of the advanced features found on the biggest CEX platforms, and liquidity is increasing on many of the most popular DEXs, making them a viable alternative for pro traders. 

When it comes to choosing a DEX, traders need deep liquidity and the reassurance that they’re using a trusted platform, and the above offerings are among the most liquid around, backed by strong reputations and a loyal community of users.