Coinbase has introduced decentralized trading to almost all of its US customers, expanding access to one of its most ambitious products to date.
The company confirmed on October 8 that its decentralized exchange (DEX) service is now available in the main Coinbase app for users nationwide, except those based in New York, where state regulations still restrict supply.
Through the new interface, traders can trade tokens as soon as they launch, giving them early exposure to emerging assets well before centralized listings appear. The feature is powered entirely by Base, Coinbase’s layer 2 Ethereum network, and will gradually expand to support additional chains and regions.
For now, the app allows users to trade base-issued assets from projects such as Virtuals AI Agents, Reserve Protocol DTFs, Soso Value Indices, Auki Labs, and Super Champs. Coinbase has integrated 1inch and 0x liquidity routes, enabling non-custodial token swaps without users losing control of their wallets.
Funding can come directly from an existing Coinbase balance or USDC, while the company absorbs gas fees in exchange for “modest and transparent” trading fees.
The launch follows a limited trial in August with select testers and marks a full-scale entry into on-chain trading for the exchange’s retail base.
CEXs deploy DEXs
The DEX launch also comes amid a wave of similar efforts from competitors.
Bybit recently unveiled Byreal, a Solana-based platform designed to merge the efficiency of centralized exchanges with DeFi transparency.
BitMart and MEXC have followed suit with their own on-chain sites, each aiming to keep users in their trading environment as liquidity fragments across networks.
The moves by these companies are not surprising, given that industry data shows that crypto traders are increasingly turning to DEX platforms for their trading.
Data from CoinGecko showed that decentralized exchanges now handle approximately 28.5% of the spot activity seen on centralized platforms. In the second quarter of 2025 alone, DEX volumes jumped more than 25%, while centralized platforms saw trading drop almost 30%.
This divergence pushed the DEX/CEX volume ratio to 0.23, up from 0.13 in the previous quarter.
Considering this, Youngsun Shin, Head of Product at Flipster, noted:
“CeDeFi convergence will happen sooner than we all think.”
In this market environment, crypto traders have a growing preference for platforms that offer transparency and self-custody of their assets. By integrating a DEX directly into their app, CEXs aim to bridge this gap by offering the control of DeFi with the reliability and speed that users expect from their exchange.
