# THORChain Surge Amid Declining Bitcoin: DEX Market Resilient Despite Broader Crypto Retreat
Bitcoin’s recent slide below $80,000 has dampened investment sentiment across the broader cryptocurrency market. However, the decentralized exchange (DEX) sector has shown relative strength, with THORChain experiencing a dramatic surge in transaction volume.
THORChain’s weekly trading volume soared by 701%, surpassing $3.56 billion. This spike coincides with reports that North Korea’s Lazarus Group is allegedly utilizing the platform for illicit fund laundering following the recent Bybit hack, stirring controversy in the market.
# DEX Volume Rises 15%; Ethereum Leads, Solana and BSC Decline
According to data from DeFiLlama, the DEX market’s weekly trading volume reached $87.1 billion from February 21 to 27, marking a 14.68% increase from the previous week. The daily average volume stood at $11.5 billion, with DEXs commanding a 36.8% market share compared to centralized exchanges (CEX).
Ethereum led the DEX volume with $23.8 billion, up 77.79% in the past seven days, showing the most significant increase. Arbitrum followed with an 82.29% rise to $6.5 billion, reflecting the growing interest in network scalability improvements.
In contrast, Solana and Binance Smart Chain (BSC) saw declines of 22.78% and 25.14%, respectively, continuing their downward trend.
Uniswap dominated the platform-specific rankings with $20.6 billion in trading volume, capturing a 19.26% market share and recording a 53.31% weekly increase. However, PancakeSwap saw an 18.99% decline to $16.3 billion, influenced by reduced liquidity on the BSC network.
# THORChain Trading Volume Explodes Amid Hacking Fund Influx Concerns
The standout feature this week is THORChain’s remarkable 701% increase in trading volume, hitting an all-time high. On February 26 alone, THORChain processed $859.61 million (approx. KRW 1.237 trillion) in swaps. The total surged past $1 billion (approx. KRW 1.44 trillion) within 48 hours.
Experts link this volume spike to potential illicit fund laundering activities by the Lazarus Group post-Bybit hack. THORChain offers a protocol for direct cross-chain asset exchanges, enabling users to swap Ethereum (ETH) for Bitcoin (BTC) natively, bypassing centralized exchanges. This functionality raises concerns about the protocol’s susceptibility to misuse for illegal money laundering.
Historically, the Lazarus Group has used DEXs to convert stolen cryptocurrencies into BTC, subsequently employing mixing services to obfuscate the transaction trail. This latest incident may follow a similar pattern, prompting THORChain to acknowledge the receipt of illicit funds and commit to bolstering security measures, including address blocking.
# Cross-Chain Protocol Security Issues Persist
THORChain’s surging trading volume has re-emphasized security concerns surrounding cross-chain swap protocols. The growth of the DEX market, coupled with rising illegal fund movements, is expected to spark more intense regulatory discussions.
Attention remains on whether DEX market volumes will continue their upward trajectory next week and the duration of THORChain’s unusual trading patterns.
