Ethereum DEX Activity Reaches 3-Month High with 64,000 Users

Despite this, monthly DEX trading volume remains flat at $15 billion, with Uniswap UNI capturing 97% of traders ($13 billion of the volume), highlighting its dominance and the prevalence of smaller retail trades driving the uptick.

Ethereum's decentralized exchange (DEX) trader activity has surged 73% this month, reaching 64,000 daily active users on May 20, marking a three-month high from a May 4 low of 37,000, data from The Block shows.

Despite this, monthly DEX trading volume remains flat at $15 billion, with Uniswap (UNI) capturing 97% of traders ($13 billion of the volume), highlighting its dominance and the prevalence of smaller retail trades driving the uptick.

Historically, such activity has preceded broader market participation, hinting at potential growth in the coming weeks.

Additionally, Aave's total value locked (TVL) reached $12 billion, May 20, up from $20 billion in late 2024, signaling a strong return for Ethereum DeFi. This growth reflects increasing confidence in Ethereum's DeFi infrastructure, further evidenced by its dominance in real-world asset tokenization and decentralized finance applications.

Aave TVL has doubled since Dec 2024 lows, now at $40B. This signals a strong return for Ethereum DeFi.

Arbitrum's DeFi TVL has also hit $2.5B, a new all-time high.

Is the bull market back? ? pic.twitter.com/3i3jO8nL3v

— DeFi Pulse (@DeFiPulse) May 19, 2025

Beyond Uniswap and AAVE, other metrics and protocols underscore Ethereum DeFi's upward momentum. According to Grow The Pie, the number of unique addresses interacting with Ethereum DeFi protocols is reaching an all-time high of around 15 million. This surge in user activity indicates growing adoption and engagement.

According to DefiLlama, Curve Finance, a major decentralized exchange for stablecoins, reported a 30% increase in its Ethereum-based TVL, climbing to $2.4 billion as of May 20, 2025.

Several factors are driving Ethereum DeFi's comeback. The Pectra upgrade has significantly enhanced Ethereum's scalability and user experience. Eleven Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) implemented in Pectra help improve staking efficiency, wallet usability, and gas efficiency. A key feature is EIP-3074, which simplifies DeFi interactions by enabling account abstraction, reducing transaction steps, and lowering costs for users engaging with protocols like Uniswap and Aave. This has made Ethereum ETH DeFi more accessible, contributing to the 73% surge in trader activity.

A broader market recovery also plays a role. After a downturn in late 2024, the crypto market has bounced back, with Ethereum's price rising nearly 50% post-Pectra to $2,700.

Additionally, Ethereum's ecosystem expansion through Layer-2 solutions like Arbitrum, whose DeFi TVL hit $2.5 billion, has reduced gas fees and attracted more users, as shown in 3 million daily transactions.