Multichain decentralized exchange PancakeSwap (CAKE) has been cooking with gas this quarter, whipping up a delicious $205.3 billion in trading volume for Q1 2025. That's enough dough to make even the most seasoned DeFi chefs' jaws drop, marking the highest trading activity since someone first thought "Hey, let's name our exchange after breakfast food!"
The platform isn't just serving up more trades—it's attracting more hungry customers too, with unique trader numbers rising to levels not seen since people still thought NFTs of rocks were a good investment (Q4 2021).
PancakeSwap's Kitchen Is Hotter Than a Griddle on Sunday Morning
February's trading volume sizzled to a mouth-watering $81.7 billion—the most flipping since 2021. January wasn't exactly starving either, plating up a respectable 78.4 billion in trades.
March, however, was that awkward third wheel that shows up to brunch and orders just toast, bringing in a mere $45.1 billion. But don't cry over spilled batter—the overall Q1 performance has helped PancakeSwap's all-time volume rise to a belt-busting $1.3 trillion.
"With 2025 already off to an explosive start, the protocol is seeing record momentum in both user engagement and ecosystem activity," the exchange told.
This rising soufflé of success didn't happen overnight. In the past two years, PancakeSwap's quarterly trading volume has ballooned from a modest $20.1 billion in Q1 2023 to the current record $205.3 billion—a 922% increase that makes your pandemic sourdough starter look like amateur hour.
User growth is equally impressive, with unique traders piling onto the platform like teenagers at an all-you-can-eat buffet—up 81% from 3.2 million in Q1 2023 to 5.8 million in Q1 2025.
Transactions too are stacking higher than pancakes at IHOP, jumping from 44.1 million in Q1 2023 to 114.4 million in Q1 2025—a 159% increase that suggests DeFi users might have a slight clicking addiction.
"These figures represent not only PancakeSwap's best quarter to date, but also highlight a significant leap in adoption and usage across the board," the exchange added, presumably while polishing its golden spatula.
The milestone arrives just as PancakeSwap implements its CAKE Tokenomics 3.0 on April 23—which is less about adding chocolate chips to the batter and more about discontinuing CAKE staking, veCAKE, and related mechanisms.
The platform is also switching to a burn mechanism that makes Gordon Ramsay look gentle, planning to torch approximately 5.3 million tokens annually. Daily CAKE emissions will be dialed down from 29,000 to 20,000, eventually targeting 14,500—because even in crypto, watching your portions is important for long-term sustainability.
Abimbola Adu
Disclaimer: All materials on this site are for informational purposes only. None of the material should be interpreted as investment advice. Please note that despite the nature of much of the material created and hosted on this website, HODL FM is not a financial reference resource and the opinions of authors and other contributors are their own and should not be taken as financial advice. If you require advice. HODL FM strongly recommends contacting a qualified industry professional.
