CeFi Feeling Onchain FOMO as New ByBit-Incubated Solana DEX Teases Launch

While CEXes have always dominated the lion’s share of trading volume, anyone with a self-custodial wallet knows that onchain markets are where the action is.

Amidst consistently high DeFi trading volumes on Solana, CeFi entities, like exchanges, are eager to get in on the action.

A new, ByBit-incubated DEX has teased a hybrid app claiming to bring CEX liquidity to the DeFi experience. What’s driving exchanges' emerging desire to meet users onchain?

ByBit Teases Solana Expansion

On June 15, ByReal announced its foray into Solana’s fiercely competitive DEX scene, promising to synthesize CEX-grade liquidity with DeFi-native transparency. While incubated by ByBit, ByReal has asserted that the protocol remains independent from the centralized exchange.

ByReal plans to roll out the on-chain extension of a CEX-level user experience. According to a ByReal spokesperson, the application intends to create a “new onchain liquidity layer from the ground up, tailored for both retail and institutional users.”

While reticent on specific details, the spokesperson indicated that ByReal’s hybrid exchange model would leverage CLMMs and RFQs to give users “better execution, tighter spreads, and deeper liquidity” when trading on the platform.

Additionally, ByReal has teased its own launchpad product. Reset Launch proposes a new approach to token launches that “replaces airdrop-driven speculation with conviction-based participation.”

Solana DEX Volume Challenges ByBit Spot

Centralized Exchanges are evidently eager for greater exposure to onchain markets. Solana’s memecoin economy brings speculation, trading volume, and ultimately, fees, to onchain applications. 

Onchain data and CEX-reporting indicate that Solana is consistently challenging centralized exchanges in terms of trading volume. According to CoinMarketCap, ByBit witnessed $~2.9B in trading volume in the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Blockworks data indicates that decentralized exchanges on Solana collectively averaged $2.65B in the last 7 days.

After trailing centralized venues in trading volume for the better part of a decade, DeFi has established itself as a significant threat to CeFi dominance. With platforms like Remora Markets expected to bring tokenized stocks onchain in the coming months, centralized exchanges could be feeling threatened by accessibility and democratization in DeFi markets.

Inhibited by selective listing procedures, centralized exchanges are currently excluded from the bulk of memecoin trading activity. Incubated by ByBit, the ByReal DEX could offer a way for the centralized exchange to tap into the “picks and shovels” of this emerging market.

However, this isn’t the first time that ByBit has attempted to secure a foothold in the onchain economy by incubating decentralized platforms. Launched in 2023, Mantle is an Ethereum L2 incubated by ByBit.

According to Mantle’s website, ByBit is also assisting the Ethereum Layer 2 with bridging the gap between CeFi and DeFi. According to DeFiLlama data, Mantle has witnessed $7.2M in DEX trading volume in the past 24 hours.

Other recent attempts by centralized exchanges to tap into onchain activity include Binance Alpha, a curated selection of promising tokens that are typically only available in DeFi markets. Binance Alpha has spurred a flurry of recent trading activity on BNB Chain, with the Layer-1 witnessing explosive onchain trading volume.

However, BNB’s flourishing DEX trading volume should be taken with a grain of salt. Commentators across the industry have suggested that much of BNB Chain’s trading volume is generated by wash trading bots attempting to exploit incentivized trading campaigns.

Disclaimer: SolanaFloor and Remora Markets are owned and operated by Step Finance

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