Spot Trading on Decentralized Exchanges Reaches 13.6%, Sparking Debate on DeFi Governance

The DeFi market has seen a simultaneous growth in institutional control structures and open trading infrastructure. While the market share of decentralized exchanges (DEX) in spot and perpetual futures trading has increased, the capture of revenue by protocols and permissioned access structures are also gaining traction.

AMB Crypto reports that although DeFi originated from open and permissionless networks, the actual market is highlighting issues such as fee allocation, internal liquidity, and ecosystem building. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) warned in its 2026 annual economic report that while private permissioned networks may meet regulatory and governance requirements, they could create 'walled gardens' that weaken competition and innovation.

However, it is difficult to conclude that open structures have been pushed out. CoinGecko's 2026 CEX/DEX trading report shows that the market share of spot DEX has increased from 6.9% in January 2024 to 13.6% in January 2026. The market share of perpetual futures DEX also expanded from 2.0% to 10.2% during the same period.

The report includes PancakeSwap (CAKE), Uniswap (UNI), and Hyperliquid (HYPE) among the top exchanges. While centralized exchanges still hold a significant trading base, on-chain exchanges are increasing their presence in both spot and derivatives markets.

The crux of the debate lies in the conflict between 'openness' and 'monetization.' DeFi has promoted itself as a financial infrastructure accessible to everyone, but in practice, securing liquidity, fee distribution, security management, and user onboarding have become significant challenges. The reason protocols bundle their own products, vaults, and internal liquidity stems from this structure.

Aave (AAVE) is an open lending protocol that simultaneously suggests connecting branded products with decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) vaults. Aave Labs stated in a governance proposal that fees from Aave-branded products would flow directly into the Aave DAO vault. The same proposal requires separate verification of its execution scope and conditions as it goes through governance procedures.

Aave's scale demonstrates that open protocols can also create economic viability. Aave Labs reported in its 2025 review that Aave's deposits once reached $75 billion (approximately 103.65 trillion KRW), and by the end of the year, it recorded $55 billion (approximately 76.1 trillion KRW). Aave's total DeFi Total Value Locked (TVL) share increased from 17% to 29%, and its revenue share in the lending sector was reported at 43.2%.

Hyperliquid is another example. Hyperliquid's official documentation explains that fees are directed towards the HLP, assistance fund, and distributors within the community. The assistance fund converts trading fees into Hyperliquid, and the Hyperliquid within the fund is burned.

The Hyperliquid case illustrates the flow of exchanges, protocols, and token economies operating within a single structure. However, the expression '99% of fees' mentioned in the AMB Crypto original text was not confirmed in the official documentation in the same manner. Therefore, the fee allocation structure should be interpreted within the scope confirmed by the official documents.

Polygon (POL) approaches this through token conversion and interoperability. Polygon stated that as of September 3, 2025, 99% of MATIC on the Polygon network has been migrated to Polygon. Polygon also explained its tokenomics, which allocates 2% of the issuance over ten years to network security and community development.

The Agglayer document presents integrated liquidity, atomic cross-chain operations, and chain sovereignty as core features. This is interpreted as a design aimed at broadening asset movement and transaction execution by connecting multiple chains, unlike the method of bundling users and liquidity within specific applications.

The institutional flow is closer to a more controlled structure. DeFiLlama analyzed in its 2025 DeFi report that institutional DeFi has shifted towards KYC-based pools, tokenized revenue platforms, and structured products rather than permissionless pools. The report noted that Aave Arc was essentially unused for most of 2025, and institutions participate in on-chain credit markets when collateral forms and operational structures align with existing workflows rather than simple access lists.

This trend aligns with the earlier report on the launch of private blockchains dedicated to financial institutions. Financial institutions tend to want to keep customer data, transaction records, and key management authority under their control, which aligns better with permissioned networks than with public DeFi.

Conversely, the demand for open infrastructure remains. We previously reported on the debate surrounding DeFi regulations and customer verification obligations in the U.S. market structure bill. The regulatory debate leads to questions about how far to recognize the accessibility of open networks and what responsibilities to assign to protocol operators.

Ultimately, the changes in DeFi cannot be summarized by a single shift to closed systems. Protocols are trying to create sustainable operational structures by bundling fees and liquidity internally, while institutions demand pathways that align with regulatory and reporting systems. At the same time, the rise in DEX market share indicates that the use of open trading infrastructure has not diminished.

For Korean investors and users, the issues at stake are not merely technical choices. The actual execution of revenue allocation, access rights, and liquidity connection methods for each protocol can affect token valuation, user risks, and regulatory judgments.

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